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I know people right now in this country that do not have indoor plumbing. So, please explain how "We all had indoor plumbing in the 50' and 60's" yet there are people today that don't.
Ask a black person? The 50s predate the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.
Ask someone between 18-21? The 50s and 60s predate the 26th Amendment.
Ask a woman? The 50s and 60s predate spousal abuse being illegal.
Ask any young male between the ages of 18-30? The 50s and 60s predates the end of forced conscription.
Again, it really depends on who you ask. In 1963, a black person could be arrested for sitting at the wrong end of a lunch counter, and in 2013, a black person is the President of the United States. I have a ton of gripes about the government, as any good libertarian must, but to say the whole nation was better off 50 or 60 years ago is so myopic and skewed to the middle class white perspective it staggers comprehension.
Very well said. As someone upthread noted, we like to romanticize the past. When we think of some period in the past, we imagine the lives of the rich and powerful, not the lives of the poor or the peasants or the slaves.
Very well said. As someone upthread noted, we like to romanticize the past. When we think of some period in the past, we imagine the lives of the rich and powerful, not the lives of the poor or the peasants or the slaves.
I like what you said. True though, people like to romanticize about the past, and some even the future.
But I do know a lot of people who will tell you the past by gone era, was anything but fun for them. I agree it does depend on who you are asking. And what the persons circumstances are, who were living in that time.
People like to romanticize, it kinds of takes the sting out of everyday living, and out of reality for a bit.
But I remember when getting electricity out to the rural areas was still a goal of the future in the 60s, and my family that was still on the farm did not have plumbing in the 50s.
Very well said. As someone upthread noted, we like to romanticize the past. When we think of some period in the past, we imagine the lives of the rich and powerful, not the lives of the poor or the peasants or the slaves.
Ask someone in Sudan now. That though is not the point really. Happiness is preception of what one see in life and the future ahead. After depression then WWII life seeemd sweet then and the sky was the limit.All that really mattered to those happy.
I will add that one reason people thought there was less crime was because only the most heinous, spectacular crimes made national news, and some crimes, like child abuse, wife beating, and date rape weren't even considered crimes. There probably weren't fewer child molesters and rapists per capita roaming around but we were just less likely to consider it possible, particularly if you lived in a suburban or rural area. It truly was "ignorance is bliss".
People lived with a great deal of other fears in the 1950s and 1960s, however. They lived in fear of nuclear war; of non-nuclear war; of "communists" behind every shrub; of being poor like they were in the Great Depression; of being outcasts because they didn't do/act like everybody else; of being found out that they weren't perfect homemakers or great providers ...
Absolutely. The advent of 24/7 news you need something to fill in all those hours. So every story worth even a little interest is in a story. Every car pileup is on the news. Everyday crimes fill in those minutes and you'd think we had more than ever. But way back then, people speeded into accidents, shops got robbed, people acted badly when relationships ended. It just wasn't featured on the hours of news we have. Even real events like the Vietnam War got squeezed into a half hour of news.
Now we get child preditors, divorce suits, badly behaving celebs, murders, traffic accidents, and must not forget car chases spelled out on the screen. The perception is that it must be happening more since we see it but human nature hasn't changed.
I feel sorry for kids who no longer can go play in the yard or go to their friends house without an escort since I'm not sure there's any more of the bad people out there than there ever was, but we know about more of them now.
And the fear, even just being different, looking a life with a different lens could make you suspcious. I'm a member of the oldest Science fiction club in the country. Back in the fifties it was just as active, but one night at the Thursday night meeting one man stood up and asked to speak. Seems he wanted to apologise. He came to investigate them and see if there were commies about. He didn't find any, but he enjoyed himself and wanted to stay and wondered if they minded. Of course they didn't.
Just being different could make you worth of the FBI investigating you.
Thanks for giving us an objective view on what it was like for your parents. I think we can all get a feel on what it was really like for some by hearing stories like you are telling us about your family experiences.
The thing is, I consider it better for my parents today, because they have more freedoms afforded to them compared to 1950. Based on the facts, Blacks were treated poorly in those days. While my grandparents owned their own home, they still faced alot of limitations and discrimination. And when they lived in the South, life was even worse.
