The holiday season is in full swing, and we feel like it’s the best time of the year to remember how wholesome, kind, supportive, welcoming, and selfless people can truly be, despite their perceived differences. That’s why we’re featuring the ‘Gates Open, Come On In’ subreddit, an online community of nearly 340k people today.
The online group presents itself as the exact opposite of r/gatekeeping and features folks being true legends who accept others no matter who they are, instead of angry gremlins who don’t want to let anyone new into their communities. Scroll down for some of the best anti-gatekeeping posts and hard proof that people really do have each others’ backs when push comes to shove.
Pssst, Pandas, if you’re looking to restore some more faith in humanity, then you’ll definitely want to check out Bored Panda’s previous article about some more great real-life anti-gatekeeping examples. You can read it right here.
British psychotherapist Silva Neves shared with Bored Panda his take on why some people feel the need to act as gatekeepers at all. "The theory is that it comes from our inner sense of survival. At times when we lived in tribes, it was part of survival to fear people outside of the tribe because they might have been a threat to the tribe," he explained to me. "In our modern world, to some extent, we have kept that sense of survival, although unnecessary now, but still subconsciously strong."
However, Silva notes just how much impact even small gestures of kindness can have. "When we learn to be kind to others, we're actually learning to be kind to ourselves. We need both." Scroll down for to read what he had to say about this.
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"We don't often realize that a very small gesture of kindness, even just a smile to a stranger, can trigger a chain of kindness and love to their social circle, and the ripple effects can be felt to the greater society," psychotherapist Silva shared with Bored Panda the power that even a small act of kindness can have in the world around us. In fact, we're naturally hard-wired to help others.
Everyone (Saw This Posted Somewhere Else On Reddit So Thought It'd Be Worth The Cross-Post)
Marry Whomever You Wish
"Being kind and helpful is a natural high for us, as it produced feel-good brain chemicals, so it tends to make us happier. Seeing others happy can also produce feel-good chemicals. So it is all round a very good thing for physical and mental health to be kind to ourselves and others," he said.
"If we do that, we tend to live happier lives and, even if we don't always see it, it is important to remind ourselves that any small gesture of kindness contributes to a kinder world. And, right now, the world needs a lot more kindness."
I Just Like Animals
We Can All Get Along!
Everyone Starts Somewhere
‘Action for Happiness’ explained to me earlier that altruism and kindness are closely linked to our own happiness.
"Think about how you can reach out and do things for others, help a neighbor or volunteer for a cause, we get happiness high from helping other people. Or start small and simply list three things that you can be grateful for each night before bed,” Sarah Vero from ‘Action for Happiness’ shared with Bored Panda.
According to Sarah, the 10 keys to happier living are: “Giving, relating, exercising, awareness, trying out, direction, resilience, emotions, acceptance, and meaning. We are likely to be happier if our lives have direction, meaning, and purpose and if we are part of something bigger than ourselves.”
Depression Gateopening
Read It All
Keep Doing What You Like, Support Others Who Do The Sam
Vanessa King, the Head of Psychology at ‘Action for Happiness,’ noted that we’re a social species and that helping others out is part of who we are. Being kind, lending a helping hand are the “social glue that keeps us together.”
“When we do things for others it activates the reward center in the brain, so when we give a gift it feels the same as receiving a gift," Vanessa stressed.
“Small daily actions one at a time can help us to make altruism a lifetime habit. You could start out small by deciding you are going to smile at everyone you meet or pay three people a compliment today,” she said.
You're Not A Product
I have to say the internet ruined quite a few hobbies for me. Going out to find tips and tricks and finding communities full of people who are soooooo much better at it then I’ll ever be, discourages me too much. In “ye old days” I just did whatever I liked and never knew how bad I was at it. So now I just avoid those kind of hobbies online. I’m happier not knowing if I’m good or not :)
I Love This Man More Than Certain Family Members
Damn, son, just wear a crop top and some underpants. Get those wet and you'll get some real attention.
This Is Beautiful
Human beings don’t hold a monopoly on empathy. Plenty of other animals have feelings and have demonstrated that they feel bad for other beings if they’re in trouble. For instance, a while back I wrote about an experiment on rat friendship.
