If You're 30 or older, You Might Find This is Hilarious!

Thanks for a happy thread for a change, although I have to disagree with you. I am 38 and my son is 14.
Yes, there are some things that are easy and better for them, but that is mostly due to the advances in technology - as kids we didn't know any better so we did not miss the "convenience".

Here are some of the things that he can't do or puts him at risk:

- ride on his bike in the streets like boys should (see below);
- walk to the shops a few blocks because of the risk of being mugged or worse (Child kidnappings and gang rapists);
- his prospects for finding a job after High School is slim as he is white and nobody is hiring white school leavers in South Africa due to BEE(Black Economic Empowerment);
- teenage abuse of drugs, alcohol is at critical levels (We're a nation of druggies)
- being murdered during a burglary or hijacking (hijacking)

No, I fear for my son and only hope that he is able to have a good happy life in the years to come. In the meantime I am preparing him for the "real-world" as much as I can without tainting his innocence.

Sorry to be so pessimistic in such a optimistic thread.

Most of you make me feel like an old man...and I am only 47... LOL Still goin' strong.

I agree, there are wayyyy toooo many folks at ATS that take every word and idea too damn serious... likie some of the others have said...lighten up. Good Lord...should we all be so depressed as to have the razors at hand.

Reminiscing...remininsing..remin...talking about the good ol' days is ok...should we always talk about such serious and indisputable subjects as reptillian aliens living in the White House that eat missing children while maintaining a summer home beneath Denver Intl Airport and vacationing on Mars at the secret Nazi Alpine Garten.

If you want to feel old and get a chuckle...put a five yr old kid in a 1980 pickup and watch them as they play with the handle that cranks the window up and down... absolutly amazed, thought it was Wow. Rolled the window up and down all the way to the store and back.

Or dig through the junk storage of the attic/closet and dig out the old telephone...with the rotary numbers.... again, he played with it all afternoon and didn't cost a dime.

Believe it or not, for many of you...there are still plces off the beaten path where you can enjoy a life like we idealize. Heck, I live in one... we don't have to lock doors, Sundays are for church or visiting or sleeping late. You can ride down to the corner/country store and sit and talk and drink a Coke and wait to see who will show up next. Saturdays are for washing a car, cutting grass, naps on the couch, baseball, riding bikes, saw a neighbor the other day with his John Deere pulling a trailer with his grand kids and fishing poles... sure, money's tight, but every generation has those stories. Frankly, life is what you make it... make it good.

These are the good ol' days.

Kids now days don't have it easier.

I'm 56.

most kids now come home from school to a empty house, no one to guide them, no one but others their own age to talk to.

They're pressured into having sexual activity before they can handle it emotionally.

What is on TV now and commonly seen would make a dog blush, mindless, violence, pornographic frap.

Teachers are so over worked and under paid, it is rare to find a passionate teacher that makes you want to explore and question authority. (Thank you Ms. Wright in 3rd Period English)

What do our youth have to look forward to?

Dirty air, a garbage patch the size of Texas floating in the Pacific, radiation dumps although the West, Haarp, crooked politics, 2012, 911, bottled water because our tap water is unfit, amber alerts, people that are bad win and people that are good lose, movies that mostly are so weird and or end in hopelessness..............no our youth don't have it better.

Maybe more material things, more instant gratification, but when I was growing up we had 1 fat girl in a school of over 500 kids.

Now, I see really obese kids, young kids all over.

Girls and boys unsupervised, they are raising themselves because it takes two people just to be able to afford to put food on the table and a roof over their heads.

Divorce nearing 50% and all the mean vendictive games that that entails.

I grew up in the 60's and 70's. My mother was single and we had to take two buses in downtown St. Louis to get to Guardian Angels where I was watched by the nuns while mom went to work at Browns Shoe Company every day until she died of lung cancer when I was 10 in 1963.

We were not exactly poor but we were not quite "middle class" I was happy, I felt loved and connected to my enviroment.

When Mother died I had to go live with my sister in a very nice suburban bordering rural area outside St. Louis.

The people while they had more money were for the most part were not nice, none caring, greedy, spoiled and selfish - in short full of themselves.

I survived in a period though when I came home from school, there was milk and cookies on the table and we were told to do our home work. Someone was always there to guide us and make sure we kept our heads on straight.

The girl I share a cube with is always getting calls about her kids she is having a hard time keeping track of them because she cannot physically be with them.

No, I feel for the kids now days.

Go out to a mall or any place where there are a lot of kids and look at their faces. Most are not happy.

We as a society have failed our youth.

