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.
