Comment on Reddit, what’s something that stuck with you that the person who said it probably never realized would have an impact?
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r/AskRedditu/etymologynerd (28591)

My dad escaped Yugoslavia as the entire system was collapsing. War, poverty, and inflation... oh, the inflation. Yugoslav money meant nothing anymore, and he was forced to buy US dollars from the Albanian mafia. He did this several times, building up his savings for a plane ticket to America. One day, the police came down the main alleyway, and everybody ran the other way except for my father, who ducked into a nearby shop. At the other end of the street, more police were waiting, and they arrested everybody who ran that way. To this day, my dad credits his escape as having "gone to the side... not against the crowd, nor with it". This story, translated roughly from Serbian, means a lot to me. I've extended it to many parts of my life. I always do my own thing, careful to not get caught up in mob mentality or go against one either. It's an excellent life philosophy, an individualistic way of looking at it but extremely helpful for being successful. And, if I ever get caught up in a police raid, I'll know what to do.

Comments ()

That's incredible

My dad is amazing and I've learned so many life lessons from him, directly and indirectly

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try not to get kettled apparently

This is no time for tea.

[deleted]

Uncle Iroh, enough posting in one thread!

[Boiling intensifies]

Now boiling a jug, that I can get behind.

Oh sugar honey ice tea!

Not with that attitude

Go to the bathroom.

As long as it's on the side on the house

Start a chant - "Fuck Da Police!!!"

Go sideways bruh

My dad is from ex-Yugoslavia, too, and a gold mine of wisdom. But none that fits here because he knows what he said and how much worth it is.

One of the gems "It doesn't matter how much you earn. You just have to live your life accordingly"

My mom's is "I may not have always won the fight... but i made God damn sure that they knew they were in a fight."

Good one, too.

What are some other things that you learned from him?

Life lessons in general. How to deal with angry people. How to think analytically. How to do basic life things

How to deal with angry people.

I haven't learned this yet - would you make us a big favor and tell us how?

Remaining calm is key. There's a bit of finesse to it, but if you get into an argument with them when you don't have to, it's pointless. In most cases, you can "go to the side" because their anger is misdirected, but if it's something important and personal it's key to agree in the moment (without compromising too much ground) and then continue doing your own thing.

My dad (again, also ex-yugo) told me how his boss once chewed him out. As soon as the boss started shouting my dad turned calmly and walked out of the office. He returned an hour later asking the boss if he had let off the steam by now and to talk to him normally.

That takes balls

Massive ones. But I strive to achieve that level of cool.

Sounds like my relation with my father. Isn't it great what great life lessons they can teach you.

Your das is so amazing, I just learnd a life lesson from him!

You're so lucky that you have a parent who has the wisdom to live this way. Maybe I shouldn't call it luck, because your Dad makes a choice to live this way. I suppose it's more appropriate to say that you're blessed.

Love the username! What’s your favorite word or word origin?

Sophomore means wise fool

If only they could teach Wisdom in school. I really like defenestration.

Big up's for amazing dads!

Please share some more stories and advice about your dad. Please!

I really enjoyed that perspective. Please make sure he is aware that others are learning from the lessons he taught you.

Like if a tree is falling, don't run at it, don't run away, step to the side. ;-)

You earned the easiest 2.1K upvotes I've ever seen lol

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I read someone on reddit say something that kind of means exactly this about american politics - it was something along the lines of - "people need to remember it's not left vs right, it's the extremes from both ends vs moderates."

Everyone acts like every policy needs to be a right wing policy or a left wing policy, as if there is no middle ground. You can consider yourself "part of" the left or the right, and still see merit in some of the other side's ideas.

The most annoying part is that most people are moderates, and just a little left or right leaning, but we're always arguing against the extremists of the other side, because of course the extremist ideas are crazy. We need to stop, because arguing against these ideas validates them, and you can't reason with crazy.

It's so easy for someone from the right to throw ultra PC culture in the face of a moderate left, and for someone from the left to throw insane religious zealots in the face of moderate rights, but neither of those points helps anyone.

Please understand I’m not trying to call you out in any way but it’s hilarious to me when I hear Americans speak this way about their politics. Not that extremism on both sides is wrong or doesn’t exist in individuals, it’s just strange because as a non American when I look at your politics I see no major liberal or left wing ideals in democrats. To me both of the major parties are conservative, our right wing party in Canada leans left as hard, if not harder, than the democrats.

Yeah, I don't think people understand that. Nationalized healthcare is NOT an extreme. Legal abortions are not extreme. Environmental protections and green energy are not extremes. They may be "extreme" relative to our (the American) situation, but not relative to the rest of the world.

I'm also experiencing semantic satiation because I wrote extreme a bunch.

Well abortion laws are a lot less restrictive in the US than Europe.

On paper, yes.

In reality, good luck trying to get an abortion in Texas or Mississippi.

Try Nothern Ireland or Poland.

Europe is 28 countries, be more specific.

