Youth of today

[somad]

I agree, I don't see much of value in the kids coming up to high school now, or even in my own peers (though there are exceptions, and I assume one day the light bulb will go on for most to go an and become valuable, contributing members of society). I think the lack of respect is nothing new (I'm not exactly a stranger to it...my last car was considered a public nuisance around town because it was so loud, and the police made sure I knew it), but it seems to me kids now are even less willing than ever to take real risks, to be themselves even at the cost of looking, talking, or even acting different than those around them.

My best example is with fashion. It seems to me, everybody looks the same; very few people strike out and find their own style. I have, with the 50's, and have turned it into a whole lifestyle besides just the way I look. And I have to say, it's a point of pride for me. People give me funny looks, but I have the satisfaction of knowing that I am who I want to be, and that I am not letting anybody else quash my individuality.

You might even be able to call that the Kozmo Kramer look!

I think it's human nature that people dress alike... people want to be accepted as part of a group or clan. I didn't live back then but I'd think that this country was even more homogonized in terms of fashion back then than today. Among youths there's preppy, hip hop, punk, goth... It's kinda dumb in my book that fashion styles seem to be so heavily influenced my musical tastes. I usually just wear whatever's on top of the clean laundry pile...

[Miesian Corners]

I don't think this is a problem that should be placed on the shoulders of young people. In my humble opin, society as a whole is growing into a ettiquite-less cess pool. I see it everyday at work (a large airport). No "thank you's", no "excuse or pardon me's". In fact, one of the most important means of effective communication is to look someone in the eye when speaking to them (in American culture). I can't get even that. My point is this: children only learn what they are taught by adults. We treat each other with distain, we teach our children to do the same.

And without getting too preachy, one of the reasons I refuse to watch any reality TV is because of the negativity it teaches. What is the underlying message of Survivor? Lie, cheat, steal, talk behind someone's back... basically do anything to win. However bad you have to be to get that $1mm is more important that what any human condition might be.

[Recchia]

I don't think this is a problem that should be placed on the shoulders of young people. In my humble opin, society as a whole is growing into a ettiquite-less cess pool. I see it everyday at work (a large airport). No "thank you's", no "excuse or pardon me's". In fact, one of the most important means of effective communication is to look someone in the eye when speaking to them (in American culture). I can't get even that. My point is this: children only learn what they are taught by adults. We treat each other with distain, we teach our children to do the same.

And without getting too preachy, one of the reasons I refuse to watch any reality TV is because of the negativity it teaches. What is the underlying message of Survivor? Lie, cheat, steal, talk behind someone's back... basically do anything to win. However bad you have to be to get that $1mm is more important that what any human condition might be.

Excellent points. And don't even get me started on reality tv. I turned on the tv the other night and every channel had some reality crap on. I can't take it anymore. Thank god for Law and Order:SVU...

[Pillsbury]

I don't think this is a problem that should be placed on the shoulders of young people. In my humble opin, society as a whole is growing into a ettiquite-less cess pool. I see it everyday at work (a large airport). No "thank you's", no "excuse or pardon me's". In fact, one of the most important means of effective communication is to look someone in the eye when speaking to them (in American culture). I can't get even that. My point is this: children only learn what they are taught by adults. We treat each other with distain, we teach our children to do the same.

And without getting too preachy, one of the reasons I refuse to watch any reality TV is because of the negativity it teaches. What is the underlying message of Survivor? Lie, cheat, steal, talk behind someone's back... basically do anything to win. However bad you have to be to get that $1mm is more important that what any human condition might be.

Exactly. The culture has gone downhill and so, of course, has the youth culture, which, always doing things first, has gone downhill on a more noticable level. People have no shame nowadays. Yeah, Mom and Dad probably got it on before they were married back in the day on lover's lane or at a David Bowie concert when they were young and yeah you were probably the result of that and I'm sure our grandparents did the same thing. But people have no real shame about it anymore. Where it was once private, it's now something that's very public. It's reflected in the music, rock and rap both, where every last possible sexual act is described in so much detail. Where girls think it's cool to pole dance at parties and where guys and girls simply "hook up" for the night. I think it was Tom Wolfe who said that he never thought the sexual revolution would turn into a sexual carnival. And i think he's right.

