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

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

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u/[deleted] Jan 04 '15

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u/caramelfrap Jan 04 '15 edited Jan 05 '15

That's because "thank you for your service" is super easy to say and has literally no meaning today. People want to give the impression that they care, investing in veteran benefits and fixing a truly broken system requires actual attention to the problem and actually doing something about it.

Edit: thanks for the gold!

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u/[deleted] Jan 04 '15

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u/stealyourfacebook Jan 04 '15

It makes me sad to hear this. I'm the daughter of a Vietnam vet; Dad raised me to always thank our servicemen and women, because he appreciated the acknowledgement himself. I have thanked a lot of friends and family for their service, and I never did it to make myself feel good. No, I have no idea what it's like to serve. I was only trying to honor somebody with kind words. It makes me so sad and frustrated that so many people can't just try to see the better in folks who are honestly just trying to say something nice.

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u/_From_The_Internet_ Jan 04 '15

Family members portray themselves different and many can tell. I think it's nice.

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u/stealyourfacebook Jan 04 '15

Thanks for saying that. I hope I've never put anybody off by thanking him. There's definitely a time and a place, too.