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It seems to me that many older people are much more upset/angry about the changes today, than older people were 50 years ago. Yes, I can remember some older people when I was a teen grumbling about "long-haired hippies", but for the most part, I don't remember anyone I knew actually being as upset and angry about those changes as many people are about the changes today. (Yes, many people were upset about racial mixing and desegregation, but by 1970, I think most people had accepted racial integration.)
For example, the changes that occurred around 1970 included:
- Much greater acceptance of non-marital sex (and men and women openly living together without being married)
- Much greater acceptance of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals
- Very relaxed standards of dress (including long hair on men)
- Greater acceptance of interracial dating and marriage
- Antiwar demonstrations and open disrespect for those in authority
Whereas, in my opinion, the changes today are not nearly as radical as those listed above. In fact, the only things I can think of that have changed are (1) a much broader definition of what is offensive speech, (2) a drastic increase in the non-tolerance of anyone who doesn't agree with you on social and political issues, (3) widespread acceptance of transgenders and any other kind of gender or sexual identification, (4) multiple piercings and tattoos for the (mostly) young, and (5) acceptance of immigrants who want to keep their cultural heritage and not assimilate into the predominant "Anglo" culture.
So, in short, do you think that people were more accepting of change 50 years ago than they are today -- or less accepting?
(I would also like to know any of your thoughts and personal experiences related to this subject -- and also please feel free to add more items to either list and to disagree with anything I wrote!)
Last edited by katharsis; 08-27-2019 at 10:01 AM..
Yes, people are more upset now. Back then it was all about "those young punks" and those with the long hair and the "dirty hippies" and of course, how THEIR music was so much better than OUR music. THEIR music at least meant something, after all, while ours was just a bunch of noise.
Now it seems to be separated by regions of the country rather than young against old. For instance, a lot of people thought abortion was settled. A lot of people thought racism was settled. A lot of people thought gays were accepted. Well, if you watch the news (which a lot of us try not to do, lol) it seems that parts of the country have settled these issues and are ready to move on, while other parts want to go back and have a re-do.
Practically everyone is upset about mass shootings but depending upon where you live, the solution is different. Lots of people just say--Take the guns away=problem solved.
As for age differences, I'm actually seeing the millennials turning out to be more like the early boomers. They seem to be interested in quality food, even organic (even though most of them won't cook it!), they crave experiences rather than material possessions, they want a decent quality of life rather than all work and no play, they're interested in the environment, they're tolerant of different races and ethnicities. OMG! They're modern day hippies!
who knows? 50 years ago you and i had no way to communicate regarding these things unless we lived in proximity to each other.
Yes, but we were exposed to our parents, grandparents, neighbors, etc. Do you remember hearing any of the people you knew actually becoming angry and upset about the changes going on then? As I said, I don't except for long-haired hippies.
I do, however, remember MANY people getting upset about the various Presidential candidates of the time -- it seemed that many people were either very much for Nixon or very much against him! -- but just not getting outraged over social changes, like blacks and whites dating each other. (Actually, on second thought, I do remember people getting upset over busing, but not about integration in general.)
I am just wondering if my experience was different from most.
It seems to me that many older people are much more upset/angry about the changes today, than older people were 50 years ago. Yes, I can remember some older people when I was a teen grumbling about "long-haired hippies", but for the most part, I don't remember anyone I knew actually being as upset and angry about those changes as many people are about the changes today. (Yes, many people were upset about racial mixing and desegregation, but by 1970, I think most people had accepted racial integration.)
For example, the changes that occurred around 1970 included:
- Much greater acceptance of non-marital sex (and men and women openly living together without being married)
- Much greater acceptance of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals
- Very relaxed standards of dress (including long hair on men)
- Greater acceptance of interracial dating and marriage
- Antiwar demonstrations and open disrespect for those in authority
Whereas, in my opinion, the changes today are not nearly as radical as those listed above. In fact, the only things I can think of that have changed are (1) a much broader definition of what is offensive speech, (2) a drastic increase in the non-tolerance of anyone who doesn't agree with you on social and political issues, (3) widespread acceptance of transgenders and any other kind of gender or sexual identification, (4) multiple piercings and tattoos for the (mostly) young, and (5) acceptance of immigrants who want to keep their cultural heritage and not assimilate into the predominant "Anglo" culture.
So, in short, do you think that people were more accepting of change 50 years ago than they are today -- or less accepting?
(I would also like to know any of your thoughts and personal experiences related to this subject -- and also please feel free to add more items to either list and to disagree with anything I wrote!)
I don't agree with you that the acceptance of those things occurred around 1970.
My sister, who is white, met her black husband in 1976, and people still stared at them wherever they went. She was afraid to tell the other nurses at the hospital where she worked that her husband was black, because the white nurses shunned her and the black nurses were angry that she had taken a good black man out of the pool. That has changed drastically. Now, she says, no one gives them a second glance.
My grandfather died in 1972, highly upset that my other sister was engaged to an Italian, because, you know, they all sleep with their daughters and they never bathe.
No one I knew in the 1970s was accepting of gay people. Elton John coming out as bisexual shocked everyone. I don't think the "much greater" acceptance happened until the mid-to-late Eighties.
Dress definitely did change, and I think the anti-war sentiments were one of the most important changes at the time.
Women were still expected to be in traditional roles. We were just starting to get our first female letter carriers and police officers, and some people didn't like women working outside the home. Women were still dying from breast cancer because they were too ashamed to get examined and face the loss of their feminine identity by having a breast removed. Men were still permitted to force sex on their wives without it being a crime. Domestic abuse and child abuse were swept under the rug and ignored.
The Sixties and Seventies might have put some of these ideas into motion, but most would take decades to bear fruit and bring real change, and that was because so many older people at the time, particularly those in financial and political power, were against those changes.
Does it matter? We're here today, not 50 years ago. Maybe go ask some of those seniors? Oh, they're gone, not complaining anymore.
I think change has been a constant for many years, first accelerating with the industrial revolution. Think of the elders that matured during the depression and world wars. They had changes that dwarf anything seen since. Think of immigrant groups (our ancestors perhaps) and the changes their kids (and grandkids) underwent.
Compared to these things, the changes we seniors deal with today are minor.
JMHO
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