It was supposedly America's "golden era," but let's face it...it had plenty of flaws. Women didn't have as many rights and their place was supposed to be in the home. Lame. Then there was that crazy communist scare, with plenty of innocent people being interrogated. Segregation was socially accepted. And, let's face it. We all love the internet, obviously. There was none of that, then, though I'm sure it could be nice sometimes.

Basically, each decade has it's good points and bad points. :)

The cars were awesome back then, but none had seat belts.

lol, i like this thread. you listed everything i would have said.

Hockey had fewer teams

Hockey had fewer teams
Their was no Super Bowl/ :(

Polio epidemic. :eek:

Korean War.

It was still frowned upon for girls to wear pants. I like my pants, thank you very much.

The vast majority of soaps were only on for 15 minutes a day. There were about a million on the air on any given day, but I, for one, do not know how those viewers were satisfied with JUST 15 minutes a day. I need 25 or more, kthxbye.

I love the 50s and 50s music, but what is it with the people using the trunk of the car as a seat back then? I know if I did that today Id be dead in a second

Not as much dope. You actually had to make a phone call or two. ;)

The vast majority of soaps were only on for 15 minutes a day. There were about a million on the air on any given day, but I, for one, do not know how those viewers were satisfied with JUST 15 minutes a day. I need 25 or more, kthxbye.
I agree!! :lol:

The vast majority of soaps were only on for 15 minutes a day. There were about a million on the air on any given day, but I, for one, do not know how those viewers were satisfied with JUST 15 minutes a day. I need 25 or more, kthxbye.

Soaps as the they were called came from radio as all the sponsors were soap companies and didn't really begin on TV till the early 60's. The earliest I can call was General hospital, starring John Beradino, ex second baseman for the Cleveland Indians,as Dr. Hardy.

Now the trick was to see television. Reception was poor, you used what was called "rabbit ears" to get a picture. Each time you turned the channel you turned the ears. There was doubles and ghosts, so alas I must say it, you were forced to see your friends. Tv was a secondary thing. Getting together was most important. You only woke in the middle of the night to pee, not to see if anyone emailed you.

It may sound strange but going to the soda shoppe, getting together with your friends, having a malted and listening to the jukebox playing your favorite tunes was pure enjoyment. You actually said to your friends, "see you after school in the school yard for a game of hoops"

Harvey

Soaps as the they were called came from radio as all the sponsors were soap companies and didn't really begin on TV till the early 60's. The earliest I can call was General hospital, starring John Beradino, ex second baseman for the Cleveland Indians,as Dr. Hardy.

Nah, there was an outrageous amount of soaps on TV in the 50s. The first real hits were Search for Tomorrow, Love of Life, Guiding Light, and The Secret Storm, all CBS soaps. NBC was so desperate to have some hits...they put out upwards of 15 soaps in the 50s, most of which lasted a little under or over a year. ABC stayed out of the soap game, for the most part, in the 50s. Oddly enough, ABC and NBC both found their first hit soap on the very same day (April Fool's Day, 1963) with two soaps that were set in the hospital/medical business: GH on ABC and "The Doctors" on NBC.

Another negative thing about the 50s: many men (and women) in the entertainment industry, including James Dean, Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter, and Anthony Perkins, were forced to present themselves as heterosexual in order to keep their careers.

The cars were awesome back then, but none had seat belts.
Seat belts were available as an option in Cadillacs beginning in the 1957 model year.

Segregation

This thread is an obvious response to the other 'positive' 1950s thread. To summarize what I said in the other one: I grew up in the '50s; in spite of its problems and downsides, it was, in my opinion, a more optimistic time in the country. Countless others share that opinion. No one (I hope) wants to go back there, but we can take what's good about the decade and celebrate it. Every decade will have plusses and minuses. I just think that these days we are in, despite advances in many areas, technological, medical, etc., there is just as much cynicism, hatred, cruelty etc.,--as ever before, perhaps even more. The 50's were great in many ways, and pathetic in others (segregation, Korean War, Soviet Totalitarianism etc.,). Today, we can take what is good about the 50's or any other decade, and discard what was not good. That's all I am saying.

