# When my generation were young
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [March 20, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158 "2014-03-20T16:04:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/21 "2014-03-20T18:51:27Z")
Reported as spam.
---
### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/22 "2014-03-20T18:54:02Z")
Hope the OP’s forthcoming novel is more original.
---
### Author:  [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/23 "2014-03-20T19:06:18Z")
Yeah, it was great to see those lynching in the south, and as for the Cuba crisis, how we laughed when we hid under the school desks.
Diptheria was a hoot if you managed to survive is, and kids don’t know what they are missing without polio to cripple one kid in school who had to live in leg braces and be called ‘spastic’. along with other charming epithets.
Wasn’t it great to have canned fish on the key unwound tins, all set to slice your fingers to shreds.
I still wish they had lead in petrol/gas, and in paint - reduced mental development is such fun!
Oh, and of course they had much better wars then, at least you had something to shoot at, and proper casualties, instead of maybe a few hundred we have nowadays. Sigh, I miss to good old multi million killers of yore .
You have to agree though, those women and wogs have gotten far too uppity these days.
---
### Author:  [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/24 "2014-03-20T19:15:42Z")
Here’s my stock response to this:
WWII was clearly not a dangerous war because 100% of the survivors were not killed during their service.
---
### Author:  [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/25 "2014-03-20T19:24:56Z")
Kids can’t play by themselves because of lawyers and government regulation? 😕
---
### Author:  [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/26 "2014-03-20T19:38:31Z")
> [@Bonner100](#):
>
> We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did NOT live in us forever.
You ate worms and dirt? You guys have problems. I’m glad I was born in a more civilized time.
---
### Author:  [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/27 "2014-03-20T19:42:21Z")
Clearly Bonner100 never had intestinal parasites.
---
### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/28 "2014-03-20T19:43:11Z")
> [@Blackberry](#):
>
> You ate worms and dirt? You guys have problems. I’m glad I was born in a more civilized time.
What about snails? I like eating snails.
---
### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/29 "2014-03-20T19:54:43Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#):
>
> 97% of my friends won’t forward this, but 3% will.
Those 3% are the ones who ate all the lead-based paint off of their cribs.
---
### Author:  [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/30 "2014-03-20T20:02:53Z")
> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> Or how many of the kids born during those years died.
I knew a couple, in the 70s.
---
### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/31 "2014-03-20T20:57:29Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> Reported as spam.
Which, incidentally, we used to _eat_! Fried in butter! And we didn’t care about nitrates or trans fats or gluten or mercury! And we drank lots of strong, bitter, cheap coffee that came out of a can, with lots of sugar, or that other stuff that gives rats cancer! And we _liked_ it!
---
### Author:  [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/32 "2014-03-20T22:06:17Z")
I’ve got a few minutes, so I’ll offer a blow-by-blow rebuttal to the latest drive-by poster who joined in the last 24 hours, here to shower us with nuggets of wisdom they got from a chain email.
[Spoiler]
> [@Bonner100](#):
>
> TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s!!
>
> First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
And those that did not, didn’t get the opportunity to tell us about it.
> [@](#):
>
> They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
And later died due to untreated undiagnosed diabetes.
> [@](#):
>
> Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our stomachs in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
And those babies which died aren’t here to tell us about how it made them tougher.
> [@](#):
>
> We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles,
And the kids that got into that medicine and poisoned themselves aren’t here to tell us about the good ole days.
> [@](#):
>
> when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to even mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
And those who suffered massive brain trauma and died, or who were kidnapped, raped, and tortured, and put in some psychopath’s basement dungeon, aren’t here to tell us of their wonderful experiences.
> [@](#):
>
> As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
And those who died in car accidents with no safety devices are certainly glad they didn’t have such protections.
> [@](#):
>
> Riding in the back of a pick-up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
Made being rear-ended by a drunk driver a wonderful five second airborne experience ending with sudden and permanent unconsciousness.
> [@](#):
>
> We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
And in some communities where the groundwater was tainted by the local chemical company having an accident, some people developed cancer and died. They are not here to tell us the heroic tale.
> [@](#):
>
> We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
In your group, no one died. In another, someone had meningitis, and gave it to someone else, who died of meningitis.
> [@](#):
>
> We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren’t overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
Except, of course, the kids who were kidnapped and were eventually found in several heavy duty plastic bags on the side of the road. But it’s cool because at least they got some exercise and fresh air while they could. Now, kids have cell phones and might actually be able to call for help if they see one of their friends being abducted. Gives these kids a fighting chance against predators. But you’re right, the old way was better.
> [@](#):
>
> We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem ourselves, without employing a Management Consultant.
Ah yes, the wisdom of letting people get injured and die before spending any time thinking about safety. It’s a good thing your generation had so many kids, that’s what species have to do when so many of their kids end up dying. The unusual aspect about this is usually the young are killed by predators, not their own stupidity.
> [@](#):
>
> We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD’s, no surround-sound or CD’s, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms…
> WE HAD FRIENDS and we actually went outside and found them!
Now we can locate more people to be friends with, ones that actually share our interests. And we can do things which are more mentally stimulating than hoop 'n stick. Which stimulates our brains and gets us thinking critically and solving problems logically, and planning ahead. And learn about things which are part of a bigger world, with more information easily accessible to all, rather than our only source of wisdom being uncle frank who believes the CIA is stealing his brain waves.
> [@](#):
>
> We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
Good thing broken necks are injuries that heal themselves fully over time.
