How true is this?!

[Foxy Lady]

Subject: The difference that 33 yrs. makes

 

Scenario: Jack pulls into school parking lot with rifle in gun rack.

 

1973 - Vice Principal comes over, takes a look at Jack's rifle, goes to

his car and gets his to show Jack.

 

2006 - School goes into lockdown, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and

never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized

students and teachers.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.

 

1973 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.

 

2006 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.

 

1973 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good whipping by the Principal.

Jeffrey sits still in class.

 

2006 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School gets

extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his father's car and his Dad gives him

a whipping.

 

1973 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college,

and becomes a successful businessman.

 

2006 - Billy's Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster

care and joins a gang. Billy's sister is told and convinced by the state psychologist that she remembers being abused herself and their Dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some Tylenol to

school.

 

1973 - Mark shares Tylenol with Principal out on the smoking

dock.

 

2006 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car

searched for drugs and weapons.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Mary turns up pregnant.

 

1973 - 5 High School Boys leave town. Mary does her senior year at a

special school for expectant mothers.

 

2006 - Middle School Counselor calls Planned Parenthood, who notifies the

ACLU. Mary, who is 14, is driven to the next state over and gets an abortion without her parent's consent or knowledge. Mary is given condoms and told to be more careful next time.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.

 

1973: Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.

 

2006: 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 state school

system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum.

Pedro given a diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he can't speak English.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee.

He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary, hugs him to comfort him.

 

1973 - In a short time Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

 

2006 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison

 

+++++++++++++++++++++

Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the 4th of July,

puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.

 

1973 - Ants die.

 

2006 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents,

siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

[LordTheNightKnight]

Seems like some people look at the past with rosy eyes, and like to exaggerate the present to that effect. While this would technically be a conservative view, in the sense of trying to say change it bad, some of those specific situations could fit liberalism or conservativism either way. But either way, that is a dishonest list, for the reason mentioned above.

 

EDIT: In case you are wondering, I'm more of a centrist. Yet it's not in the "both sides have value" sense, but in the "sometimes this side works; sometimgs that side works," sense. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, but just because something is running, doesn't mean there is nothing wrong with it.

[White Fox]

When I was in school there was a very strange guy in our class. Few friends, Unusual looking. Kept mostly to himself. One day in a class room he showed about a half dozen of us a switch blade that he came up with and bared his teeth at the same time. Everybody laughed him out of the classroom.

 

Would sure be different today!

W

[Worker 11811]

Seems like some people look at the past with rosy eyes, and like to exaggerate the present to that effect.

 

I don't know... In eighth grade, my history teacher was in the middle of teaching the class about WW-II and he went into his desk and pulled out a Nazi dagger that he had collected when he was in the army.

 

He passed it around the class and explained how he got it. We talked about what WW-II was like. The kids in the class all got a chance to look at the knife... even the girls.

 

When we were all done looking at it, the dagger was passed back up to the front of the class and Mr. Hess put it back into his desk drawer.

 

Another teacher, Mr. Senger, used a (defused) 50mm machine gun bullet as his hall pass. He kept it on the corner of his desk. When you needed to leave the class room you picked up the bullet and went on your way.

 

Never, not even ONCE, did anybody say anything about these items or complain that they might be dangerous. Nobody even gave them a second thought.

[LordTheNightKnight]

Seems like some people look at the past with rosy eyes, and like to exaggerate the present to that effect.

 

I don't know... In eighth grade, my history teacher was in the middle of teaching the class about WW-II and he went into his desk and pulled out a Nazi dagger that he had collected when he was in the army.

 

He passed it around the class and explained how he got it. We talked about what WW-II was like. The kids in the class all got a chance to look at the knife... even the girls.

 

When we were all done looking at it, the dagger was passed back up to the front of the class and Mr. Hess put it back into his desk drawer.

 

Another teacher, Mr. Senger, used a (defused) 50mm machine gun bullet as his hall pass. He kept it on the corner of his desk. When you needed to leave the class room you picked up the bullet and went on your way.

 

Never, not even ONCE, did anybody say anything about these items or complain that they might be dangerous. Nobody even gave them a second thought.

 

That is not to the level that the list describes. It's the degree, without admitting it might be hyperbole, that makes it dishonest.