1950s pop culture was great, though. I like to imagine teenagers in the 1950s, listening to music crackling through their radios in their bedrooms, and totally escaping the world and its problems. I know people do that today, but I find the music of that decade so fresh and crisp and summery.

It was supposedly America's "golden era," but let's face it...it had plenty of flaws. Women didn't have as many rights and their place was supposed to be in the home. Lame. Then there was that crazy communist scare, with plenty of innocent people being interrogated. Segregation was socially accepted. And, let's face it. We all love the internet, obviously. There was none of that, then, though I'm sure it could be nice sometimes.

Basically, each decade has it's good points and bad points. :)
Sure, McCarthy exploited the communist threat for his own personal gain, but at least people accepted the fact that there was such a threat to begin with. If there hadn't been, there would've been no Korean War, and no Vietnam War. Not to mention no uprisings in Hungary, Poland, or the Soviet-created East Germany, or even in Tibet against Red China.

1950s pop culture was great, though. I like to imagine teenagers in the 1950s, listening to music crackling through their radios in their bedrooms, and totally escaping the world and its problems. I know people do that today, but I find the music of that decade so fresh and crisp and summery.

Me too. :) And I grew up in that decade, and that's the way it was.

Me too. :) And I grew up in that decade, and that's the way it was.
Another word to describe that decade: innocence. Innocence in some ways we will never see again.

All "big 4" sports leagues-MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL-had far fewer teams than today.

All "big 4" sports leagues-MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL-had far fewer teams than today.

So why is that a negative.?

Baseball had 8 teams in each division and you played each team 22 times. You had a chance to see all the stars and build a real competitive nature. Now sometimes you paly two games against a team in a different division.

Fewer teams, had less garbage in the big leagues. You had to be a player to be in the majors.

The NBA began with the Eastern division consisting of the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Syracuse Nationals and Philadelphia Warriors. Went to the Garden on Tuesday night and saw quality games, with quailty players. Now there are players that are glorified college players, just around to fill up the bench.

Don 't know where plenty equates with quality.

Harvey

.

The 50's werent so great if you were black.


My mom grew up here, but she had family who lived in Arkansas and she told me once that the first time she went down there how shocked she was to see the "Whites Only" and "Colored Only" signs.

Also she told me that there was plenty of racsim and segregation above the Mason/Dixon line.

The 50's werent so great if you were black.


My mom grew up here, but she had family who lived in Arkansas and she told me once that the first time she went down there how shocked she was to see the "Whites Only" and "Colored Only" signs.

Also she told me that there was plenty of racsim and segregation above the Mason/Dixon line.
That had to be just horrible. How sad that things like that could happen in America. ohno:

Oh yes, but as sad as this is going to sound, I think the black people in the south were so used to such things, that it hardly even bothered them. Of course I'm not saying, that things like "white bathrooms" and "colored bathrooms" were good, but many people, both white and black, knew about it and simply learned to live with it, to a point where they hardly thought about it. So I actually don't think people in general found it that horrible. They just saw it as the way things were. But of course, some people did start thinking about it, so it started changing during the 60s and 70s, so by the 50s, the segregation was dying out anyway.

And about women's right, well, I think in the 1950s, girls and women were equal to boys and men. Maybe they didn't do the same things, but the worst oppression of females were already gone by thenAnd about girls still being frowned upon, if they wore pants... Well, my mum often wore pants, when she grew up, and she grew up in the 50s. But for some werid reason, the popular girls in her class had decided, that everybody had to wear a dress or a skirt for needle work class. Well, this was of course some years before boys could take needle work and girls could take wood shop, so only the girls had to follow this, since the boys all took wood shop. But I still think, that it was weird...

