Poll:- life better now or in 1959?

[lone wolf]

Big deal. They're opinions. Yours bears no more oomph than anyone else's. Get over yourself.

 

[countryboy]

That does not make life better, countryboy. What you seem to think is that ignorance is bliss. You probably would agree with the credo given in ‘1984’.

Ignorance is strength.

But you are right, in those days the majority white people didn’t care how what they say was perceived by the minorities. The words such as nigg*r, spic, dago, jap were in common use back then.

I remember a cabinet member in Nixon cabinet got into trouble for referring to a Japanese lawyer as ‘that little Jap’.

Now, no doubt in the 50s, the whites wouldn’t have thought there was anything wrong about that, but it caused a firestorm in the 70s.

So I agree with you in that people in those days didn’t care if they offended the minorities. But disagree with you that it made for good life. For whites, perhaps, but not for anybody else.[/quote]

There you go again, telling me what I "seem to" think and what I would "probably do." If you had simply left out that distracting opening shot, I would have read the rest of your post. Too bad, your loss.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

That does not make life better, countryboy. What you seem to think is that ignorance is bliss. You probably would agree with the credo given in ‘1984’.

Ignorance is strength.

But you are right, in those days the majority white people didn’t care how what they say was perceived by the minorities. The words such as nigg*r, spic, dago, jap were in common use back then.

I remember a cabinet member in Nixon cabinet got into trouble for referring to a Japanese lawyer as ‘that little Jap’.

Now, no doubt in the 50s, the whites wouldn’t have thought there was anything wrong about that, but it caused a firestorm in the 70s.

So I agree with you in that people in those days didn’t care if they offended the minorities. But disagree with you that it made for good life. For whites, perhaps, but not for anybody else.[/quote]

There you go again, telling me what I "seem to" think and what I would "probably do." If you had simply left out that distracting opening shot, I would have read the rest of your post. Too bad, your loss.

What happened countryboy, why does part of my post (as quoted by you) appear in such fine print?

 

[lone wolf]

It means your message got lost in the delivery

 

[JLM]

Although this may have been covered previously, it might be worth reiterating. One of the very best things about '59 vs. '09 was the absence of political correctness back then. Christmas concerts were called Christmas concerts, the Eaton's Christmas Catalogue was called the Christmas catalogue, and "Merry Christmas" was commonly heard everywhere. Well, we did hear "Happy Holidays" once in a while, but I doubt that it was based on PC.

Ah, the good old days. There's just another reason why life was better back in '59!

You bet and you could tell an idiot he was an "idiot", now you have to tell him he's "developmentally challenged" :lol::lol::lol:

 

[ironsides]

That does not make life better, countryboy. What you seem to think is that ignorance is bliss. You probably would agree with the credo given in ‘1984’.

Ignorance is strength.

But you are right, in those days the majority white people didn’t care how what they say was perceived by the minorities. The words such as nigg*r, spic, dago, jap were in common use back then.

I remember a cabinet member in Nixon cabinet got into trouble for referring to a Japanese lawyer as ‘that little Jap’.

Now, no doubt in the 50s, the whites wouldn’t have thought there was anything wrong about that, but it caused a firestorm in the 70s.

So I agree with you in that people in those days didn’t care if they offended the minorities. But disagree with you that it made for good life. For whites, perhaps, but not for anybody else.

"The words such as nigg*r, spic, dago, jap were in common use back then."

Use of those words were not common back in 1959, they were just as derogatory then as now. People with proper upbringing did not use word like that as they should now. Here is something you may not know. In Virginia, NC, SC, GA, AL and other southern states. White and black children actually played together. Surprise!! We did not go out of our way to offend any minority, there were as today a few trouble makers and I guess we will always have them around.

 

[JLM]

"The words such as nigg*r, spic, dago, jap were in common use back then."

Use of those words were not common back in 1959, they were just as derogatory then as now. People with proper upbringing did not use word like that as they should now. Here is something you may not know. In Virginia, NC, SC, GA, AL and other southern states. White and black children actually played together. Surprise!! We did not go out of our way to offend any minority, there were as today a few trouble makers and I guess we will always have them around.

