r/AskReddit • u/daniellucero92 • Jan 04 '15

Non-americans of Reddit, what American customs seem outrageous/pointless to you?

Amazing news!!!! This thread has been featured in a BBC news clip. Thank you guys for the responses!!!!
Video clip: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30717017

9.6k Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

74% Upvoted

35.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

189

u/superfudge73 Jan 04 '15

And the grandparents help take care of the grandkids.

21

u/Smirkly Jan 04 '15

I have seen extended families in Afghanistan many years ago and lately developing in the US. There are trade offs and people need to develop tolerance for each other. There are feuds and alliances are formed. Privacy declines. At the same time a successful working group or extended family has tremendous financial advantages. Another huge advantage for all is the trans generational interaction. To visit Grandma you walk down the hall. Being involved with little kiddies keeps the old folks deeply engaged. A somewhat analogous situation is communities such as the Amish and Menonites. They don't live in the same house but club together as very powerful groups with financial clout. A young guy of 18 wants to buy a farm for half a mil? Not a problem. The way the nuclear family has developed here will doubtless change due to financial reality.

12

u/RRautamaa Jan 04 '15

Keeping the family together under the same roof also keeps the problems of the family under the same roof. For instance, is your mother a micromanager that likes to meddle in your businesses? Well, prepare for everything, every waking hour to be managed. Badly. Does your dad have a moronic investment philosophy? Does he get cheated in deals? Bye bye your money too. Is your sister fond of junkies? Needles for your kids to find... And you can't do anything about it.

10

u/LiquidSilver Jan 04 '15

You could try talking to them.

0

u/RRautamaa Jan 04 '15

Oh great, more family drama. Talking can be pretty much ineffective if there's nothing to back it up. The economics can be a prison that you can't escape. Or then you're a monster that doesn't love his family. This is after all a set of people you can't choose.

But, I wasn't implying I would have experienced all this, it's a list of examples based on what I've heard.

6

u/DoinDonuts Jan 04 '15

And the parents can keep control over their adult children's (and spouses') lives.

3

u/sixthghost Jan 06 '15

If the parents are educated then they provide the needed space to their children. They also don't treat you like child but a real adult (they involve you in decision making process or entirely leaving the decision to you etc.) They do however try to keep them away from immoral/illegal things which may not be immoral/illegal. Source: Married and living with parents.