And I agree with D-Dey. Communism was a real threat bad then. Well, I'm Swedish, so I'm not so familar with what McCarthy did, but considering how dangerous the times were, people might just have gone too far out of fear.

Oh yes, but as sad as this is going to sound, I think the black people in the south were so used to such things, that it hardly even bothered them. Of course I'm not saying, that things like "white bathrooms" and "colored bathrooms" were good, but many people, both white and black, knew about it and simply learned to live with it, to a point where they hardly thought about it. So I actually don't think people in general found it so horrible. They just saw it as the way things were. But of course, some people did start thinking about it, so it started chaning during the 60s and 70s, so by the 50s, the segregation was dying out anyway.

And about women's right... Well, I think 1950s girls and women were equal to boys and men. Maybe they didn't do the same things, but the worst oppression of females were already gone by the 1950s. And about girls still being frowned upon, if they wore pants... Well, my mum often wore pants, when she grew up, and she grew up in the 50s. But for some werid reason, the popular girls in her class had decided, that everybody had to wear a dress or a skirt for needle work class. Well, this was of course some years before boys could take needle work and girls could take wood shop, so only the girls had to follow this, since the boys all took wood shop. But I still think, that it was weird...

And I agree with D-Dey. Communism was a real threat bad then. Well, I'm Swedish, so I'm not so familar with what McCarthy did, but considering how dangerous the times were, people might just have gone too far out of fear.

During the 50's segregation was far from being accptable in the south. Governor Wallace of Alabama, Governor Maddox of Georgia were defiant in the face of the supreme court reulings on segregation. The supreme court stated that there was no such thing as "separate but equal" and Wallace stood on the steps in Selma, Alabama, screeching "segregation today and segregation tomorrow" The Klan ruled and lynchings prevailed and were common place into the 60's. To many from the South, the civil war never ended and no whites were convicted of hate crimes.

In respect to women, they stood no chance. In high school, they were encouraged to get a commercial diploma and there role was to be defined as being prepared to enter a typing pool upon graduation. They took typing classes in school and someone had to type as there were no computers. If they did go to college and competed with man they received less pay if they were selected. The thought being they would get married and have kids and leave.

Being a housewife and mother was a full time job. One day a week was wash day. No washing machines. Clothes were placed in a bathtub and with a washboard, they were done. Of course no pampers, just cloth diapers and they were washed daily. Now they were hung on the line to dry. If you lived in a apartment house that consisted of two lines, held by a pully and attached to a wall. With a clothes pin they were hung. In case of rain they had to be reeled in and done again.

Cooking was a all day affair. No frozen foods, no microwave, everything was made from scratch.

Bottom line was women had no time to work. The man was expected to provide and the women to stay home and take care of that end.

As a kid you never understood this and it was a great place to grow up. Grownups had different ideas.

Harvey

I didn't know, that female students were paid less than male students. But now that you mention it, I have heard stories about girls, who weren't allowed to get an education, because they were "supposed to get married anyway". (And of course, married women weren't supposed to work outside their home.) Like one of my mother's cousins wanted to become a nurse, but her parents wouldn't let her, because they didn't want to waste any money on a girl's education.

I grew up in that era and please take my word for it. Most men could not type and the only way to learn was to take a course in high school. If a male did he was scoffed at, ridiculed and laughed at. In college where book reports and term papers had to be typed, double spaced, guys paid girls to type their papers for them. A girl in college didn't do it but a neighborhood girl to make a few bucks. I graduated with a BBA and a masters in marketing. Turned out to be worthless but I did. In all those years, if memory stands there were three girls in my class. The only major they were in was education as many men didn't want to teach.

The term "career women" was not in vogue and if a women didn't get married by her early 20's she was a spinster and something was wrong with her. Prejudice and bias were still big in the 50's.

Women didn't have to serve on juries as their place was in the home.

