What is the biggest taboo topic in modern society?

Graces7

steamsey wrote: »

In Ireland, I'd say it's the lack of willingness for public debate on scroungers, social welfare lifers, and those who irresponsibly have families with no intention of supporting themselves and their offspring by actually working for a living.

Another way of saying this is that there does not seem to be much talk about whether we can afford our social welfare bill, which is going to sky rocket as these families have more and more kids who are born with their hands out. Our social welfare bill is €20+ billion.

One attempted segway into this area was Varadkar, like him or not, when he had his "welfare cheats cheat us all" thing there a while ago and was lambasted for what was, objectively, a very clear and sensible message.

I'm not talking about everyone who benefits from social welfare payments of course, but there are more than a few wasters out there, and policy seems to be to placate them quickly before the media turns on the government.

Somewhere along the way, these people starting using the phrase "forever home". I have a mortgage like most of the country, and I work to maintain it. But it is not a forever home. If I stop working, I'll eventually be turfed out. The mindset that, without working hard to maintain it, you can have a "forever home" is as depressing as it is infuriating.

We may be undermining our entire society with the way we are handling this stuff. It's become more difficult to see why, other than maintaining your moral self, one would choose to actually work. Many might be only slightly worse off if they went down the welfare route, and this gap is narrowing.

This is not a taboo as it comes up many times a day here on boards, but a repetetive verbal.. explosion

taboo is something never ever spoken of in public.. viewed from behind net curtains....untouchable, unmentionable. Decades ago it would be for example. someone sleeping with ( euphemism and taboo go together) someone else's wife. It was so shocking it was taboo

Duckworth_Luas

Being a paid-up member of the National Association of Marlon Brando Look Alikes.

James Brown

The government selling NAMA properties to Noonan's Cerberus and then the Department of Housing buying some of them back, (the others possibly being among those we rent off them through HAP).

gw80

Fascism.
You know you want it.

Capt'n Midnight

spotifiedman wrote: »

They say that cannibalism is the most taboo thing in almost all societies but I disagree.

Angus2018 wrote: »

Overpopulation and its effect on the future of our planet.

Which leads on to
A Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick,

Edgware

PlaneSpeeking wrote: »

Perhaps I've shared an office space with a radical feminist for too long!

I once said fathers were just as good at taking care of their children as women, and Serena Williams banging on about being a "working mom" was getting on my nerves - as she's not the only top tennis player with kids (Roger Federer has two sets of twins e.g.)

You'd think I'd suggested releasing anthrax in an orphanage!

The local mothers hate seeing fathers collecting kids from school. Thats a Mammy job that Daddys are capable of doing

DEFTLEFTHAND

Deleted User wrote: »

Conformity.

For all the talk about individualism, there are incredible pressures in society to make you conform to someone else's approved way of life.

The vast majority of people are conformers. The go with trends and fads. They back the popular line of thinking of the day for fear of been ostracised from the herd or being thought of as 'different'.

True invidualism is quite rare.

TheShockmaster

Religion, followed closely by race, then gender, sexuality coming up the rear (ooooh errr).

All of these subjects are taboo to a greater or lesser extent

Things like child abuse, suicide and substance abuse are more contemporary issues.

The extent of the taboo is dependent on the agenda of the people in the conversation.

ohnonotgmail

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Which leads on to
A Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick,

A brilliant piece of writing well worth reading.

Cookie_Monster

Hector Bellend wrote: »

Dublin isnt overpopulated really.

Its underresourced from a housing point of view.

I never get this argument. Why should Dublin (or anywhere else) just continue to grow and grow and grow and destroy all around it. Dublin IS overpopulated.

But as has been said earlier in this thread there is no-one willing to stand up and tackle the issue at a national or global level in any country.

That's easy. Challenging the all-pervasive, incessant cult of fundamentalist consumerism which marks all societies following the Anglo-American "free world" model is the outstanding taboo of our age.