They should be cherished for they are our legacy.

I don't think they have it better, I wouldn't want to be a kid now, it's a whole nother ball game. They have to grow up too fast now, they are not allowed to be children.

There's a book I read a long time ago called Passages, and if memory serves the books premise is that we must go through certain periods of development and these developements must occur over basic time periods and in certain sequences, one following and building upon the previous, for most folks in order to turn out well adjusted.

It appears to me that that sequence is broken - children now go from being children to adults in too short of space of time to allow them to adjust mentally in a healthy way.

I stayed home with my three sons and babysat - There were so many kids, 9-14 just hung around our home just to be near an adult, their parents all worked.

Corporate America has broken down and systematically destroyed the most important and basic structure of humanity - the family.

We are all destined to be good little worker bees.

One last thought - with all these parent divorcing, how the sam hill are these kids going to learn the fine art of compromising/getting along?

"I don't want a nation of thinkers, I want a nation of workers."
--John D. Rockefellar, Founder of the National Education Association

I don't think things happen by chance, I believe in a conspiracy that involves every single man woman and child has been perpatrated upon us.

The questions is by who?

[edit on 20-3-2010 by ofhumandescent]

"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for
authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place
of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their
households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They
contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties
at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.

ATTRIBUTION: Attributed to SOCRATES by Plato, according to William L.
Patty and Louise S. Johnson, Personality and Adjustment, p. 277
(1953)."

Also found some claims it was said by Aristotle.

For those of you living in a high crime area where you are afraid to let your kids ride your bikes down the street, I hope conditions improve. Where I live at, the police are so active, they have been known to raid a private party of kids that were drinking and just slightly underage. Several years ago, they would have all been of legal age. It's not all bad where I live at. A couple of times I heard about someone robbing banks in other parts of the state. Apparently they made the mistake of coming here. They got caught by the police within minutes after the first robbery here. The part that concerned me was that the picture in the paper showed the police here looked like they had really large rifles and looked like some military outfit. My mother when she lived in NC even heard from local police there that they were really good at their job here.

I'm concerned about having a police state but that appears to be far better than not being able to let your kids ride a bicycle down the street without worrying about getting mugged. Here I heard some people who were loitering at one of the local stores was questioned by an undercover officer about why he was standing around in the parking lot.

My brother's pc accidently dialed 911 due to a glitch and similar area code where he was from. He hung up immediately like within a second or two. A police officer was knocking on the door in about 90 seconds. I thought that was really fast.

im 20 but still found it funny

reply to post by LatentElement

The name belies nothing... the stereotype does. Remember that, and I will have accomplished my goal for today.

Thank you for the compliments, but compared to my younger days, the body is becoming decrepit, the mind is slowing, the hearing is lowering, and the eyesight is dimming. But again, thank you for the kind words.

TheRedneck

Funny, and too true, but they forgot an important one…

No ATM’s…
You had to withdraw your money from a teller at the bank, and if you did not get to the bank before it closed or before a weekend, you better have a checkbook and hope that everything you had to do over the weekend accepted checks.

Somehow this seems appropriate, a song from a band I used to idolize in my younger (and stupider) years:

Dr. Hook - A Couple More Years


TheRedneck

reply to post by 2manyquestions


Well, I am thirty-six, and I find it humorless, well slightly silly, but ultimately sad.

I remember cassette tapes and now have CD's.

I remember Atari and now have an X-Box 360.

I remember riding ten miles (I lived in the boonies) on a bicycle and now have a car.

I remember walking a mile from the bus stop and now I ride everywhere.

I remember having to check in everywhere I went when I got there, and when I was leaving, and now I am quite grateful I cannot afford my cell phone because of the economy where Government has screwed us.

I remember getting up 3am to help fold newspapers, at age 9 and now I hate them not because of that memory, but because of the lies sold to us daily.

I remember when food was cooked on the stove and not nuked in the microwave, but as well I remember the first microwave my parents purchased over twenty years ago and it just went out five year back.

I tell you this is sad, because we are in so damn much of a hurry to go places, do things, call people and stay connected, and the newest emerging technology is shoved in our faces, that we have forgotten how to enjoy and live life, and instead we are in the selfish age where everything needs to happen now, and it had better be right, and it is leading us into an instant gratification society, where not just the children are selfish, but society as a whole is selfish, and down right and damned impatient as Hell.

I am a child of delayed gratification and my current ex-girlfriend was a selfish brat, instant gratification, and ease of use, and it shows a lack of responsibility for action when we demand instantly, instead of understanding that you are making people hurry and scurry to our demands, we instead get impatient, and want to speak with the manager to complain.

