Dealing with people who have bad taste?
 

Do you have relatives, friends, or associates who have bad tastes in certain things or everything? How do you deal with them?

One of my step sisters has lousy taste in everything. When she used to buy gifts for me, I'd politely say thanks, and then the gift would end up in my closet. Thankfully, gift giving around the holidays became for the little children only (the grand children). Being as I have no children, I'd buy my gifts for their children (I have 3 step sisters), and then I'd leave. But I no longer have to deal with coming up with a nice thing to say about the crap she would buy.

If their choices are seriously affecting their lives or other's lives and they are unaware of this, it would be good to point it out to them. They may be offended at first, but they will eventually come to appreciate your good intentions.

But if their choices aren't really doing anybody any harm, there's no point in getting involved. Really, who's to say what's bad taste?

Just smile and shake your head later.
Most people are what they are,
and they resent any opinion on style from you,
they need to figure it out for themselves.

Maybe at the most, you can give a polite tip or two,
but that's it.

My partner has NO taste. I don't mean bad taste. I mean he lacks any kind of aesthetic sensibility. We are redecorating the office and because of the budget (or lack thereof) we are using furniture and art from an office that opened and closed in less than a year. We did not get to choose the theme but the stuff does go together and it looks so much better than the hodge-podge that was there before.

We finally got around to hanging the art work (because the painters finished) and he had a fit that we were taking down cheap posters and two really ugly tapestries. He brought one back from SE Asia himself and his mother gave him the rest. I don't know about the history of the tapestry she gave her, but it is old and dirty and torn. I am sure she gave him the framed posters just because she knew he needed something on the walls when he started almost 20 years ago. We ended up moving his stuff to a back hall, so at least, the first hall everyone goes in has good looking stuff that looks like it belongs. My other partner is having a fit because she looks out her office down that back hall. It does look like a tent bazaar back there. I can only hope than one day he will give up and take them home.

He is a great guy, but he is the visual equivalent to tone-deaf.

My mother has no taste in anything when it comes to pop culture. Her favorite movie is "Dave" just for example. Her opinion of the LOTR movies: "Boring. There is no plot." Her opinion on American Beauty: "Why did it have to be so negative?'. She thinks every TV show should be like "Touched by Angel". I feel sorry for my dad because she contols the TV. My brother and a few of my friends have a bad taste in clothes. They dress like they belong in Blink 182 eventhough they are frat boys.

My aunt has the worst taste in decorations. She has this huge canvas that's like 12x12 feet on her wall, and it's just covered in random colors.. and it just looks horrible. Further more, she has little structures and wall hangings that make you want to puke...

I guess when you own your own biz you can afford to have a hideous house.

Her real bad taste lies in how she raises her kids. She's liberal, that's fine, but when she allows her (then) 16 year old son to drink and smoke at a reunion, I laid it on her verbally. I cant stand people who let their kids fuck around. Humans need a little discipline.

When it comes to people with different/bad taste in decor, art, music, dress, and what have you, I figger to each their own, and hope they don't, in the case of relatives, try to foist any of it off on me.

I have a lot of talent but no taste at all.

awww damn... i thought this was about people who had Peter Jackson's movie Bad Taste

I live in a trailer court.
Bad taste is high art around here.
Still I know yuppies who collect kitsch just because it is in bad taste.
They have flamingos and lawn gnomes not because they believe the silly things are classy but because they are not.
I'm not sure which is more obnoxious.
The people who have no taste or the people who revel in the aspects of bad taste.
At least the folks in my trailer court are genuine.

I've never bit myself, so as far as taste I'm unsure.

"Dealing" with people.. that phrase bothers me. it sounds like "what do we do with idiot friends", though I'm sure that's not what is meant.

this is what I try to do. if it is my best friend or someone who knows me as honest i won't hurt their feelingss, but say something like "that just doesn't look right, but no worries".

I am myself and i know i've got some bad taste. but it's who I am. so i'd not take real critisism too well. so i won't be a hypocrit and do it myself.

different strokes for different folks. i try to not let my ego go as high to judge people if it is unnecesary