The "spend, spend, spend" propaganda of today is far, far, far more pervasive than any religion has ever been in my lifetime anyway. Its role in wars - Iraq being the obvious one - and the destruction of our environment is never confronted.

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Conformity.

For all the talk about individualism, there are incredible pressures in society to make you conform to someone else's approved way of life.

Surely then conformity is very far removed from anything taboo? It is more valued in todays society to conform rather than be on the fringes.

Franz Von Peppercorn

[Deleted User] wrote: »

That's easy. Challenging the all-pervasive, incessant cult of fundamentalist consumerism which marks all societies following the Anglo-American "free world" model is the outstanding taboo of our age.

The "spend, spend, spend" propaganda of today is far, far, far more pervasive than any religion has ever been in my lifetime anyway. Its role in wars - Iraq being the obvious one - and the destruction of our environment is never confronted.

Spending had nothing to do with the Iraq war.

Purple Mountain

I think we still have a long way to go on Ireland to break free from the taboos around mental health.
It's still not culturally acceptable to return to work after a week's sick leave and announce that you were off because of a relapse of depression.

c.p.w.g.w

A dignified death.

One eyed Jack

Purple Mountain wrote: »

I think we still have a long way to go on Ireland to break free from the taboos around mental health.
It's still not culturally acceptable to return to work after a week's sick leave and announce that you were off because of a relapse of depression.

I don’t think that’s specifically to do with mental health though? I would be surprised at anyone announcing any reason for their absence on their return to work. Explain their absence to their employer without going into details, but announcing it to people would have me thinking it was a bit odd on their part. Is that what you mean by culturally unacceptable?

There’s no taboo around mental health nowadays IMO, in fact employers are far more aware of their employees and even their own mental health. It’s just that not everyone feels they need to discuss it in the workplace is all with their co-workers. That’s more a personal choice for their own privacy to be respected than it has any relation to any perceived taboo around mental health.

I really can’t think of any taboo subjects, though I wish some things were taboo, it would save me having to tell the person I don’t want to hear what they’re thinking.

suicide_circus

Paedophilia. Abhorrent to all but many things that were abhorrent have become acceptable. I don't see child abuse becoming accepted but I see the vilification of the condition coming to an end at some stage.

erica74

Abortion, gender and sexuality, mental health. I think these are specific to Ireland, I don't know if these topics are taboo elsewhere in the world although I think abortion is probably quite a taboo subject in many countries.

Franz Von Peppercorn

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Spending had nothing to do with the Iraq war.

Of course not. The invasion of Iraq was all about overthrowing an evil dictator and securing freedom for the Iraqis. Nothing to do with securing control of oil supplies for the United States and its allies...

Wanderer78

Deleted User wrote:

Of course not. The invasion of Iraq was all about overthrowing an evil dictator and securing freedom for the Iraqis. Nothing to do with securing control of oil supplies for the United States and its allies...

Don't forget about the importance of implementing 'democracy'!

James Brown

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Spending had nothing to do with the Iraq war.

The pursuit of profit was.

steamsey

Graces7 wrote: »

This is not a taboo as it comes up many times a day here on boards, but a repetetive verbal.. explosion

taboo is something never ever spoken of in public.. viewed from behind net curtains....untouchable, unmentionable. Decades ago it would be for example. someone sleeping with ( euphemism and taboo go together) someone else's wife. It was so shocking it was taboo

I understand your point but I would argue that this is a taboo in public in Ireland. Politicians won't go near it. The media won't go near it and in fact the media do the opposite - they portray these types as poor unfortunates who have been abandoned by society. I think we badly need a public (non boards.ie) debate on this topic.

Basically, at the moment, we are all supposed to feel terrible for the wasters in society - and the Varadkar example I think is a good one. It's the closest I've seen in a while to someone trying to address this topic and he was shot down - hence, no one will go near it again - it's taboo - in the public sphere at least. I wish I was wrong.

Tell me how

Antisemitism.

You think the state of Israel is responsible (through the actions of its government and military) of crimes against humanity and you are an antisemite.

