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Hey Pandas, What’s Something You Once Believed Strongly But Have Since Changed Your Mind About? (Closed)
Over time, our perspectives shift as we learn, grow, and experience new things. Sometimes the beliefs we once held tightly are the very ones we later let go of. I’d love to hear, what’s something you once believed strongly but have since changed your mind about?
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#1
Religion.
As a teenager and young adult struggling with poverty and domestic violence, I relied heavily on religion (Eastern Orthodoxy). It was the only comfort available at the time. As I moved away from my toxic family, I opened up. I continued reading and meeting new people. Little by little I started questioning religion and its fixed ideas.
I saw their hypocrisy and shallow rules. Their greed, their hatred, their focus on obtaining power and influence. The way they tried to cover up and minimize cases of r4pe on minors (when rap1sts were high-rank church officials). The way they shame women, encouraging them to stay in abus1ve relationships because "this is your cross, given by God".
I no longer believe that going to church is "mandatory"; neither are following their rules, nor the donations that every believer is expected to make.
Sure, there are cases of priests who are amazing persons and live up to their mission in their communities; but they are rather the exception, not the rule.
Final score:
28points
RELATED:
#2
I used to believe I was of average intelligence. But then came anti-vaxxers, flat earthers, and DJT won a second term in office, and I realized I'm a goddamned genius. And that should terrify the hell out of all of us.
Final score:
26points
John Sanborn 2 months ago
Think about the average person, now realize that half of them are dumber then that.
#4
That hard work will be rewarded. The only thing you get from hard work is more work.
Final score:
21points
#5
I used to believe we were going to be OK. As a society. That is all out the window now.
Final score:
14points
StrangeOne 2 months ago
I'm genuinely scared. The USA scares tf out of me. I'm worried they will do to Canada as they did to Hawaii. I'm also concerned a full on WW3 is going to happen. I feel I should ration canned goods right now. Even though things in Canada seem stable enough.
#6
The fact that by and large people are not so gullible that they believe stupid ideas like "flat earth" , moon landings not happening, contrails and what have you. Education should have taken care of that.
Final score:
12points
#7
That grown ups know what they're doing and have the answers. I'm now a grown up and I know sod all, just like everybody else. We're all faking having it together and being competent at life.
Final score:
12points
#8
The USA government. I used to believe that they made laws and regulations, for the most part, to help the greater good. I no longer believe that and likely never will again. Even if everything was put back to the way it was before DJT, I will never believe that the government cares about any of the citizens except the extremely rich.
Final score:
11points
BeesEelsAndPups 2 months ago
Here's the thing, and this will be long so I'm sorry. The problem is one of money, which you already knew, but perhaps you don't know how and why. In my experience, having known a number of politicians, MOST of them run for office because they are honestly looking to improve people's lives. Many are just the like the rest of us, and have no idea how to actually do that, but they are still honest people. So they run for local office, win a local election and sit on their town's board of supervisors, or whatever. And there they do some good stuff. And they think, I could do even more good stuff if I can run for the County board of supervisors. But to do that they need to raise money. So they go to a set of local businesses, who agree to donate money so they can move up in power. But doing so now leaves them indebted to those donors. They expect favors, but they are still small donors and the favors are rather small.
#9
I used to believe strongly that the problems of society existed because powerful people simply didn't care enough to fix them. Pessimism turned into misanthrope...for too long I believed that humans were horrible because what COULD be done never was done. However, I now know that such complex problems require much more than that base-level blame. Most humans are doing the best they can to be the best they can. The bond of unity in humanity is our fallibility. Every person is broken in some way (some more shattered than others). None are perfect and few are maliciously destructive. Have hope, dear Pandas! Good is far more common in people than the loudness of evil would lead us to believe.
Final score:
10points
TotallyNOTAFox 2 months ago (edited)
Best case scenario for people is to meet others that can compensate for each other's broken parts
#10
Hope. As a young man I used to believe that the world was improvable and the improvements were happening. Now I'm old, and I look at a world that my generation has bequeathed to our descendants, and it devoid of any hope, any promise; just a boot crushing the human spirit forever.
Final score:
10points
TotallyNOTAFox 2 months ago
The benefit of pessimism - Either you're right or you get positively surprised
#11
The goodness of humankind.
Final score:
9points
Silberwolf 2 months ago
Good and bad are subjective evaluations, based on one's own social context, upbringing etc...never something absolute. Yes, that makes life more complicated, but also more realistic.