[Worker 11811]

I tend to agree with your point but I think this is a case of Poe's Law rearing its ugly head.

 

In other words, it is assumed that the reader understands that the material is hyperbolic in nature and that said hyperbole is used to illustrate a point in a wry or humorous way. Without other indication that the material IS hyperbole or exaggerated humor, there are bound to be a few individuals who take the material more seriously than intended.

 

Most of us know the poster's (Foxy Lady) writing style and sense of humor. We also know that the poster has made a few other humorous posts, in the same style, in the same day as the one in question. Taken in context with those other posts, the humorous nature of THIS one should be assumed.

 

However, taken on its own merits and without any other clues, it is easy for a reader to assume that the poster is totally serious in her intentions.

 

I agree with you, Lord, for the most part but I think the intention of the post is a lot like that old Bill Cosby bit:

 

"Back in MY day... We used to WALK to school in BARE FEET!... In three feet of SNOW!... Uphill!... BOTH WAYS!!... And we were THANKFUL!!"

 

[Velvet_Tigress]

It's hard to really comment on how good things were, versus how they are today as I had somewhat of a sheltered childhood anyhow, but some of the items on that list seem a bit off.

 

Perhaps it might be different in more urban schools, or the rural schools I went to have changed their rules, but some of the items on the list aren't really the same experience I've seen, and I graduated in 1993.

 

-The rifle example, without a doubt, HAS changed since I was a kid in the light of these school shootings.

 

When I was very young, a boy brought in his Dad's (very much unloaded) deer hunting rifle in for show and tell.

 

The teacher didn't make a big deal about it, but she did have the boy's Dad come get it when it was feasible for him to do so.

 

Nowadays, the mere belief that a gun is around causes mass hysteria, it seems.

 

-The fighting hasn't changed, apart from Teachers reactions to it.

 

Where I was from, fights broke out from time to time and the Teachers were mostly inclined to let them work their way out and let both parties get punished for it afterwards.

 

This isn't to say bullies could get away with bullying, as a Teacher would intercede if they saw some big brute throwing another kid against a locker or knocking them around and usually would try and get them involved in football where such things weren't frowned on.

 

Was it fair? Not really, but in small farm towns in Wisconsin and in other rural places kids get into fights that don't devolve into gun or knifeplay as I am led to believe they do elsewhere. It seemed best I suppose to let them work their way out so they could go from there.

 

-When I was very young, a teacher had a paddle hanging over her desk with a lot of signatures on it. If you misbehaved, she's escort you into the hallway and you'd get a paddling.

 

About two years after I was in her class, a few solitary parents took exception to her punishment of their little angels and she retired the board.

 

Years later, I talked to her again and she took out the board to show me a few of the names on it. The Mayor of our town had his name on it, the Sheriff and a few officers did, (I did ) and a lot of upstanding people as well. Despite parents beliefs that it would ruin their kids, the board did nothing of the sort for nearly every name I recognized on her paddle.

 

I wish I could see twenty years from now what the many Ritalin-Kids have went on to do.

 

-I broke a neighbors window once, and not only did I have to cut wood for him all summer (imagine a girl doing that, right? ) I had to pay for his window out of my allowance too.

 

This is the first one on the list I'm going to take exception to as it's wrote though.

 

2006 - Billy's Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster

care and joins a gang. Billy's sister is told and convinced by the state psychologist that she remembers being abused herself and their Dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.

 

That's over the top. I see parents giving their children whoopings from time to time still, some of them in places as public as Wal-Mart parking lots and where I lived and where I live now sure as HELL doesn't have a law against corporal punishment of your children (so long as you're not beating them with a club, or locking them in a closet).

 

The whole thing at the end about state psychologists and gangs and affairs is like one of those old urban legends about the dangers of marijuna. It's blown out of proportion to nearly humorous heights.

 

-I never needed to bring my own Tylenol to school, as the School Nurse was there to give it to us if we needed it.

 

Kids shouldn't bring their own medications to school. The world seems to be overly intent on overmedicating itself, and the news about Tylenol's ability to ruin livers shouldn't go understated here.

 

-Pregnancy scenario: See parents spanking their kids thing above. Blown completely out of proportion to unintended humorous intent.