Hector Bellend

myshirt wrote: »

Toss up between agalmatophilia, rubberists, and dollification.

Speaking of fetishes?

This reminds me of the documentary on youtube about the guys who are sexually attracted to their cars.

This isnt a mid life crisis thing or a mickey extension.

They are "actually" attracted to their cars.

It's called "my car is my lover".

One guy in it claims to have had sex with airwolf.

It's a dinger

kunst nugget

Farting loudly at a busy public urinal.

Grayson

One eyed Jack wrote: »

I don’t think that’s specifically to do with mental health though? I would be surprised at anyone announcing any reason for their absence on their return to work. Explain their absence to their employer without going into details, but announcing it to people would have me thinking it was a bit odd on their part. Is that what you mean by culturally unacceptable?

There’s no taboo around mental health nowadays IMO, in fact employers are far more aware of their employees and even their own mental health. It’s just that not everyone feels they need to discuss it in the workplace is all with their co-workers. That’s more a personal choice for their own privacy to be respected than it has any relation to any perceived taboo around mental health.

I really can’t think of any taboo subjects, though I wish some things were taboo, it would save me having to tell the person I don’t want to hear what they’re thinking.

That's what makes it taboo. If you were off because you broke a leg you can say that openly. If you contracted a nasty stomach bug you can say that openly, although maybe the details are taboo. If you take time off for depression, then that's not something that can be said openly without people thinking you're weird.
We have greater awareness of mental health issues but that doesn't mean that talking about it isn't taboo.

kunst nugget

Grayson wrote: »

That's what makes it taboo. If you were off because you broke a leg you can say that openly. If you contracted a nasty stomach bug you can say that openly, although maybe the details are taboo. If you take time off for depression, then that's not something that can be said openly without people thinking you're weird.
We have greater awareness of mental health issues but that doesn't mean that talking about it isn't taboo.

I took time off to have a vasectomy but I didn't come in telling everyone about it afterwards. Similarly, if I had a fight with the missus, I wouldn't be talking about it to the people in work the next day. There's lots of things people don't particularly feel like sharing with their work colleagues because at the end of it all, they are just people you work with, nothing more.

Grayson

kunst nugget wrote: »

I took time off to have a vasectomy but I didn't come in telling everyone about it afterwards. Similarly, if I had a fight with the missus, I wouldn't be talking about it to the people in work the next day. There's lots of things people don't particularly feel like sharing with their work colleagues because at the end of it all, they are just people you work with, nothing more.

It's not about what you want to share though, it's about how they take it when you said it. It could be said that sexual things are taboo. You could take some time off to get a different operation and it's normal but saying a vasectomy is likely to get some eyebrows raised.

Edit tp add: I guess with an operation or illness it depends on what it is that makes it taboo. For example of you were off sick for three days with a bad cold you just say I have a bad cold. If you had the runs for three days you say you caught a bug

But all of mental illness is off topic.

sbsquarepants

Hector Bellend wrote: »

Speaking of fetishes?

This reminds me of the documentary on youtube about the guys who are sexually attracted to their cars.

I heard an interview on the radio (Moncrieff - who else!) with a woman who was attracted to objects instead of people. It's called objectum sexual and is apparently recognised as an orientation rather than a fetish.

Technology was her thing more so than say rampant rabbits (which would have at least made some sense) She's had a string of relationships with calculators, osciloscopes and a couple of computers and other gadgets, I think there was a brief fling with a spread sheet mentioned and she was planning on getting married in a couple of months time..........to Tetris.

She sounded like a perfectly nice normal woman apart from that!

ohnonotgmail

sbsquarepants wrote: »

I heard an interview on the radio (Moncrieff - who else!) with a woman who was attracted to objects instead of people. It's called objectum sexual and is apparently recognised as an orientation rather than a fetish.

Technology was her thing more so than say rampant rabbits (which would have at least made some sense) She's had a string of relationships with calculators, osciloscopes and a couple of computers and other gadgets, I think there was a brief fling with a spread sheet mentioned and she was planning on getting married in a couple of months time..........to Tetris.