As it turns out, rats help each other out if they sense that they’re distressed. However, they prefer to help rats who are most like them. Scientist Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal told Bored Panda that “rats will help others of their ingroup (cagemates and strangers of the same strain) but not the outgroup (strangers of a black-furred strain they are not familiar with).” In other words, rats are selective in who they help. However, this behavior changes the more familiar rats become with members of their outgroup.
Working People Are My People!
Always keep in mind that your employer is paying you the least amount they feel they can to keep you around(Sure, there are exceptions, but 98% are).
Art Is For Everyone
Humiliation Fetish
“The encouraging thing is that we then found that cohabitation, living with a rat from the other strain for two weeks totally changes this behavior, and now rats will help that cagemate from the other strain. Even more impressively, after living together for two weeks with one rat of the other strain, they will help strangers from the other strain as well,” Bartal said.
The scientist added that social experience is actually what determines whether or not rats help each other, not their genetic similarity. Bartal said that in one case, rats were fostered at birth with those from another strain. “Like Mowgli, they were raised with the other strain and never encountered their own kind. When they grew up, they only helped rats of the adoptive strain, not the biological strain.”
For All Relationships
With Open Arms
You Are All Right
In Bartal’s view, a lot of the discussion on animal empathy gets stuck on semantic issues. “For instance, the definition of empathy, how can we say that animals really feel empathy the same way we do. But empathy is a construct. We don’t even know what it is in humans really!” she said.
“I operate on the assumption that there is an evolutionary continuum between species, and that the basic building blocks of our responses are shared. Being sensitive to distress in others and motivated to care about their suffering is as old as the moment mother and child became connected for survival after birth.”
I Liked This One
Exactly! I almost always play easy mode, because I suck at them, but still enjoy them. Gaming is supposed to be fun, relaxing and a way to escape reality, not a second job! Unless it is your job, of course :D
Can’t Decide Whether This Belongs Here Or In Humansbeingbros
Have A Seat, Enjoy The View, Everyone Is Welcome
Pros And Cons Of GF...
Anyone Can Play Games
Yay for “mature” gamers. I’m 50 and still a gamer, and will be as long as I can.
I want to do the same, and thank you for letting people know this is normal
Load More Replies...I am a 68 year old woman and just started martial arts training. It ain't over till it's over.
44 and still playing strong. I'm not a gamer because i have no life. I'm a gamer because i chose to have many. :3
51. AC Odyssey is my current game of choice, what an epic! Also, a recent study found professional drivers (me, again) who game are measurably better at their jobs re: focus, risk assessment, and both situational and peripheral awareness.
I loved AC Odyssey! Wasn’t really into the AC games too much, then bought odyssey as it was on special. I finished Far Cry 6 several weeks ago. Now in between games as Dying Light 2 has been pushed back to Feb
Load More Replies...I'm 56, have been playing computer games since 1977. Spent most of 1977 through 1986 playing RPGs, D&D, AD&D, TRAVELLER, and more. Never let anyone steal your joy. As far as being a "mature" gamer, however that's not me! I was told if you don't reach maturity by 50, you don't have to. I made it! My children, all in their 20s are much more mature than I'll ever be 😋
There is nothing wrong with being a gamer. However, there is something wrong with judging gamers.
I play for so long, but my reflexes are still bad and i notice i got slower over the years.
I'm 47 and I used to be top ranked globally in some online games. Now I just play offline and I enjoy it very much even though I'm not as sharp as I used to be. Games are fun and you shouldn't be worrying about your reflexes and score. You just sit back and enjoy it on easy level.
Load More Replies...I started playing video games at 54. They're fun, and I spent many years not having fun.
When I'm old we could do a Counter Strike LAN party at my senior residency! You know, like in the olden days were everyone would bring along their computer, you would all cram into a room far too small for so many people and pcs, close the blinds, never open the window, order pizza and not sleep for two days.
I really wish I could be responsible enough to have a gaming console. I had to get rid of mine because I was staying up all night on too many nights, playing. Not good when you work full-time! I was early thirties when I got rid of the last one and, now 51, I still don't feel like I have any self-control. Particularly now that I work from home most of the time...
I learned in college that any games that include challenges, and make you master levels to advance to new, and more difficult, levels are the real brain games, not necessarily the games that bill themselves as “brain games”.
