How Times Have Changed..School 1958 vs. 2008
Scenario:
Jack goes quail hunting before school,
pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
- 1958- Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack’s shotgun,goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
- 2008 - School goes into lock down, 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 fistfight after school.
- 1958 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
- 2008 - 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.
- 1958 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
- 2008 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.
Scenario:
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor’s car
and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
- 1958 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
- 2008 - Billy’s dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy’s sister 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 aspirin to school.
- 1958 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
- 2008 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.
Scenario:
Pedro fails high school English.
- 1958 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.
- 2008 - Pedro’s cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that knowing 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 diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.
Scenario:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July,
puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.
- 1958 - Ants die.
- 2008- 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.
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.
- 1958 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
- 2008 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.
It is amazing how much can change in the span of just 50 years. For better or for worse the world is drastically different. Be sure to capture those moments, make a book every year. Get Bloggled.
Tags: make a book, times change





























November 14th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Shows just how paranoid everyone is today, everything gets you sent to jail
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bramey Reply:
November 16th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Thanks for the comment.
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November 14th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
It really is crazy how times have changed in such a short amount of time. I wonder what the biggest factor contributes to that?
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bramey Reply:
November 16th, 2008 at 8:40 am
It is crazy how times have changed. We will maybe try to do another post on the contributing factors.
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November 16th, 2008 at 3:22 am
As much as I regret to say it, this is almost completely true
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bramey Reply:
November 16th, 2008 at 8:41 am
That is the same thing that I thought when I read this for the first time.
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November 16th, 2008 at 4:19 am
Nice Exaggerations
Oh you forgot one
Steven wants to be president when he grows up
1958: Steven cant even vote because hes black
2008: Steven is elected president
There were never any “Good ole Times”
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bramey Reply:
November 16th, 2008 at 8:43 am
You are right that there are so many other situations that you could never say “Good ole Times”. Thank you for your comments.
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Anonymous Reply:
June 5th, 2009 at 6:53 am
@Some Guy, Black people got the right to vote in the late 1800’s. Not after the 1950’s. Learn History.
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November 16th, 2008 at 4:33 am
Wow… this is the dumbest thing I have ever read…
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bramey Reply:
November 16th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Sorry you didn’t like the post but thank you for reading and your comments.
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November 16th, 2008 at 8:58 am
How about:
Mary gets pregnant in her Sophomore year…
1958: Mary is shuffled off to a Convent to have the child quietly, it is given up for adoption, and the social stigma ruins her life so her only option is to become a prostitute.
2008: She continues school while pregnant, gets a great deal of support from friends and teachers, has the child, and graduates.
————————————————————————————
Jenny gets raped by the gym teacher…
1958: Who got what done to? We’re sorry, we didn’t see any of that, don’t be silly now and go back to class. Nothing happened.
2008: Jenny is checked out by a doctor, a rape kit test is used, evidence against the gym teacher is found, he is arrested, prosecuted, sentenced, and is never allowed to work around children ever again, thus preventing hundreds of more rapes.
————————————————————————————
I could go on, but what’s the point? This is a poorly thought out, one sided list of modern-day non-thinking.
What, do you shop at Wal-Mart and watch Fox News?
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bramey Reply:
November 16th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Thank for reading and your thoughts. Also thank you for providing some other great examples. We try not to be one sided on our views, we just like to post about interesting and thought provoking subjects no matter what the subjects may be. Again please thank you for your comments.
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November 16th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I don’t think this seems like some sort of republican agenda “Let’s get back to the good ole days.” kind of thing. It sounds more like a “Look how paranoid we’re getting nowadays.” I don’t see this as an attack on America nowadays, and I’m extremely left-wing.
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bramey Reply:
November 16th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Nicole:
thank you for your comments and you are right about how this post is to help us understand how paranoid we’re getting nowadays.
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November 16th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Very one-sided. Put your jaded and bitter energy to good use.
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bramey Reply:
November 16th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Thank you for reading.