#12
- God...As a child/young teenager I was actually afraid of God and his judgement etc.. Now I know that God is just a metaphor respectively a projection of human ideals and wishes
- That adults know the solution to all of life's problems/that they have figured it all out...Now I know that many adults are just children trying to somehow get along
Final score:
8points
#13
The fact that people of different backgrounds can live together and have an harmonious existence
Final score:
7points
BeesEelsAndPups 2 months ago
We can, we just have to be educated enough to understand that our own backgrounds are not inherently better than that of others.
#14
Back in the 90s, I thought we were moving towards less unrealistic body/beauty standards for women. But it's gotten far, far worse. And now, men have been dragged into it. So sad. It causes oodles of problems.
Similarly, I (in the US) thought that there were just a tiny minority of crusty old people who were racist left in the US. Boy was I ever wrong! Racists abound here. They were just silenced in polite discourse (as they should have been) for quite a while.
Final score:
7points
Harry Gondalf 2 months ago
Speaking of rācism, how about that guy who recently stābbed the girl to deāth on the subway? I saw a longer video showing him walking up and down the coach, announcing that he had just stābbed "a whīte girl." Somehow this wasn't a rācist act.; the media reported that the perpetrator was 'derānged.' But if a Caucasian guy had stābbed a blāck girl, there would be rioting in the streets because of rācism.
#15
Just to lighten the mood a little: I used to believe wholeheartedly that to say the word "balk" you pronounce the "L" in the word. Like...ball, with a K at the end. I'm 41 years old and just learned last year 2024 that you in fact do not pronounce the L in the word.
Final score:
5points
#16
The supremacy of humans. We're all essentially taught this and believe it. Now I see us as just clever animals that caught some lucky breaks. We can and will fade away as easily as anything else on the planet.
Final score:
5points
#17
Dating
I once believed that finding the “right” partner was the missing puzzle piece to a happy life. I thought being single meant I wasn’t complete yet, and that dating someone who shared my off-the-beaten-path lifestyle was the only way to fill that gap. But after dating men who saw me as someone to conquer, a prize than a partner, men who tried to change me into a girlfriend who existed to support them, I realized something important. Peace, freedom, and joy aren’t things someone else can give me. They’re things I can give myself. And that’s far more fulfilling than chasing someone who doesn’t want the real me, only a version they can mold into their “ideal” girlfriend or wife to cheat on.
Yes, I know not all men are like that. But enough of them are that I no longer see dating as worth pursuing. What I once thought I needed, I’ve discovered I already had in myself.
Final score:
5points
#18
Humans being smart and animals being dumb. Too much evidence to the contrary over the years. We're just an animal with thumbs and base our superiority on our ability to build.
That's evident in the way we treated peoples who didn't build so much as well.
Many have learned to communicate our way, few humans have learned animals way. The few that have been studied, they have language, the have names, they have the same things we do.
The stupidity of humans, the nonsense we believe, the insistence of it without evidence and even with evidence to the contrary. Nope we're not the cleverest anything.
Final score:
4points
#19
Politics. I was beyond excited when I voted in my first federal election. I hate that with most elections; I'm choosing the least wretched candidate. There are some interesting *third* parties that I have supported. Yet every time I bring the subject up, I'm accused of "wasting" my vote. The only wasted vote is the one that was never cast.
Final score:
4points
Auntriarch 2 months ago
The notion of a wasted vote is sold by the main parties who want to discourage you from spending it on another party
#20
That the internet would create a revolution in global cooperation and thinking, unfortunately in went the way of VHS, "The internet is for p**n"
Final score:
3points
BeesEelsAndPups 2 months ago
Lol, if the internet were just p*rn, we'd all be better off. The problem is social media.
#21
Peace.
We all want it. We "fight" for it. Peacefully. In what part of history did the dictator just up and say sorry because the people peacefully protested? None that I recall being taught. The despots, the dictators... All laughed at the strongly worded letters. Sometimes you have to bypass the peaceful protesting and actually get your hands dirty.
Final score:
3points
#22
That I would finally have some friends as an adult. More fool me.
