21 replies to this topic

[HUBBA.HUBBA]

Don't believe all that is written about homophobia and sexism.

 
It's not just written, my parents are about the same age as you and have a very different opinion despite also taking part in the 'fun' parts of the decade (seriously, the stuff my mother did as a youngster in the 60s  makes my youth look like a book club meeting).
 
The Notting Hill riots were only in '58. Casual racism was part of the 'British' culture, the race relations act only came in in 1965! Enoch Powell gave his speech in 1968....
 
Slums still existed in most major cities, my father grew up in not much more than a slum in North London (wellies for shoes etc..).
 
The mentally ill or those learning difficulties were regularly locked away in asylums for long periods as treatments were ineffective or non-existent.
 
Abortion was still illegal until 1967,  my neighbours growing up (now dead, a bit older than you) had female friends and family die because their only option for an unwanted pregnancy was a backstreet abortion.
 
So while I expect it was a great time to be white, male and middle class, if you were poor, black, female or disabled you didn't have the same social support as you do now.
 

political correctness, 'elf 'n' safety, expensive education

As soon as someone blames 'political correctness' for something, the argument is usually over, it's a useless term. And you want to go back to 60s levels of industrial injuries and accidents? The only point we'll agree on is the cost of education!
 
And one last thing on the female/sexism point. Seriously, look at the two posts in this thread. To paraphrase:
 

Phoowr! Look at the girls in the mini-skirts!

Come on, can you not see the irony in downplaying sexism and then salivating over girls in skimpy clothes?

You could say all that or something similar about any another decade

Edited by HUBBA.HUBBA, 16 August 2017 - 07:00 AM.

[Cooperman]

Part of the progress made during the 60's was the positive addressing of some of the issues mentioned.
Social mobility increased largely due to the easy availability of higher education via formal apprenticeships. With an apprenticeship one could aspire to greater things than one's parents might have achieved. Before WW2 to be an apprentice required the parent to pay a premium and my parents could not have afforded that. In the 50's and 60' no premiums were needed and apprentices were paid.
My parents were very 'working class', but the 60's saw a vast improvement in their standard of living. They even bought the rented house they had lived in since 1938.
It was a truly aspirational time and one in which it was great to live in the UK.

[JBW]

The then Prime Minister Harold Macmillan had said in the late 50's ( I thought it was the 60's)," You've never had it so good". I think at the time post people agreed with him, especially after the austere times during and following WW2.

The 60's weren't perfect, but a lot of things changed in that decade (not all for the best), the music was the biggest change for me, thanks to the pirate radio stations.

[Orange-Phantom]

Just for Cooperman.

 

 

​British Pathe on Radio Caroline

 

 

Kiss FM Belfast with a 1 million watt Transmitter!!!!

 

 

​​If I had a time machine I'd love to go back to the 60's!  (I'd also like to time travel a fair few cars from that era to the present day too)!

[Cooperman]

Wonderful😃. Thanks for posting that.

[Black.Ghost]

I don't think it's really possible for accurate comparisons between decades so far apart. Changes have occurred incrementally to create what now appears to be a big difference. Racism and homophobia are still serious enough issues now, let alone back then. I'm sure there were great bits about living in any of the decades.

The people who have had the fortune (or misfortune, depending on your view) to live through the 60s will undoubtedly look back with rose tinted glasses and see just the positives. I left the army just a few years ago and still do it with that, but then I stop and think about all the crappy bits!

One thing I have realised is you can spend your life remembering all the good bits and thinkjng it won't be like that again. Or you can just get on with enjoying life and have new challenges, making new friendships etc. No point dwelling on the past, good or bad. Maybe for some it's better just to keep the romantic idea of the 60s as just that.

One final point. I have a young daughter. I have no idea how I'm going to be when she starts dressing up to impress boys. I want to be chilled out and understanding. The problem isn't that. The problem is the people around that think it's a sign they can be inappropriate and out of order. With the levels and availability of porn, and general content on the internet these days, the expectations from young men are changing as to what's right and acceptable. That's what scares me.

[Carlos W]

 With the levels and availability of porn, and general content on the internet these days, the expectations from young men are changing as to what's right and acceptable. That's what scares me.

 

 

You're right, porn is giving people a completely unrealistic view of sex and relationships.

 

Apps like Snap chat, Tinder etc also don't help.