H.E.L.L. NO. I was born in 1950, female and mixed blood Native American. I HATED the restraints put on me, can't do this and that, no you can't be this or that. I rebelled at an early age, I hated the frilly dresses, I wanted to play sports like baseball or basketball and I was great, but not allowed. The mantra I was raised with is: "you can't do that you'll never get a husband" and "you don't need a college education it would be wasted because you'll get married". My mother ragged on me until the day she died.
I grew up in a nice white middle class family, and my mom dressed me in frilly dresses to. She kept making pink dresses with ruffles. When I went to Jr. High I declared I'd pick out my own clothes. The only thing with ruffles is the renfair stuff. I do not wear pink. I was also extremely fascinated when my dad built my playhouse, probably more than using it to play. But of course you didn't teach *girls* that kind of thing. When I moved out of home I wanted to take a few tools and he said he could come over and hang pitcures for me...
So it wasn't just in one cultural segment, but just generally that girls were molded into the same image.
Wonder what Dad would say about my big tool box of power tools now?
Last edited by nightbird47; 01-09-2014 at 09:00 PM..
Absolutely. The advent of 24/7 news you need something to fill in all those hours. So every story worth even a little interest is in a story. Every car pileup is on the news. Everyday crimes fill in those minutes and you'd think we had more than ever. But way back then, people speeded into accidents, shops got robbed, people acted badly when relationships ended. It just wasn't featured on the hours of news we have. Even real events like the Vietnam War got squeezed into a half hour of news.
Now we get child preditors, divorce suits, badly behaving celebs, murders, traffic accidents, and must not forget car chases spelled out on the screen. The perception is that it must be happening more since we see it but human nature hasn't changed.
I feel sorry for kids who no longer can go play in the yard or go to their friends house without an escort since I'm not sure there's any more of the bad people out there than there ever was, but we know about more of them now.
And the fear, even just being different, looking a life with a different lens could make you suspcious. I'm a member of the oldest Science fiction club in the country. Back in the fifties it was just as active, but one night at the Thursday night meeting one man stood up and asked to speak. Seems he wanted to apologise. He came to investigate them and see if there were commies about. He didn't find any, but he enjoyed himself and wanted to stay and wondered if they minded. Of course they didn't.
Just being different could make you worth of the FBI investigating you.
One important question many people should ask is this. Since when did child predators, criminals, and all of those bad things NOT exist?
And you brought up an important point with the new coverage. Stuff like former President Kennedy having an affair with Marilyn Monroe would have been big news today. Consider this. Former President Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky, an intern, not a famous movie star. No one knew her name until the whole adultery scandal broke out in 1997. Now imagine if the affair had taken place with a famous actress.
Dangers are out there, and have always been out there. However, now, we hear about the all the time.
One important question many people should ask is this. Since when did child predators, criminals, and all of those bad things NOT exist?
And you brought up an important point with the new coverage. Stuff like former President Kennedy having an affair with Marilyn Monroe would have been big news today. Consider this. Former President Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky, an intern, not a famous movie star. No one knew her name until the whole adultery scandal broke out in 1997. Now imagine if the affair had taken place with a famous actress.
Dangers are out there, and have always been out there. However, now, we hear about the all the time.
We've also flipped from everything being a deep secret to life being an open book. Now especially with technology you can put your whole life on a web page. I think the solid wall of the fifties was too extreme but the idea of nothing being too personal is just as extreme. And of course people research anyone who might deal with their children so they'll be safe. But what if they just never got caught? Safety is part caution and part education.
I'm sure the affair with marilyn would have been plastered far and wide with all the gossip shows loving it. Thing is his wife knew. She didn't interfere. I wonder what they'd have said about that.
People are fallabal and do not always do the best thing or make the most wise choice and we seem to have lost the tolerance of others not being perfect. I wonder if Kennedy would have skipped his affair if he knew it would go public since his public image was carefully guarded.
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As someone upthread noted, we like to romanticize the past. When we think of some period in the past, we imagine the lives of the rich and powerful, not the lives of the poor or the peasants or the slaves.