The original intent of this thread was to compare life in Canada. As far as better is concerned the meaning is up to the individual. For me it has mainly to do with happier, but to others it may mean more material wealth, or more power or less exertion to get through the day, or more available sex, or ability to play golf and have lots of sex.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

"The words such as nigg*r, spic, dago, jap were in common use back then."

Use of those words were not common back in 1959, they were just as derogatory then as now. People with proper upbringing did not use word like that as they should now. Here is something you may not know. In Virginia, NC, SC, GA, AL and other southern states. White and black children actually played together. Surprise!! We did not go out of our way to offend any minority, there were as today a few trouble makers and I guess we will always have them around.

I remember one black leader put it rather nicely. “In the South, they don’t care how near you go to them, as long as you don’t consider yourself their equal. In the North, they don’t care if you consider yourself their equal, as long as you don’t go near them.”

He makes a good point, in those days, North was only marginally better than the South. Sure, they did not lynch blacks in the north, they did not practice apartheid (separate lunch counters etc.), but there was still plenty of discrimination against blacks.

 

[countryboy]

1959 was also a great time to live in Canada because the educational system still taught the basics (readin', 'ritin', 'rithmatic) and most of the high school graduates could spell their name upon completion of Grade 12. They could add and subtract, and basically do some pretty good thinking.

In the 60s, the great social revolution began and the emphasis began to shift from a good basic education to more advanced, more humane, and softer education. The traditional subjects were still taught, but the emphasis began to swing toward a priority on the self esteem of the students...making sure they felt good about themselves, and this of course began to have an impact on how their work was graded and scored.

This tendency gradually infiltrated the entire education system until the 80's, when we now had a generation of - in some cases - semi-literate teachers attempting to teach youngsters but alas, as a product of the deteriorating educational system, those teachers were not able to keep up with the old standards and things really began a downhill slide. When I was reviewing one of my daughter's school essays - which had been graded by the teacher - a few years ago (well, in the 90s), I noticed a lot of misspellings. When I asked her why the teacher hadn't pointed them out, she said, 'Mr. White said that we should spell words the way they sound and not to worry about the formal spelling.' Mr. White and I had a conversation about that, and he confirmed that it was the practise employed to preserve the self-esteem of the child. I told him I didn't agree with that approach and would be overseeing my daughter's English assignments from then on, and he seemed offended. No matter - we helped her through high school and today she can spell very well. No thanks to the educational system.

In other conversations with various teachers over the ways, I began to get the impression that there was an effort underway to drive the standards of education down to the lowest common denominator in order to avoid having anyone getting their feelings hurt.

We of course see the benefits of this shift in educational priorities all around us today. We have homeless people on the streets, folks going bankrupt, violent crime everywhere, kids on skateboards swearing at little old ladies that get in their way, and a general attitude of 'the world owes me a living, and I want it now.' Progress? I think not.

I think some key portions of the education system have suffered in quality since '59.

 

[JLM]

1959 was also a great time to live in Canada because the educational system still taught the basics (readin', 'ritin', 'rithmatic) and most of the high school graduates could spell their name upon completion of Grade 12. They could add and subtract, and basically do some pretty good thinking.

In the 60s, the great social revolution began and the emphasis began to shift from a good basic education to more advanced, more humane, and softer education. The traditional subjects were still taught, but the emphasis began to swing toward a priority on the self esteem of the students...making sure they felt good about themselves, and this of course began to have an impact on how their work was graded and scored.

