February 27, 2023 at 4:31 am

15 People Share Things That Were Once Respected and Now Are Total Jokes

by Matthew Gilligan

Respect can disappear in a heartbeat.

Remember Kevin Spacey?

That guy used to be the toast of the town in Hollywood and now…not so much.

What used to be highly respected and is now a total joke?

Here’s how AskReddit users answered that question.

1. Downfall.

“Bill Cosby.

It really sucks as my parents had his records. We grew up listening and quoting them. I still do but now I occasionally sigh and feel disappointed. I can’t say “oops” because the skit is embedded into my brain.

Dentist: “Oops”

Patient: “What do you mean “oops”? I’m a plumber, I know what it means when I say “oops”…””

2. That sucks.

“The Guinness Book of World Records

Once a well-established and professional collection of every impressive human feat, now a quick ego boost for rich kids that have barely enough talent to balance an egg on their forehead for 15 seconds on a July Afternoon at exactly 11:55 AM while wearing a Hello Kitty onesie.”

3. Down the tubes.

“The Walking D**d.

Pretty sure it went from #1 show on TV to on life support after the 4th season.”

4. Clown show.

“The office of Prime Minister in the UK government.

It’s been a clown show for at least 6 years.”

5. Not a good thing at all.

“Unfortunately, education, facts, and subject matter experts.

Everyone thinks they are an expert because they can google something. Regardless of their confirmation bias, everyone thinks they are an expert until reality fails their self made degree or expertise.

The Dunning-Kruger effect has made the previously stated skill sets a joke.”

6. That’s a sad one.

“Apologies if this has been mentioned, but my husband who is 15 years older than me told me that he remembers when Bravo was a network that focused on arts / educational programming and indie films.”

7. No fun anymore.

“The Food Network.

It used to be educational and fun, now it’s just nonstop competition.”

8. Sad, but true…

“The History Channel.

The Learning Channel.

MTV.”

9. Remember…?

“Sears.

I worked there up until they were bought by Kmart. It was a great job making $25/hr selling vacuums and some appliances.

Commissions got cut and I was making minimum wage less than a year after they were acquired. Didn’t make that much again at any job until after college.”

10. Too bad.

“Bank managers.

They used to have serious power in local communities.

Now they have to be glorified customer service reps a lot of the time.”

11. What happened?

“Craftsman tools.

OG Craftsman tools were something else. After he d**d a few years ago I inherited my father’s tool collection, most of which he had inherited from my grandfather in the 1970s.

Those tools are so much better than anything I’ve bought for myself. Superior quality.”

12. Ruined it.

“Hobbies. I am a hobbyist musician, and will never try to make money off of my music. I simply enjoy creating it with zero expectations.

Hustle culture ruined a lot of that because now every time I share my music with people, it turns into a conversation about monetization or how I’m wasting my time on something. It’s hard to even find likeminded people who want to collaborate without it turning into some big thing.

Time enjoyed is not time wasted.”

13. Back in the day.

“Landline telephones.

The house phone used to be a vital link to the outside world. It’s how you’d talk to friends and family far away, interact with businesses, call for help in an emergency, etc. But once junk calls were allowed to spiral completely out of control, the phone became a nuisance.

As someone I saw said a while back, a Gen Z person would sooner jump on a live grenade than accept an incoming call from an unknown number… and that’s in the context of mobile phones, which don’t get nearly as much spam. Wired phones are almost completely useless today.”

14. That’s too bad.

“Better Business Bureau.

It’s essentially a rebranded Chamber of Commerce, not some independent agency intent on ensuring good practices.”

15. Used to be classy.

“Flying.

People used to dress up. Flight attendants were highly regarded.

The food was actually pretty good.”

twistedsifter on facebook 15 People Share Things That Were Once Respected and Now Are Total Jokes