Misconceptions People Have

[ashley0139]

DH worked for a bunch of years as a funeral director. People thought I was nuts for continuing to work. Why would you need to work? Your husband is a funeral director! Just drive around in his Cadillac and have his babies! Just fill in the amount you want on that blank check he gets every two weeks! Wake up call people: He is merely an hourly employee of a large corporation. All that money you just spent on the funeral, yeah, the guy making the arrangements did not get handed that amount of money. The stereotype of funeral directors making tons of money stems from when funeral homes were family businesses. And just like if you owned a bakery or other business that did well, when you put up all the risk and money, you keep all the reward. Today almost no one wants to keep a funeral home, and there is one large corporation that is more than willing to buy you out when your kids turn up their noses at the thought of taking over the family business. The percentage of funeral homes owned by them is scary. (But legal, per antitrust monopoly laws.) DH recently left the ‘death care industry’ (yes, a term they actually use) and is back in his old career. We are now doing so much better!

Additionally, from having college friends who then went on to medical or pharmacy or law school. Doctors and pharmacists and lawyers make sooooo much money. Um, do you want to see their student loan bills? Or their malpractice insurance bills? Yes, they should eventually reach a point where they are way far ahead of the rest of us, but then again, they put in the time and study to reach that goal.

I think this is the first misconception here as opposed to stereotype, and I found it very interesting. Thanks.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

That here in Missouri, tornados rain down upon the state nonstop for 4 months of the year. I'm 48 & I've never seen one.

Also, we are not solidly a "red" state. The governor is a Dem, as is one senator. We voted for Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, and Clinton twice.

85% of the state population is outside STL & KC.

We do know all about floods, so that one sticks.

 

[NHdisneylover]

People tend to think that Germany are always serious--Germans can party and be silly with the best of them.


and when we homeschooled people assumed we must be very religious. Hmmm, Nope.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Most people have misconception about LA, they think DL is part of LA. Which is not the case. A lot of people think it is wonderful living in California. Until they realize that the expenses here are greater. Especially for the cars. Smoging your cars. The amount for car tags. People think they can get rooms for cheap on the beach.

 

[Minnesota!]

DH worked for a bunch of years as a funeral director. People thought I was nuts for continuing to work. Why would you need to work? Your husband is a funeral director! Just drive around in his Cadillac and have his babies! Just fill in the amount you want on that blank check he gets every two weeks! Wake up call people: He is merely an hourly employee of a large corporation. All that money you just spent on the funeral, yeah, the guy making the arrangements did not get handed that amount of money. The stereotype of funeral directors making tons of money stems from when funeral homes were family businesses. And just like if you owned a bakery or other business that did well, when you put up all the risk and money, you keep all the reward. Today almost no one wants to keep a funeral home, and there is one large corporation that is more than willing to buy you out when your kids turn up their noses at the thought of taking over the family business. The percentage of funeral homes owned by them is scary. (But legal, per antitrust monopoly laws.) DH recently left the ‘death care industry’ (yes, a term they actually use) and is back in his old career. We are now doing so much better!

Additionally, from having college friends who then went on to medical or pharmacy or law school. Doctors and pharmacists and lawyers make sooooo much money. Um, do you want to see their student loan bills? Or their malpractice insurance bills? Yes, they should eventually reach a point where they are way far ahead of the rest of us, but then again, they put in the time and study to reach that goal.

ETA: That is actually the first time I ever mentioned on the DIS what DH did for a living. Why? I thought people would assume all sorts of things about us if I mentioned what he did. Why is she always on the budget board? Her husband is a funeral director! Yeah, misconceptions.

Huh. I never would have ever assumed a funeral director was well off. Must be a regional thing

Misconception - winters in MN are horrible. Well, I mean, they are snowy. And they are below 0 a lot, but there is still SOOOOO much to do. It's nice like you sit in your house for 6 months - you go out and play in it!

 

[NHdisneylover]

Huh. I never would have ever assumed a funeral director was well off. Must be a regional thing

Yeah--I would never have thought that either

 

[BadgerGirl84]

Everyone knows Cowboys fans are the most annoying.

As a Cowboys fan, yes, you are right.

#America'sTeam #WeDemBoyz #DezCaughtIt



Here is mine--I'm half Mexican (my mom is Mexican) and if I'm in a spanish speaking place, people always assume I speak spanish. Nope--I don't speak it at all and I don't do anything "Mexican" in my life other than eat Mexican food sometimes.

