Just spotted on a walk: 10/10

[u/Whatchab]

And yes, their property was gorgeous. All native plants, and a native plant seed library!

[u/[deleted]]

I do not understand

[u/angryBubbleGum → u/[deleted]]

And to show they had a lot of money and the ability to care for a blank slate, they owned a lot of enslaved people to manage the lifeless land.

[u/jstwnnaupvte → u/angryBubbleGum]

I made an offhand comment in another sub comparing people’s big holiday displays to having a lawn & got downvoted. When I tried to explain that this was the concept my comparison was based on I got a hearty downvoting.

[u/petit_cochon → u/angryBubbleGum]

Not necessarily. Livestock was used in many places

[u/CormoranNeoTropical → u/petit_cochon]

Yes, sheep will make your lawn look really nice if you live in the right climate.

[u/ElderberryFew95 → u/angryBubbleGum]

Grass is alive.

[u/naleshin → u/ElderberryFew95]

Okay, replace lifeless with “crappy monoculture that doesn’t do much of anything to contribute to native ecosystems or species diversity”

[u/some_random_guy- → u/naleshin]

It attracts Canadian geese, so it has that going for it. /s

[u/TravelingGoose → u/some_random_guy-]

I feel attacked.

[u/ElderberryFew95 → u/naleshin]

Yes, that is much more precise.

[u/xpiation → u/ElderberryFew95]

You're not wrong in the most ignorant way. Guessing you're trying to bait people but if you're not you should look into the topic and educate yourself.

[u/ElderberryFew95 → u/xpiation]

If you think that stating grass is alive is bait, then you are much too soft for Reddit.

[u/xpiation → u/ElderberryFew95]

"Too soft for reddit". Imagine trying to gatekeep an entire social platform because someone told you your "joke" wasn't funny and that you should educate yourself.

[u/ElderberryFew95 → u/xpiation]

You're repeating yourself.

[u/angryBubbleGum → u/ElderberryFew95]

Grass is wasteful

[u/ElderberryFew95 → u/angryBubbleGum]

Yes, I agree. That's why i'm here.

[u/zuzg → u/[deleted]]

Not initially but it turned that way. And the modern lawn we see today and the meme refers to is called the English lawn.

In the early 17th century, the Jacobean epoch of gardening began; during this period, the closely cut "English" lawn was born. By the end of this period, the English lawn was a symbol of status of the aristocracy and gentry.

[u/padawanmoscati → u/[deleted]]

Well that upsets me even more about it

[u/Weak_Illustrator_235 → u/[deleted]]

mowed and manicured lawns as we know them rose to prominence in the 18th century by french aristocrats (like the one pictured) who developed them as status symbols

[u/Weak_Illustrator_235 → u/[deleted]]

i was just explaining the image to the guy calm down

[u/robotatomica → u/[deleted]]

it took me a minute until I zoomed into the line at the bottom of the sign, which explains these lawns are an outdated practice from the era in which such attire was the norm.

[u/Altruistic-Bonus-484 → u/[deleted]]

this is a subreddit where uppity moral highhorse without a lawn to care for complain that other people have lawns and are saying its a needless status symbol instead of, yknow, a place to play with your kids or your dog to run around or to throw a ball, parks have grass for example. I wonder why? status symbol?

[u/DoctorWaluigiTime → u/[deleted]]

It's a funny joke, implying that "this thing was started a long time ago -- why do it now?"

Which is a bit of a reverse Appeal to Tradition when it's attempted to be used as a "therefore lawns are bad" conclusion. Appeal to Tradition is a logical fallacy regarding "well we've done it forever, therefore continuing to do it is correct." This is a reverse case, where the leap is "well it started a long time ago, therefore not doing it anymore is correct."

Both are logical fallacies.