Furienna, lilhave is 100% right about the status of Blacks and Women of the 1950's. I wasn't born until several months after the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights march, but if I had been in my 20s through 40's at the time, I would've had to stop myself from driving down to Alabama and killing some cops and Klansmen.

If you hated the Yankees, it was the worst of times- made all but two Fall Classics.

I didn't know, that female students were paid less than male students. But now that you mention it, I have heard stories about girls, who weren't allowed to get an education, because they were "supposed to get married anyway". (And of course, married women weren't supposed to work outside their home.) Like one of my mother's cousins wanted to become a nurse, but her parents wouldn't let her, because they didn't want to waste any money on a girl's education.
Sickening, isn't it?? :mad:

Yes, it doesn't make sense at all these days. We can only be grateful, that things have changed.

If you hated the Yankees, it was the worst of times- made all but two Fall Classics.

I say this as a New Yorker but the 50's were easy for the Yanks. The Curt Flood, free agency ruling was a decade away, so teams held players hostage.
There were only 8 teams in the league, so the Yanks only had to beat seven to win the pennant. St. Louis Browns were decades behind their best years and were soon to go to Baltimore. No threat. Philadelphia Athletics, led by Connie Mack for over 50 years was being sold and getting ready for their move to Kansas City. No threat. Washington Senators, said to be "first in war, first in peace and last in the Anerican league" No threat. Now only four teams to beat. Detroit, still had no Kaline, Cash, or McLain till the 60's, so they did nothing during the decade. That left Boston, Chicago and Cleveland. Cleveland did it in 54 and it took 110 wins. Quiet for the rest of the decade.
Boston had Williams retire and made no noise.

With the money the Yanks had and no competition it was easy to make Stengel look like a miracle worker.

Stuff like that could never happen today.

Harvey

I didn't know, that female students were paid less than male students. But now that you mention it, I have heard stories about girls, who weren't allowed to get an education, because they were "supposed to get married anyway". (And of course, married women weren't supposed to work outside their home.) Like one of my mother's cousins wanted to become a nurse, but her parents wouldn't let her, because they didn't want to waste any money on a girl's education.


I even got that in the 70s. I was up for a full scholarship but my parents said I'd be better off to find a nice guy who could take care of me. They spent money on both my brothers for post secondary school educations (university for my eldest bro and private art school for the other). Neither one ended up in any profession even close to what they took.

And civil rights WAS still a huge thing. It was the "brewing" of the 1950s that exploded in the south in the 1960s. Blacks were fed up (who could blame them). The mafia was also getting out of hand. They owned Las Vegas by that time. They had been moving into Cuba next, until Castro and his rebels tookover and kicked them all out in 1961.

It's human nature to look back on eras with "fondness" so it may seem that the 1950s were a "simplier" time but they really weren't.

Furienna, lilhave is 100% right about the status of Blacks and Women of the 1950's. I wasn't born until several months after the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights march, but if I had been in my 20s through 40's at the time, I would've had to stop myself from driving down to Alabama and killing some cops and Klansmen.

Don't differinate between cops and Klansman. In most cases it was one and the same. If not there was no way a cop was going to bring a Klansman in. I'm sure all were somehow related and the jury seated was all white and Klansman to boot. Jury of your peers didn't hold water. Rulings were passed that to vote and be on a jury you had to be a high school grad, but the poor black was never given the opportunity. Sad to say but the blacks in the south during the 50's were one step above or behind the porch dog. Living in the north hid many of these problems but prejudice was still rampart. Televison had roles for blacks as butlers, chauffeurs, maids or gardeners. A black didn't have a starring role till the late 60's. I loved Amos and Andy and watched every episode more then once but if I was a black I would have been highly offended.

I was in sales all my life and when I began no company would dream of hiring a black salesman to sell their products.

Harvey

Don't differinate between cops and Klansman. In most cases it was one and the same. If not there was no way a cop was going to bring a Klansman in.
The key word being most cases. Every now and then I've seen documentaries on Klan history that include the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which contained an interview with at least one cop who said he knew the KKK was involved, but couldn't do anything about it.