 

-I wish I could argue about the Pedro failing English thing, I seriously do. I won't though. People, with the best intentions at heart, refuse to let the kids sink or swim in the education field anymore. Once you'd have to learn to 'swim' or you'd fail. Now, they just want you to graduate so they can get their money, and parents argue over every unearned grade trying to make their little idiots into Einsteins.

 

Someone I know graduated High School and is completely and utterly illiterate. She's going to make a fine stay at home mom, so long as she keeps on recognizing the picture of a baby means baby food and the bottle with the skull and crossbones is poison.

 

She won't learn to read, and so long as she can get government money and the people at the bank cash her child support checks, it doesn't matter.

 

She is a good, person, don't let my anger fool you, but she should never have been allowed to graduate. Never. In the interest of making all the kids equal though, she did.

 

I'm bitter about that, yes.

 

-Johnny scraping his knee and being comforted is unrealistic. Not one of the playground monitors I knew would hug the kid to make him feel better. They were trained to get the kid off the playground and to the School Nurse, who would call his Mother to get permission to put some anti-infection cream and a bandaid on his knee. Where I was from, the playground monitor wouldn't have touched them anymore than holding his hand.

 

-The final thought must be a joke. It's like saying that making a potato gun and shooting at a water tower would bring them Anti-Terrorist units of the US charging down on a "terrorist cell" of eight year olds and bundle them off to Federal Prison never to be seen again.

 

Besides, Red Ants are OBVIOUSLY Communists.

 

~Long Winded K

[FrBrGr]

I tend to agree with your point but I think this is a case of Poe's Law rearing its ugly head.

 

In other words, it is assumed that the reader understands that the material is hyperbolic in nature and that said hyperbole is used to illustrate a point in a wry or humorous way. Without other indication that the material IS hyperbole or exaggerated humor, there are bound to be a few individuals who take the material more seriously than intended.

 

Most of us know the poster's (Foxy Lady) writing style and sense of humor. We also know that the poster has made a few other humorous posts, in the same style, in the same day as the one in question. Taken in context with those other posts, the humorous nature of THIS one should be assumed.

 

Here, here! Well stated, Worker!

 

However, taken on its own merits and without any other clues, it is easy for a reader to assume that the poster is totally serious in her intentions.

 

Then there are some who will disregard the obvious and take the opportunity to try and make a point, however lame it may be . . .

 

 

(Incidentally, Foxy Lady, IMHO as a libertarian, your humor here is closer to truth than fiction . . . ! Thanks for the contribution!)

[Worker 11811]

When I was in grade school, I got into a couple of fights at recess. Invariably, the gym teacher was on the scene in a couple of minutes to break up the fight.

 

He'd grab both us kids by the shirt collar and holler at us while he dragged us to the principal's office. It was US KIDS who got in trouble, not the teachers.

 

One time, in 8th grade, I got caught throwing eggs in the locker bays. (Lobbing them over the rows to land on unseen passer's by! ) The next thing I knew... "STANKEY!! GET OVER HERE!!"

 

The truant officer's hand reached down and grabbed me by the shoulder and literally DRAGGED me to the office! (This guy was literally 7 feet tall and built like a brick wall!) When I got there, I was subjected to an appropriate amount of hollering and scolding then I was given a choice:

 

1) I would have to call home and tell my parents that I got in trouble.

 

2) I could take three whacks on the ass with a paddle.

 

Guess which one I chose?!

 

In 10th grade, I and a buddy of mine brought in our compound bows (bow and arrow for hunting) with razor-tipped arrows and all! We shot them into hay bales in the gym, in front of the whole class as a demonstration. It was a shoot-out between a guy with a bowsight and an instinctive shooter, shooting without sights. I was the instinctive shooter. (Out of ten shots, he hit more bullseyes than I did but I had an overall higher score.)

 

Nobody called the cops. Even more, the teacher stood by and called the shots as we took turns shooting!

 

These things would NEVER happen today! It would have been a "Federal Case!"

[Mr Barguzin]

So no-body watched Monty Python's Flying Circus as a young'un, eh?? ooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrr (for the youngsters) The Young Ones.

 

[ReFur]

Velvet_Tigress,

 

Nice post! Thanks for taking the time!