Europe is 28 countries, be more specific.

And the US is 50 states.

Sure. How many "states" do the countries of Europe have?

Gonna blow a lot of yanky minds with that one.

Would you mind sharing some extremes? Asking as a political ignoramus who wants to learn.

Do you mean extreme views in Europe? Immigration is the easiest place to see two polar extremes in Europe. The far right in the US and Europe are very similar with that issue.

It's sad you're not wrong that forcing people to do something against thier will, like taking thier money and giving it to others, or killing babies isn't extreme, or that the roundish world is shaped into a flat plane or that you experienced extreme semantic sanatation before you commented.

I'm not american and I know what you mean, I'm from the UK and our extreme right would barely count as moderate right in america, but it's still how they see things which is what causes such problems.

The centreline is different in different places.

Totally, it’s just interesting to see the difference

The good news is that each decade the center-line moves more to the left.

The Democrats became corporatized and militarized a long time ago. Bernie Sanders is an example of actual progressivism, and we all saw what happened there. It’s shit for progressive left-wingers

This. There is no left in the USA. Just right and extreme right.

Yes, Canada and Western Europe can afford to do tons of socialized policies because they don't really need to be the world's policeman. The US has to protect your asses against Russian and Chinese meddling. So, scoff all you want. But we have to pay for your protection as well as ours.

Lol.... "Yeah, well we can't afford to do all that nice stuff cause we're too busy doing imperialism..... you're WELCOME by the way!!!"

Haha, are you for real? What an arrogant joke you are

💯% real.

The USA military doesn't police the world for the benefit of random people, they do it for American oligarchs.

Yeah I’m just gonna assume this is missing a /s

No sarcasm. Do you want to live in a world where Russia or China are the hegemons or the USA is?

Yes the USA has by far the most expensive military in the world. And we want it to protect our own interests. But Canadians and Western Europe get to freeride off of that. And then they can afford perks like universal health Care.

Amazing. So not only are you really the victims here but we all owe you a thank you? I'm gonna assume the 12 at the end there is your age.

Yeah this guy completely misunderstands world politics and the US’s role within them

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I think the part they are taking issue with is that you say we can't have universal heathcare because we can't afford it. There is not a majority yet of voting Americans who want to have (more) government sponsored healthcare regardless of the cost.

We are wealthy enough to have it if we wanted it.

The 2 major parties have just about everyone fighting against each other just like they want. People can’t make any kind of meaningful change when they’re squabbling over red vs blue, and the people in charge know that.

That's exactly how I see it, but when you say that people are like "calm down with your conspiracies!"

It's not left vs right, is ultra rich vs everyone else.

To ba fair, that is literally a conspiracy.

Not really though, i mean it's obvious. The people at the top are so disconnected from the reality of life for the majority of people, they can't possibly understand the gravity of some of their decisions. They see people as numbers on paper, percentages, statistics. Not humans, with lives, and genuine needs.

They see the people the same way most people who live in developed countries see people who are suffering in undeveloped countries. We feel "bad" because we know we should, but they're essentially out of sight, out of mind.

That's how politicians see us. They act like they care, but they don't, how can they, what normal people go though every day doesn't match up to their reality. Do you think they actually understand what it means to not be able to afford basic necessities? that's just words to them, they can't comprehend it.

Just like most people, even very poor people in the first world don't actually know what it's like to starve, not like those we're occasionally reminded of by charity advertisements. I've been very hungry, i went 4 days when i was a child, without eating and coughed up blood because of it - but even I can't comprehend actual starvation.

The ultra rich basically live on an alternate earth, yet they make the policies that dictate our lives. right vs left in politics is literally just the people at the top disagreeing about how obvious they want the disparity to be.

I think he meant its literally a conspiracy, in that the parties are quite literally conspiring with each other.

ahh, now i feel silly for my long rant

I'd quantify that by saying it's the extremes in both parties that have everyone fighting. There are moderates shaking their heads on both sides. Unfortunately that seems to be all they're doing so far.

They are “deeply concerned,” but won’t do anything

You should be gilded for this

Interesting, do you mind telling me a bit more about it? I'm itching to go buy it.

Same guy that wrote 7 Habits of Highly Effective People if you've read that.

It's a business management book in the same category as The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or Who Moved My Cheese. It looks at conflict management from a perspective of not letting the discussion devolve into two sides pitted against each other. It illustrates the concept with tons of examples.

One example that I can give that's not in the book is the terrible handling and outcome of the whole same-sex-marriage debate. It's a situation where 3rd alternative thinking could have produced a far better outcome, but it wasn't used and the result is a royal clusterfuck.

The issue of same-sex marriage almost immediately became a fight between progressives and religious conservatives. Both wanted to win, and both wanted the other side to lose. The progressives' position was "The other side has had it their way for ever, now it's our turn to have it our way. The other side has to lose for us to win, and it's right for us to win." The religious position was "The other side is still wrong, and God wants them to lose." Victory for each side was defined as the government taking their side and defining the laws how they wanted them to.