I remember working at McDonalds as a twenty-one year old and wondering what the Hell the hurry was with these people coming through the drive-through, but as well, making damn sure I was doing it in a quick enough manner so as to not get written up, and or fired from a menial job.

I have much more patience now then I did as a child and teenager.

And I made up a silly saying to go with it that holds true today.

SKL's Quote :

I have the patience of a mountain, unfortunately, it took me forever to get there.

Remember, not everyone is in as much of a hurry, because some people remember, there is life to live, and enjoy, and if you find you are in a hurry, examine your own motives for it, maybe you should have got up ten minutes earlier, maybe replace the old alarm clock, maybe pick a new path because of traffic congestion, or maybe, just maybe, you are in a rat race, looking for the cheese which has now been moved on you.

Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/eea3a0b74e16.jpg[/atsimg]

Amazon Review :

Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective.

The message of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives.

Who Moved My Cheese? is a parable that takes place in a maze.

Four beings live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice--nonanalytical and nonjudgmental, they just want cheese and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

Hem and Haw are "littlepeople," mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese. It's not just sustenance to them; it's their self-image.

Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they've found.

Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods--our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in--although it can stand for anything, from health to relationships.

The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese, and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese when the cheese we have runs out.

Dr. Johnson, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and many other books, presents this parable to business, church groups, schools, military organizations--anyplace where you find people who may fear or resist change.

And although more analytical and skeptical readers may find the tale a little too simplistic, its beauty is that it sums up all natural history in just 94 pages: Things change.

They always have changed and always will change.

And while there's no single way to deal with change, the consequence of pretending change won't happen is always the same: The cheese runs out.

--Lou Schuler

Are you a mouse, or a man, or a rat, trapped in a bureaucratic maze?

Of M.I.C.E. and Men : United Nations, Betrayal of Country, or Currying Favors for Respect?

reply to post by TheRedneck

The name belies nothing... the stereotype does. Remember that, and I will have accomplished my goal for today.

Aye, aye Captain -
Consider the goal accomplished.
And for me the lesson learned.

I know where you're at in regards to the ravages that aging has on us.
I turned 52 today. I can hardly believe it. Feels weird saying it, even.
In my mind I'm still that agile young man I used to see in the mirror.
Then reality abruptly shatters that image with the realization that I can't do what I used to - everything is slowing down - and the spring of youth has long since passed ...
But, I figure as long as nothing stops or shuts off completely we're ahead of the game, right? Where there's life there's hope.
Course the meds help a lot.
(kidding)

Originally posted by acrux
"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for
authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place
of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their
households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They
contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties
at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.

As I read this it seemed to be a very accurate, contemporary anecdote about the children of today.
The next line floored me!

ATTRIBUTION: Attributed to SOCRATES by Plato

I guess the generation gap was evident even then.
Very enlightening find, acrux.
Thanks for that.

reply to post by Antoniw


I didn't think this was funny. It struck me as sad.

What is luxury without love and family, meaningless.

[edit on 20-3-2010 by ofhumandescent]

Alright, I made it to page 3 and I have to say, you think YOU had it rough.
Listen to this poor fella.

Right. I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad and our mother would kill us and dance about on our graves singing Hallelujah.

From the Four Yorkshireman Monty Python

I wonder what the kids of today would do if they were suddenly transported back to the 1700's? Imagine that? Not even a damn light bulb, much less an iphone.

But, I wish I had listen to my parents as a kid. My life back then would've been easier for me. But, I was young and knew everything. Then I woke up one day, and it's like someone played a horrible trick on me. I was exposed to this phenomenon known as BILLS.