This tendency gradually infiltrated the entire education system until the 80's, when we now had a generation of - in some cases - semi-literate teachers attempting to teach youngsters but alas, as a product of the deteriorating educational system, those teachers were not able to keep up with the old standards and things really began a downhill slide. When I was reviewing one of my daughter's school essays - which had been graded by the teacher - a few years ago (well, in the 90s), I noticed a lot of misspellings. When I asked her why the teacher hadn't pointed them out, she said, 'Mr. White said that we should spell words the way they sound and not to worry about the formal spelling.' Mr. White and I had a conversation about that, and he confirmed that it was the practise employed to preserve the self-esteem of the child. I told him I didn't agree with that approach and would be overseeing my daughter's English assignments from then on, and he seemed offended. No matter - we helped her through high school and today she can spell very well. No thanks to the educational system.

In other conversations with various teachers over the ways, I began to get the impression that there was an effort underway to drive the standards of education down to the lowest common denominator in order to avoid having anyone getting their feelings hurt.

We of course see the benefits of this shift in educational priorities all around us today. We have homeless people on the streets, folks going bankrupt, violent crime everywhere, kids on skateboards swearing at little old ladies that get in their way, and a general attitude of 'the world owes me a living, and I want it now.' Progress? I think not.

I think some key portions of the education system have suffered in quality since '59.

Yep, it's scary C.B. - Alas some teachers are idiots (others are excellent)- nothing better than to raise a child with absolutely no skills but lots of self esteem- the jails are full of those kinds of people. I know there are teachers out there who are against any sort of testing because it might hurt the child's feelings. Getting off topic a tad, one of the main causes of all the poorly adjusted people today is they were never taught how to handle disappointment, so when they are disappointed they fly into a tantrum, beat people up, steal and do whatever it takes to have things their way.

 

[countryboy]

Yep, it's scary C.B. - Alas some teachers are idiots (others are excellent)- nothing better than to raise a child with absolutely no skills but lots of self esteem- the jails are full of those kinds of people. I know there are teachers out there who are against any sort of testing because it might hurt the child's feelings. Getting off topic a tad, one of the main causes of all the poorly adjusted people today is they were never taught how to handle disappointment, so when they are disappointed they fly into a tantrum, beat people up, steal and do whatever it takes to have things their way.

I agree, but do we have statistics, charts, graphs, reports, sworn affidavits, and other forms of statistical, iron clad evidence to support these wild claims? Huh? Do we? I don't...I'm just relying on my simple powers of observation, trying to make some (common) sense of it all. Very unscientific.And I think it IS on topic...life was definitely better in '59!

 

[JLM]

I agree, but do we have statistics, charts, graphs, reports, sworn affidavits, and other forms of statistical, iron clad evidence to support these wild claims? Huh? Do we? I don't...I'm just relying on my simple powers of observation, trying to make some (common) sense of it all. Very unscientific.And I think it IS on topic...life was definitely better in '59!

One thing defintely better about '59- more gratitude for what was done for us.

 

[countryboy]

One thing defintely better about '59- more gratitude for what was done for us.

Yes. I guess that's what bugs me about the attitude of some people that 'the world owes me a living.' And, expecting the government to do more and more things for us. If we let that go to an extreme, we would be heading down the path the old Soviet Union followed - having the government do pretty much everything - and it didn't work too well for them in the long haul. I think they should stick to things that are unquestionably for the "common good", but my version of what that represents seems to be quite a bit different than some.

I think my version more closely matches that of '59...which just proves I'm gettin' older. And maybe wiser. Well, that's the theory, isn't it?

 

[petros]

Yes. I guess that's what bugs me about the attitude of some people that 'the world owes me a living.' And, expecting the government to do more and more things for us. If we let that go to an extreme, we would be heading down the path the old Soviet Union followed

You've nailed it bud. We ARE on our way to global socialism and it is happening faster and faster everyday. Do some research on "new dawn" and it's commie roots. Obama uses it, Hillary used it, and even that goofball McCain spoke of a "new dawn". Why? What does it mean? ( new dawn communism - Google Search= )

 

[ironsides]

The original intent of this thread was to compare life in Canada. As far as better is concerned the meaning is up to the individual. For me it has mainly to do with happier, but to others it may mean more material wealth, or more power or less exertion to get through the day, or more available sex, or ability to play golf and have lots of sex.