> [@](#):
>
> We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did NOT live in us forever.
We’re bragging about eating worms and dirt, as opposed to playing on a Playstation? Maybe you guys needed something that’s a lot more fun than eating dirt, but lacked the intelligence to think of anything better. Why is your generation considered so great again?
> [@](#):
>
> We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.
That’s good. It only counts as sound advice if everyone’s eyes got poked out.
> [@](#):
>
> We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
And such things never happen today. Wow, learn something new every day.
> [@](#):
>
> Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.
> Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
Again, so different from today.
> [@](#):
>
> The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
And violent crime rates have actually decreased since your time. They are just reported more due to a little thing called the internet.
> [@](#):
>
> These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
So has literally every generation. Except mine has a higher rate of not dying due to our own stupidity.
> [@](#):
>
> The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
The past 20 years have been a much faster explosion than the previous 30. Largely due to information reaching the public at large through the internet, and the stupidities of the past being exposed for what they are, and people learning not to repeat their parents’ mistakes. We don’t blame them, after all, they were practically cave men who ate dirt and worms and gave each other hepatitis. They did the best with the poor tools they had, and their unenlightened brains struggling to comprehend.
> [@](#):
>
> If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!
If you happened to die due to negligence, ignorance, apathy, or just a general lack of common sense or a basic amount of scientific knowledge, tough luck.
> [@](#):
>
> You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good. And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.
And while we’re at it, let’s take some time to remember all the lives that were so foolishly squandered due to taking unnecessary and stupid risks, and general ignorance, and remember that the moral of the story is that society advances by learning from and correcting the mistakes of the past. Thanks for trying, anyway. Your generation only exists because at some point, someone decided that we shouldn’t drink out of the same water that sick people shit in. You are a marginal improvement over medieval thinking. Enough of you survived to reproduce, and that is how natural selection works. Being dumb, yet lucky enough to not die in situations where you probably should have.
Intelligence means surviving by design rather than luck.[/Spoiler]
I challenge you to rebut.
I wish you a lucky day, it appears you need it.
TL;DR?
This guy already covered it pretty well [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17214543&postcount=24).
---
### Author:  [@buddy431](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddy431)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/33 "2014-03-20T22:06:47Z")
My aunt had polio as a child. She’s walked with a limp ever since. But thank god she didn’t have the GOVERNMENT telling her she couldn’t run around and play.
---
### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/34 "2014-03-20T22:08:33Z")
In the last 36 hours, I have seen this exact message, almost sort of but not quite word-for-word, here, in a Slate article linked to by Fark, in a video (complete with sappy music and slightly sarcastic-sounding narrator) posted on Facebook, and at least one other place that eludes me at the moment.
What the serious hell causes this?
---
### Author:  [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/35 "2014-03-20T22:18:15Z")
You’ve had generations where they resolved conflicts by charging directly into musket fire over and over again, eventually learning that perhaps they should duck. And that’s how we learned that slavery is wrong.
You’ve had generations where they resolved conflicts by charging directly into machine gun fire over and over again, eventually learning that perhaps they should dig a hole to hide in, and not charge directly into the flying death projectiles. And that’s how we learned that imperialism was dead and people should govern themselves.
You’ve had generations where they resolved conflicts by coming up with bigger and bigger bombs. This generation was nearly stupid enough to cause worldwide thermonuclear war and the destruction of our species. Eventually learning to start dismantling these bombs before we kill ourselves to death. That’s how we learned that winning a war necessitates one side surviving it.
Now we have generations where most of the soldiers come home alive, because we send in robots to do things that usually result in death. What we’ve finally learned is that our lives are terrible things to waste, so maybe, just maybe, we should try to not die.
It only took us countless thousands of generations to learn this. Perhaps our newest generation can get it right.
---
### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/36 "2014-03-20T23:29:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren’t overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
But then you grew up to be fat and obese, with fat and obese children. Maybe if you had eaten better, these things wouldn’t have happened.
> [@](#):
>
> WE HAD FRIENDS and we actually went outside and found them!
My niece Maia is very much like how I was. But unlike me, she has lots of friends. Her “helicopter” mother made sure to get her into a school for smart, high-achieving kids, while our hands-off parents believed that being a victim of bullying builds character.
Maia lives in a society where it’s cool for a girl to be a Game of Thrones geek that’s into roller derby and photography and science. She’s not the type who wants to hang out at the mall and go cruising for “boys”, like the “cool kids” used to do back in my day. She’s free to be herself in 2014…and so are the gay kids. For their sake, I would never go back to the 70s.
---
### Author:  [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/37 "2014-03-21T00:58:22Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> Reported as spam.
Yeah, don’t we have a rule somewhere against posting crap that you didn’t write yourself and not saying where you got it from?
---
### Author:  [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/38 "2014-03-21T01:08:50Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> I don’t know if a helmet would’ve saved him, but how is not having one better?
Actually helmets suck and I prefer riding without one. I ride with one because, yanno, head injuries, but they suck.
---
### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/39 "2014-03-21T01:28:03Z")
> [@Princhester](#):
>
> Actually helmets suck and I prefer riding without one. I ride with one because, yanno, head injuries, but they suck.
Yeah, a sucky helmet is better than dead.
---
### Author:  [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158/40 "2014-03-21T02:06:20Z")
Isn’t this list basically the lyrics to a bunch of country music songs?
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158.md?page=1)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-my-generation-were-young/684158.md?page=3)