The Three Taboo Topics was something that a drunk told me once upon a time. The man, who I will not name, was completely and utterly upset because he had this huge debate with some other person that turned violent and he ended up getting his butt handed over to him on a silver platter. With his lip cut, his nose blocked with dried blood, he turned to me and told me simply:

"Tucks, whatever you do, always stay away from the Three Taboo Topics. They are the quickest way to get your hurt, lose friends, or worse..."

And he's right.

Now, this happened in the days before Internet, before Wikipedia, before Google. The only information you could get was via newspapers, and sometimes newspapers left out certain bits of important information and there was little you could do about it. But with the advent of the Internet that changed. Now people can go after one another's beliefs and morals without any qualms or the slightest bit of hesitation in online discussion forums, which normally turn into a big steaming pile of human verbal abuses and expletives as they argue, swear, and generally let their inner-asshole say things that they would never say in real life (usually, although there have been exceptions where people say whatever they feel).

So, what are the Three Taboo Topics?

The number one Taboo Topic is Religion.

Religion is perhaps the most dangerous topic of discussion. Even people who believe in the same religion end up arguing because of their interpretation of it. There was this one time at a church I was in that I heard two priests arguing as to how to properly say 'Amen'. One argued that the correct was was to say it so the 'A' sounded like the long 'A' in the word 'Ape', while the other said it was 'A' in the word 'Apartment'.

To me, both are the same thing. There's no difference! But they ended up having a really heated discussion about it, using references from all over the place, to which I found surprising. In the end, though, they managed to be content that they will keep with their own version of the word, and to hell with the other's opinion on the matter.

But that's just a small scale. I don't think I need to tell you just how severe arguments over religion can go.


The number two Taboo Topic is Politics.

Politics are taboo because no matter what you do, no matter how much evidence you provide, and no matter how hard you try, the other person will absolutely refuse to shift their own perspective. In fact, the harder you try, the more resolved they become to stick with their own political ideals. It takes a really rude and harsh awakening for the person to realize for themselves whether or not their political allegiance is wrong or right.

That is evident in all cultures around the world. The strange thing is that it is because of these arguments that people are able to change their governments. Usually for the better, but sometimes not. Politics is usually something that is best avoided during a social situation, and is better suited for the Internet on forums.


The last Taboo Topic is either Sex or Money.

It really depends on the culture, actually. Money in many cases is seen as something that should be kept to yourself, and not to be 'brandished'. English people especially, I find, are especially uptight about the mentioning of cash. They would rather talk about raunchy sex in explicit details, then to reveal about how much they've earned the night before.

But in other countries, the mere mention of sex will cause people to freeze in their tracks and become 'scandalized' by it. For example, Saudi Arabia (from what I believe and from what I've been told) the mere mention of sex will get you in a load of trouble.