Things That Used To Be Nice But Someone Ruined It For Everyone

A Lot Of Good

It’s easy to see a lot of good in the world. Kindness and trust often take over and we are left with many nice things. But these nice things can often be ruined by one, single person.

A bunch of Redditors recently expressed their thoughts on some nice things that someone else has ruined for them, and we’re about to take a look at some of the best.

Card Information

A few years ago, a guy on Twitter shared his Starbucks card information and told people to put it on their phones. The idea was to have a shared/community card thing. Get a drink if you want to, or donate to it so others can get a drink. You would think that people would just grab free drinks, but it actually had a surplus of donations versus people actually using it. I think the card ended up with like $200 at some point.

Some guy comes along and locks the card/account, effectively shutting it down. He said he did it because he wanted to prove how ineffective sharing was or something dumb like that. You always have that one guy who sees other people enjoying something and feels the need to disrupt it.

Flights

I used to be able to walk into an airport, book a flight, walk to the gate and get on the plane. I have flown from SFO (where I live) to LAX (where my sister lives) countless times in just that fashion.

But nowadays, it seems that security is lethargic, and it takes ages to finally get to the gate to finally board the plane.

Church Vandalism

We used to keep our church doors open 24/7. But then vandals wrecked that, so we locked up at night. Then we left it open during the days on Saturdays, and vandals wrecked that.

That was the worst for us, so now we keep the place locked up except almost exclusively during banking hours and Sunday mornings. It’s really sad that we can’t have nice things.

Traveling

In a way, traveling. Overtourism is an issue in part because idiots have no idea how to care for a space that they’re in.

Really, it’s a privilege to travel, but these people treat it like a joke. Littering, getting drunk and trashing an area, not honoring local customs, being rude, and more can destroy a place.

Summer Cabin

Our parents had a small summer cabin on a quiet, wooded lake. The water was pristine and ideal for fishing and swimming. The air smelled of fresh pine.

Then it caught on, and the lake became overtaxed and ruined with powerboats – polluted with gasoline, oil, and junk tossed into the water (tires, mattresses, washing machines, solvents, etc.) Now, the fish are gone, the water stinks, and the pine trees have been cut down.

Playground Equipment

Playground equipment. The rolly slides teeter totters, the merry-go-rounds, and there was even a park I used to play in as a kid that had an old, retired train car we could go in. The rolly slides apparently pinched too many fingers, the teeter totters were too hard to get off of, and the merry-go-rounds were spun too fast.

As for the train, I’m pretty sure there were people shooting up drugs and/or homeless people sleeping on it. Plus graffiti. Now it’s gated off and no fun for anyone.

Sense Of Community

A sense of community in your neighborhood. As a kid (2nd grade ish), I used to walk over to my friends, and we played in each other’s backyards. We learned how to bike together, would “explore” the woods between yards, and play with the older middle schoolers.

A lot of paranoia kinda ended that. The DC sniper shooting, fear of kidnappers, it all kinda hit at once. Well, that and cicada season. After that summer, people around here kinda kept to themselves more.

eBay

eBay used to be this amazing multi-national garage sale. Filled to the brim with people selling their used stuff. Then people started filling it with garbage and no-brand products and drop shipping it to the winning bidders. Then came the people that started using it as a storefront and charging full retail value for NIB items.

Now eBay is nothing more than resellers that find it more affordable than developing an actual web store. Leaving me scratching my head, wondering why people don’t just order it from Amazon for $20 less or walk to a big box store and buy it for the same price without shipping or a wait. I’ve permanently checked the “used” button, and the search results have been far better, but there are still people that keep the original box and try to sell it in new condition for full retail.

Catching A Ride

Hitchhiking. When my parents were growing up in the 60s and 70s, it was normal here, in the middle of a city, to grab a ride from a stranger you might not have known.

All it took for it to be ruined was malicious people making sure that no one could trust strangers for a ride. Nowadays, it’s even illegal to hitchhike in a lot of countries.

YouTube

Youtube. Used to be about uploading amateur videos. Old school YouTubers put out quality content as well. Now it’s all corporate, with companies promoting their stuff, and the majority of the content is bad.

YouTube still has good quality content from uploaders. But it just feels a lot more commercial than it used to be, and I don’t like that.

Donating Things At Garage Sales

There used to be an annual free garage sale near me. People would bring in boxes of things to donate, volunteers would set them out on tables, and everyone could take what they wanted.

Then a couple of people pretended to be volunteers and loaded the boxes of donations directly into their own cars. A lot was also stolen from the church that hosted the event, including the stool from their organ. They no longer have the free garage sale.

Using Towels At The Gym

I belong to a small, local 24-hour gym. They used to have small white towels (hand-sized) that you could use while you worked out. There was a laundry basket you could throw them in as you were leaving. They weren’t great quality. In fact, they were rather rough from being washed every day, but they were nice to wipe down your treadmill, wipe your face, etc.

Last month I entered the gym & there was a sign stating that they’re no longer stocking the towels because people are stealing them. Why would anyone steal these small, scratchy towels? It’s probably the gym rats who forget to put them in the basket and now have a huge collection in their trucks.

Prescription Meds

Inhalers. My bestie, who had asthma, used to be able to get inhalers without going through the counter when he was a kid, and he needed them desperately.

Now they quit selling them over the counter, and you need a prescription because druggy gotta drug. I imagine a lot of different kinds of medicines ended up this way because of people that want to abuse substances.

Ruining Free Beer

A friend of mine used to work in a brewery during the summer breaks. They were allowed to bring beer cans that were dented home with them to drink.

No real restrictions. So one smartass filled up his car with cases full of dented cans and tried to sell them on the street at a discounted price. No more beer for anyone. It was such a pity, too, because nothing beat a free beer in the summer heat.