Final score:
3points
Emilu 2 months ago (edited)
Hi Smeg! Good to see you; haven't seen you around for a while. I hope you're well! I think it's more difficult to make friends as an adult... you pretty much have to rely on colleagues (which some people are dead against) unless you join clubs, group activities, etc -- not my thing, personally, but some people swear by them. It's not like school when you're 'forced' to exist with people, or uni where you at least have shared interests such as the course you're studying. I'm fortunate enough to have several friends (former colleagues, and probably not 'ride and die' friends, but I'll take what I can get), but I had no luck at either school or uni. Not sure what that says about me. 🤷🏽♀️ Just know that this random internet stranger always has your back. We can be friendless together, woo! /s Anyway, great to net-see you ❤️
#23
Raised strictly Catholic in my parents' home (we even went to temples of other faiths abroad because it was Sunday),
I have discarded this filter of belief (including in other deities), which should never influence politics. Be human.
Final score:
3points
#24
Humans being smart and animals being dumb. Too much evidence to the contrary over the years. We're just an animal with thumbs and base our superiority on our ability to build.
That's evident in the way we treated peoples who didn't build so much as well.
Many have learned to communicate our way, few humans have learned animals way. The few that have been studied, they have language, the have names, they have the same things we do.
The stupidity of humans, the nonsense we believe, the insistence of it without evidence and even with evidence to the contrary. Nope we're not the cleverest anything.
Final score:
2points
#25
Dressing and acting the position you want, gets you the position you want.
Dressing for rolls above your present roll has proven impractical for the job, and managers and supervisors do not want regular employees to overstep their position. It's backlashed on me. You have to make it clear to them you want a higher roll when the opportunity comes along and then it's up them to assess if they think you'd make a good supervisor or manager. You really don't have as much control over promotions as you think you do.
Final score:
2points
#26
American Politics. I may not agree with Charlie Kirk, but this is just disgusting. Murdering a literal father over politics is just cruel. I didn't agree with everything he said, but America is a society where we can agree to disagree peacefully in civilly. America is not a society where we MURDER someone because they had a different political opinion.
Anyone who's saying that he deserved it, YOU don't deserve to live in a Democratic Nation. You do NOT deserve to be an American. A real American lives in a democracy where you can disagree with each other, and still live in a peaceful society. A false American is one who kills his opponent because they're different from him. Charlie wasn't a politician, he was a normal person just like us.
Final score:
2points
Emilu 2 months ago (edited)
I'm not American and I don't agree with pretty much anything Charlie condoned, but I completely agree with you. Nobody deserves to be murdered for believing something alone. I'm personally of the belief that if you act on it and it harms others (eg: the orange one) then yeah, maybe...? 🤷🏽♀️ But, seriously, being killed simply for expressing your beliefs? No. Argue respectfully, like Charlie did. He had his views, and lots of people -- including me -- disagreed with those. But he never took the lower road (which normally I'd say be resorting to insulting the person with whom he disagreed. Killing them should never enter the equation).
#27
lots of people are saying religion but I'm quite the opposite.
I was raised in an atheist family and for a lot of my really young child I was against Christianity, mostly due to the fact my mama is a very political lady and explained a lot of political concepts to me at a young age (like, at the age of 11 I was against the harm religion dose to non or alternate religious community's)
recently though, (like the past 6 months to a year) I have really gotten into finding a religion to follow, not because I need an escape or I believe their HAS to be a god, but because of the sort of satisfaction of believing there is something out there.
when I was young, like 10 or so, my mother got me the book 'Percy Jackson's Greek gods' and 'Percy Jackson's Greek hero's' which really got me into Greek mythology (I dressed up as Demeter for book week, carrying around that 3-4kg book for the entire day for crying out loud, i even did a whole assessment on the part of my book that explained how Kronos ate his kids in my 7th grade class)
I'm currently an agonist Hellenist which means I follow Hellenism (the belief of Greek gods) while believing we will truly never know if gods do exist or what gods do exist. while I don't worship (yet) Greek myth has always fascinated me.
I have lost the belief that all religions are harmful and that people that do believe in them are uneducated. it's the religion, not the religious doing the harm.
sorry if this is hard to read! I'm dyslexic :D
Final score:
2points
Ineke Pronk 2 months ago
To me, I am not against religion. If someone needs to believe in a God(s) to make sense of their life. To have a reason to do good thing, fine. Religion is NOT a problem. PEOPLE following a religion CAN be a problem. Just because the bible has good lessons, doesn't mean the priests that harm kids are doing the right thing. So many people do terrible things and hide behind the claim of religion to pretend they are right and blessed.
#28
I believed in democracy and that the American people would not let it fail.
Final score:
1point
NotAThreat (he/her) 2 months ago
democracy isn't the problem, its capitalism and the fascists that get elected, lots of country's use democracy. democracy isn't the problem.
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