In many jurisdictions, the government did side with the progressives, and those jurisdictions that haven't yet eventually will. While this is a major advancement in human rights, it has amplified an already painful rift in society and alienated a large portion of the population. In alienating them, it has pushed them even farther away from ever accepting "the gays" as people.

A rather simple 3rd alternative approach would have been for the government to simply take itself out of the equation. They could just remove any legal definition of marriage whatsoever. That word means very different things to different people, and so legally defining it to mean just a single thing to the exclusion of all others is a terrible approach to the situation. There are really no substantial difference from a legal perspective between marriage and other cohabitating relationships anyways. There are already laws that protect children's rights, parent's rights, and property rights. Other things currently covered by marriage legislation could easily (and better) be taken care of with contract law instead.

If the government had chosen to define marriage as "whatever you want it to mean, with no force of law behind it" instead of taking a side, then there would be one fewer major social rifts tearing modern society apart. That's an example of a failure of 3rd alternative thinking.

This is an amazing insight thanks... The 3rd alternative here is a bold move but a smart one that isn't found that easily. So essentially the 3rd alternative reminds us that we're not forced to choose between only two sides.

isnt that the one by Gaddaffi?

Stephen Covey. I'm sure Gaddaffi would be a fascinating read, though.

This always occurs to me when debating things. It bothers mart no end when i play devils advocate on things and people assume i support that view. Understanding a view and supporting a view are completely different things. I understand why people would vote for trump but doesnt mean i would if i was from the US

I understand why people would vote for trump

Unfortunately, the only reason most Redditors claim people would vote for Trump is that they're racist. I'm sure that some are, but to just paint a diverse group of ~60 million people as racists is incredibly counterproductive. A lot of people like to have everything in black and white, but I've not yet encountered a situation that actually was.

Obligatory I didn't vote for Trump.

People say that Trump supporters are racist or sexist because Trump has repeatedly said/done openly racist and sexist things. If you vote for someone who is known to be racist and sexist, even if you are not as racist or sexist as they are personally, you are at the very least racist or sexist enough to not be bothered by what they have done.

I disagree. I think it depends on where your priorities lie. If you're a single-issue voter that only cares about improving the American economy, and you judged Donald Trump to be the best shot at that, it doesn't make you a racist.

Saying that every Trump voter is racist is equally as true as saying that every Clinton voter is a war hawk.

If you're a single-issue voter that only cares about improving the American economy, and you judged Donald Trump to be the best shot at that, it doesn't make you a racist.

Yes, it does. If you disregard any potential fallout on a given minority because you think there will be a benefit, you are saying that receiving that benefit is more important than that minority. You might not be attending clan meetings and planning lynchings, but cartoon racism isn't the only form of racism.

So an unemployed white person that believed that Trump was their best chance at helping them get a job to be able provide for their family is a racist because they put the safety and security of their family over minorities? Probably going to have to just agree to disagree at this point.

their family over minorities

Doesn't this essentially boil down to "I don't care what happens to you, as long as I get mine."?

I get why a person who is desperate might make that decision, the same way that I understand why a starving man might kill for bread, but the person the starving man murdered is no less dead, no?

If we were talking about someone whose views were more openly racist, like an avowed white nationalist or Hitler 2.0, where they primarily campaign on how they plan to disenfranchise minority citizens, I would agree.

With Trump, however, I think it's much easier for someone to believe something along the lines of, "He won't do anything illegal/unconstitutional and I think the economy will be better off, therefore the country as a whole will be better off."

But you're right. It is primarily a self-interest thing. But, arguably, so is voting for a candidate you feel isn't racist if racism is a priority for you. You're voting your interests, just like everyone else.

But, arguably, so is voting for a candidate you feel isn't racist if racism is a priority for you.

The difference is, I'm not then going around getting angry at people who say I'm supporting a non-racist.

Well, who would? The issue for many Trump voters is that they truly don't believe Trump is racist (which I believe is a position that is possible to arrive at without yourself being racist), but people are calling them racists.

I mean, imagine the positions were reversed. Everything is the same, but everyone says Clinton is a racist. Sure, you would say there is no evidence of her being a racist, but many Trump voters would say the same about him. I'd say that you could decide if a person is a racist if you knew the process they went through to reach the conclusion that Trump isn't racist, but again, I believe a non-racist path to that conclusion exists. Plenty of racist paths to that conclusion, too, of course.

Imagine that every time you mentioned supporting Clinton on Reddit you were personally attacked and downvoted. Would it change your mind?

Just to clarify, I'm not personally a Clinton supporter, I think what the democratic party did in the primaries was dodgy as all hell.