Let me guess… someone stole his sweet roll. (Age 48 here, played for first time 6 years ago)
That last sentence is utter perfection. I still play Skyrim, and still go on plenty of adventures despite taking an arrow to the knee. My Skyrim husband is perfectly content to live in my giant mansion in Windhelm, managing his shop and cooking me food when I visit him to drop off loot. Note to anyone playing Skyrim: Farkas is the BEST husband. His story arc is a beautiful one, as is the backstory of his character. Complete the Companions storyline before marrying him, though, or you'll have to be startled when he alternates between "my dear" or "my love" and "sister" or "new blood".
My husband and I met at 22, when I hired him at GameStop (he was one month out of the USMC, I was a single mother). 16 years later, we still game together-- and with our children as well.
I wish I had the same amount of idle time as I did when I were younger. I miss Skyrim. That's a game where I need ten hours a day to submerge myself in. Work and adult responsibilities made it too difficulty for me.
My mum is 64 and has over 750 hours in Age of Empires II HD. And this is after I bought it for her on my Steam. She played it (and the original) long before that.
I also took an arrow to the knee, for a fellow gamer, so we get to be duo partners forever. Yay!
We had a woman at my parents' assisted living who was 101, and sharp to the end. She did word puzzles every day. Although we still think the daily chocolate Cokes had something to do with it, too.
I can't game anymore because of neural problems in my arms and hands, but I support other senior adults who do!
Also: CYOAs and RPGs for decision making, Sandbox like Roblox Studio and Minecraft for creativity, and Wii or Ring Fit Adventure or VR for a workout.
I'm on the wrong side of 40 and still game. I'm immature you say? Well you aren't wrong. I'm still pretty much that kid but now with grey hair.
Holdup- so that one ad about surgeons gaming was actually correct?
Wow... you took an arrow in the knee... you gotta start hanging with more chill gamers...
I cut my teeth on Pong, baby. Nothing scares me. Nothing bores me either 'cause, let's face it, that thing was Dullsville and I logged hundreds of hours, lol! 57 here, proud gamer of many moons.
That last sentence xD (meanwhile I sadly destroyed my skyrim with too many mods oops)
I will be that guy when I’m his age, eagerly waiting for the next great RPG and loving the improvement in graphics and artwork that are in them and hoping to play a mage class with the ability to jump
My partner and I were unable to see each other during lockdown. So we took a Minecraft and caught up online. It was so much fun and we still do it now during the week.
I don't understand why people see video games as such a bad thing, playing video games while I wasn't studying is the part that eventually got me the job that I have now.
Years ago I bought my dad 'Panzer Elite' (a WWII tank game) for Xmas. He got so into it he made custom maps and such and was quite involved in the online community. His online avatar was a photo of WWII GI standing in front of a Jeep. No one even realized the GI in the pic was actually him taken in 1945.
My Nan used to play Tetris all the time. Even spent the whole day playing on here "playboy"
Post-brain tumor, my gaming mom .... still games. Don't mess with her if there's a treasure hunt involved.
Love Love Skyrim. Been playing for 10 years, then the anniversary addition update broke my mods and I had to rework my whole mod list. Just got it back to being playable again.
You can do any damn thing you please! Somebody's always going to be pissy about what you do. Ignore those idiots.
I'm a gamer too. Family get fed up with me when I keep saying 'Ezio could climb that' but I'll see ya all in Skyrim.
Liberal Arts
Gaming Is For Everyone
My dad never had any sons. He introduced his two daughters to video games and motorcycle racing. I became a lifelong gaming enthusiast, and my little sister bought a motorbike. :D
Respect To You For Doing Anything
Drink What You Like!!!
Spread The Positivity
A Novel‘S Worth Of Nerd S**t
Let People Be Happy
Wholesome Hotel
Let's Just Love Everyone
If anyone wants to continue the heartwarming goodwill, Jewish Voice for Peace is a great organization that supports Palestinian self-determination, supports peace and justice in the Middle East, and stands against anti-Jewish, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab bigotry.
Like What You Like
Everyone Is Welcome On This Server
Does This Doormat Count?
Vegan BBQ
You're Never Too Old For Success
This Subreddit In A Nutshell. This Applies To So Many Communities
When The Old Becomes New Again
Love Is Always Valid. Assume The Best First!
this! i am truly loved for the first time in my life, and im in my early 40s. its amazing and i want to share that. If you've always had that it might seem a bit lame to post about it, but take a second to consider experiencing it for the first time
Love What You Are
No Beer Is Girly Beer
I Love My Grandma So Much. She Got Her Point Across Without Being Mean To The Family Friend
Can't Argue With Mom!