 

Linda

[jimme747]

Well I am happy to be from the old country. It is all too complicated for me over here. A good friend of mine said he tried to adept 30 years ago but gave up after 2 years. He much rather stayed an

Englishman in New York...........

 

Last month I was kinda lost in Chinatown LA, a police car was waiting for a traffic light with 2 officers inside. The passenger window was open and I asked the officer: "Can I ask you a question?", next thing I know I was face down on the ground hands on my back....................WTF.

 

Me being ""cool"" and tens of bystanders, who all protested loudly cause they knew what was going on, got me free again. The only thing I told both MF's, I always thought you guys were here to serve the public.

 

I could go on and on, there is a lot of difference in this state CA then anywhere in Europe. Maybe is because of 9/11, maybe the folkes in DC, maybe both. And again this time I was mostly in CA and a little bit in TN.

 

Next year elections, aaahhhhhhhrrrrggggg think about it. It might not make a difference at all. But something has to change. Enough said.

 

Let me finish politically incorrect by saying Merry X-mas and a happy New Year to you all and when I say that, off course I include all other holidays as well, for all the ""other"" folkes.

 

When I was working for Greenpeace in the 80'ties we had bumper stickers saying: "Nuke the unborn gay whales". Is that enough Python?

 

Still love ye,

 

Cheers Jimme

[Velvet_Tigress]

Let me finish politically incorrect by saying Merry X-mas and a happy New Year to you all and when I say that, off course I include all other holidays as well, for all the ""other"" folkes.

 

*laughs* The other day at Wally World (Wal-Mart) a greeter wished me a "Happy Holidays." I responded, as loud as I dared go, "MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU TOO."

 

I hate the term Happy Holidays, PC or not.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone. And to all you who don't celebrate, then MERRY CHRISTMAS ANYHOW.

 

Kate

[White Fox]

Ah yes. Walmart's Greeters!

 

The first day that Walmart opened in Canada a greeter came up with the traditional comments aimed at one shopper. They had not quite yet figured out that Canadians are a fair bit different than Americans in some ways.

 

Conversation went something like this.

 

"Oh Good afternoon Sir! How are you today! "

 

And the suddenly reply was

 

"Why the Hell should you care?"

 

You will have noticed that greeters jobs changed slightly in Canada immediately! Now over here they pretty much just answer questions when approached and hand out shopping carts.

 

White Fox

[Ravens8]

OK, a few examples from my day (some time ago now, definately more than 30 years.

 

Fights at school were not uncommon. If found fighting by a teacher the combatants would be broken up and then allowed to fight it out over three rounds in the boxing ring under Queensbury rules. (Boxing was a compulsory once a week sport). If things got a bit boisterous, the ref (our maths teacher), would step in and seperate us At the end we had to shake hands, the refs decision was accepted, and there were never any hard feelings the next day.

 

We had a teacher with homosexual tendencies. (This was prep school, age 8 - 13) Whilst marking a boys work, that boy would often have to stand close to him and the teacher would invariably be "absent mindedly" stroking that boys bottom as he corrected his work sheet. We all knew and understood the situation, the teacher had no respect and we all treated him as a joke. Nothing official was ever done about it, because the Status Quo was controlled.

 

One day in the (compulsory) CCF one evening a week session, ( I was 16 by now)the real army had donated some cordite and detonators to the school. We actually spent the evening learning how to set charges, and blow holes in the ground, and the evening culminated with the blowing up of a tree! I must admit I feel a bit guilty about that now, it was ecolgical vandalism i suppose.

 

Beatings were common, gym shoe for minor, cane for major. It didn't stop us doing naughty things, we were just kids after all, but it did give us a good sense of what was right and wrong.

 

The school Padre was an outdoor type and we would eagerly hope to be chosen for the groups he would take out into the countryside for some fun activities. The best was setting up a zip line from the top of a tree across a lake. We would climb the tree, zip down the line and drop into the lake, swim and wade ashore covered in mud, freezing cold, and loving it. No safety nets, safety harnesses, buoyancy aids etc. just ourselves being taught our own limitations but more importantly our capabiliteis. We were just kids, it was fun, nothing else.

 

Science lessons were fun and interesting because we would actually do experimente that resulted in something eg a "bang", or a poisonous gas (chlorine) etc.