To address your point though, which is that they truly don't believe Trump is racist: In order to believe that, they must disregard actual evidence to the contrary. One of Trump's hallmark campaign promises was the wall. It's largely agreed that a) a wall would be completely ineffective and b)that illegal immigrants aren't actually responsible for the shitty economy. Ignoring the actual economic shifts responsible for high unemployment levels and trying to cast the blame on them damn illegals is not only itself racist, it is fostering racial bias in others by trying to make the issue into an us-vs-them conflict.

I always do a "none of the above" vote. Gary Johnson was my "none of the above" choice last time.

I can easily make the argument that a wall isn't racist, and I don't agree with the idea at all. Whether or not you think it should be handled differently, illegal immigration is a crime. People want to stop illegal immigration for a multitude of reasons, not all of which are racist. Now, if they saw and believed/agreed with the reports saying it won't help and still want the wall, then sure, they're probably racist. But if you truly feel illegal immigration is a problem, and you for some reason believe a wall can actually stop it, then I don't see it as racist to support that.

you are at the very least racist or sexist enough to not be bothered by what they have done.

It seems like you're stretching as far as you can to tag people with those labels because it's easier to write them off than it is to try to understand that someone might be a decent person and also a Trump voter. That's how those words lose their meanings.

Someone can have racist or sexist views and still otherwise be a decent person, cognitive dissonance is a real thing.

Pointing out that someone is racist is not dismissing them, it is pointing out that they are racist.

If I vote for a candidate who has been racist because I think their proposed retirement development plan is a good one, I am making the decision to give power to a person who has intention to harm another group of people and am making the judgment that any harm that comes to those people isn't as important as the potential gain that I might receive from the retirement plan.

When the group being targeted by Politician X is on the basis of their race, how is this not supporting racism?

If I buy a shirt from a company with sweatshops in India does that mean I support child labor? I guess I just don’t think supporting someone or something in one way is the same as supporting them in every way. I voted for Clinton but I despise her foreign policy. Voting for her doesn’t make me as pro war as her or even supportive of war.

This is where we differ then. It is difficult because so many companies are so good at hiding their terrible labor practices, but in my opinion yes, if you know a company is using child labor and still purchase from them after you find out, you are supporting their use of child labor.

I do my best to not shop at companies that refuse to address their damaging practices if and when it comes to light. Obviously this leaves a giant gaping hole for companies who just don't get caught to walk through, but I can only work with the information I'm given. For businesses, you vote with your dollar. If people keep buying from them when they're using child labor or slave-like conditions, why would they willingly cut into their own profit margins? Businesses only respond to being hurt in their bottom line, you know?

I thought this was a clever joke about Mein Kampf, but it turns out there's an actual book with that name.

but it goes against the American binary way of either winning or losing. Either you have a winner and a bunch of losers in a competition, or somehow everyone gets a trophy. There is no inbetween

Am American, still don't get the mindset of "these trophies are meaningless, but I'll raze fucking hell if I don't get one."

The correct idiom is "raise hell", but honestly I like your version better. To raze a town or building means to utterly destroy it, typically by burning it down.

“ if my kids don’t get one” FTFY

But if everyone does it, wouldn’t that go against the principle?

There’s a whole philosophy about the concept. It’s called The Middle Way from Buddhism.

That is how I view Trump. I dont like him, never have. Didn't vote for him...didn't vote for Hillary either. However I try to recognize things he does that may actually be good instead of falling into mob mentality and constantly demonizing him.

Shouldn't it be called the second alternative though?

There are two books called that. Which one is the one you’re talking about?

The Stephen Covey one.

As should any body of people.

Purchased. thank you .

Who's the author of you don't mind me asking?

Stephen Covey

PFFF!!! BOOKS ARE FOR PUSSIES, AMERICA DOESN'T EVEN READ BRO, WE JUST HUFF THIS SWEET SWEET FREEDOM.

/s

Unfortunately, that approach has translated into bigoted right-wing extremists and anti-vax neo-liberals.

Replying so I can remember the name later. Thanks for the suggestion!

What's the second alternative?

Berniiiiiie!

You just made an impact on my job thank you

How so?

I do security on a high crime rate area. I work with around 30 security guards and we get into this (hive mentality) I tried to go against the mindset but it had just gotten me into trouble. So I'm just gonna step aside now

just letting shit go can do wonders

and we get into this (hive mentality) I tried to go against the mindset but it had just gotten me into trouble.

Now, see, that's not the way I expected a sentence starting with

I work with around 30 security guards

to end when it relates to how OP's dad avoiding the police made an impact on your job.

Now he knows to cover ALL the exits.

Fired for being on Reddit.

Plot twist: You're a riot police chief who is now going to scour nearby shops for seditious thinkers.

You’re a cop who is going to check doorways now?

[removed]

I don’t get it, can anyone explain?

All the other animals just accepted their fate of being on the list and getting eaten. The rabbit was the only one who asked if the lion could just take them off the list.

It's related to the original story in that it's thinking outside the box, or "going to the side" of the grain. Instead of just accepting that they'll be eaten or trying to run away, the Rabbit just asks. And it works.

Ahh makes sense, thanks!

