Older people hark back to the zero crime era, when you could leave the back door ope, yes probaly true, because we had sod all to nick,and everyone was the same.

We had no Paedophiles,just men that your parents warned you about, and some nice older men that didnt have kids that gave you sweets.

We played in the streets and rode our bikes without fear of the neighbours from hell,shouting and being abusive.

we respected the Police,now we dont.

We had litle idea of the fiddles the MPs got up to.

We went to work,or we didnt have money.

We respected our Elders,now theyre seen as a hinderance,holding us up.

What other changes are seen in the last 20 years.

Discuss.

Here goes…

Older people hark back to the zero crime era, when you could leave the back door open, yes probably true, because we had sod all to nick,and everyone was the same.

Hard to assess whether there was less crime then, as detection and reporting of crime has increased. Praps there was less media hysteria, and people din’t fear the spectre of crime in the way they do today. And people had far less material goods of value. As for ‘everyone was the same’; seems that most people were simply ‘working class’, back then, and therefore maybe felt more social solidarity with their neighbours. Maybe the imposition of the class system, and it’s inherent ideologies encouraged people to believe they were firmly rooted within their own social group, and that it would be foolish to attempt to break away from the safety that the group offered. Immigration, bringing peoples with differing cultural habits and values, has further blurred distinctions, and led to communities becoming smaller and more specific.

We had no Paedophiles,just men that your parents warned you about, and some nice older men that didnt have kids that gave you sweets.

Paedophillia and other sexually motivated crimes were certainly not discussed openly, nor reported in the media, to anywhere near the extent that it is now. The taboos surrounding sex have been gradually lifted, to the point where people are no longer as ‘shocked’ by revelations of sexually motivated crimes. There is also certainly far more emphasis on the victims of such crimes now, whereas previously, people might have been loathe to admit that they had been a victim, such was the social stigma attached to such crimes. Media hysteria has unfortunately created a myth of paedophilia, which is far greater than the reality. Paedophiles are praps easier to detect, thanks to electronic surveillance.

We played in the streets and rode our bikes without fear of the neighbours from hell,shouting and being abusive.

People accepted that kids make noise, and were probbly too busy with manual chores to be worked up about it. Now, people lounge in front of the telly, and expect the whole world around them to be silent. Media hysteria of ‘delinquent hoodie youths’ has helped fan the flames of intolerance. Kids are no longer kids, they are ‘youths’. There are far more older teenagers with little to do, it seems; previously, many of them wooduv been working, and therefore not inertested in hanging around estates after dark. The disintegration of the family unit has led to kids becoming increasingly disenfranchised, and there no longer seems to be familial discipline in the manner there used to be. Lots more absent fathers adds to the disenfranchisement. CCTV shows just what the kids are up to, in glorious technicolour.

we respected the Police, now we dont.

Again, more transparency in the way the police are run, greater public access to information, and increased media scrutiny has led to disillusionment with the police, which has then in turn led to increased mistrust and revulsion.

We had little idea of the fiddles the MPs got up to.

Heh! They’ve always been at it, but in today’s ‘Surveillance Society’, it’s harder for them to justify it. It’s probbly no worse than ever before, and may possibly not be as bad!

We went to work, or we didn’t have money.

The disintegration of the Family, and local Communities, has meant that the needy are increasingly reliant on the state, for support, where they may have been looked after by family previously.

We respected our Elders, now they’re seen as a hindrance, holding us up.

In truth, they’ve always been a ‘hindrance’, once they outlive their economic usefulness. The Elderly are further devalued in a society of the New, the Immediate, the Latest Must-Have. The acceptance that one has to look after Granny has dissolved; Granny no longer has the value as the family elder, passing down knowledge and skills to younger generations. The ever-changing workplace and nature of the economic system, mean that those skills are very often no longer needed, and their knowledge is no longer relevant. Very sad.

Far too simplistic, I know, but I’m not sitting here all weekend.

Basically, it’s the Media and Thatcher’s fault, probbly.

Rude boy, Nice thoughts and well said.

Ta. Glad some bugger read it!

What other changes are seen in the last 20 years.

it wasn’t like how you describe it in 1989, maybe in 1949. now to have a quick read of rudeboy’s post…

Kev

yup.

Hmmmmmmmmmm yep

Someone has stolen the Great out of Britan

I hear “heartland ” in my head by TheThe

btw well said rudeboy

I think it also depended on where you lived and how well off you were.

But I do have a thought on where to lay some of the blame

I am a child of the early 60’s and there was this bloke called Doctor Spock ( no bull) who started a revolution by saying that you should not slap etc children but you should reason with them!

Shame my old Pa didnt listen (Thanks Pops)

So now here I am pushing 50 and by rights I could easy be a granddad

So If I was brought up with no dicipline or pride,early 80’s I have a kid not knowing about disipline, now my kid has a kid in the late 90’s

What do we have the makings of this society we live in today

Of late I’ve been reading quite a bit of dickens (Bleak House, Oliver Twist and currently Little Dorrit) – one of the things that I lie about his writing is that been 150 odd years ago his social commentary is as relevant now as it was then, not that sure things have really moved that far

A good summing up of some of the problems by RB, but as always you can’t point to just one or two things that has created this nation of individuals today, there are far more ingredients that have made this dogs dinner.