I am 15 years old and my friends and I do not fall into any of these. You say we stereotype but by saying all teens do this is not true. I will have to disagree with the whole of your post because it is untrue, not just about me but a lot of others. For example, you compare your games to ours. I have a wii, yes, but I bought it myself. I understand the worth of money, hard work, and respect. Before i bought it, the only game system I had- because i was not allowed to game on the computer-was a Nintendo-64, and it crashed when the power went out. I wanted a Game-cube, but my parents said that if i was to get something to get something modern. I would have preferred a Game-cube...
I understand what you are thinking: what a spoiled brat, not happy with a game system. Its not just about the system. I understood the value of money (before this recession anyway) and wanted to save as much as I could. All the major purchases in my life have been out of my own pocket, and i do not work at a trivial job, i work at one related to my lifelong dream of double majoring in Architecture and Civil Engineering. I find it offensive that you refer to us because of the hardships YOU have had as a child. Modernization is a big thing, and we get benefits that you maybe did not have as a child. but, speaking for all those teenagers out there, we go through hardships too. Most of it is trivial, and you may not want to believe it, but I already pay taxes. I don't listen to music either, because I believe that a ipod is a waste of money. Just a few more points to make, I go outside with my friends to hang out. We drive on my go-cart and i am currently plowing my corn field with a tractor. I am from suburban Michigan in the Detroit-Area but i moved to a southern state. I know the meaning of work. So remember, before you complain about US, that we have a suitable argument. I do not mean to sound Insolent, it's just the common truth. If you were to ask half the people at my school, they work and save on a regular basis, and we already have plans
I know it does not sound believable, but teenagers are the driving force of the economy nowadays. If you truly read statistics about the recession, then you would understand why. 23% of teens are currently unemployed and they actually spend the most money on impulse in this economy.

There has been so many insightful posts lately in this thread, and all of them on one topic... so I will simply state my observations and thoughts instead of replying directly to them.

This newer generation coming to age now does indeed have one unique characteristic that I have remarked on many times. While I stand by the statements that most of them are unable to even comprehend what we experienced in our youth, and while I still maintain that life itself has not changed that drastically, I will readily admit two things:

• There has been a loss of family ties, something we had in abundance and something I consider vitally important, This 'lack of love' as one poster so eloquently put it, is a terrible disaster, but I also believe it is an avoidable one. We may, as a society, been lured away from our primary responsibilities (family) with the glitz and glitter of material possessions, but we also allowed ourselves to wander.
  
  When I was a couple of years old, my father built our house. He didn't go to a contractor and hire it done; he built it himself, board by board, nail by nail. He didn't buy the material from a lumber company and have it delivered ready-cut to stud length; he contracted with a company in town to tear down their old store (they were building a new one in the same place) in exchange for the materials themselves. Every day after work, he stopped by and spent several hours removing parts of that building and carrying them home in his pickup, until finally he had 90% of his materials. The old oak planking was turned into oak hardwood flooring in his little garage (which he also built) with a table saw and a planer; today, almost a half-century later, it still glows with that warmth that only true hardwood can give. The foundation is still sound. The old fuse box that was given him by a friend who was remodeling still works perfectly. The roof structure still holds those shingles and still sheds water. All these things have been replaced at least once on every other house I know of. The difference was that he did it himself, with the loving care and attention to detail that only someone building for themselves can have.
  
  That was rare back then; today it is unheard of. Whereas my father gave all of his time, his sweat, his literal blood, to build us a home while I was still a baby, nowadays we buy nice big houses, bigger than the one I mention above, and more apt to require repair sooner. In doing so, we mortgage our lives, requiring us to work long hard hours for 30 years or more, usually both husband and wife. So when the children come along, there is that mortgage hanging over our heads that says we are not allowed to spend time with our children, because our children interfere with our work. To my way of thinking that is like a hangnail coming before heart surgery.
  
  It is a trap, and one that ensnares for a lifetime. It leaves the next generation to fend for themselves, because to those who control us, our labor is more important than our lives.
  
  I was lucky; I was not extremely deep in debt when my oldest was born. In the delivery room, as my wife was receiving emergency treatment for spiking blood pressure, the child was handed to me instead. I looked down into those eyes, those beautiful blue eyes, and instantly changed. I no longer cared about myself; I cared for her. My dreams, my hopes, my plans, all got a demotion that moment; for henceforth, I lived only for her.
  
  I had no inkling before that moment, not even during the delivery, of what was about to take place. If someone had told me what was about to happen, I would have considered them a lunatic. But it did happen.
  
  I have gone through some tough financial times since then, but I have also had good times. The good times saw little change in our standard of living, however, because all the extra was put away for her and for my son who came along later. Right now I am unemployed, primarily because I will not leave them; at this time in their lives they need a father here. There are no 8-5 jobs, and trucking takes me away for weeks at a time. That is simply unacceptable. So I choose, of my own free will, to suffer financially so they will not suffer later.
  
  Thank God I have that choice. I never got so deep into debt I couldn't scratch and claw my way out.
  
  Unfortunately, for many they already have their lives predetermined before that realization occurs. I do not blame them totally; I blame the society we live it for judging others by their possessions. How many times have I, in a moment of weakness, looked at the possibility that I too could drive a new car and live in a nice fancy home, if only I would shirk those responsibilities and commit my life to the pursuit of things? To say it is a strong temptation is an understatement.
  