Hvala što si ovo rekao, baš je super!

Šteta što ne želi ovu mudrost napisati u originalu :)

Right in the feels

If only that meant the hate in the balkans would end. Actually i don't care for the balkan, let's stop bosnian-serbian-croatian hate for a start.

Hey I live in Serbia. There is not much hate now, only a handful people talk shit occassionally. The problem right now is the corrupt system stealing from citizens. We're very poor and it's killing us inside.

There's hate in people from ex-jugoslavia that emigrated to the rest of Europe for sure

Source: know many of them, am one

Usually the diaspora people are the most nationalistic.

This is so true

Yep, there are just politicians who open the pandoras box every now and then to gain political points (whenever there are elections in one of these countries, which means every year) or just to turn away peoples attention from some corrupted shit. We (the youth) dont give a damn about hatred, I've never had a slightest argue with any Croats or Bosnians, only love. I guess the hatred between our countries will end when people that organized and experienced the war are gone. Simple as that.

Really? Whenever I've been there in the last decade, the vast majority of people are Jugo-nostalgics regardless of religion and pretty much everyone agrees it was better before. I don't encounter much hate, and I've been in Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and mingled mostly with locals.

I'm from Serbia and we have a saying here that says "If you don't wish Yugoslavia came back together again, you have no heart. If you wish Yugoslavia came back together again, you have no brain", roughly translated.

Don't get me wrong. I don't think it's actually really possible. I think there is too much distrust and the lines have been drawn. But I don't think I've met anyone that grew up in Jugoslavija that thinks they didn't have a good life in a good country before the war, and that things are much worse now in every way.

Hearing your story would probably be my submission to this post. Damn this one hit me. Thank you.

Always, always, make up your own mind. Your decision may be the same as everyone else's but come up to it on your own and not because everyone is doing it.

I've made several mistakes by following what's popular and I hope I can teach my children better.

What would you say is the biggest/most consequential mistake you made by following what’s popular?

When I was 16/17, I was making a lot of money through my websites and freelancing as a web designer. I was able to because I got into webdev when I was 13, and spent 10-12 hrs everyday, working on my projects.

This was back in 2009/10.

It was pretty much the beginning of the highly monetized web we see today.

I left all of it to go to college... because, you know... a college degree. I used all my savings to fund college.

8 years later, I still don't make as much as I used to. I often ponder where my projects would have been if I had continued them.

Thanks for your insight!

Why were the police arresting people?

Probably the whole Mafia thing.

Control. That and depreciating currency is bad so they didn't want people using the dollar instead

What on earth did they expect people to use as currency if their national currency was defunct?

All kidding aside, it’s events such as these that has me believing in cryptocurrencies as a solution.

Who knows what happened but Yugoslavia broke up and all countries had multiple wars. This probably happened in a Serbian language speaking country (unfortunately it led to people speaking the same language fighting one another). Albanian speaking parts the police would have been Serbian and likely arresting Albanians. So my guess is Bosnia or Croatia.

Evo upvote za tebe! Super savet :)

Looks like he didn't go to the Prometheus school of running away from things.

He still was 10 steps ahead

r/bestof

This is an amazing story and one I'll most definitely add to my list of Maxims for life. One of these to share back, if you want to hear it applies to this thread.

When I was a teenager I spent a couple of those years in a group home. The single best thing I learned there was a quote from a councilor who said "Rex, the older I get the more I figure out it's not about what's right and what's wrong, it's about what works and what doesn't work." That was 23 years ago. I recite it every morning.

A good mantra for sure

Totally agreed. You walk your own path. This doesn’t mean that you can’t borrow other people’s roads but stick to your own road at all times, never follow others blindly because they might be heading for a cliff without even knowing it

Sta ti je Srbin da neverujes 😁

I think this is what De Bono calls lateral thinking.

As a person who was almost born in Germany but instead was born in Macedonia your dad did good hah. Shit here sucks.

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The main issue is that there are not many opportunities. You can survive, that's not hard, the hard part is living while you survive. You have to work all the time for a pretty shit pay. It's hard to get a good job, and the most jobs available are the shit ones with shit hours, shit people and shit pay

To this day, my dad credits his escape as having "gone to the side... not against the crowd, nor with it".

Would you mind writing this in original Serbian?

Do današnjeg dana, moj otac zaslugu za svoje bekstvo daje '' pomeranju na stranu, ne protiv gužve niti sa njom''

Translation?

To this day, my father has mercy on his blessing to "shift to the side, not against the crowd or with her"

This. Is. The. Best. Answer. Thank you.

Hey, great to hear your dad got away from that. Care yo elaborate how you say it in Serbian? I speak Serbo-Croatian and am intrigued how he phrased it.

Kako izreka glasi na našem?

Can I use Russian to guess what this means

I just entered it in Google Translate and it didn’t help. Try using Bosnian. I asked op what’s the original in our language (Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian are basically the same).

