Kate Hackett
A thread over on Reddit has some great answers to u/Rockin_N‘s question:
“They say “It never hurts to ask”, but what are some examples where ‘It hurts to ask’?”
The replies had me nodding along and thinking “oh, yeah, definitely”. We got the best answers and put them in a list for you! Enjoy.
1. Teacher’s pet
“Hey teacher, are you going to collect the homework you assigned yesterday?”
2. New job
So uhhhh… do you guys do random drug tests?
3. Whoops!
As a teenager I worked in a grocery store, I saw a customer who’s back was to me struggling with all there items, so I asked “do you need a hand?”. The man turned around and I could see he was missing a hand, there was just a stub there, that is why he was struggling. He was a good sport and said “Yes, it seems I do!”, lifting his arm missing the hand in the air.
4. Total lack of understanding
Any question from a supposed authority or expert that reveals a complete lack of understanding of the matter in question. E.g., a judge who once asked why the YouTube video under evidence could not be printed for him to review.
5. REAL cops
In college some friends and I got caught smoking weed in a park by a park ranger.
He was pretty cool and it seemed like we were going to get away with a warning until my one friend piped up and said
“You’re not going to call the real cops are you?”
Dude’s attitude towards us did a 180 real quick.
“You see this gun? You see this badge? I am the real cops.”
6. No name
I once had a friend in college that it took nearly 6 months to figure out his name even after going out for drinks after our evening class every week. I think both of us didn’t want to admit we didn’t know each other’s name so we just went with “buddy” for months until we recognized another student at the bar and we introduced ourselves and realized we were finally going to learn each other’s name.
7. Why wear sunblock?
i had a friend in elementary school who was putting on a particularly heavy dose of sunscreen. some kid asked him why he’s putting on so much. he said “cuz my mom has skin cancer” and the room just became silent
8. Do NOT ask them this
When you ask a woman if she’s pregnant…
9. Third time
Asking someone to repeat themselves a 3rd time.
10. You aren’t
Are we more than friends?
11. Leave them alone
“When are you going to have children?” or any variation. Be ready to be told they’ve lost a baby, infertility, sexless marriage, etc.
12. Yikes
As a server, “Where’s that other woman you always come in with?”
13. Oh no
What happened to your baby? I thought you were pregnant?
14. Yikes
Between one of my friends and a random person at the blood bank (I was donating and we were going to go get lunch afterwards).
Stranger: Are you going to donate too?
Him: I would if I could, but medically I can’t.
Stranger: Why? You got HIV or something?
Him:…
He did in fact live with HIV.
15. Worst Call
Firefighter/paramedic here.
We generally hate the, “what’s the worst call you’ve ever ran”
Think of the worst things you can possibly imagine and someone had to respond to that call. The sick, the injured, every trauma, every overdose, every suicide, every evil deed done by one person to another person, every accident, every dead kid, husband, wife, father, mother.
So when you ask, “what’s the worst call you’ve ever ran, we now have to relive the worst calls/moments of our lives as we try to deflect or crack a joke.”
I hate that question.
16. What will you do?
“Whoa, since your dad is already dead, what are you going to do if your mom dies?”
17. How
My 13 year old daughter killed herself…and so many people asked how.
18. Definitely no
*before a date* “Are we going to have sex tonight?”
19. Did you adopt?
My friend gets asked all the time if it was easy to adopt the kids. Even school administrators have asked, “what country were you adopted from?” to the kids themselves. My friend said people usually just walk away embarrassed after they learn they’re biological, but that one woman said, “well, can you blame me for asking?”
20. The whys
Why don’t you love me?
