Social Question

cookieman's avatar

What is something you simply cannot wrap your head around?

Asked by cookieman (41827points) June 12th, 2011 from iPhone

Jellies are an intelligent, even-tempered bunch who can civilly disagree and work to see all sides of an argument (in my experience).

But what is the one topic, regardless of how well it’s explained to you – independent of your capacity for empathy – that you simply cannot understand. Where you can’t possibly see yourself making that choice, or feeling that way. Where you simply say, “no fucking way could I do/believe/be that.”

And maybe, to yourself, you shake your head in disbelief at the people who do.

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65 Answers

Coloma's avatar

Lack of personal responsibility.
The insane kitchen sinking people can do to avoid the facts of their misconduct!

Hawaii_Jake's avatar

Capital punishment.

jonsblond's avatar

Spending $50 to get my nails done.

Blondesjon's avatar

That a child molester/rapist is a victim too.

Cruiser's avatar

@jonsblond Why did you do it then??

Everything else in life has it’s reasons…if I don’t understand or appreciate whatever it may be I change the channel. Let it be!

cookieman's avatar

@josie: That is reprehensible (and an interesting post after @hawaii_jake)‘s

Coloma's avatar

People that leave their dogs locked in cars on 80, 90, 100 degree days. :-?

chyna's avatar

Animal cruelty of any kind.

cookieman's avatar

@Coloma: I saw that once when I was a teenager. Poor dog looked like he was gonna die – so I busted the front window and called the police from a pay phone.

Coloma's avatar

People that yank little toddlers around by their poor tiny arms. Grrrr!

Berserker's avatar

Anti abortion. Sorry, guess I’m all evil and shit.

jonsblond's avatar

@Cruiser Oh no. I would never do that. I meant I would never spend that much to get my nails done. Ridiculous if you ask me. I’m sitting here with dirt under my nails from pulling weeds today. :)

Michael_Huntington's avatar

Hipsters.
There’s nothing “cool” about listening to boring bands and drinking shitty beer.

Coloma's avatar

And, how hard is it to not burn garlic bread? lol

faye's avatar

About any cruelty where the big guy is awful to the weaker ones, kids, animals, slaves, and whatever else.

cookieman's avatar

@jonsblond: Can’t John give you a manicure?

@Coloma: Wow. You’re on a roll here.

@faye: Yes. Abuse of natural power. I can’t see that either.

Bellatrix's avatar

There are a number of things I cannot make sense of. These are a few of those things.

Racism. I just don’t get it. How can whole groups of people or individuals be judged and treated differently purely based on race?
Child abuse. I understand how a parent can lose it and in the heat of the moment harm their child but when I hear of cases of continued cruelty to children, I am left dumbfounded.
Animal cruelty. Same as above. Some of the cases we hear about just are not fathomable. I don’t understand how people can be so intentionally cruel.
Homelessness. When I see people sleeping on the street, I feel ashamed. I live in one of the richest countries in the world, why can’t we provide a safe place to sleep for everyone.

gailcalled's avatar

How I could have lived without a cat for much of my life.

Coloma's avatar

@cprevite

Well, the garlic bread thing was just a whim. lol

I cannot fathom how anyone can go to war, murder, be murdered, and ever feel any kind of peace, ever again.

tinyfaery's avatar

How people so easily get rid of their pets when faced with small obstacles.

Ayn Rand devotees.

chyna's avatar

@gailcalled Really. What were you thinking?

sliceswiththings's avatar

That the universe is everything.

Coloma's avatar

—@gailcalled—

Isn’t it great how, if we are not dead, we can keep changing?
I’m learning to like how the lizards blend into my sheer crushed voile curtains.
It’s a new concept in decorating. haha

obvek's avatar

How tires keep cars, etc. from careening off the road.

Cruiser's avatar

@jonsblond If you are ever up in my neck of the woods I know of a salon that will do your nails and give you a full on foot massage for $25.00…totally worth it!

jonsblond's avatar

@Cruiser I’d rather have a n 1/8th of pot and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. ;)

did I say that out loud?

_zen_'s avatar

You had me at intelligent, even-tempered bunch – my list is too long, but I agree with many of the intelligent, even-tempered comments above.

cookieman's avatar

I cannot fathom how anyone can go to war, murder, be murdered, and ever feel any kind of peace, ever again.

@Coloma: This is one of mine also.

cookieman's avatar

@Bellatrix: I’m glad you bring up the point about a parent (or pet owner) snapping (under poorly-managed stress) and harming their child/pet once. It’s wrong for sure, but I can see it happening.

But repeated, almost systematic abuse? I can’t see that at all.

jerv's avatar

- How anybody can mistake Sarah Palin for an actual, viable politician.

- How the richest nation on Earth has so many starving/homeless people, complains about taxes being too high on a group that pays less than the middle class, and allows the biggest, richest companies to actaully get money from us taxpayers every tax day.

