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The fiftys: Wasn't that the era where dudes and chicks ran around a carnival singing about how they will always be together, the era when you don't know the words you just filled it in with phrases like
" shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yipitty boom de boom" Leather coats, mini skirts, hot cars? Yep Im down with that. Back then if your Juke box didn't work, you just called the coolest dude out of his bathroom, and he would snap his finger or smack it, and WALA (shoobady boom de dop) it would work. Just a clue to some of you, if you did not live in the 70s and watch TV and Movies, move on, you will have no idea what Im talking about.
50s dress up days were very popular in high schools in the 70s, presumably because the fashions had changed so much. Will kids now start having 90s dress up days? Would you be able to tell a difference?
Back to the topic of the thread, which is supposed to the the decade of the 1950's, here is something rather trivial but which is nevertheless part of the difference between then and now. I can't stand euphemisms. Some twenty or thirty years ago in the Los Angeles Times I came across the term "developmentally disabled" for the first time. I thought to myself, "What the hell does that mean?" Well, I came later to find out that it meant mentally retarded. I still say mentally retarded even though it is not considered politically correct. I consider "developmentally disabled" to be an irritating retreat from reality.
Edited to add: When I started typing my post, post number 509 was not up there yet.
And don't forget "handy capable".
Seriously, the 50s were more good than bad. Post war optimism and opportunities were abundant, and I strongly feel that families were much stronger and kids were not as messed up. I do not think there is anything wrong with a mother staying home to raise her children, and I'm grateful that I got to do this.
Seriously, the 50s were more good than bad. Post war optimism and opportunities were abundant, and I strongly feel that families were much stronger and kids were not as messed up. I do not think there is anything wrong with a mother staying home to raise her children, and I'm grateful that I got to do this.
By most measures, kids are less "messed up" now than they were then. One difference is the mess ups back then were often kept out of public view. The military was chock-full of them. Wouldn't want to bring shame on "good families".
And do you want to compare THAT thinking to today! We have an incompetent president and a embarrassingly inept VP. RE-elected. Kinda' gives credence to the definition of insanity. Bet you $$$ the majority of us who experienced the 50's didn't vote for them.
Next?
As opposed to Romney whose tax plan was everyone gets a 20% tax cut, the deficit gets paid off, and everyone gets a free pony. We're going to do this with eliminating tax loopholes. Which tax loopholes you say? You'll have to elect me to find out, we can't divulge that information right now.
The Scientologist, oops I mean Mormon (sorry hard to tell the two apart), intergalactic space opera polytheist who believes that Mormons in the afterlife can reach the highest level where they become Gods with their own planets to rule over (such as the make believe planet Kolob), where they have spirit children who go on to have their own planets to rule over as Gods with millions of their own subjects. Doesn't exactly jive with those 50s Christian beliefs.
The guy who changed political beliefs more than he changed his magic underwear, who went from a pretty liberal Massachusetts Republican, to a right wing neocon in the primaries, then did an about face and went full moderate in the first presidential debate. Like Rich Sanitarium said "A moderate, a conservative, and a liberal walk into a bar. The bartender says 'Hello Mitt'".
The guy who considers 150 million Americans lazy bums.
Sure, the definition of insanity is not voting for that guy. You know, the definition of insanity is actually "The state of being seriously mentally ill; madness." It has nothing to do with not voting for the candidate you like and it has nothing to do with what that fake Albert Einstein quote says.
By most measures, kids are less "messed up" now than they were then. One difference is the mess ups back then were often kept out of public view. The military was chock-full of them. Wouldn't want to bring shame on "good families".
One measure that might be revealing is deaths from violent acts in schools. I could only find 10 deaths in the 1950s compared to 147 deaths in the first decade of the 2000s. Although adults committed some of these acts of violence, that fact only supports the proposition that we live in a very violent time now within our own borders.
Would you leave the doors to your home and vehicle unlocked today, as we did in the 1950s? Or, would you be concerned that "Johnny" down the street might burgle your property for weapons, cash, or drugs?
