u/MUSICO-PHILE

I had a conversation with my mom about some traditions things like restrictions during periods, not eating non-veg, not cutting nails on certain days, etc. I told her honestly that a lot of these don’t make sense to me and feel more enforced than actually understood.

What really caught me off guard is that she agreed. She said herself that many of these things don’t make sense.

But when I asked her why she still follows them, her answer was just fear. Fear of sin, fear that something bad might happen, fear that God might punish her. She also said this is how she was raised and since our ancestors followed it, we should too.

That moment really hit me. It made me realize how many people don’t actually follow traditions because they believe in them, but because they’re conditioned to, or scared not to. And that honestly felt kind of heavy.

The conversation didn’t go anywhere after that. It turned into the usual “you’re just a teenager, you’ll understand when you grow up.” When I asked what if I don’t, she said I’d become a “bigda hua insaan('spoiled person').”

That part genuinely hurt. Not even because of the words, but because she knows some of these things don’t make sense, and still feels like she has to follow them out of fear.

I just want things to make sense, that conversation left me feeling heavy and unsettled, reflecting on how belief, fear, and conditioning are so deeply encoded in a person's brain.

For context I am from Bihar studying in another state. Over time, I’ve started noticing that I get targeted with jokes or comments about my background more often than I expected. What makes it confusing is that there are other students from Bihar in my class, but they don’t seem to face the same thing.

Most of the time, I stay quiet and ignore it, but honestly, it doesn’t feel good to just sit there and take it repeatedly. It starts to make you question what you’re doing wrong or why you’re being singled out.

I’m trying to understand what could be causing this difference — whether it’s behavior, body language, communication style, or something else.

For those who’ve experienced or observed this:

What actually makes someone an “easy target” in these situations, and what practical changes help reduce it without turning it into unnecessary conflict?

I am from Bihar studying in another state. Over time, I’ve started noticing that I get targeted with jokes or comments about my background more often than I expected. What makes it confusing is that there are other students from Bihar in my class, but they don’t seem to face the same thing.

Most of the time, I stay quiet and ignore it, but honestly, it doesn’t feel good to just sit there and take it repeatedly. It starts to make you question what you’re doing wrong or why you’re being singled out.

I’m trying to understand what could be causing this difference — whether it’s behavior, body language, communication style, or something else.

For those who’ve experienced or observed this:
What actually makes someone an “easy target” in these situations, and what practical changes help reduce it without turning it into unnecessary conflict?

Pata hai aaj kya hua actually 10 mahine pehle ka baat hai.

There are 4 main guys in this story. Let's call them A, B, C and D.

A is openly gay. One day A and B were in the boys washroom touching each other's balls and having a moment. C was also there watching them, and it was consensual (A and B knew he was there and were fine with it).

Then D came into the washroom, saw everything, and went and told one of the strictest teachers in our school.

After some time, the school removed only student B from the college. A, C and D faced no action.

Extra context: B had a messed up past — he used to openly threaten other students, boast about beating them up, and had a reputation for being aggressive.

The college tried its best to keep the whole thing quiet so it doesn't affect their reputation.

That's the full story. It spread anyway even though they tried to curb it.

I’ve been slowly trying to show my parents that I don't really connect with religion anymore. I haven't used big labels like 'atheist' or 'nāstik' because I don’t want a word to get in the way of us—I’ve just been honest with my mom and more indirect with my dad. But it’s getting harder. He expects me to join in prayers, and my resistance just leads to arguments. Even things like touching elders’ feet feel like a struggle; when it’s forced, it feels hollow, but saying no is seen as a sign of a 'bad upbringing.' I’m just trying to be myself without breaking our bond, but I feel stuck between staying true to my thoughts and meeting their heavy expectations.(My mother is highkey chill about me bein non-believer)

Heres the pattern I noticed. every religion does this. They all find different ways to convince their followers they hold the ultimate truth. They cherry-pick lines from their holy books, reverse-engineer meanings, and then pretend those interpretations were symbolically encoded thousands of years ago. Its kinda strange( a bit kinda funny tbh lol )