# What things that we are now afraid of worried about will our kids look back at and be amused? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 28, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654 "2010-10-28T13:27:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/21 "2010-10-28T16:06:55Z")
Loss of religion on a wide scale. I realize people on this board aren’t worried about that - we’re not worried about SSM either - but the public at large, at least in the US, seems to think that the country will go down the crapper unless everyone is religious. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/22 "2010-10-28T16:24:55Z")
Again, the biochip implant & that getting it required a loyalty oath to Fearless Leader. And that FL’s name equaled 666 in both Hebrew & Greek. Gee, those are funny-looking locusts heading this way… ;-D Seriously, global warming & overpopulation. ---
**Author:** ![Celidin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Celidin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celidin)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/23 "2010-10-28T16:31:26Z")
For one that’s already happened within the last ten years: the “complete collapse of everything with Y2K” … that never collapsed. Similarly, the fear of [Y2.038K](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem) that’s bound to show up around 2030 in response to the Unix epoch rollover. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/24 "2010-10-28T16:49:49Z")
Consecutive searches without a 120-second wait. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/25 "2010-10-28T17:32:37Z")
Big Brother. Somebody mentioned \*Gattaca \*upthread. I think eventually genetics will dtermine who gets hired, accepted to school, how much they make, etc. Thirty years ago people were outraged that they had to take a drug test at work. Today it’s pretty commonly accepted. I think those kinds of screenings will continue to grow and become more and more accepted. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/26 "2010-10-28T17:36:10Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Big Brother. Somebody mentioned \*Gattaca \*upthread. I think eventually genetics will dtermine who gets hired, accepted to school, how much they make, etc. Thirty years ago people were outraged that they had to take a drug test at work. Today it’s pretty commonly accepted. I think those kinds of screenings will continue to grow and become more and more accepted. “You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.” – Scot McNealy ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/27 "2010-10-28T17:56:53Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Consecutive searches without a 120-second wait. Now, that’s pie in the sky nonsense. We’re centuries away from having the technology to allow that! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/28 "2010-10-28T18:04:16Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > Cancer. AIDS. etc. We might CURE those things, but I have difficultly believing that the people of the future will find it amusing that we were afraid of diseases that could kill us. After all, we hardly find it amusing that people used to be afraid of smallpox. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/29 "2010-10-28T18:06:12Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > We might CURE those things, but I have difficultly believing that the people of the future will find it amusing that we were afraid of diseases that could kill us. > > After all, we hardly find it amusing that people used to be afraid of smallpox. That’s because Bubonic Plague is the _funny_ one. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/30 "2010-10-28T18:13:16Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > That’s because Bubonic Plague is the _funny_ one. It is kind of hard not to laugh at groin-and-armpit buboes . . . ---
**Author:** ![godix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/278dde/32.png) [@godix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godix)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/31 "2010-10-28T18:24:03Z")
Hopefully people will eventually get rid of the fear that, somewhere, somehow, someone is having fun. That fear seems to drive so many of our laws. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/32 "2010-10-28T18:35:28Z")
- Gay marriage. - Global warming. - Irradiated food. - Atheism and decreasing religiosity. - Pedophiles on every corner, and other helicopter mom fears. - Muslims, provided there’s no more major terrorist incidents in the US. - Avatars on the SDMB. What we’ll still fear: - China; more their economy and the influence that comes with it than their military. - Among the conspiracy theory/patriot crowd: currency that isn’t backed by gold, the breakdown of society, the Trilateral Commission, Democratic presidents that are going to take away their guns, concentration camps hidden under the Denver airport, and so on. - Rap music. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/33 "2010-10-28T18:42:59Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > It is kind of hard not to laugh at groin-and-armpit buboes . . . Indeed, a boon to the stand-up comedians of the otherwise-grim 14th century. “Is that a groin buboe, or are you just happy to see me?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/34 "2010-10-28T19:37:42Z")
Vaccines causing autism. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/35 "2010-10-28T20:04:06Z")
“Socialized medicine”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/36 "2010-10-28T20:11:20Z")
The LHC making a black hole that swallows the world. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/37 "2010-10-28T20:14:21Z")
Safe prediction there. Our kids won’t be around to \*do \*any looking back if that happens. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/38 "2010-10-28T23:22:32Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > The google car is a good point. Automation in general is another. I think over the next thirty years the economy is going to retool around the idea of cheap, untiring, robotic labor. Better get that Cold Fusion powersource working _first_, me boyo. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/39 "2010-10-29T00:36:31Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > > Same sex marriage probably. > > > > 2012, when it passes it’ll become just another in the long list of apocalypses than didn’t happen. > > SSM is going to pass in 2012? Do you mean on the national level?. > [@Ace309](#): > > I believe he meant the Mayan calendar kerfuffle about the world ending in 2012 and punctuated it oddly. Yes, that’s what I meant. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654/40 "2010-10-29T01:10:03Z")
Law abiding people owning/carrying hand guns, “assault weap:rolleyes:ns”, etc… Bar/restaurant owners allowing smoking in their establishments (eventually only about 10% or less would so what the fuck were you crybabies bitching about? Oh, yeah, the “control everyone and everything even if it isn’t any of our business” thing.) Hitting an asshole that desperately needs it (also known as spanking an insolent child). Black business owners that don’t want to do business with whites. Korean business owners that don’t want to do business with blacks. White business owners that don’t want to do business with Martians. If people are so stupid as to ignore a potential source of income why should they be forced to in a free country? Why were our ancestors concerned about the income of bigots? Let’em starve! Bans on selling alcohol on Sunday. Or after 9pm. Or at the YMCA. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-that-we-are-now-afraid-of-worried-about-will-our-kids-look-back-at-and-be-amused/558654.md?page=3)