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November 16th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Okay, yes, ADD is overdiagnosed but let’s face it: sometimes there’s more to a kid not sitting still than bad behaviour. What I will give you is that Ritalin effing sucks, I was on it for years.
The rest of it, though, is blunt but, for the most part, true. Good post - thought-provoking and well executed.
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bramey Reply:
November 16th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Thank you.
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November 16th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Well, I guess I was totally out of the loop here,, I thought this was a nice listing of the way things were and the way they are.. BUT Noooooooo “Brandon” thinks it is the dumbest thing he has ever read.. (he obviously doesn’t read much) “Some Guy” says there were never any good times… (Hummmmmm Guess I wasn’t really there, but since I was born in 1939 I must have been… I had wonderful times in the 50’s/60’s/70’s and some of the 80’s.. then it all went to crap) “Ghost_BOFH” manages to get both of the Liberal Leftist boogymen in one sentence.. Wal-Mart and Fox News…. It always amazes me that those who hate Fox News always watch it, otherwise how could they be so knowledgeable about it…THINK ABOUT IT….haha and “Lex” says it is one sided… WELL DUH… it sure is.. SURPRISE… But amazingly enough, being one sided does not necessarily make it wrong now does it…? As the Father of 5 children and grand father of 17 I can testify to the (at least) partial truth of all that was written in the “how times have changed” article.
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bramey Reply:
November 17th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Mike:
Thanks for comment. Like the point you making, I think it is easy to tell that some of the examples are exaggerated but that is the point, to get people read and think. I loved what you said about about how their is partial truth in all that was written.
Thanks again,
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bramey Reply:
November 17th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Mike:
Thanks for commenting. Like the point you making, I think it is easy to tell that some of the examples are exaggerated but that is the point, to get people read and think. I loved what you said about about how their is partial truth in all that was written.
Thanks again,
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November 17th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
1958- black man lynched
2008- black man president
1958-COOOOOOMMMMUUNNIIISSSTTSSSS
2008- TURRRRUUURRRISSSSTTTSSSSS
1958- beatnicks
2008- hipsters
1958- interracial couples denied marriage
2008- gay couples denied marriage
times don’t change, they get less horribly oppressive as we go along. We currently happen to be in another era of McCarthyism, where everybody lets fear control their actions. Maybe we’ll get past that and have another drug induced social revolution. We’ve been needing one of those for awhile now.
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bramey Reply:
November 17th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Anon:
You are right on. I would love to write a post about these things that you have mentioned.
Thanks for commenting.
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November 20th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
So yeah I have to agree the violence against minorities, women, and pretty much anyone who happened to be different in 1958 doesn’t make it perfect, but seriously that’s not enough to angrily attack this posting. I mean, a lot of what he says, especially about the school system is true. They are too eager to send both kids and teachers to prison. Plus, I’d have to give him a thumbs up on the kids being overdosed with ADD. I went through a rough patch in school, was diagnosed with ADD and put on meds, and ended up doing worse and spontaneously crying a lot. I took myself off the meds, am doing the best I’ve ever done in school, only cry at sad movies, and realize human interaction can actually be enjoyable. So really, quit the anger people.
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November 21st, 2008 at 8:24 am
Very nice comparisons. As others have said, it is quite one-sided, but it really is true…
IMHO, we need some chaos these days just to give us something to be paranoid about. Take, for example, the mistreatment of women. Big deal! What people do is their own business. I’m not saying it is a good thing, but sometimes it is a necessary evil. Has anybody ever considered the idea that the women allow it just because the guy has money, and they need the money for themselves and their families? Look up information on brothels sometime; it might shock you as it contains things you’d never dream of doing. However, after reading it, you should be able to at least understand why it happens.
Back to the article, I don’t wish I lived back in 1958 because of the racism and everything that was still present in some areas, but I certainly wouldn’t mind the old-skool stuff to come back, except the paddling… I could do without the paddling… I had enough of that when I was a kid from my dad. ^_^
P.S. I’m an ’80s baby (1987, to be precise), and I do agree with “Mike” that things started screwing up somewhere in the ’80s… I really do wonder if it is because of the musical bands that people idolized to back then. The sex, drugs and rock-n-roll mindset was extremely popular back then from what I know… And now SO MANY kids of the upcoming generation are hooked on drugs. I suppose each era had its good points and its bad points, though I can’t really find a way to classify the ’60s… It’s “hazy”.