She sounded like a perfectly nice normal woman apart from that!

that sounds nearly as odd as the woman who married a bridge.

Fuzzytrooper

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

that sounds nearly as odd as the woman who married a bridge.

I hear it took her family a while to.....get over it. YEAH!!!!!

ohnonotgmail

Fuzzytrooper wrote: »

I hear it took her family a while to.....get over it. YEAH!!!!!

ARF!!

Grayson

Fuzzytrooper wrote: »

I hear it took her family a while to.....get over it. YEAH!!!!!

took a toll on them?

The One Doctor

Angus2018 wrote: »

Overpopulation and its effect on the future of our planet.

Everyone talks about global warming, famine, housing problems, poverty, mass food production, unemployment etc but so few people will say the actual reason because of the repercussions.

People, usually the privileged and students, have yacked about overpopulation for more than a century. China tried to limit the population and it failed miserably. If the world's most powerful country can't beat OP then nothing serious can be done.

In reality, it's a moot point. Contraceptives have contributed hugely to limiting population growth, as has the waning influence of the Catholic Church. Farming, logistics and cheaper food production have limited the problem further.

ohnonotgmail

The One Doctor wrote: »

People, usually the privileged and students, have yacked about overpopulation for more than a century. China tried to limit the population and it failed miserably. If the world's most powerful country can't beat OP then nothing serious can be done.

In reality, it's a moot point. Contraceptives have contributed hugely to limiting population growth, as has the waning influence of the Catholic Church. Farming, logistics and cheaper food production have limited the problem further.

It really isn't. The issue is not population growth. The issue is the disparity in growth. Europes population has increased by approx 25% since 1950. Africas by nearly 400%. Asias by 300% thanks to mostly china and india. So while we may be comfortable in europe how are asia and africa feeding all these people? The answer is that they are not. They both have issues with grinding poverty and malnutrition.

corks finest

Dundalk winning the LOI this year (not)

TheShockmaster

It's not the biggest taboo but I was watching the history of comedy tonight, and I have to say, I don't find women comedians funny. I certainly don't find them anywhere near as funny as their male counterparts.

I know it's hacky and untrue to say women aren't funny, they are, but I don't think they are as good at stand up as men. Take out the context (man centred profession, harder for a woman to succeed, the audience is largely male, comedy is subjective, etc.) and I think you would be hard pressed to argue the point.

So there's a taboo for you, if you said in a mixed group that you don't find women comedians funny, I bet you would be judged.

Franz Von Peppercorn

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Of course not. The invasion of Iraq was all about overthrowing an evil dictator and securing freedom for the Iraqis. Nothing to do with securing control of oil supplies for the United States and its allies...

Firstly you’ve changed your argument from spending causes wars to the wars being to secure oil supplies. These are completely different arguments.

The oil was being sold anyway.

The yanks invaded because of neoconservative lies and pressure, Bush was a dupe.

Franz Von Peppercorn

Tell me how wrote: »

Antisemitism.

You think the state of Israel is responsible (through the actions of its government and military) of crimes against humanity and you are an antisemite.

Yes this is the biggest taboo in the world English speaking world right now.

Franz Von Peppercorn

The One Doctor wrote: »

People, usually the privileged and students, have yacked about overpopulation for more than a century. China tried to limit the population and it failed miserably. If the world's most powerful country can't beat OP then nothing serious can be done.

In reality, it's a moot point. Contraceptives have contributed hugely to limiting population growth, as has the waning influence of the Catholic Church. Farming, logistics and cheaper food production have limited the problem further.

Only in the first world is contraceptive use reducing birth rates. Africa will have more people in 2050 than the world had in 1970

annascott

The Islamic infiltration of Europe

kunst nugget

TheShockmaster wrote: »

It's not the biggest taboo but I was watching the history of comedy tonight, and I have to say, I don't find women comedians funny. I certainly don't find them anywhere near as funny as their male counterparts.