One measure that might be revealing is deaths from violent acts in schools. I could only find 10 deaths in the 1950s compared to 147 deaths in the first decade of the 2000s. Although adults committed some of these acts of violence, that fact only supports the proposition that we live in a very violent time now within our own borders.
That only shows that we have more school shootings, you can't extrapolate that to all of society being more violent. The murder rate is 4.8. From 1950-1959 it ranged from 4.0 to 4.9. If you want to see a violent time period go back to the late 80s/early 90s when at times the murder rate was over 10. In reality we live in a pretty peaceful time domestically.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustPassinThru
Would you leave the doors to your home and vehicle unlocked today, as we did in the 1950s? Or, would you be concerned that "Johnny" down the street might burgle your property for weapons, cash, or drugs?
I do both. But, I don't watch TV so I don't get worked up by sensationalist news reports that get viewership by scaring the public with boogeymen. How hard is it to break a window or kick in a door? If someone really wants to rummage through my things they will. A lock isn't keeping them out. At least this way if someone robs my car or house I won't have to pay for a new door or window along with the stuff they took. I've never had anything stolen from me though.
Of course, in the 50s people didn't keep expensive TV screens, GPS, subwoofers, etc. in their car in plain sight that people might want to steal. Like people in the 50s, I don't keep anything valuable in my car, so there's really no point in locking it.
One measure that might be revealing is deaths from violent acts in schools. I could only find 10 deaths in the 1950s compared to 147 deaths in the first decade of the 2000s. Although adults committed some of these acts of violence, that fact only supports the proposition that we live in a very violent time now within our own borders.
Would you leave the doors to your home and vehicle unlocked today, as we did in the 1950s? Or, would you be concerned that "Johnny" down the street might burgle your property for weapons, cash, or drugs?
I live just 15 miles from the nations capital and the only time I locked my doors in the past 20 was if we were going out of town. I can't remember the last time there was a break-in in my neighborhood. When I was a kid in the 60s (granted not the 50s) in a pretty "safe" suburb in Southern California, I remember our house being burgled a couple of times once while we were asleep.
If I'm not mistaken, violent crime rates are at an all-time low. Keep in mind there were a lot fewer people in the 1950s than there are now in the U.S. so you need to adjust your comparison of absolute numbers of violent school acts by that. I suspect the main reason for the seemingly small number in the 50s was poor data collection.
Pito, get over the November 6 election result already. It has been over three months now. The majority of Americans voted for Obama and they should NOT have to apologize for exercising their voting rights. Get over it and move on. You can also call me a left wing fanatic if that helps you get over it, but I am a sensible moderate. Now you got a taste of your online bullying aimed in your direction. How does it feel? There are several different views on the various decades of the past and we should try to respect them.
that only shows that we have more school shootings, you can't extrapolate that to all of society being more violent. The murder rate is 4.8. From 1950-1959 it ranged from 4.0 to 4.9. If you want to see a violent time period go back to the late 80s/early 90s when at times the murder rate was over 10. In reality we live in a pretty peaceful time domestically.
I think that the FBI statistics from 2011/semi 2012 stack up well against those of the 1950s, but the point of the post was that there is more violence in schools today. I don't believe that kids are "less messed up" as stated in a previous post. Why is there a clamor around the country calling for armed guards at the schools?
I don't recall ever seeing a security guard at any school I attended during the fifties.
By most measures, kids are less "messed up" now than they were then. One difference is the mess ups back then were often kept out of public view. The military was chock-full of them. Wouldn't want to bring shame on "good families".
Ya, I get that, but I'm conflicted by things such as unwed motherhood. Think of all the misery caused by an unwanted pregnancy then. Think of all the sadness that could have been avoided if folks had been more tolerant. Then again, there is too much single motherhood these days because the shame is gone.
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You know, the definition of insanity is actually "The state of being seriously mentally ill; madness." It has nothing to do with not voting for the candidate you like and it has nothing to do with what that fake Albert Einstein quote says.