Recently, Reddit user u/totally_not_a_pigeon asked people to share the different moments and eras in history that are often romanticized, despite how awful they actually were. Here's what they had to say:
1."Victorian England. Goths love the aesthetic, but it was a disgusting place to live. Sickness, corruption — it just sucked."
2."The Wild West. As I understand it, a lot of what we see about the west — the laconic stranger, the outlaws, the bandits — is an invention of Hollywood. The real west was a hardscrabble existence that's nothing like the depiction in most westerns."
3."Medieval history. First of all, there was the plague. There was virtually no freedom for serfs or any women. And there was endless brutal war. Even if you were a noble male, it only meant someone was trying to kill you to usurp your position and they were probably related to you. There was also very little education for virtually most people."
4."People tend to forget that the roaring '20s were roaring for rich Americans in particular. If you were living outside rich America, like in Oklahoma, the '20s weren't roaring. If you were living outside America, like in Germany, the '20s weren't roaring."
5."The 1950s. Particularly in the US, it’s looked back on as a time of post-war prosperity and simple values, but sexism and racism were rampant, the red scare was widely used as a pretext for stripping away civil liberties, there was a constant fear of nuclear war, and there were zero environmental regulations paired with an industrial and chemical boom."
6."The expansion into the American West, aka 'Manifest Destiny.' Sure, John Wayne movies were fun, but what about: white people massacring Native people, stripping beautiful lands for mining, racism against Chinese immigrants, the near extinction of the bison and beaver, and rampant disease?"
7."In the US, especially in the South, the Antebellum era. It's often portrayed as this time of decadence and flourishing, but the truth is that it was height of American brutality against enslaved Black people."
8."The modern era. If you live in a developed country, have at least a working class income, and a steady job, life is pretty close to what most people would consider utopia. But there are child slaves, active genocides, child soldiers, and people starving to death. I think most of the people who think this is the golden age need to look beyond the developed west."
9."Greco-Roman hegemony. Everyone in the western world marvels at the innovations of Rome and Greece, but both empires are examples of how if you prioritize war and expansion over taking care of your people, the empire rots and collapses."
10."In the UK, some people remember the 1940-41 ‘blitz’ on UK cities by the Luftwaffe fondly. For this reason, people associate this period with upbeat stoicism instead of mass destruction, widespread death, and crippling mental illnesses that would devastate people’s lives for decades afterwards."
11."As a woman, everything before the present."
12."The '70s. There was danger everywhere. Serial killers and pedophiles started becoming more notorious and drugs like LSD were prevalent."
13."WWII and bombing Japan. It was not a just action against an evil empire, rather it was a horrific, indiscriminate, and now-illegal attack that should be looked upon with shame. Stop celebrating it, respect the victims, and learn from the past."
14."The Renaissance. Sure, I love the aesthetic and that it was an Age of Enlightenment, but doctors sucked back then, and if you got the plague, you were screwed."
15."I would definitely say the 1800s. Yeah, there were inventions and cowboys in the American West, but take a look at their medicines and health issues. They were poisoning themselves with arsenic paint and makeup because they didn’t know they were harmful."
16."For the life of me, I don't understand why so many people these days romanticize the Viking Age. Murder? Rape? Slavery? Let's just brush that under the carpet cause LOOK, cool boats! Cool undercuts! Cool fight scenes!"
17."People romanticize the '80s, but they shouldn't. There was the crack epidemic, the militarization of the War on Drugs, and the rise of AIDS that led to extreme homophobia. Mental health still wasn't taken seriously either."