I agree, we just did our thing with not a care in the world. Going up to Canada for a month in the summers was a nice change. Did the same things though.

 

[petros]

From The Times
December 19, 2009


Romania’s new dawn was joyful, chaotic and, ultimately, squalid



Victor Sebestyen


div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;} In the days after the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu fled from his seat of power a weird assortment of “revolutionaries” occupied his Communist Party headquarters in Bucharest.
They were ordinary Romanians and they believed that they had made history by overthrowing the loathed leader who, with his frightening wife, Elena, had starved and frozen them into submission for decades.
The sudden exposure to the opulence around them and their pent-up hatred for the regime explained much of the violence of the next few days. These people had survived strict food rationing. Electricity functioned three hours a day, even in harsh winter. One described how he had found his aunt, wearing her overcoat, dead from hypothermia.
They had never seen anything like the curtains, satin sheets and cutlery which they proceeded to divide up among themselves. Most of it was tasteless tat, the sort of vulgar gold leaf and deep pile beloved by dictators everywhere. I managed to liberate one of Ceausescu’s naff brandy glasses, which I kept with guilty pleasure for years.
Old hands who had seen the Communist regime collapse in Poland, the Berlin Wall fall down and a dissident playwright become President in Prague, had said sagely that it would never happen in Romania.
There the self-styled genius of the Carpathians ran the most brutal police state in Europe with the help of his Securitate secret police. He fostered a personality cult that might have made Stalin or Mao Zedong cringe.
Yet a fatal moment of weakness, shown live on television, sealed his fate. On December 21 he was jeered at a public rally and he froze. The panic on his face was the beginning of his end.
As the first barracker, a taxi driver called Adrian Donea, said later: “We could see he was scared. At that moment we realised our force.”
Most popular revolutions are characterised by confusion. Romania’s old-fashioned kind of revolution was no exception.
The fighting that followed Ceausescu’s tragi-comic escape attempt — he was captured within hours — was never on the scale originally reported. In total around 1,000 people died, roughly half of them in Bucharest. The Army, consisting mostly of young conscripts who had never fired live ammunition before, ditched the dictator as soon as he fled. Soldiers handed out arms to thousands of civilians, which complicated matters further. Often it was difficult to know who was fighting whom or for what.
Despite the chaos on the streets, the Metro continued to run. It was odd seeing civilians ride underground trains carrying Kalshnikovs and ammunition belts, hurrying to the next skirmish.
Power, however, was never in the hands of the revolutionaries who occupied Ceausescu’s office. It was swiftly seized by the generals and party apparatchiks who had fallen out with the Ceausescus.
This led to conspiracy theories that the revolution had been an elaborate plot by the KGB and reform-minded Communists.
Yet it depended on a mass popular revolt to succeed, which could not have been planned in advance. More likely, those who understood the nature of power saw an opportunity and took it.
One of the ghastliest things that I have seen is the uncensored video of the first couple’s “trial” and barbaric execution on Christmas Day. Judicially, it was a farce, though quite how squalid I discovered a short while later from the Minister of Defence, the sinister Victor Stanculescu, who had been one of Ceausescus’ most oily sycophants.
He boasted of how, on his way to the court room, he took with him a firing squad. He had already chosen the place of execution. Such was the beginning of Romania’s new dawn.
Victor Sebestyen is the author of Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire

The term "new dawn" always leads to a big pile of ****e.

 

[MHz]

Better in '59, you could get 7 adults and two small children in a car if you used the rear window tray.

 

[lone wolf]

Better in '59, you could get 7 adults and two small children in a car if you used the rear window tray.

Hell, you could launch a Piper Cub from the rear deck of a '59 Chevy....

 

[TenPenny]

People with proper upbringing did not use word like that as they should now. [/FONT]

People with proper upbringing don't do the things that everyone is railing about as the signs of decline of civilization in 2009, either.

 

[countryboy]

People with proper upbringing don't do the things that everyone is railing about as the signs of decline of civilization in 2009, either.

True. Is it possible that the "proper upbringing" was more common in '59?