Maybe it's because we've been too pampered and we don't really no what it's like to really need something.

[Snowguy716]

That's why we should all vote republican. Because not only should we be afraid of the constant terror threat that is waiting to blow your house up...

Your kids are all out having pre-marital sex and dancing sleeping in instead of going to church.. you should be afraid of that as well.

I look forward to having a republican dominated culture where kids go to school to learn about God and prepare for a job.. who needs art and music when you're gonna be a career burger flipper? Music is the devil, anyway. A culture where children are brought up to believe that accepting discipline is hte most important thing and that women belong in the kitchen barefoot, and preferably pregnant.

If you're uneducated or disabled... get up off your lazy butt and get to work! If you still can't make it and money is a constant stress in your life.. think about happy things.. like how nice it must be for the CEO of Halliburton who is sitting in his 5th house in the Hamptons sipping Martinis and watching the grandkids swim... in one piece swimsuits in separate swim areas for boys and girls.

A culture where the Christian church dominates the airwaves and the soundwaves.. where only Christian, "family friendly" programs are shown on TV... abortion is unspeakable and anyone who has an abortion is put to death by electric chair.

A culture where everyone knows their place and accepts it and doesn't dare dissent... where the poor stay poor and are happy about that while the rich stay rich.. and the middle class is non-existant.

Unions are banned to keep the workers isolated and poor and without health care.. but that doesn't matter, because the issue at hand is whether we should be deporting immigrants and other anti-Americans (read: Gays, liberals, moderate republicans)...

A society where the president has the greatest amount of power and his word is the final say. The courts are packed with people who agree with the president and don't challenge his policies. Congress is hte same... and the constitution is ignored and ignoring it is taught to be cool by the media.

Rich kids go to private schools and poor kids go to poorly funded public schools where results are expected to be better each year despite a steady decline in funding.

I can't wait until we get to this kind of society.. it'll be a wonderful day for this country. And it will be the type of democracy/society that we export to the rest of the world through pre-emptive wars.

[Pillsbury]

Are you responding to my post? To be honest, I'm speaking of the kids who drive around with the W sticker on the back of their car windows. Those are the ones who are the worst I think. The kids who have been pampered their entire life and know not what it's like to actually desire. Kids who are empty. It affects the whole country and doesn't matter who you are. It's a not political issue, it's an issue of having a little respect for yourself and those around you. I'm not a Republican. I'm a yellow dog Southern Democrat who is liberal on most social issues.

[Snowguy716]

I wasn't responding directly to you Pillsbury.

It was more of a rhetorical post with a large peppering of sarcasm.

I think the problem most youth have today is that they don't respect themselves. If you can't respect yourself, you can't respect others. But I also think that society expects youth to be conformists in many different ways.. whether the influence be from the church, the media, or parents.

Unfortunately, the media has won and what you have is a generation of Americans raised on McDonalds and MTV.

People tend to find themselves when they go out on their own though.. so all those Bush stickers you see.. probably won't last long past high school or the first year or so of college.

It's kind of like when you see souped up Honda Civics driving around town.. you know immediately that it's a high school kid.. because as soon as they goto college, they'll be sellin' the souped of Civic for a cheap beater sedan so they can pay the bills.

I used to be an ignorant Bush party liner until I realized how foolish I was just following. It took quite an effort and a lot of self reflection.. but I found out who I really was... and thank God it happened a few weeks before the 2004 election

[Cadeho]

Yeah that peppered sarcasm has me sneezing over here!

