I'm at a day game for the Rochester Red Wings (AAA for Twins). Thousands of kids of all ages. A girl not more than 11 near me is eating a snow cone. A boy about the same age says, "how much to lick me like that?" She says, "$100." He asks if she takes credit cards and she says cash only. Wtf.
Then I go into the bathroom and there's a group of kids maybe 12 sharing a joint. Don't get me wrong..I've smoked my share but not at 12.
Where are the chaperones? The ones I saw were on their phones. Not blaming them. But wtf is up with society? It's so depressing
Rant over.
Dumb.
Pox upon thee little fellow
barefoot fink with stripe of yellow.
The gang you squealed on
has the urge
to sing and strum your funeral dirge
In the drink you should have went
neatly cased in wet cement.
Delinquency can be a blight
when finks like you don't do it right.
To look at you I hate to think
that I was once a barefoot fink.
Tell me the publication and year published, without resorting to a search.
My wife and I had taken our five year old daughter (three year old then) to our local high school football game. While sitting in the stand with my daughter eating popcorn watching the game, five or six high schoolers (looked to be about sophomores) sitting behind us started dropping F-bombs and talking pretty crass about their female classmates. I immediately turned around and in a calm but cold voice told them to watch what they're saying as there were kids around. Immediately they stopped and apologized. I'm sure they weren't happy and probably cursed me to high heavens, but at least they listened. It also doesn't hurt that I'm a pretty mean looking SOB.
Kids will be kids, and as long as they're not committing crimes, it's just them acting stupid.
Many parents today don't spend enough time with kids like they did in the past. The internet becomes the babysitter.
So if anything, this is reassuring re the American Way.
who licks a sno cone (if they even sell them anymore)?
Far more likely that the joint smokers are mid late teens, and you only think they look twelve because you're so damn old, and everyone under 20 looks twelve.
:)
but....true story: my sis did her graduate teaching 40ish years ago at what passes for inner city elementary school in Albany. She says the kids brought in reefer, playboy mags, etc. her lily whitebread buttocks barely made it through the semester. kids being exposed to the world around them is nothing new.
When I was a little kid in the 80's and misbehaved, I'd first get detention. Second detention, I'd need a parent signature form returned to the school. Third detention, principal would call in my parents to meet in his office to discuss bad behavior. Fourth detention, you get suspended from school and on the fifth (and final) detention you get expelled from school. Growing up, these warnings for bad behavior were in line to keep kids in check mostly.
Now a days, you can't even speak loudly at a kid without a parent calling into the school to complain about the teacher. Causing a lot of teachers to be hands off when a situation occurs and only two teachers on the elementary school staff are licensed to physically handle a student. All other members of the teaching staff are strictly prohibited and are told to ignore a kid whose acting out.
I think this is right. And in Steve's defense, this is a much more honorable mistakes than getting it wrong the other way. "I swear she looked 18."
Bullshit. As I said I know ages of kids. It's just not right. If I ever caught one of my boys saying this to a girl at any age I'd smack them.
At least with my children, who are 16 and 14, they seem to have done less than my generation ever did. When I was in 7th grade, I was riding my bike until it got dark and spent most of summer vacation at friends houses or at the Town Hall swimming pool or finding kids whose parents were working and going over to play games or get into mischief. My kids never seem to be more than 2 streets away and although my daughter is driving now, we are able to monitor where she is at any time. Part of the deal with having a phone.
My take on this generation is that they are a lot more sheltered and reined in than mine was.
But kids were still doing shit they shouldn't have been when they were young...including me. I definitely tried booze when I was like 12 or 13. My parents raised me well and I had a pretty good sense of right and wrong but that doesn't mean I didn't do dumb things or test my boundaries. Parents can't monitor everything their kids do.
But on the same token, I think the technology now has actually made it way easier for parents to keep tabs on their kids. When I was in Jr High and HS I could basically just say I was staying at a friends house for the night and was essentially free to do whatever I wanted until the next day.
Bottom line.. the adult perception of the next generation of kids is always going to be similar. "I can't believe kids these days! Things were so different when I was growing up!"
I doubt that'll ever change.