As for Dr spock, I would agree that the application of violence is not the answer, but at the same time my parents would say that the Police would clip you round the ear if they so desired, so in a way the respect came from the fear of violence if you did not do as you were told. Once again it is not just these elements that have made Children behave they way they are today, there are plenty of Children who have grown up perfectly fine thanks.

Capitalism is however a major player in all of this.

Glad some bugger read it!

I had to stop at the first

praps

.

I agree that doesn’t sound much like 1989 but more than 1949.

If you refer to 1949 what people always fail to mention is that we were just coming out of two horrific wars where millions of people had been murdered and millions more died fighting.

turn of the century and before a gentleman would carry weapons – a sword or a gun.

Pre 60s drugs were legal – laudanum anyone? Queen Victoria like a bit and cannabis for period pains. First world war you could send a pack to the men on the front that include syringes of smack.

Mods V rockers on the beach anyone?

Child abuse was rife in Victorian times. Underage forced prostitution.

Workhouses anyone? I have met a few old folk who spent their entire lives in care since being put in workhouses in the 30s.

I have met an woman ( 10 yrs ago – she was in her 70s) who was put in an asylum for having a child when she was not 16. The child was adopted, she spent her entire life in the asylum. Her crime? to be a bit simple and to be seduced / raped (unclear which it was)

Its very hard to compare one era with another is simply my point. Things change and one generation always decries the behaviour of the next. Stuff that is now crimes was either not reported or not a crime.

Ah nostalgia – not what it used to be, eh?

TJ – I used to work in a learning disabilities hospital that up until the mid fifties had employed somebody to trawl the local area for young girls who may have loose moral or be less intellectually gifted and “pursued” them to join the “colony”

Well said TJ. Everything the OP says I can remember my grandparents saying over 30 years ago and I bet their grandparents said the same.

And as for

We had no Paedophiles,just men that your parents warned you about,

RudeBoy is right. If any body thinks paedophilia is a ‘recent’ problem then they are deluding themselves.

Britain was not ‘better’ 20 years ago 50 years ago or 100 years ago. In many ways it was a damn site worse but mostly, it was just different.

Have a look at some old newspapers from 1989 and you’ll see broadly the same issues being discussed as in the papers now.

RudeBoy – Member

Ta. Glad some bugger read it!

I didn’t – I couldn’t be arsed. Did you mention the Kray twins ?

Everyone knows that the reason why East Enders were able leave there back doors opened and there were no paedophiles about, was because of Ronnie and Reggie.

They were always there to keep a watchful and loving eye over the East End. Any criminal who stepped out of line was soon sorted by the twins.

And unlike today’s criminals, Ronnie and Reggie were right perfect gentlemen – always polite and courteous. They would never forget to ask after your mother, as they broke your fingers one by one.

Gawd bless ’em.

I’d say life is vastly better in so many ways! Sure there are negatives, but I’d sooner have been born in the last 20 years.

I remember my school days where abusive teachers ridiculed the slow to learn students, pastoral care – “nil points”! It is way better now, less bullying and pupils get treated more like adults when they are behaving themselves. The end result is that they produce more rounded balanced adults. The opportunity is there for all that choose to take it!

People are more tolerant and vastly better informed due to TV, the internet etc etc.

We also enjoy a hugely better standard of living!! You can buy a car that doesn’t rust right through in 3 years from new and you won’t break your neck if you get in a shunt. Car safety is far far better. Consumers are treated much better than in the old days.

Many illnesses you would have died from, or that are severely debilitating are now treatable etc.

We are better informed about diet and healthy foods are more readily available across the board.

Communication across the globe is cheap and almost instant. You can buy a mobile phone for as little as £15 with a £5 call voucher and have this on you at all times. 20 years ago you could only get car phones and these cost £1100 plus £20 a month before you even made a call.

Foreign travel is accessible to most people now. Flights can be bought for a few pounds. We ordinary people have never had it easier to travel abroad.

We have far greater choice in almost everything. Too much choice can cause headaches, but would you really want to limit your options?

So Project and rudeboy, looking back on the old days through highly selective rose tinted spectacles is a mistake. You need to look forward!

Journalists hype every topic they lay their hands on so we get a jaundiced view of the world. I don’t believe there is a breakdown in the family. Most families stick together just as they have always done. Where we have gone seriously wrong over the past 40 years is in molly coddling people! We believe the claptrap that is printed in papers and overeact sometimes!

We allow people to claim generous benefits when the kindest thing would be to propel the able bodied back into a job ASAP.

We virtually encourage single parenthood. It’s now much more acceptable to get “knocked up” in your teens and then demand a place to live, plus all the associated costs etc.

Living on benefits has become a lifestyle choice. That is just wrong!