 

These kind of things made school more interesting which invariably made the academic side moe interesting.

 

Health and Safety? Parents permission?.......never heard of it.

 

Because of my schooling, my life has been truly great, I wouldn't want to change anything. As far as I know, I am balanced and "normal" ermm... apart from right now , sitting here at the computer with a santa hat on my head

 

 

By the way Lordthenight. A list can be inaccurate, but it cant be inherently dishonest. Only the person writing the list could be classed dishonest. Honesty is a human trait, not an inanimate object trait. But I am sure you weren't meaning to imply that Foxy Lady is dishonest. We have to chose our words so carefully these days

[Worker 11811]

Science lessons were fun and interesting because we would actually do experimente that resulted in something eg a "bang", or a poisonous gas (chlorine) etc.

 

My chemistry teacher, Mr. Servey, used to do little stunts he called "Chemical Quikies".

 

After each chapter in the textbook he'd perform an experiment based on the principles we learned. He made gunpowder and mixed it with powdered magnesium or other substances to show their effects. He made thermite using glycerin and iron permanganate.

 

He even took me aside and taught me how to make a kind of contact explosive using iodine and ammonia. (nitrogen tri-iodide monoamine) But, of course, I had to learn the chemical composition and all the forumlas then explain them in front of the class before he would let me actually make the stuff. The principal even used to pop in on demonstration days to catch a glimpse of the action.

 

My high school actually had a smoking lounge for the students! Yes, I said STUDENTS!

 

If a kid's parents came to school, in person, and filled out a permission card he could go out back and smoke before school, after school and duing lunch periods. But, trust me! You did NOT want to get caught in or anywhere NEAR the smoking lounge if you didn't have a smoking pass! The afforementioned truant officer, Mr. Askins, would literally grab you and DRAG you to the office. You would be instantly suspended from school until the matter was ajudicated. If you were found guilty, it was a minimum of a week's in-school suspension.

 

Nowadays, people would have a hissy-fit if anything like that happened!

[LordTheNightKnight]

By the way Lordthenight. A list can be inaccurate, but it cant be inherently dishonest. Only the person writing the list could be classed dishonest. Honesty is a human trait, not an inanimate object trait. But I am sure you weren't meaning to imply that Foxy Lady is dishonest. We have to chose our words so carefully these days

 

I meant to state that I know the OP didn't make the list, and that the intent of the actual author was dishonest, of course not the list itself. That's like when people call something gay, when the thing is clearly not a person and has no sexual feelings to have a preference for.

[Ravens8]

Hey Worker! It's all coming back to me. We used to make something, would it have been silver acetaldehyde or something. We'd smear it over the floor in the chemistry block, let it dry, then roll around laughing when unsuspecting people walked over it and their feet crackled! Didn't do it very often though, it was somewhat frowned upon! and a waste of silver salts solution

 

Lordthenight - point taken, no offence meant, - me just being pedantic

[Worker 11811]

We put it in the keyholes to the classroom doors, last thing before going home.

 

After we got done playing with the stuff, the filter papers were impregnated with it and, when they dried out, became explosive too. We'd cut them up into little pieces and scatter them in the hallways around the school. Then the janitor would come and sweep them up.

 

BAM! BAM! "Damn kids!"

 

Interesting thing about NH3

[Ravens8]

Shame we weren't at the same school. Boy could we have had some fun. except......erm.....what's a hyperbole alert!?

[Worker 11811]

I was just poking a little good-natured fun at LordTNK.

 

Look up on the first page of this thread where we talk about the use of hyperbole and "Poe's Law".

 

And, no. It's better if we rabble rousers stay apart! We can do more damage that way!

[Ravens8]

Yep - understand hyperbole now.

 

But in re-reading the first page it'e brought some thoughts to mind, especially re:Velvet Tigress's reply.

 

You know, in Uk we are getting many situations that are pretty close to foxy Lady's post.

 

A guy shot dead for walking out of a pub carrying a broken table leg (innocently). The police "thought" it was a concealed firearm.

 

Innocent Family's torn apart in a pre-dawn raid, kids put in care for months, on suspicion of child abuse. Suspicions subsequently found to be totally without foundation, and then family's have to "fight" to get their kids returned to them.