Ever see the 2003 Showtime Docudrama "Deacons for Defense?" It's about some black paper mill workers in Bogalousa, Louisiana who arm themselves against KKK-Police violence in order to protect the local civil right movement chapter. There's a brief audio clip in the movie mentioning the shooting of a black cop in the town.

The mafia was also getting out of hand. They owned Las Vegas by that time. They had been moving into Cuba next, until Castro and his rebels tookover and kicked them all out in 1961.
Actually, that was in 1959, but it wasn't just the Mafia he went after.

The key word being most cases. Every now and then I've seen documentaries on Klan history that include the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which contained an interview with at least one cop who said he knew the KKK was involved, but couldn't do anything about it.

Ever see the 2003 Showtime Docudrama "Deacons for Defense?" It's about some black paper mill workers in Bogalousa, Louisiana who arm themselves against KKK-Police violence in order to protect the local civil right movement chapter. There's a brief audio clip in the movie mentioning the shooting of a black cop in the town.


Actually, that was in 1959, but it wasn't just the Mafia he went after.

It was more then most cases. If a cop was not a member of the Klan he would have never made it to the force. If a white man was thought to be a "****** lover", his house would also have been bombed. The South was a tough place to live. I'm sure it was real tough being black way back when. They suffered in silence, in fear of retribution. To this day there are many who think the war is still not over.

Harvey

It was more then most cases. If a cop was not a member of the Klan he would have never made it to the force. If a white man was thought to be a "****** lover", his house would also have been bombed. The South was a tough place to live. I'm sure it was real tough being black way back when. They suffered in silence, in fear of retribution. To this day there are many who think the war is still not over.

Harvey
There were still some exceptions, and while not all Cops were Klansmen or vice-versa, I know as well as you and everyone else in America that the Klan was the law of the old south. Thankfully, it's not that way now.

I even got that in the 70s. I was up for a full scholarship but my parents said I'd be better off to find a nice guy who could take care of me. They spent money on both my brothers for post secondary school educations (university for my eldest bro and private art school for the other). Neither one ended up in any profession even close to what they took.
Wow. :eek:

But did you go to college anyway?

There were still some exceptions, and while not all Cops were Klansmen or vice-versa, I know as well as you and everyone else in America that the Klan was the law of the old south. Thankfully, it's not that way now.

Why do you think it's not that way now? The Klan went underground and still exist and flourish. Because they don't wear white sheets doesn't mean their not around.

It's not only the blacks that were turned on. The letters KKK stand for, Koons, Katholics, and Kikes. Their greatgrandparents, grandparents, parents preached hate and you believe that they now stopped it. It's like saying that with the death of Hitler Nazi prejudice ceased.

Blacks can't vote in many communities, are still profiled and are NEVER given equal job opportunities. Those in high office are still members of the Klan. Can remember Sen. Strom Thurmand, who was in office for over 50 years. One of the biggest racists the South ever produced.

As a northern white boy, I'm appalled at what some my white Southern neighbors practiced and still practice today.

Harvey

Why do you think it's not that way now? The Klan went underground and still exist and flourish. Because they don't wear white sheets doesn't mean their not around.
I didn't say they're not around. I just said they don't have the kind of political power and cultural influence they had 40-50 years ago. Granted, there are some hick towns where people are afraid to ruffle the feathers of remaining Klansmen, but even in those places Jim Crow is dead an buried, and not coming back. Some police department down in Florida kicked a guy off the force for joining the Klan fairly recently. In 2008, the Klan tried to influence the First Presidential Election debate at Oxford, Mississippi, and got nowhere.


As a northern white boy, I'm appalled at what some my white Southern neighbors practiced and still practice today.