 

[AlohaNow]

Interesting to hear. It is definitely a stereotype in the northeast, or in larger cities. I think it also has to do with the fact that when you plan a funeral you hand over a check or credit card for thousands, and possibly tens of thousands, of dollars. There often seems to be a disconnect in the goods and services provided vs. ‘that dude makes a lot of money’. I’m glad to hear that in some parts of the country we’d just be thought of as normal!

 

[msjprincess]

Yeah--I would never have thought that either

Me neither.

ETA
I live in the NYC area.

 

[ashley0139]

Interesting to hear. It is definitely a stereotype in the northeast, or in larger cities. I think it also has to do with the fact that when you plan a funeral you hand over a check or credit card for thousands, and possibly tens of thousands, of dollars. There often seems to be a disconnect in the goods and services provided vs. ‘that dude makes a lot of money’. I’m glad to hear that in some parts of the country we’d just be thought of as normal!

I think the idea is also, no matter what happens with the economy, people are going to die. That's never going to stop, though the extravagance might. So there are always going to be funerals.

 

[cijay]

Here's one that used to happen in school a lot....I'm 5'9" which seems tall for a woman I guess, because people kept asking me if I played Basketball, or tried to get me on their intermural basket ball team. I do not play and would not have been an asset.

you're supposed to answer "No, do you play minature golf?"

 

[Christine]

People tend to think that Germany are always serious--Germans can party and be silly with the best of them.


and when we homeschooled people assumed we must be very religious. Hmmm, Nope.

That's not what I heard about Germans!!

 

[marlynnp]

On the DIS boards I think the biggest misconception is that things are the same across the nation. scoutie's post is a great example regarding her husbands pay. I had to look it up but that job starts at $91,997.28 here and tops out at $148,707.36 annually after you complete 5 full years employment.
And of course, there was the thread a while back that kind of illustrated it better. Some thought $100,000 salary for an individual was dead center in the middle class, and others thought it was in the upper middle class, and some truly believed it was lower middle class..

But what about Canada? It's all the same there, right?

 

[Unas]

*look at avatar*

That because I'm a fan of the Patriots, I/we are the most annoying fans.

Because I live in Massachusetts I must drive like a..... ok, maybe that one is true.

Ayup, both are true. And you need to add in Sauks, Celts and Dabruns.

 

[wvjules]

On the DIS boards I think the biggest misconception is that things are the same across the nation.

THIS ^^^^
and that what happens in USA or how things are in USA etc are the same in Europe or Australia. The world does not start at New York and end at Hawaii !!

I don't know anyone IRL that thinks either of those things. As for those on the dis I just have to chuckle at the irony.....

 

[sunshinehighway]

But what about Canada? It's all the same there, right?

Canada? They dont even use credit cards.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

i can't recall the exact circumstances but I was at a business related meeting having a conversation with a lady and after about 10 minutes she asked where I was from. When I replied "Alabama" you would have thought I said from the pits of hell. Immediately she began to act towards me with such condescension it was almost laughable.

I fully realize that Alabama has some very dark periods of history and still may not be considered as up to speed as other parts of the country. But the irony is that the prejudices that were practiced openly in our past are still aimed AT us by others.

My very best friend at work and one of my best friends in general is of a different race I have many friends who are gay. My DW and I did not allow prejudice in raising our son who has many friends of different races. We do attend a Baptist church so that stereotype may hold true. But the point I'm trying to make is that while we are not all Attucus Finch, neither are we Jed Clampett

 

[jdb in AZ]

(Packing up and moving to wherever TVGUY lives). A public prosecutor for the state who starts at $91,000 is unheard of here.

My nephew is a prosecutor in Idaho and makes less than his brother who's a cop here in Arizona.

 

[dja14]

We homeschool
Not because we are super religious
Not because we want to protect our kids from everything
Not because they are super smart and so advanced

There is a bunch of other stuff even my own family thinks. We are just normal people whose kids needed a quieter place for school

 

[Feralpeg]

People assume that the majority of Orlando residents spend a lot of time at WDW. Not true. In fact, the majority of Orlando residents have never been to the parks (or at least not all of them).

When I taught school in Windermere, I was shocked to find that many of my students had never been to a WDW park. This was not due to money. These kids came from wealthy families. Many of them had never seen movies like Cinderella. Totally blew me away.