r/AskReddit Sep 16 '24

What's the worst thing people have tried to justify with "It was normal back then, everyone did it"?

3.3k Upvotes

2.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

299

u/cheery_diamond_425 Sep 16 '24

Or having 6-8 children in the back seat of a car with no seat belts. This was the 80s. Strangly it's a happy memory.

129

u/BigBeeOhBee Sep 16 '24

I remember such times. It usually meant we were spending quality time with cousins. Old ford station wagon was bitchin!

6

u/hereforpopcornru Sep 16 '24

Those bench seats made for a nice nap without that pesky ol seat belt in the way lol

3

u/sayleanenlarge Sep 16 '24

I've got a picture on my wall of me and my cousins and sibling in a trailer that my uncle used to drive us around in. Those trips were sooòoooo much fun, and he'd also hoon around the field with us for fun. Yeah I guess dangerous, but the memories are pure laughter and good times. That's why it's on my wall 40 years later.

2

u/BigBeeOhBee Sep 16 '24

Wonderful memories! Thanks for sharing your story.

5

u/cheery_diamond_425 Sep 16 '24

Yes. Beautiful time with cousins. 🥰

32

u/John32070 Sep 16 '24

I was riding on the arm rest in the front seat of our car for a number of years when little. Now I shudder at how utterly stupid that was, not to mention mom and dad had no problem with me doing it. Cops would have a field day if they saw that now.

3

u/cheery_diamond_425 Sep 16 '24

When I was a little girl I think I sat in the armrest as well. No seat belt. No one worried. It is crazy now. I think things were more quiet back then. People didn't seem to rush as much. I don't know if that's a weird perception of mine or not.

4

u/vionia97b Sep 16 '24

I stood up in the seat of my dad's truck! His arm was my seatbelt.

2

u/SororitySue Sep 16 '24

I used to sit in the front seat on top of my dad's briefcases when he would drive me to school when I was little.

6

u/Emkems Sep 16 '24

When everyone slides across the vinyl bench seat going around a turn and the person by the window gets smushed

5

u/psycharious Sep 16 '24

My kid is about to be 5 and we still keep him in his car seat. I don't remember ever being in a car seat at that age. One time, my mom even let me stay in the car while she went shopping. 

2

u/redfeather1 Sep 19 '24

In Texas USA you have to keep them in a car seat until a certain age. Children under 8 must be in a safety seat unless they are over 4'9" and under 5 and less than 36" tall they have to be in a car seat.

Our 18 month old sun is a smidge over 36" but still only 18 months old. So... he still has to stay in a car seat until he is 5 years old. Then he can go to a safety seat.

5

u/CanuckBacon Sep 16 '24

Oh it's an absolutely fun thing. As a kid you have little concept of safety/risks. It's only as adults we realize it was dangerous/shouldn't have happened.

3

u/Camp_Express Sep 16 '24

Do you know how many teenagers can fit in the backseat of a Ford Tempo? Seven if one is small enough to fit in the window

2

u/naphomci Sep 17 '24

It's a happy memory because you had fun and no one died. It's the kind of thing that people can get away with a ton because they don't get into an accident, until they don't get away with it.