So don’t go with the flow go sideways? :p

"gone to the side... not against the crowd, nor with it"

I love this.

That is a fucking cool story. I'll remember that.

I'm not a Buddhist, but this reminds me of what I like about Buddhism, and how it calls itself the "middle way". It doesn't concern itself with debates and choosing sides one way or the other on a lot of issues. It's a great way to be

Exactly. My freshman year English teach pointed out that going against the flow is still in line with it, being controlled by it.

That's an amazing story!

Здраво! Сам учио српски два дани :) свиђа ми се, али сам веома лоше

Sorry for my terrible Serbian but I started learning it the other day and I LOVE it. I saw by your username you’re probably into languages & etymology too and Serbian(/Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin) is my most recent hobby and even though I’m still shit I’m improving daily and it’s a crazy beautiful language I’d never really thought about before.

Anyways, amazing story, too :)

Translated to Serbian it should say "pomeri se sa strane... ne idi protiv gomile niti joj se pridruzi"

Two roads converged, and I.... I went sideways. And that has made all the difference

My favorite version of this from someone at a festival is, "don't let everyone going the other way make you think you're going the wrong way".

That’s beautiful and profound. How do you say it in Serbian?

Pomeri se na stranu, niti protiv gužve, niti sa gužvom.

This is the best advice I have read in while. Thanks dude.

Thats like a story from a movie man

Sent via reddit for iPhone.

Lol jokes aside, great story thanks for the message

That’s weird a philosophy I have. That’s a great story to describe it and glad it saved your dad!

I like this a lot!

Your dad is bad ass.

Nice

I really love this.

He took the road mildly less travelled

A sort of "think outside the box" lesson?

That's a life lesson, right there. Your father is a wise, wise man. I'll remember this story.

Thats actual a really good analogy.

Yugoslavia represent! My family is from Olib and my grandfather tells me similar civil war stories of police coming and forcing people agaisnt each other. My grandfather also refuses to speak of ww2 times and lied to us about having Polish heritage his entire life until recently. I think he had to lie about it back then due to many unspeakable things happening to Jewish Yugoslav's.

Could you tell me what he said in Serbian without translating it?

Why were the police waiting? Was it illegal to buy US dollars?

Yes, it would further devaluate Yugoslav money

I know i'm 6 hours late but it really makes me happy when i see serbia mentioned on reddit but i never thought i would see it mentioned on the top comment on a front page post :D

Same as the Buddha's teaching of the middle path. A teacher teaching a student: If the strings too tight its liable to snap and if its too loose it wont produce music.

Love this!

I feel I've witnessed the birth of a piece of Reddit folklore in this quote

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

This sounds like it would be an amazing essay. I pictured that in my head so perfectly

This has always been my go-to Godzilla avoidance strategy. Glad to see it works in practice.

Holy shit, this is like, what I do without realizing it.

Similar story ,except my dad is a cynical asshole who hates everyone and everything. War can ruin someone.

Really awesome story. Thanks for sharing.

Moral of the story. Fuck communism!

Username checks out

Man, you should take time to write down all these stories with this as the main focus, write a book, then see it develop in to a hollywood blockbuster film. Crazy.

The definition of mediocrity, stay safe...

I went to Yugoslavia with my friend Obrad Kesic a very short time before the war started. We were there for two weeks and stayed with his family and friends, and we went all over the country. It was an incredibly memorable trip, with hilarious stories and very warm people and experiences.

Many of the people I met on that trip were either killed or damaged in the war. When i look at the photos from that trip and see all of the people I am laughing with, I sometimes get overwhelmed with a strong feeling that rapidly waxes and wanes between joy and dread. There is nothing else in my life that provides such bittersweet memories.

Thank you very much for this. Hvala leypo.

Zdravo!

Not too many other Serbs around here.

that gave me goosebumps. thanks for sharing such a wonderful, meaningful story.

So you just avoid conflicts?

no, just the unimportant ones

Very cool.

My grandfather and his family had it easier since he was one of Tito’s bodyguards, I have a lot of respect for your father.

Wow! Care to elaborate? I'd love to hear what that was like

From talking to my grandfather about his life there I could tell he disliked it.

His family was influential during the time, owning a large amount of land in what is now Tetovo, Macedonia. But life still wasn’t that easy even though the area he lived in was prospering. His job included protecting Tito and suppressing/silencing vocal ethnic/territorial leaders moving for independence. He would speak about the constant threats and dangers of being the wall between the public and Tito due to the constant attempts to assassinate Tito by countries such as the USSR and the nationalism and violence between ethnicities. He doesn’t really speak about what he had to do during the time and I can see that whatever he did do he wasn’t proud of. After the split started and Macedonia got independence peacefully (the families land was taken by the MKD government after independence) he left my father with some other family members and left with my grandmother to Canada as a painter, began a new life and then brought my father to Canada for university until moving to the U.S. for good.

My grandfather turned into a heavy republican after coming to America due to the conditions and what communism was like in Yugoslavia.