You know... people never really grow up. They always want to be a part of the cool group... and in politics America seems to have bought the coolness of the Republican Gang and follow blindly their gang leader. To be cool! The gang likes to tell everyone else to do as they say, not as they do. It's just all about looking cool.

[Charlotteman]

I just LOVE that line from Pink Floyd's masterpiece, The Wall when a gruff sounding man with a thick English accent bellows out "LEAVE THEM KIDS ALONE!!!"

[Pillsbury]

I wasn't responding directly to you Pillsbury.

It was more of a rhetorical post with a large peppering of sarcasm.

I think the problem most youth have today is that they don't respect themselves. If you can't respect yourself, you can't respect others. But I also think that society expects youth to be conformists in many different ways.. whether the influence be from the church, the media, or parents.

Unfortunately, the media has won and what you have is a generation of Americans raised on McDonalds and MTV.

People tend to find themselves when they go out on their own though.. so all those Bush stickers you see.. probably won't last long past high school or the first year or so of college.

It's kind of like when you see souped up Honda Civics driving around town.. you know immediately that it's a high school kid.. because as soon as they goto college, they'll be sellin' the souped of Civic for a cheap beater sedan so they can pay the bills.

I used to be an ignorant Bush party liner until I realized how foolish I was just following. It took quite an effort and a lot of self reflection.. but I found out who I really was... and thank God it happened a few weeks before the 2004 election

Yeah, I got the peppering of sarcasm alright, just making sure I hadn't turned into Jessie Helms overnight. Right now the Democrats are the uncool crowd that people are scared to be associated with---even some Democrats shy away from using the word "liberal." The whole thing is a mess. And the bad thing is, the people that are supposed to rebel, young people, are sitting at home watching Pimp My Ride instead of actually paying attention to what's going on in the world, which I guess is how the ruling class always prefers it.....

[wolverine]

It has been said that a sure sign of being "old" is when someone forgets what it was like to be young.

I'm 51, and I'll never be old. Because I remember vividly how it was to be young, how fun it was, all the crazy damn things we did!

Kids are always gonna be immature--part of being a kid.

People who lamment the "kids of today" are becoming "old" right before your very eyes. Just my humble opinion of course-lol

I think we are seeing this issue in this thread differently. Kids are always going to be immature and do stupid stuff that's a given. But this only mild slip-ups I'm surprised, or maybe I shouldn't be, that you shrug this sort of thing off. I think that's the problem with society today. Instead of trying to raise children better, they are letting them go more. Acting silly is one thing, but complete disrespect for others is intolerable. It's one of those values that should be established at age 5 when kids off to pre-school. That they say please and thank you. Hold open doors (sometimes I feel like I'm the only one that does it), and most importantly treat adults with respect. As stated over and over, this has to do with the need for more parenting.

I'm tired of hearing people use, the "youth of today are like the youth of yesterday" when that's not true. My girlfriend is working as a counsler at a sports camp for very young children right now. 2 weeks ago she nicely told a 4 year old to wait his turn in line. He replied with "stop being a f**king B***h! All the kids then laughed, when you would have expected a gasp in horror. Please, I'd like to see how this group ends up when they are teenagers.

[FromCityToRural]

Good for you, FCTR!

Thanks. Here's a pic, incidentally, of the style I wear. I just wore the one with the grey shirt and sunglasses the other day, I think.

Enjoy them. It's not often you'll get me to post pics with this 26.4k dial up

[Cadeho]

I'm tired of hearing people use, the "youth of today are like the youth of yesterday" when that's not true. My girlfriend is working as a counsler at a sports camp for very young children right now. 2 weeks ago she nicely told a 4 year old to wait his turn in line. He replied with "stop being a f**king B***h! All the kids then laughed, when you would have expected a gasp in horror. Please, I'd like to see how this group ends up when they are teenagers.

They'll end up Congressmen and maybe even one President... the mouthy one.

What do you expect when PARENTS cuss at their children or hear arguments. I know some parents who find it cute their tykes curse....