I know it's hacky and untrue to say women aren't funny, they are, but I don't think they are as good at stand up as men. Take out the context (man centred profession, harder for a woman to succeed, the audience is largely male, comedy is subjective, etc.) and I think you would be hard pressed to argue the point.

So there's a taboo for you, if you said in a mixed group that you don't find women comedians funny, I bet you would be judged.

I think if you say to yourself that you don't find female comedians funny and you watch them with that expectation then it's going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you've made up your mind before you've seen something that it is not going to be funny, it's going to be very hard, if not impossible, for your mind to be swayed from that conviction. If you're open to the possibility of something then there is more chance of you enjoying it.

It's like classical music. I'm not hugely in awe of a lot of it but I'll still try and keep myself open to listening to it because I'll hear things that will blow me away every so often. If I were to say all classical music sucks donkey balls, I've shut myself off from enjoying any of it.

sbsquarepants

TheShockmaster wrote: »

So there's a taboo for you, if you said in a mixed group that you don't find women comedians funny, I bet you would be judged.

Fear not shockmaster, there is a cast iron way to silence the judges.

Learn this defence off by heart and repeat it word for word if confronted.

"Name one who is funny then?"

Checkmate feminazis:D

Wanderer2010

Saying "I have no friends". Try admitting that or saying it publicly or to family and watch people react as if you said you had cancer. For all our alleged progress with mental health and loneliness there is still a massive stigma to admitting you have no friends. Its as if you are diseased. Scary.

ToddyDoody

The nuclear threat.

TheShockmaster

kunst nugget wrote: »

I think if you say to yourself that you don't find female comedians funny and you watch them with that expectation then it's going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you've made up your mind before you've seen something that it is not going to be funny, it's going to be very hard, if not impossible, for your mind to be swayed from that conviction. If you're open to the possibility of something then there is more chance of you enjoying it.

It's like classical music. I'm not hugely in awe of a lot of it but I'll still try and keep myself open to listening to it because I'll hear things that will blow me away every so often. If I were to say all classical music sucks donkey balls, I've shut myself off from enjoying any of it.

I don't prejudge, I'm a big fan of standup and watch a lot of specials. While I don't watch every female stand up special, I do watch the ones I've heard are good. So it isn't a case of me having a small sample size or going in with a preconceived notion of poor quality. I personally, and I know I'm generalising here, don't find them as funny.

The taboo isn't that I find women comedians less funny, it's that you're judged as some sort of misogynist if you admit you do.

vin_petrol

Hard to say what the biggest is but the growing Islamic population is not taboo, it is discussed.

I would say a big taboo is telling the truth about so called gender equality, if you honestly assess the issue, you could not conclude that women have it worse yet this is the received wisdom.

tomofson

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Saying "I have no friends". Try admitting that or saying it publicly or to family and watch people react as if you said you had cancer. For all our alleged progress with mental health and loneliness there is still a massive stigma to admitting you have no friends. Its as if you are diseased. Scary.

I think it would hurt the individual a lot more to admit it than it would the people they are speaking to, they would just feel awkward regarding the situation.

Speaking from a loners perspective it is a very hard thing to admit to yourself.

farmerwifelet

That in this world of social media and insta everything a lot of people are very lonely. It can be very hard to make friends and keep them. Also a lot of people feel unfulfilled. I think it's why a lot of people take up extreme hobbies. Also there is a perception that if you are single in your thirties that there is something wrong with you.

Tell me how

farmerwifelet wrote: »

That in this world of social media and insta everything a lot of people are very lonely. It can be very hard to make friends and keep them. Also a lot of people feel unfulfilled. I think it's why a lot of people take up extreme hobbies. Also there is a perception that if you are single in your thirties that there is something wrong with you.

But, like other topics, it isn't really taboo is it? It is quite openly discussed.

Although, the general topic of being single long term while wanting to meet someone has been hijacked by the incel movement. To some degree.