Harvey

Hey, I'm a northern white boy myself, and I'm as disgusted by them as you. But I have enough sense to realize they're not the majority. I'm going to tell you a story; One time when I was driving down south to meet some relatives, I was pulled over by some local Florida Sheriff's deputy, an Afro-American woman, in fact. She insisted I was violating the law by not having a registration sticker on my licenese plate. I eventually explained to her that New York hasn't required common passenger vehicles to have registration stickers on their plates since 1973, and she told me she had no idea about this because she was born in 1979. Now this has nothing to do with the bigotry of the old south other than the fact that she wasn't even born when Jim Crow was the law of the land. A lot of cops down there are like that now, just as they are in the rest of the country.

The woman let me go, BTW.

I didn't say they're not around. I just said they don't have the kind of political power and cultural influence they had 40-50 years ago. Granted, there are some hick towns where people are afraid to ruffle the feathers of remaining Klansmen, but even in those places Jim Crow is dead an buried, and not coming back. Some police department down in Florida kicked a guy off the forece for joining the Klan fairly recently. In 2008, the Klan tried to influence the First Presidential Election debate at Oxford, Mississippi, and got nowhere.




Hey, I'm a northern white boy myself, and I'm as disgusted by them as you. But I have enough sense to realize they're not the majority. I'm going to tell you a story; One time when I was driving down south to meet some relatives, I was pulled over by some local Florida Sheriff's deputy, an Afro-American woman, in fact. She insisted I was violating the law by not having a registration sticker on my licenese plate. I eventually explained to her that New York hasn't required common passenger vehicles to have registration stickers on their plates since 1973, and she told me she had no idea about this because she was born in 1979. Now this has nothing to do with the bigotry of the old south other than the fact that she wasn't even born when Jim Crow was the law of the land. A lot of cops down there are like that now, just as they are in the rest of the country.

The woman let me go, BTW.

I'm the first to say that bigotry has lessened, but don't for a moment think it doesn't exist and ceases to be a problem. Hate groups now hide their agenda, masking it much more discreetly. Go on the internet and you can find tons of hate groups, all advocating violence, with "white power" Maybe these groups donb't meet anymore in open fields, burning crosses and sprouting rhetoric, but they meet in safe locations and do much recruting.

Harvey

A black didn't have a starring role till the late 60's.

Wasn't Romero's Night of the Living Dead one of the first to have a black man as the leading role? That came out in 1968.

Wasn't Romero's Night of the Living Dead one of the first to have a black man as the leading role? That came out in 1968.



Sidney Potier was doing lead roles before that.

Sidney Potier was doing lead roles before that.

And Paul Robeson was a star 2 decades before. Problem was there was few roles for blacks right up in to the 60's and most of them were demeaning. Showing a happy black family, like Ozzie and Harriet, among others was just not done.

Think were beating a dead horse. There was prejudice and much of it still exists.

Harvey

I can't think of anything bad about the 50s. Gee, I sure wish I was alive back then!

Great music, cool cars, nice moms!



Unfortunately, I was born in 1979.

Wow. :eek:

But did you go to college anyway?

Nope - never did. My mother split with my father when I graduated high school and needed me to be working full time to help her with the rent, etc.. In order to get the scholarship you had to promise to attend immediately and I couldn't so I had to give it up.
By that time, I was working in an office and ended up working my way up the ranks on my own. It hasn't been easy and I've come up against some blockades (where you can't get the job even though you were capable of doing it only because you had no degree).
If you want a decent paying white collar job these days (at least here in North America) you HAVE to have some post secondary education - men and women. What fries me is that women still don't have equality in the pay scale - no matter what a company says. My job makes me privy to wages - including those of the executives and everytime, the women make less than the men.:rolleyes:

I didn't say they're not around. I just said they don't have the kind of political power and cultural influence they had 40-50 years ago. Granted, there are some hick towns where people are afraid to ruffle the feathers of remaining Klansmen, but even in those places Jim Crow is dead an buried, and not coming back. Some police department down in Florida kicked a guy off the force for joining the Klan fairly recently. In 2008, the Klan tried to influence the First Presidential Election debate at Oxford, Mississippi, and got nowhere.