[dtown]

I'm tired of hearing people use, the "youth of today are like the youth of yesterday" when that's not true. My girlfriend is working as a counsler at a sports camp for very young children right now. 2 weeks ago she nicely told a 4 year old to wait his turn in line. He replied with "stop being a f**king B***h! All the kids then laughed, when you would have expected a gasp in horror. Please, I'd like to see how this group ends up when they are teenagers.

WHOA! That kid sounds like a brat that needs to be kicked out of the sports camp and NOT refunded. When i was 4, i knew what words were bad, and i knew not to say them.

And to your comment about holding doors open: I hold doors open for people all the time, and i guess i must be one of very few to do it, beacause sometimes people are like realy surprised and appreciative of it. I can remember how many times an old lady has been like " Thank You so much, your such a gentleman" to me. I guess its because they are glad to see a kid with some manners.

[Charlotteman]

Let kids be wild and crazy----afterall we're only kids once:)

BUT when it comes to disrespect, foul language and rudeness, then I'm definitely on the other side. These sorts of anti social behaviors shouldn't be tolerated from someone of any age!

[Charlotteman]

btw, attached is a pic of me. I'm 51, but I'll never grow up! lol Youth comes in all ages:)

[Cadeho]

Wash that green out your hair young man, right now!

[MadVlad]

btw, attached is a pic of me. I'm 51, but I'll never grow up! lol Youth comes in all ages:)

I remember my mother screaming at me about 23 years ago because my red hair dye also died her nice tub red.....

[MR-2]

I'm constantly surprised by the immaturity of many adults, particularly the ones that vote. Perhaps especially the ones that vote. Kids can be idiots and hooligans, but at least they have a sense of respect for civil liberties, welfare, other countries. That gives me hope.

[Snowguy716]

Because youth aren't as afraid of everything as older people are. A kid might be afraid of the dark but won't be afraid of a terrorist 8000 miles away...

Adults fall for the media hook, line, and sinker.

[Chtimi]

Swear words don't phase me... I hear them all the time, and I use them quite a bit when trying to stress a point. Because I realize that they're just words that some old people with an authority problem got all into a huff about a few hundred years ago.

Did you know that the word crap comes from the German scheiss, which means poop? Well, the French aristocracy that controlled Britain some 800 years ago didn't fancy the word crap much and decided it was vulgar.. and that maneur was much more musically pleasant to the ears. The same can be said for many English words, of which we have two of (one for the peasants, one for the aristocrats)...

For example: Farmers (peasants) rarely ate cow meat, but dealt with cows every day. The word cow, (from the German Kuh, pronounced kooh) stayed, while cow flesh (kuhfleisch) went and was replaced with beef (from french)

Swine: German (Schwein)

Pig: Porc (French)

It is really hard to take these "swear" words seriously when you know where they come from and why they are considered vulgar.. and I just think you all sound like a bunch of frivilous persnickety flibbertigibbets who like nothing more than to talk about how lazy and boring the young generation is.

And about "respecting" authority. I was raised to question authority and that you should be skeptical. Respectful but always having a wary eye on those in power. Which is perhaps why I get so fed up with our "father knows best" "we're protecting you from the evil world" attitude of our current political scene.

Censor: Crap in this case means... well scheisse... look it up in a German-english dictionary.. or take a wild guess.

Crap : From middle French crape sifting, old French crappe, from medieval Latin crappa, crapinium chaff, perhaps from old Dutch krappen cut off, pluck (found in the Chambers dictionary of etymology).

I add that in my Picard language we say crap

[suburban george3]

I dug this thread back up because what I had to say doesn't really apply to kids running wild.

My cousin, who isn't the brightest bulb in the bunch, has an 11 year old son that he had as a result of a one-night stand. Thanks to the fact that both himself and the mother are absolute low-lifes, the court awarded custody to my aunt and uncle who are now both in their 70's and have absolutely no business trying to raise a child now. My aunt is diabetic and is developing alzheimer's and my uncle just doesn't give much of darn.