- How Apple turned from a tech company into a cult.

I have a long list of others, but it’s past my bedtime :p

ucme's avatar

Pissant blokes who hit/abuse women & parents who abuse their children in a number of despicable ways.
Oh & how those big metal shiny birds get to fly….what’s all that about eh? ;¬}

ninjacolin's avatar

I find myself to be very empathetic to perspectives in general. Lately, I feel like I really get how diverse opinions can become and why. I’m shocked when I hear a new opinion but I’m no longer surprised that they might exist.

Stinley's avatar

Quantum physics. Makes my head explode. But then so do simple mathematical problems.

@hawaii_jake me too against capital punishment. Cold blooded killing people is wrong and I just don’t get how it can be made right

Mariah's avatar

The reckless, invincible mindset that most other people my age seem to have.

Coloma's avatar

I second the no on capitol punishment.
Again, the things the human mind can reconcile.
Killing a killer somehow makes one exempt from being a killer themselves.

I joke about hanging people on my property from the big oak on the big horse, but…. humor is a far cry from reality.

Blackberry's avatar

People that follow a religion. I don’t care if you believe in god, but why entertain the extraneous BS?

AmWiser's avatar

The fact that we are in the age of computers, yet they won’t cant eliminate computer viruses so that people can enjoy the technology. I just don’t understand…

woodcutter's avatar

That America is the freest country on Earth. Why does it cost so much to live here?

OpryLeigh's avatar

Space, I have never been able to get my head around the sheer size of space.

As far as the human race and their behaviour is concerned I can’t understand animal abusers (or anyone that harm something weaker than them – children, the elderly etc).

I also can’t accept the amount of people that are willing to live off the benefit system without even attempting to hold down a job.

jerv's avatar

@Leanne1986 By the same token, I can’t understand how some people think that everyone who is on public assistance or unemployment, without exception, is milking the system and looking for a free ride.

Raven_Rising's avatar

Magnets…how the hell do they work :)

Seriously though, I can’t wrap my brain around lack of compassion, lack of pride in one’s work or sitting on one’s ass, complaining about the status quo and making no effort to change it.

bkcunningham's avatar

A windshield. I’ve tried twice and it didn’t work either time. I have the scars to prove it. Man, I must have a hard head.

Coloma's avatar

@bkcunningham

Really? head-windshield collision?
Yikes, do hard heads run in the family? lol ;-)

bkcunningham's avatar

I couldn’t wrap my head around it…ha ha. My small attempt at humor. Yes, hard heads do run in the family.

Coloma's avatar

Okay, a personal pet peeve living in the hills/mountains.
WHY do people have to use Roundup and turn all the roadsides an ugly, dead yellow?

Why not just weed eat and leave the poison alone?

I can’t stand putting gallons of chemicals into our earth and groundwater. I don’t care how ‘safe’ ‘THEY’ claim them to be!

OpryLeigh's avatar

@jerv I agree with that thought also. I know a lot of people that have no choice but to live on benefits and I’d hate people to think badly of them without knowing the facts.

mattbrowne's avatar

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

woodcutter's avatar

Why my dog eats found shit off the ground and I feed her some of the best dog chow money can buy.makes me want to shit fire.

Blondesjon's avatar

@mattbrowne . . . even though the sound of it might seem quite atrocious . . .

Berserker's avatar

@mattbrowne I’ve had that once.

Coloma's avatar

Where the hell is the Western Tanager hiding in the tree tops in my pasture, singing night and day, over & over & over again, it defies the best binoculars money can buy. haha

gailcalled's avatar

@Coloma: The tanager is lurking, by default, where your binoculars were just pointing or where they are about to point.

mattbrowne's avatar

@Symbeline – Was it atrocious?

bkcunningham's avatar

I didn’t know there was a cure, @mattbrowne.

Berserker's avatar

@mattbrowne I was joking lol. I just looked it up…wow. Lol.

Coloma's avatar

@gailcalled

I guess he can’t wrap his little birdie mind around the sad fact that he is the ONLY Tanager on this hill right now Maybe if I sing MORE, she will come.

bkcunningham's avatar

I grew up in the coalfields and I’ve seen black lung first hand @Symbeline. It is a terrible death.

Schroedes13's avatar

My mind gets all fuzzy and muddled when I try to think of myself after death. The absence of Kyle or the idea of myself before I was born.

ninjacolin's avatar

Yeah, @Schroedes13.. I guess those two concepts are ultimately unimaginable in some real sense.

Schroedes13's avatar

@ninjacolin It’s actually a very weird sensation when I try and visualize or imagine it. In some strange way, I enjoy it too.

flutherother's avatar

People who go to a beauty spot to drop litter.

vs11v's avatar

The 24th of January. It makes me sad but I totally have no idea why!

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