Hey, I'm a northern white boy myself, and I'm as disgusted by them as you. But I have enough sense to realize they're not the majority. I'm going to tell you a story; One time when I was driving down south to meet some relatives, I was pulled over by some local Florida Sheriff's deputy, an Afro-American woman, in fact. She insisted I was violating the law by not having a registration sticker on my licenese plate. I eventually explained to her that New York hasn't required common passenger vehicles to have registration stickers on their plates since 1973, and she told me she had no idea about this because she was born in 1979. Now this has nothing to do with the bigotry of the old south other than the fact that she wasn't even born when Jim Crow was the law of the land. A lot of cops down there are like that now, just as they are in the rest of the country.

The woman let me go, BTW.

Funny, most white Northerners I know are very Racist. They cant understand also why we actually have black farmers here in Virginia. I know they call them "ni g rs " too. Thats just sad.

Maybe its just me, but Ive experienced much more racism in the north than in the South. In the South , its like at least we know black people. My northern friends are like ewww, blacks, etc.

Nope - never did. My mother split with my father when I graduated high school and needed me to be working full time to help her with the rent, etc.. In order to get the scholarship you had to promise to attend immediately and I couldn't so I had to give it up.
By that time, I was working in an office and ended up working my way up the ranks on my own. It hasn't been easy and I've come up against some blockades (where you can't get the job even though you were capable of doing it only because you had no degree).
If you want a decent paying white collar job these days (at least here in North America) you HAVE to have some post secondary education - men and women. What fries me is that women still don't have equality in the pay scale - no matter what a company says. My job makes me privy to wages - including those of the executives and everytime, the women make less than the men.:rolleyes:
Wow, that sounds terrible. And none of your brothers had to get a job instead of going to college? That's beyond unfair.

Funny, most white Northerners I know are very Racist. They cant understand also why we actually have black farmers here in Virginia. I know they call them "ni g rs " too. Thats just sad.

Maybe its just me, but Ive experienced much more racism in the north than in the South. In the South , its like at least we know black people. My northern friends are like ewww, blacks, etc.
Really? Because that just sounds weird. Are people really that way?

Funny, most white Northerners I know are very Racist. They cant understand also why we actually have black farmers here in Virginia. I know they call them "ni g rs " too. Thats just sad.

Maybe its just me, but Ive experienced much more racism in the north than in the South. In the South , its like at least we know black people. My northern friends are like ewww, blacks, etc.



There was lots of racism in the north during the 1950's you'd be surprised. Like in Detroit, Michigan for instance. I read a book once about race relations in the motor city during that time, and in some ways Detroit was almost like a southern city. No wonder the riot happened in 1967.

There was lots of racism in the north during the 1950's you'd be surprised. Like in Detroit, Michigan for instance. I read a book once about race relations in the motor city during that time, and in some ways Detroit was almost like a southern city. No wonder the riot happened in 1967.

Well Dee-troit certainly is A NORTHERN city. As racism is not limited to any Southern city . Boston, Cleveland, and Buffalo, also had race issues as well.

As far as I'm concerned, we STILL live in the 1950's today. People are getting more and more closed-minded over issues, and people would rather believe what the government says than their own minds and feelings. There isn't really that much progressiveness anymore, nor is there really that much individuality - today we obsess with conformity ("be like everyone else" - "you'll get a guy if you look young and THIN") and life in general is 'big business' - just like back then. Everything today is also more skewed towards families and (especially) children - just like then.

As far as I'm concerned, we STILL live in the 1950's today. People are getting more and more closed-minded over issues, and people would rather believe what the government says than their own minds and feelings. There isn't really that much progressiveness anymore, nor is there really that much individuality - today we obsess with conformity ("be like everyone else" - "you'll get a guy if you look young and THIN") and life in general is 'big business' - just like back then. Everything today is also more skewed towards families and (especially) children - just like then.