Like What You Like
You can find men or women attractive and it not be sexual at all...
There's Some Logic There
As A Metal Head, Everyone Is Welcome!
Vent’s Open Come On In
Fire
Play The Game Any Way You Want
Note: this post originally had 79 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Lovely post! I agree with them all, and forgive me I know I'll get down voted, but I just don't feel comfortable with gender neutral toilets. For no other reason than the fact there are some real dangerous creeps in this world. It just scares me I guess.
Over 20 years ago I studied in Copenhagen and the school had gender neutral toilets. They still have them and it was absolutely no problem when I was there. What I always wonder, why do apparently a lot of people honestly think a "women only"-sign will somehow keep male rapists out of women's bathrooms? An insane amount of women and girls have already been molested or worse in "their" (public) bathroom by despicable bastards. Men and boys have been molested in their bathrooms by despicable bastards. Most people are decent folks, so don't fear average dudes in your bathroom. It also smells a wee bit of transphobia, too, especially when trans people don't "pass".
Load More Replies...I know this maybe the same post as before but I still want to do it. To all the people reading this: You are beautiful, you are unique, you have so much talents. You are a special protagonist in your story. This may be the end of 2021. If there's any good things happen in your life, keep moving forward because it's not the end of the story, this is a new chapter of your life. If bad things had happened to you, don't stop, keep marching, because you are in your character development story. We may have never meet face to face before, but we are friends that shaking hands and said how do you do, no matter where we are from, what color we have, if we are are part of queer or not or what religions we follow. May your day fill with rainbows
Genuine Q: is there a label for people who don't like labels? No problem with other people doing it if it works for them but I've always struggled to think of myself as anything except just a person and I don't like feeling I have to pick a box and stay in it.
I agree entirely! I remember being in school (a little before gender fluid etc was as present in the media) and going 'I like this, but don't really fit into this group' etc. I don't think you need to label yourself or others, it doesn't effect how I interact with people and why should it? I don't even find job titles something I need to know about people in my personal life.
Load More Replies...You know I find it funny that boredpanda takes a lot of its content from Reddit but practically everyone on Reddit hates boredpanda because if all the liberals lol
Lovely post! I agree with them all, and forgive me I know I'll get down voted, but I just don't feel comfortable with gender neutral toilets. For no other reason than the fact there are some real dangerous creeps in this world. It just scares me I guess.
Over 20 years ago I studied in Copenhagen and the school had gender neutral toilets. They still have them and it was absolutely no problem when I was there. What I always wonder, why do apparently a lot of people honestly think a "women only"-sign will somehow keep male rapists out of women's bathrooms? An insane amount of women and girls have already been molested or worse in "their" (public) bathroom by despicable bastards. Men and boys have been molested in their bathrooms by despicable bastards. Most people are decent folks, so don't fear average dudes in your bathroom. It also smells a wee bit of transphobia, too, especially when trans people don't "pass".
Load More Replies...I know this maybe the same post as before but I still want to do it. To all the people reading this: You are beautiful, you are unique, you have so much talents. You are a special protagonist in your story. This may be the end of 2021. If there's any good things happen in your life, keep moving forward because it's not the end of the story, this is a new chapter of your life. If bad things had happened to you, don't stop, keep marching, because you are in your character development story. We may have never meet face to face before, but we are friends that shaking hands and said how do you do, no matter where we are from, what color we have, if we are are part of queer or not or what religions we follow. May your day fill with rainbows
Genuine Q: is there a label for people who don't like labels? No problem with other people doing it if it works for them but I've always struggled to think of myself as anything except just a person and I don't like feeling I have to pick a box and stay in it.
I agree entirely! I remember being in school (a little before gender fluid etc was as present in the media) and going 'I like this, but don't really fit into this group' etc. I don't think you need to label yourself or others, it doesn't effect how I interact with people and why should it? I don't even find job titles something I need to know about people in my personal life.
Load More Replies...You know I find it funny that boredpanda takes a lot of its content from Reddit but practically everyone on Reddit hates boredpanda because if all the liberals lol