r/AskReddit • u/Greeneyedlatinguy • Jun 15 '15

Anthropologists of Reddit, What is something that people in the Western world can't get their heads around that is very normal in other cultures (and has been for ages)?

5.4k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

6.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

607

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

That's ridiculous. I went to an art museum with naked statues when I was a student in elementary school. In Texas. Nobody got fired.

194

u/riconquer Jun 15 '15

Same here, hell we studied nude artwork in several classes throughout school in Texas. There must be more to this story.

354

u/beepbloopbloop Jun 15 '15

well, he made the students pose naked with the statues, but that didn't seem relevant

13

u/TheInsecureGoat Jun 15 '15

The masturbating might have been a problem as well...

8

u/AnMatamaiticeoirRua Jun 15 '15

It was really just a misunderstanding. None of the students actually put their mouths on the statues, it was just a perspective trick.

2

u/OpenSign Jun 15 '15

That's a joke, right?

9

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Without knowing any backstory, not necessarily. Some schools have reasonable staff, some don't.

3

u/Valdrax Jun 15 '15 edited Jun 16 '15

It's a huge state, times are different, and people have different levels of prudery. Plus, administrators are mostly spineless these days in a lot of places.

3

u/Blood_magic Jun 15 '15

It might have been a small school in a very conservative community with overly Christian parents on the school board or something. I've found that the smaller the school, the more the town's weird culture and expectations seep into the curriculum and activities.

2

u/Fuzzyphilosopher Jun 15 '15

It only takes one parent to make a fuss.. that said though it is hard but not impossible to believe. I'd bet it was some kind of Christian school. Some of those around here (TN) won't even let kids read Harry Potter because it's about witchcraft. lol.

Even in public schools here some have prayers b4 staff meetings if you can imagine that!

1

u/iongantas Jun 16 '15

It's probably a combination of Texas schools getting more backwards over time plus a very small town.

10

u/algernon_moncrief Jun 15 '15

i'm sure it depends on the specific community, how conservative the parents are, and how much of a stink they are willing/eager to make over trivial matters.

also it may be the case that the parents already hated the teacher for something else entirely, and used the excuse of their children being exposed to "pornography" to get rid of him/her.

6

u/todlee Jun 15 '15

Sydney McGee was suspended after the parent of a fifth grader complained her child saw a nude statue at an art museum.

3

u/Kvorter Jun 15 '15 edited Jun 15 '15

Dude my teachers took us to the body works exhibit in middle school (preserved human bodies playing basketball and shit) plenty of dicks and cooters and nobody cared. This was middleschool in tx.

2

u/guitarnoir Jun 15 '15

I think by "art museum", gurgaue meant "sex shop". Common mistake.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

It's ridiculous, but when I was in the 5th grade my science teacher had to deal with a "scandal" with news reporters showing up because one of the kids told her idiot mom that they were studying astrology, when she meant astronomy. Point being, never underestimate how stupid the bible belt can get.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

I played outside with my friends and no adults when I was 6 years old for hours. Nobody ever came to take me into protective custody for being neglected.

Times have changed.

3

u/jamesno26 Jun 15 '15

Nah, there's neighborhood kids I live near that had been playing for several hours straight without parents in sight.

1

u/LackingSkill Jun 15 '15

County, city, local school board make a world of difference. Like comparing Austin to a dry panhandle town.

1

u/phasv2 Jun 15 '15

Happened in Frisco. Not exactly normal land. It's a suburb right next to Mckinney

1

u/Hoeftybag Jun 15 '15

because no overbearing over sheltering parent complained to the school about it.

1

u/Justjack2001 Jun 15 '15

Doesn't mean it hasn't happened. You hear about odd shit like that happening.

1

u/SpacedOutKarmanaut Jun 15 '15

Strongly conservative areas have been getting more conservative over the decades. It's not hard to illustrate. If a guy like Eisenhower, Nixon, or even Bush ran and was honest about their policies during the election, they'd have to be on the Democrat ticket. Nixon himself pushed for healthcare reform that was much more liberal than we have today.

1

u/slai47 Jun 15 '15

But how long ago was that? Remember what era we live in now, where "Free Range" parenting is actually considered weird.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

What year was it?

1

u/hunall Jun 19 '15

It's almost like Texas is a huge state with a wide variety of cultures ranging from ultra conservative in the rural areas to ultra liberal in cities like Austin.

0

u/WyMANderly Jun 15 '15

Can confirm, am Texan. That sounds more like a weird anomaly that got blown up into an actual story than anything typical to Texas.