Old Timers. How does 2020 compare to the 60s?

Runner10287 wrote:

From people who have lived through both. Compare, contrast.

The 60s were great. I didn't have to work or go to school. My meals were all prepared for me, and I could take a nap whenever I liked.

I can remember my high school cross country coached was called up for service during the Watts Riots. The nation was embarking upon a period of change. So some similarities to today.

The music was so much better, and the girls were thinner and better looking.

Fewer slobs for sure. Society standards are better in some ways, and worse in others. There was a better sense of community in the 60s, and people had shame.

For good or bad the biggest difference between this era and every other era is the result of internet/smart phone technology and the immediate access of information and news it brings.

We watched riots unfold on TV, we were told of the deaths in Vietnam every night but now we're bombarded every second of the day.

I remember shelter drills in case the Russians bombed us, I was frightened I might have to fight in Vietnam. I remember MLK and Bobby Kennedy being murdered 8 weeks a part the Democratic convention that summer- a horrible year. But I remember the Tigers vs the Cardinals too that Autumn. Like today bad things happened everyday on the streets, riots broke out from time to time, viruses broke out from time to time, but we weren't exposed to this 24 hours a day. We didn't live in fear, we played in the street and in parks without our parents.

This is probably the wrong Spring and Summer to ask this question. Today's kids, adolescents, and young adults are being cheated this year.

I had long hair and a beard in the '60s (still do) and was often harassed by the Police and conservative rednecks. (And this was in Northern California!) I felt physically threatened on many occasions. Flipped off because of my appearance. I remember thinking how much worse it had to be for blacks. All I had to do was cut my hair and shave and the harassment would stop. Of course I never did.

I think the divisiveness is even worse now. Liberals-conservatives. Republicans-Democrats, Christians-Muslims, pro-life/pro-choice, whites-blacks, far-right/far-left, etc. In the '60s the 'focus' was on those who supported the war and those who opposed it. Those who did drugs, those who drank, and other differences were present, but it was mostly about the war. Today everyone seems to have a chip on their shoulder. It's kind of like that line from 'The Wild One.' When asked what he was rebelling against, Marlon Brando said, "What have you got?" I think as a Country we're probably more divided that we've been since the Civil War. Remember what Lincoln said, "A house divided can not stand." Things are getting scary. What if Trump decides not to leave office when he loses the election? If he even allows the election to take place.

Steven Wright wrote:

The music was so much better, and the girls were thinner and better looking.

I remember 1968 very well. We were playing pickup baseball near a main road and troops in armored personnel carriers stopped and told us in a friendly way to run home. They were on their way to the riots about 3 miles away

There were Americans orbiting the moon and sending video, sports were great but the war was hell with the Mi Lai massacre and the draft. North Korea held our sailors hostage and demanded ransom. MLK and Bobby Kennedy were shot by people who would love antifa and anarchists were bank rolled by the communists to burn cities.

Nixon won in a landslide.

It's all the same except we might no longer have a peaceful way to settle these blood libels.

The blue states, including mine, have legalized vote/cheat by mail. Who really believes that removing the guards and alarms from banks will deter theft?

We are in for very hard times if we cannot be reasonable sure that we can vent in the voting booth.

Wow, get out of your silo much?

Nobody can tell you wrote:

Wow, get out of your silo much?

(^ person born long after the 1960s but thinks he's an expert)

Steven Wright wrote:

The music was so much better, and the girls were thinner and better looking.

Amen brother.

Totally different vibe. Back then, it was a generational uprising. We didn't want to follow the pre-ordaned mindless, "work for the man" (corporate career path stuff) and be co-opted to continue supporting American companies looting and pillaging third world nations, and supporting corrupt dictators if they aligned with the US against Communism. Those were the days when the "deep state" really meant dirty rotten illicit hidden overseas positively un-democratic activity by the CIA, and espionage on US citizens by the FBI. Ironically, now, the "deep state" is just government functionaries trying to do things according to the rules and regulations and US constitution. Oh God, we can't put up with that! Crazy.

The youth rebellion was all about trying to actually live according to the ideals that we were taught America stood for.

Civil rights was a strong component of that. The anti-war demonstrations and protests, and the civil rights protests against the "good ole boy" George Wallace types came to a head around 68. Part of being co-opted to the military industrial complex was to to be brainwashed by their university shills. Attempts to regain control of university course content, like the effort to include respectful Black History was a bit disruptive, and campus violence and police response got ugly.

Clueless "silent majority" older people yearned for some semblance of law and order. Nothing wrong with that. Problems come up when bad laws, bad international treaties, are the ones that are defended. And "law and order" appeared to be code for an earlier sentiment of "Lets make America great again" - ie., free reigning power politics and corporate hegemony over the mass consumer culture and traditional cultures in America and the world, with gender and racial inequality institutionalized so that there wasn't any "trouble".

The difference in technology is massive:

1) The cars absolutely sucked. I had to check the oil every time I bought gas and put in a quart every 2-3 times. Overheated cars were very common. I worked in a gas station during the summers and overheated cars were rolling in every 5 minutes. A lot have cars didn't have AC and the windows were hand cranked. Music was limited to AM radio which was awful.

2) Phones were rotary and generally on a wall. You couldn't leave messages and if the other party was on the line, there was a busy signal. You had to pay for long distance and people I knew with boyfriends/girlfriends living somewhere else, were spending $200+ month.

3) Reports had to typed on typewriters and and there was correction tape to fix misspellings. If you needed to research something you had to go to the library and look in a periodicals book to find subject articles in the periodicals section. Often, the article you were looking for had already been ripped from the book.

4) TVs were the worst. The pictures were bad, the TVs weighed a ton and there were no remotes. We didn't even have a color TV until I was in HS. There were only 4 channels and a couple more on UHF. Major sports were rare on TV, so I watched things like Roller Derby and bowling to fill in the void. During the Summer I watched horrific game shows and countless reruns of shows like Bewitched and Gilligan's Island.

5) Music was played on turntables and records quickly became scratched. To play your favorite song you had to place the needle in just the right spot. I frequently had to buy an entire album even when I liked only one song.

The above is really from '70s, so the '60s could have only been worse.

[quote]SDSU Aztec wrote:

A lot have cars didn't have AC and the windows were hand cranked.

/quote]

Good old two-sixty AC; roll down 2 windows and go 60 miles an hour.

1964: Pop Tarts introduced. Unfrosted. 4 flavors: Strawberry, Blueberry, Apple Currant, Brown Sugar Cinnamon.

2020: Chocolate Pretzel becomes the newest variety as the Pop Tarts legend continues after 56 years.

“Ironically, now, the "deep state" is just government functionaries trying to do things according to the rules and regulations and US constitution. Oh God, we can't put up with that! Crazy.“

?

“TVs were the worst. The pictures were bad, the TVs weighed a ton and there were no remotes. We didn't even have a color TV until I was in HS. There were only 4 channels and a couple more on UHF. Major sports were rare on TV, so I watched things like Roller Derby and bowling to fill in the void. During the Summer I watched horrific game shows and countless reruns of shows like Bewitched and Gilligan's Island.“

Remember the replacement tubes sold at grocery stores. My friend’s father was a TV repairman.

This! Also no PC to speak of. Music was the Cats ass! Mini skirts! Real boobs! No DH to screw up baseball. No sliding grade scales in HS/College....California dreamin'

SDSU Aztec wrote:

During the Summer I watched horrific game shows and countless reruns of shows like Bewitched and Gilligan's Island..

Time I will never get back. I could have been reading.

"Eye Guess" hosted by Bill Cullen may have been the most horrific game show of them all.