 

A guy receiving verbal abuse, and called a pedophile by the mum,for innocently commenting on a little girl's beautifull hair. (meant to be a complement to the little girl, to make her feel good about herself, and a complement to the mum for her care.

 

Kid comes up to teacher on a school walk complaining of a blister. Teacher has to formally ask the kid's permission before removing sock to look, then again having to ask permission to put a plaster on.

 

Police called out to arrest and question a young kid seen playing with a toy gun.

 

Christmas being called "Winterval" to avoid offending minotity groups who have never said they are offended.

 

An innocent guy shot six times in the head, at close range, in front of everybody on a train, by special police on the basis of misinterpreted information.

 

A slap on a kid's bottom if being naughty in public (or at home) would likely result in prosecution of the "Guilty" parent in the UK.

 

That's off the top of my head,there are endless other, even worse, examples in the UK.

 

It's a sad, sad world we our making for ourselves, we are teaching our kids it is a world to fear, rather than a world of wonder and experience. I sometimes weep for it.

[LordTheNightKnight]

We put it in the keyholes to the classroom doors, last thing before going home.

 

After we got done playing with the stuff, the filter papers were impregnated with it and, when they dried out, became explosive too. We'd cut them up into little pieces and scatter them in the hallways around the school. Then the janitor would come and sweep them up.

 

BAM! BAM! "Damn kids!"

 

Interesting thing about NH3

[LordTheNightKnight]

Yep - understand hyperbole now.

 

But in re-reading the first page it'e brought some thoughts to mind, especially re:Velvet Tigress's reply.

 

You know, in Uk we are getting many situations that are pretty close to foxy Lady's post.

 

A guy shot dead for walking out of a pub carrying a broken table leg (innocently). The police "thought" it was a concealed firearm.

 

Innocent Family's torn apart in a pre-dawn raid, kids put in care for months, on suspicion of child abuse. Suspicions subsequently found to be totally without foundation, and then family's have to "fight" to get their kids returned to them.

 

A guy receiving verbal abuse, and called a pedophile by the mum,for innocently commenting on a little girl's beautifull hair. (meant to be a complement to the little girl, to make her feel good about herself, and a complement to the mum for her care.

 

Kid comes up to teacher on a school walk complaining of a blister. Teacher has to formally ask the kid's permission before removing sock to look, then again having to ask permission to put a plaster on.

 

Police called out to arrest and question a young kid seen playing with a toy gun.

 

Christmas being called "Winterval" to avoid offending minotity groups who have never said they are offended.

 

An innocent guy shot six times in the head, at close range, in front of everybody on a train, by special police on the basis of misinterpreted information.

 

A slap on a kid's bottom if being naughty in public (or at home) would likely result in prosecution of the "Guilty" parent in the UK.

 

That's off the top of my head,there are endless other, even worse, examples in the UK.

 

It's a sad, sad world we our making for ourselves, we are teaching our kids it is a world to fear, rather than a world of wonder and experience. I sometimes weep for it.

Sorry for the double posts, but those are more results of stupidity than political correctness, like the guy getting shot for his wooden leg.

 

The dishonesty from that list is the implication that stupid policies and action weren't done in the old days, and people were somehow more sensible.

[Ravens8]

Yeah, I agree LordTheNightKnight. Stupidity rather than PC.

 

But stupidity born of an inabilty to think things through before taking action. Action resulting too much from passive acceptance of misinterpreted facts

 

I would still argue that in the past, before the times of mass media TV, radio etc, people would be more likely to be self reliant and judgemental before action.

 

Now days, everybody, police and politicians included, act on information and "facts" drip fed (or sometimes force fed) into them by the media, and rapid information availability. In many cases this results in knee jerk reactions without the time given to facts assessment. That knee jerk reaction then becomes the news that triggers further knee jerk reaction. And before long, actions are being taken that bare no relation to the cause.

 

I know this is not black and white, and mistakes were made in the past too. But I believe on balance, more actions were made on judgement, with time to assess, rather than instant response based on fear, and other people's erroneous views.

 

Either way it is still a sad sad world, because we could use mass information technology to make life so good, instead of making balls ups the whole time.

 

I think our technological evolution has happened too fast for our animal nature to keep up with it. And I have my doubts that we ever will catch up before we make an ultimate ballsup!!