Well, back to my cousin's child, which I'll refer to as Dennis (absolutely not his real name.) I called my aunt's house last week to check in and see how she was doing as her health bounces from good to bad almost every couple of hours it seems. Well, Dennis answered the phone. First, he actually cussed me for not calling him on his birthday or sending a present! Well, I just completely ignored that. He then wanted to tell me something. I said "ok", knowing this wouldn't be pleasant.

He tells me that they "trapped" a racoon in their backyard. "OK", that's nice. He then says that he got his BB gun and "Shot its eyes out and it was so cool." I asked him "why he thought that was cool?" His response was "it just was" and he "wanted to bring his girlfriend over to see it." Thank goodness my aunt picked the phone up at that point, he hung up as soon as he heard her talking.

This little "brat", IMO, is going to be nothing but problems and unfortunately it's a big problem with his current upbringing and the situation he's in that he cant' control. He was held back in both Kindergarden and 1 st grade and has caused all sorts of problems at school. He told my mother once that he thought Satan was cool and he wanted to be like him. I could go on and on about Dennis, but I just had to get this last conversation off my chest as it REALLY bugs me and I hope it doesn't represent the state of youth across this country.

[Pillsbury]

^ That's an unfortunate situation. I was raised by my grandparents, but they were (are) in good health, and as a result they raised me a bit "old school." But I think so many times in our society, people are just afraid to tell kids that they can't have something. That's what it all boils down to. It's easier to just let them do what they want and hope they make it. A younger family member of mine is deadset on being the next big white rapper (from the wealthy west suburbs of Augusta might I add). He smokes pot all day, listens to rap, and doesn't really care. He's a nice guy though and he's artistic---he just needs a big hard shove and he'll do fine. That's what all these kids need; a big hard kick!!!

[Snowguy716]

Don't worry PIllsbury.. a lot of people that grew up in the '60s sat around all day and smoked pot and didn't care a lot.. and now they're yuppy workaholic Republican suburbanites.

When I was in high school, though, kids were typically better behaved than their parents. My parents generation was the one that skipped school constantly to go out and smoke pot and drink and then come back to class drunk.. and the teachers wouldn't do much more than shrug it off and let the kid sleep.

If somebody got drunk and came back to school now, the cops would be there and the teacher would report them immediately (except again, the old ones that were there when my parents were.. but almost all of them are retired.)

While many kids slipped through the cracks, a lot of kids took nothing but AP classes and attended college for half of their junior and senior years of high school. I know people that have completed an entire year of college by the time they get into college.

And don't pretend that the material is somehow dumbed down. We do the same things, and probably more than previous generations. My 10th grade biology class was particularly hands on.. we dissected starfish, worms, frogs, fetal pigs, squid, fish.. and we learned all about (gasp) evolution. You can't graduate from high school here without completing trigonometry. One genetics class several years ago helped in solving the human genome. They breed fruit flies and in some years, frogs.

I remember one kid in my World History class, who showed up to class about once or twice a week and got a 100 on his final exam. The kid is a genius.. and now he spends his time smoking pot and writing letters to the editor about how great hemp is as a fabric.

It's not so much that kids are stupider and we can't handle them.. it's that we push the smart kids down in with the rest of them because letting them truly excel is politically incorrect. Most gifted and talented programs in my school district were cut 10 years ago. When kids aren't challenged, they get used to it and become lazy... it's one of the things that psychiatrists look out for: Smart, lazy kids.. they are the most susceptible to drug use.

[Pillsbury]

^ Oh yeah, I agree. Some kids just need pushing (which I calling shoving!!! ). To me, I think the situation today with our schools is that a lot of students are really excelling, but many are just slipping through. And the big problem with that as opposed to years ago, is that it's impossible (or almost impossible) for high school dropouts to get good jobs. But yeah, people are basically the same as they've always been.