I apologize for not having too much information, he doesn’t speak of the time anymore and has hidden all of his belongings such as his old uniform.

gone to the side... not against the crowd, nor with it

favorite quote now

I mean no offense, it's a great story, but I don't think it fits OP's question. Your father told you that story for a reason, and it was specifically for that line.

I'm pretty sure he meant it literally, and I've come to apply it to other facets of my life. Thought that was worth sharing

I didn't mean that it wasn't worth sharing. Give your father some credit, he was giving you a life lesson. The only way that statement wouldn't have impacted you is if you weren't paying attention.

only guilty people run.

I do this a lot in my life. Never in as bad a spot as your father was in.
I call it "finding the third option".
It's a great strategy.

Hey don't beat yourself up about the grammar too much, my padeži are all over the damn place too. But you'll easily fit in when you go to Niš 😂

Also known as Keeping it Swiss

What a great story, with a great moral. I've been living by that my whole life, and now I have a parable to tell to go along with it.

thats a good one. I realized this in high school. One of the kids in our group just kind of did/said his own thing. Just because everyone else was wearing these clothes or doing this after school didn't mean shit to him. It stood out to me and I've tried to be like this since. Don't let others influence your choices so much.

Yours was the first comment I read on here and I’ve gotten the same advice that has helped guide my life: live on the fringe and go your own way. It’s nice to see how universal that is.

My name is Sasha, which I regretted through grade school but learned to love. I was name after my great great uncle who escaped the internment camps in WW2 because he was a scientist and charismatic. I dont have a lesson or saying that stuck with me, but simply a relate-able story.

I love this.

In Nietzsche, this is his "child" state, the highest state of man. The camel goes with the crowd, that is the most primitive state. The lion goes against the crowd (thus, the lions direction is still defined by the crowd... it looks to the movement of the crowd and then opposes it). The child creates a new direction, unconsidering of the crowd. And the Superman changes the crowds direction in his pathway, permanently (but the Superman is an idea, modeled after Jesus or Buddha or Mohammed, and is not really something all that possible).

I thought it said "My dog escaped" and read half the thing confused af

"gone to the side... not against the crowd, nor with it"

the correct replicaesque punctuation would be "gone to the side, not against, the crowd.... nor with it"

One day, the police came down the main alleyway, and everybody ran the other way except for my father, who ducked into a nearby shop. At the other end of the street, more police were waiting, and they arrested everybody who ran that way.

Was this during some sort of protest / resistance, or were the police just arresting everyone without rhyme or reason?

I assume you’re talking about the Yugoslavian SSR?

It was not a soviet republic?

Wasn't it a part of the warsaw pact?

Edit: Nevermind, I feel retarded

I don't think he'd like Reddit that much then.

I would have thought for sure someone would have brought up The Godfather.

Clemenza: They're gonna be staring at your face, Mike...so walk outta the place real fast but you don't run. Don't look nobody directly in the eye...but you don't look away, either. 

dobra priča, pametan čovek

He made a good call. My parents stayed because there wasn't much else they could do. Croatia is currently a shithole that I have to live in, and Bosnia and Serbia are not much better either.

As someone who has applied that philosophy in your life, what do you think of Kanye West’s recent take of it?

It's similar to this quote, from a manga

As you go through life, the might current of society is bound to get in your way and there will certainly be times that things don't go as you'd hoped. When this happens, don't look to society for a cause. Do not renounce society. Frankly, you'd be wasting your time. Instead just say, "That's life!" and muddle your way through with frustration. Once you're past it, consider: If society's swift current is tossing you around, how should you be swimming there in it's midst. ... You don't always have to stand and face it head-on. You can run and you can hide. If it's not against the rules, you can try a sneak attack. You can use unconventional weapons. Stay determined - not impatient nor discouraged - and with repeated trial and error, you're bound to reach a splendid outcome eventually. - Korosensei, Assassination Classroom

Svaka cast :)

Not inspiring. Democracy will collapse if people avoid unpleasant situations.

When I was in 10th grade other pupils asked me why I'm different and seemingly don't give a shit about other people's life "meta". My response was: "I'm not swing in the mainstream nor against it since this is the mainstream of the opposition. I swim happily in my "sidestream " which goes wherever I go" That's basicly your story with much more swag and less seriousness ^^

I can taste libertarianism all over this post, ew.

Actually, in an ironic twist of fate, I'm a democratic socialist

Oh snap

Firstly I don't understand how money can become worthless, like it's a marker of value, the value hasn't changed, only it's perception

As for police raids, yes I agree. Go the direction that is least suspicious

how money can become worthless

you can't eat money, you can't wear it when it's cold

Firstly I don't understand how money can become worthless, like it's a marker of value, the value hasn't changed, only it's perception

The value is entirely in its perception. There's no inherent value in it whatsoever, so it's dependent on how people value it. It's not actually tied to anything specific either (it used to be tied to a tangible amount of gold,) but even if it was, it's a common misconception that gold is of any inherent value as well.