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November 21st, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I loved these. They were very entertaining and so true. People need to learn to take jokes and not take everything written as a personal jab at them.
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bramey Reply:
November 21st, 2008 at 4:32 pm
@ejambu,
I agree, thanks for the comments.
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November 21st, 2008 at 8:35 pm
You have a way too rosy view of the 50s, and a way too pessimistic view of now.
Like with “Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.”
You’ve forgotten the way more probable:
1958 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins, and Johnny has to be taken to the hospital because of his injuries. The two continue to hate each other throughout high school, because you don’t usually forgive someone who beat you to an inch of your life.
or how about:
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor’s car
and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1958 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman …who beats his own children.
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November 21st, 2008 at 11:23 pm
[...] Can read at Bloggled.com [...]
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Very true.
and made me laugh. haha
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December 14th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Uh-Oh Hot dog!
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December 15th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I completely agree with you. It is very interesting how what used to be resolved in a simple direct manner is now made complicated by all of our modern “Protocols.” long ago a fight at school was just that… a fight. It ends and that’s it. Now it’s a “police matter.” Same thing with children getting spanked. I don’t know but it seems like police have better things to do than investigate school yard fights… Also don’t listen to these negative posters on here. This article is spot on.
-E
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December 15th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
There’s a reason the US has more prisoners per capita than any other country on the planet.
This is the kind of sh*t that happens when you have far too much tolerance for incompetence, an excessively touchy-feely culture, a broken educational system, and a fear mongering news media. You get a continually decreasing national average IQ, and a bunch of stupid people running your government using fear to control the even more retarded medicated masses. Not that any of it will change. The people in the US are far too disillusioned to actually do anything to stop the decline of their own country. They’re too busy hoping daddy Obama will save them. He is a super hero after all.
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December 15th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
You guys say that times have changed and people are paranoid. At the same time kids get shot up by other kids in school, and teachers give more than hugs. Oxycontin and Lortabs are all over our school. I guess people are still just paranoid. Its more like that crazies ruined the good times for us; we have to take precautions, and people seem to take advantage of them with law suits and whatnot.
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December 16th, 2008 at 9:52 am
I found it hilarious how you replaced “joint” (as in weed) with aspirin.
What? Don’t you share your aspirin with friends at the smoking dock? I always take my aspirin at the smoking dock…
How about… 2008: The word weed is censored out of a funny story that goes around the internet, because the publisher tries really hard to be funny but still politically correct.
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December 19th, 2008 at 4:45 am
I like the article and I liked the responses. That person up there is right, though, he’s not trying to say that we should go back to the good ol’ days, he’s saying that we are more paranoid.
What the others are saying is that the paranoia is good and wholesome; it stops rapists, racists and wrong-doers in general. That may be true, but it also stops those who are not racists, who are not rapists and who are not doing anything wrong. I disagree, completely, with political correctness.
Why should we worry about hurting each other’s feelings? America isn’t a feel-good nation, it is a nation of freedom. Terrorists try to take away our freedom, we destroy them. Remember that destroyers seek the least-attractive target of an ideal first.
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February 22nd, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Thanks, yeah people through the education system have been trained to involve the government organization into their daily/personal lives.
Its like people cant solve problems anymore by themselves. I wonder why that is? I for one believe that its done by purpose.
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December 6th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
fifty years ago the two problems in school was talking out of turn and chewing gum.
now it is bringing weapons to class.
and people wonder where are morals are. Buy video games like Grand Theft Auto. Show violent shows during prime time. Kids no longer respect adults. Adults are no supposed to respect them. The world is on the way to hell and this generation (Hippie culture) doesn’t care. Only when it affects them. Others - who cares. just leave me alone.
I guess Jesus can’t come back soon enough.
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