Welcome to Gaia! ::

Got this in a forward from my Dad and I HAD to share it!


HIGH SCHOOL -- 1957 vs. 2007
Scenario 1:
Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.
1957 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his=2 0car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2007 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario 2:
Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
1957 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged them with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario 3:
Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students.
1957 - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. He becomes a zombie. He is then tested for ADD. The school gets extra money from the state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario 4:
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1957 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. The state psychologist is told by Billy's sister that she20remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.

Scenario 5:
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1957 - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is then searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario 6:
Pedro fails high school English.
1957 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.
2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against the state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is then banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario 7:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.
1957 - Ants die.
2007- ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investi gates his parents -- and all siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario 8:
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1957 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

I was beyond words when I read this

I'm not sure is entirely realistic.
But I do know that nowadays people seem to ignore their common sense.
Hooray for the Age of Hand Sanitizers!

God, the only way you could say that living in 1957 i s better than today is if you're looking at the past strictly through nostolgia-tinted glasses.

Sadly most boomers do.

Argh, yes is this a repost, and yes, it still pisses me off every time I read it. We JUST elected an African-American president. Let's see that happen in '57.

It's very easy to point out the good or bad things from past generations... What I find in the original post isn't so much nostalgia or viewing the past through "Rose-Colored Glasses" - more it's a means of pointing out how we tend to go to extremes in trying to correct issues.

Yes, child abuse was often ignored and swept under the carpet a few generations ago, but now kids are taught to scream "CHILD ABUSE" whenever a parent attempts to correct them. Parents are terrified and kids end up spoiled rotten. I remember the first time one of my kids came home from Kindergarten and informed me that if I swatted her on her little butt, she'd turn me in... I handed her the phone ~ told her better yet, let me call. She could go to foster care and see if things were better. Where's the middle ground? True child abuse should be turned in, but kids should not be handed a trump card when parents attempt to guide them into making good decisions.

Here's another - statistics show that more and more kids are being given meds to control their behavior, but they are not being shown the skills to assist them in controlling their own behavior. That's a problem, compounded by a child being given the right to decide at the ripe old age of 13 whether parents can be told about their mental health issues ~ but said parent will be blamed for not taking appropriate action if the child then acts out... hands tied much? Why were they given that decision - due to the low percent whose mental health issues could be tied back to bad parenting. Shouldn't that decision be made on a case by case basis?

Our society is overrun by greed - something our new president pointed out in his inauguration speech. Yes, it speaks volumes that he is our first African-American president. But I hope that future generations remember him for far more than that, otherwise we haven't moved very far from the Diversity standpoint ~ as Dr King pointed out so long ago - Diversity is inclusive, respect for all humans regardless of race, religion, etc. To merely look at our new president for the color of his skin implies we've forgotten that we should judge a man by his character and not his color. I don't believe that the majority voted for this man because of his color... I think his character played the big role here. There may be those who did vote because of his race (for or against), but I think his views on the issues are what got him elected by most of the people. I wish him the very best during his term.

When I read these types of posts, rather than finding a reason to be offended and sound off on the poster, I see that we as a society still have a long way to go to find a better way. We've forgotten to look out for one another - so many are still in the space that it's all about "ME!"

One final example: A parent sends a child to school with an asthma inhaler, and the school threatens to kick her out - she needs a doctor's note for said inhaler. Said note from doctor is sent to the school; however, the child still cannot carry the inhaler - she needs to come to the nurses station to use it. Not practical when she's in gym class on the ball field outside and can't get to the nurses office. Do you see the lawsuit coming? Common sense people.

*Picks up soap box and leaves the topic*

Yes, occasionally I get on a good rant... usually when I'm frustrated to see someone has gone off and made others afraid to post... neutral

And I can respect that's how it makes you feel ~ thank you for returning to explain the why factor... it opens up the discussion. 3nodding

In looking at history, whether it's 20 years ago or several centuries, it's full of hate, violence and unimaginable cruelty perpetuated by humans on other humans, and animals, and the planet, and... Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it - and that's why it can be hard to study ~ seeing the same patterns over and over again doesn't speak to humankind being intelligent... then again, human-kind is probably the best example of oxymoron - humans aren't always kind.