Yes exactly. In times of inflation why cant a country just say chill out a loaf of bread still costs the same

Just stop being tied to a global dollar that means nothing

This is either one of the more targeted trolls I've seen or a huge misunderstanding of how inflation works...

do go on.... " the adoption of fiat currency by many countries, from the 18th century onwards, made much larger variations in the supply of money possible. Since then, huge increases in the supply of paper money have taken place in a number of countries, producing hyperinflations – episodes of extreme inflation rates much higher than those observed in earlier periods of commodity money. The hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic of Germany is a notable example. Currently, the hyperinflation in Venezuela is the highest in the world, with an annual inflation rate of around 536.2% as of October 2017.[28]"

so why is that hyperinflation mandatory?

What do you mean mandatory?

And in your earlier comment, what do you mean "why can't a country just say shill out a loaf of bread still costs the same"? By "country", who exactly do you mean?

Just making sure we're starting on the same page here.

I mean the consequences of hyperinflation are considered to be a thing that can befall a currency, but the currency is really just a placeholder for a certain value set by a country.

In my earlier comment i mean why is a country obligated to retain that (now corrupted value) of their currency? Why cant they say Chill out, within our borders a loaf of bread still costs the same, aka pre inflation rates.

By country what do I mean? Is this a trick question???? What are you on about. A governing body with complete control over certain borders, rules of law and conduct, and the printing of money

For example: A fiat-money currency greatly loses its value should the issuing government or central bank either lose the ability to, or refuse to, further guarantee its value. The usual consequence is hyperinflation. Some examples where this has occurred are the Zimbabwean dollar, China in 1945 and the mark in the Weimar Republic in 1923.

But this need not necessarily occur; for example, the so-called Swiss dinar continued to retain value in Kurdish Iraq even after its legal tender status was withdrawn by the Iraqi central government which issued the notes.[37][38]

Right, now we're on the same page. To clarify, I was mostly wondering if you meant the government or the population in general, as that's two different issues.

So let's say that a country starts tending towards hyperinflation. A loaf of bread now costs 20 times what it did a month or two back. The government, understandably, starts thinking "Oh shit, this isn't good, what can we do about it?" and decides to say "Ok, everyone go back to whatever your prices were 2 months back".

How is this enforced? Random audits I guess, but that can't even come close to fully covering the entire economy. Maybe make the penalties for non-compliance high enough that it isn't worth the risk to stay at the high prices? Relying on competition certainly helps. To be honest, while there would be some people breaking the new law, the biggest issue right now would be that people don't like the precedent of the government dictating prices; it undermines the basic ideals of a free competitive market. Some countries would care more than others (with the US probably quite near the top, there would be riots in the streets if the government tried to dictate allowable pricing across the board).

So let's move on to the next issue. What about those people who are now out of money because everything cost more for a while but their salary was too slow to change? That's probably a lot of people, and the gap between the providers of goods and services and the rest of the population skyrockets. Running even a corner-store during a period of hyperinflation that you know is going to end is a hugely profitable venture. You'll have a lot of people who have become multi-millionaires overnight, and a lot more who lost all their savings.

The biggest problem though is that money is worth what people think it's worth, and not a cent more. If people see the problems caused even in the short term by hyperinflation, they will lose faith in the currency and start trying to buy other currencies. If hyperinflation happened once, why wouldn't it happen again? And if it did, wouldn't it be much better to have savings in a different, more stable currency, so that the effects of inflation aren't felt as much? The government might go a bit crazy here and try to ban that, to try to keep the currency more stable. People will buy goods of some sort instead. Probably useful things. Hard to liquidate, but you might at least be able to barter while anyone who only had cash is starving in the streets...either way, people lose faith in the currency, and inflation happens.

Inflation is a pretty hard topic, I don't understand everything about it (so obviously take everything I've said with a grain of salt) and there are a lot of very smart people who would have come across a solution like this already if it was as simple as it seems at first glance. Teams of economists in every government in the world are constantly doing everything they can to control the rate of inflation, spending, taxes, and the stability of the economy in general.

interesting perspectives

something something gdp, global markets, stock trading, assets, witchcraft

you look at house prices 50 years ago. dramatic crazy increase in my city. Why? Because no regulation and people like money. price increases rely on people accepting the new prices and buying in too

im just speculating, if my currency was spiraling out of control, i would seek to close myself off from the global markets, close the borders, and just create an artificial valuation, not unlike eggs exchanged for bread in days of old. I wonder what is preventing countries from doing this? Besides the fact that they need to be in the global market place to import and export.... what if they just stopped doing that?

People like to think that market corrects itself, demand and supply etc, but those are esoteric concepts when you literally cant buy food with a fist full of money

It's called inflation.

excellent response i am now convinced

there we go

To all the young socialists, read this post as a lesson.

You should read what Yugoslavia was like under Tito