Disagree. Back in the 50s people actually had manners and civility. In fact, if you subscribe to the 50s way of life, you are bucking conformity. Today its all about me, me, me ! Today is the oppoiste of the 50s. In the name of "progress", we actually lose progress.

Just turn on any reality TV show and it reflects society. People are sleeping around with everyone , drinking and carrying on, reveling. No one has common courtesy towards anyone anymore.

Individuality doesnt necessarily mean originality. Nor does it mean something remotely interesting. Why people want to put themselves in front of everyone else- that is the reason for all the unhappiness in the world.

I agree, Meade. People are more free to "be themselves" today than what they were back in the 50s. Individuality and originality is considered a good thing now, which wasn't the case back in the day.

Disagree. Back in the 50s people actually had manners and civility. In fact, if you subscribe to the 50s way of life, you are bucking conformity. Today its all about me, me, me ! Today is the oppoiste of the 50s. In the name of "progress", we actually lose progress.

Just turn on any reality TV show and it reflects society. People are sleeping around with everyone , drinking and carrying on, reveling. No one has common courtesy towards anyone anymore.

Individuality doesnt necessarily mean originality. Nor does it mean something remotely interesting. Why people want to put themselves in front of everyone else- that is the reason for all the unhappiness in the world.


You'd actually be surprised at the amount of common courtesy there is (at least in downtown Chicago on any given workday). I can't get past any train ride or bus ride in the morning without at least hearing no less than 5 people saying "excuse me" and "thank you" in one breath; men actually open the door for women here (especially the professionals); during AM rush at some bus stops there are actually LINES that form (not groups, mind you - actual LINES) and people board the buses according to their place in that line; very few people actually talk to one another - everyone walks down the streets quietly; people actually let disabled riders go on first, and more!

And no, not everyone revels and sleeps with each other on reality TV (most of that stuff on those shows isn't really "real" anyways, so who cares?) And EVERYONE has been wanting to get on TV since the invention of TV. When I was a kid, the waiting list for Chicago's local Bozo's Circus show tickets was 7 years long at one point; likewise, the waiting list for Howdy Doody back in the '50s was probably that long, if not longer. For both shows pregnant mothers would actually request tickets for their kids BEFORE they were born!

I agree, Meade. People are more free to "be themselves" today than what they were back in the 50s. Individuality and originality is considered a good thing now, which wasn't the case back in the day.

Not quite. They had a lot of original people back in the 50s. Have you ever heard of Elvis Presley?

Anyways, I dont think common courtesy has anything to do with "individuality" but rather just respect and manners which is lacking these days.

I would much rather live in the 50s than today. There aren't any inidividuals today just spoiled brats.

I wasn't saying, that there were no original people in the 50s. Of course there were. But I don't think originality was encouraged in the same way back then as it is today.

I wasn't saying, that there were no original people in the 50s. Of course there were. But I don't think originality was encouraged in the same way back then as it is today.

I dont think originality is encouraged much today at all. More people are homogonized than they were even in the 50s! Its the same type of conformity, just a different style.

lol, i like this thread. you listed everything i would have said.Compared to the trash the world has become,the 50s look like gold!!

I dont think originality is encouraged much today at all. More people are homogonized than they were even in the 50s! Its the same type of conformity, just a different style.
Looking back, I think I can see what Meade meant.
Some things are taboo to say or talk about today...

Their was no Super Bowl/ :(

There was the NFL Championship game, played by the two best teams of the league. There was just less teams then, and not hyped like it is now.

I'd say that environmental destruction was the biggest shame (the "Silent Spring" thing), and then there was Polio, Thalidomide, the draft, McCarthyism, ....it's also my opinion that during this time the self perceived role of the federal government changed from custodian of the public interest to "keeper".