Many people don’t need their entitlements. I stood behind a young girl in the post office last week. She could not have been older than 20 and was collecting two weekly dole cheques to the tune of £513. She was in the queue chatting on her mobile phone telling whoever she was talking to that she was going to buy a plasma TV with the proceeds! Fancy rocking up at a post office where they are just giving away free cash! We pay for this nonsense!

Soft liberal thinking allows those who are not genuinely needs to screw money out of the public purse. People with no moral fibre! Why have they no moaral fibre? Because they need firmer guidance on what is right and wrong.

Soft liberal thinking creates injustice, anger and resentment. It divides people.

All these daft politically correct socialist ideals have led to the soft society we have today. The violence on the streets is about the lack of respect for this soft society. The perpetrators of violence have no respect for what they see as a limp wristed authority. They laugh in the face of it! A firm hand is what will work for these few, but again, most people aren’t on the ponce, aren’t violent. If we were to apply the right approach to those who blatantly ignore the rules, it would be a much better, fairer society in the long run. A no nonsense authority was one of the better aspects of our bygone society.

How can you blame Margaret Thatcher for all the woes of today? Margaret Thatcher left office almost exactly 18 years ago! You simply cannot blame one person for everything that has gone wrong!

I have to remind you that we have had a Labour administration for the past 12 years. If they had delivered their promises, we would be close to the utopia that leftwingers such as project and rudeboy so dearly crave.

The truth is that Labour have been no less conservative than Margaret Thatcher was! They have been worse in fact. E.G. at least the man in the street got a look in when public services were sold off. A fair cop given that we had paid for these. Nowadays the Labour administration use the money they get from selling our assets off on the cheap to pay the burgeoning public debt. BNF is one recent case in point.

I guess politically speaking, we will never agree, but I truly hoped Blair would put right some of the injustices brought in by the outgoing Conservative administration (no I didn’t say they were perfect did i?). Labour simply did more of the same however. They started office with a fantastic set of circumstances, foundations laid by the conservative administration. I am convinced this is why they lasted so long and the economy was strong up until 2000. After 2000 the weak regulation of banks on a global scale cause the boom years to overrun. Excessive growth in the public sector also created a false sense of economic stability – labour doing what they do best – spending public money like there’s no tomorrow!

Poles suggest that Labour has no chance of retaining control at next year’s election, so I think a general election should happen now. If this did happen, we could begin to get the country’s finances back on track. It’s going to be a long painful process and who ever is in power will not be popular! The new controlling party will inherit the dire financial legacy of the worst Labour administration in living memory. That’s what Labour governments do, run up monumental debt!

Wow, that has to be my longest post ever! (must keep off this site!)

So Project and rudeboy, looking back on the old days through highly selective rose tinted spectacles is a mistake. You need to look forward!

Eh? Where did I say that the ‘Olden Days’ were better than today? Have you actually read my post propply? Have you understood it? I’ll help with any questions you might have, if you’re having difficulty with it.

collecting two weekly dole cheques to the tune of £513

Because of course, that’s how much you get, in Jobseekers’ Allowance, these days… 🙄

The rest of your post just sounded like a Sun reader’s rant, so I just skimmed it.

I am impressed at your optimism, though, and applaud your bright outlook. Things aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be, most of the time.

Spongebob
Poles suggest that Labour has no chance of retaining control at next year’s election, so I think a general election should happen now.

Who are these well informed Eastern Europeans and where do they live? Sorry, cheap shot.

An economy predicated upon the infinite increase in the value of capital assets such as houses was bound to fail – costs exceed income, increased borrowing, debt reaches all time high, banks panic, POP!

My old fella is 86, he’s coming over for tea tomorrow. I’ll show him this thread and see if he prefers today or the 30’s.

Benefits are not generous – you try to live on them.

In answer to the original points,

1, Society is more desperate. The gap between rich and poor has widened steadily since Thatcher.
2,There have always been peadophiles. Society thinks about it differently now and The Sun tells us that they’re living next door to us all.
3,Kids are demonised now. My lad was bought home in a police car because he and his mates were merely hanging around. People are less tolerant and live in a false fear that all kids are psycho hoody vandals.
4,We didn’t respect the police, we were just frightened of them because they’d give you a good kicking.
5,We’re onto it now and hopefully they won’t be able to fiddle us all again.
6,There was plenty of work for everyone.Now there isn’t.
7,We respect people that have respect for us. If older people demonise youngsters and show them no warmth, they’ll get disrespect back.

Just for the record I was on the jobseakers allowance at £62 a week that was not enough to fill my fuel tank to find a job, and to top it off I had to travel 15 miles to sign on every 2 weeks (no collecting at the post office) yep on me bike for me

But still I am a bloke who has worked all my life and paid tax’s for the last 31 years so why should I expect a bit of return for the bad times 🙄

Yet some young lass get’s up the duff and then gets the friggin lot 👿

Thank fug I got a job quite quickly

Opal fruits.
marathons.
unPC branded Jam makers