  
• Today's generation contains some of the brightest, most mature members I have ever seen in any generation, including my own. Every time I find myself wondering if society can withstand the onslaught of laziness and apathy that is coming into it,I am faced with someone who makes me feel so inferior and downright stupid in comparison. Not so because they intend to, but because they have such a drive, such an intelligence, such motivation and reason that I am amazed.
  
  I do not believe such a gap between members has ever existed in any generation prior to this one. And there seems to be little ground between. In my day, there were the losers and the winners easily distinguishable from early age, but most fell in between. Not today. There will, in 20 years time, be only an upper and a lower class, and it would seem the inhabitants of those classes are already en route to their respective destinations.
  
  I am proud to say, both of my children, now teens, have those qualities that will propel them into success.

So do not believe that I ignore the trials that face today's youth; I am keenly aware of them. Do not believe that I place all youth into one category; I do not. I simply speak of the natural order of things wherein experience must rule over determination, and wisdom over knowledge.

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reply to post by LatentElement

Well, everything still works on me, and I can still do pretty much anything I used to do... it just takes longer and hurts more.

TheRedneck

reply to post by TheRedneck


ty for your testimony...I have a great father like your children do.

Keep it up, they'll respect you even more as they age.

You know what else? Kids are being purposefully dumbed down in these institutions this time around too! Whether it's due to too many children/not enough teachers or............the educational system has just lowered their standards and just wants to: churn 'em in/churn 'em out!


Also, there seems to be an entitlement attitude amongst these kids as well. They seem to feel they deserve ----just 'because'!

There's also a huge downward turn on politeness, honor and integrity in the younger generation as well.

Perhaps it's a generational gap thing I'm sensing but I am also an overall observer of life and I am seeing a radical change in this country in both, children and adults.

I am just fortunate to have grown up in the 70's. In my opinion,that was the best (and last good) decade we had! I actually rode a bike without a helmet. Imagine that!

My dad build my house and I helped him. We did not take them from a building but we ordered them and made the parts ourself. It was a good experience.
The redneck- Thank you for not putting us in all one category. As i have noticed, there are many of them. The "nerds" (hard working people who know that It isnt that important to have like 5000 friends), The "Losers" ( my definition includes people that like to smoke and take drugs all the time, drink beer, Act like snobs, snub others, and be all around jerks), The "Jocks" (athletic people who know what is right and wrong), And the "averages" (people who dont fall into these categorys but are generally kind). I label myself as a nerd. It is too much used as an insult.

Another thing, I do not respect No Child Left Behind at all. It does not do any good today in our society. They just want to give people a preverbial "meal ticket" through life, saying that if they take these classes and do this stuff in high school and college, they will get life payed for. They make it easyer to get in "advanced classes, lower the standards ( did you know that if you ONLY HAVE 2 F's AND ALL OTHER D's THEN YOU PASS?!?) this makes it almost impossible t fail high school. it does not prepare you for life at all. in college, your associates degree is just a bunch of randomly compiled classes that you NEED TO GET THROUGH COLLEGE!!!! I will use a proverb from a book I read to clearify why this is wrong
Basically- all the animals got together in the green forest to have a meeting about class requirements in their new graduates school. B. Sparrow insisted that flying be in the curriculum. Squirrel insisted that climbing be in it, Gopher insisted tunneling, and they all went around listing all the classes needed to graduate from their "advanced" school.
After the curriculum was written, they got a lot of people to enroll. Only people that did well in their upper school got in, and if they did anything wrong (kangaroo peat up a guy for raping his sister so of course, he didnt get in) they weren't admitted.
The classes were all wrong. Rabbit was amazing at running, so he origionally got an A, but they insisted that he take flying as his minor, and he jumped off a cliff and broke all his legs and arms and fractured his skull. and they gave him a D. And he couldnt run either then so he got a C in running and flunked out.
THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH EDUCATION
i know im kinda ranting but i really think that the government should be reformed. we get NO SAY. i mean even adults. The people you elect dont have to listen you. they can do whatever the heck that they want. They are currently blocking freedom of speech, Writing plans, and, Obama said about 5 times that a congressional meeting would be on C-Net. it wasent. i really am watching glenn beck. i can not stand him but his words hold truth. I really wish that they would all remember that, If they dont stop... this is what we are being handed over. they need to put a tax on foreign companys. they dont help us at all. do SOMETHING! because i can tell you i REALLY dont wanna have to pay 200,000 approx. to fix this messed up nation.
sorry this got so off topic. i need to express myself a lot...