Shit, you grow up out in the hinterlands all there really is to do is smoke, drink, fuck and, occasionally, set the town swimming pool on fire.
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I am 28, I grew up on a farm outside a town of 50 people and went to school in a town of 3000, literally the closest "city" was an hour away and only 30,000 people. This shit was going on when I was 14, it was going on before then too. Much worse things too
Shit, you grow up out in the hinterlands all there really is to do is smoke, drink, fuck and, occasionally, set the town swimming pool on fire.
Swimming pools are for classy folk. We had water holes and gravel pits lol.
But on the same token, I think the technology now has actually made it way easier for parents to keep tabs on their kids. When I was in Jr High and HS I could basically just say I was staying at a friends house for the night and was essentially free to do whatever I wanted until the next day.
Bottom line.. the adult perception of the next generation of kids is always going to be similar. "I can't believe kids these days! Things were so different when I was growing up!"
I doubt that'll ever change.
I'm old. I know that. But this seems so young. Especially to be talking in public. Maybe that's part of it.
In some ways kids are the same as they've always been, in others - particularly because of the different technologies that now predominate - things are different and potentially much worse. It's not why we homeschool, but it's certainly a plus.
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In comment 12972660 Patrick77 said:
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I am 28, I grew up on a farm outside a town of 50 people and went to school in a town of 3000, literally the closest "city" was an hour away and only 30,000 people. This shit was going on when I was 14, it was going on before then too. Much worse things too
Shit, you grow up out in the hinterlands all there really is to do is smoke, drink, fuck and, occasionally, set the town swimming pool on fire.
Swimming pools are for classy folk. We had water holes and gravel pits lol.
The one I'm referring to was a relic from bygone (better) days. It had a creek running in one end to keep it full, but had a dam and cement walls. The local fire department "treated" it once a year by dumping gallons of Clorox in it. All this did was turn all the bullheads white.
No...I only do that to my own students. But just talking to them in a calm, cold voice works well. And it doesn't hurt to look mean.
would you rather them be working in factories? or other crazy shit?
In some ways kids are the same as they've always been, in others - particularly because of the different technologies that now predominate - things are different and potentially much worse. It's not why we homeschool, but it's certainly a plus.
But in that situation, it was some idiot, who was no longer a kid that was the issue?
As we were getting off after the ride, I'm sure my face was three shades of red, and the pretty one looked at me with this expression that was a weird combination of contempt and pity.
In retrospect, I'm not sure why I was friends with that guy.
As we were getting off after the ride, I'm sure my face was three shades of red, and the pretty one looked at me with this expression that was a weird combination of contempt and pity.
In retrospect, I'm not sure why I was friends with that guy.
As you said, you guys were kids. However, I'm sure if you were sitting near them (your young selves) today as an adult Greg, you would have told your friend to shut his mouth.
Also, I may have said something to the kid who said "how much to lick me?" That impacts everyone who can hear it. You should have slapped the shit out of him.
At least with my children, who are 16 and 14, they seem to have done less than my generation ever did. When I was in 7th grade, I was riding my bike until it got dark and spent most of summer vacation at friends houses or at the Town Hall swimming pool or finding kids whose parents were working and going over to play games or get into mischief. My kids never seem to be more than 2 streets away and although my daughter is driving now, we are able to monitor where she is at any time. Part of the deal with having a phone.
My take on this generation is that they are a lot more sheltered and reined in than mine was.
You nailed it. Good times.
The norm or a myth?
Many parents today don't spend enough time with kids like they did in the past. The internet becomes the babysitter.
Adam raised a Cain.
Not sure if this is serious
I don't understand it. We did it. We figured out how to outsmart our parents. Shouldn't it be automatic that we expect our kids to do the same? Does changing diapers trigger some sort of gullable transformation? And if your kids aren't doing any of that stuff, shouldn't you feel bad that they're such dweebs?
Single parent families.
60-70 years ago grandparents were also involved.
Not sure if serious...
Yes, and the slippery slope is a logical fallacy.
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for years. Hang on it's only going to get worse.
Yes, and the slippery slope is a logical fallacy.
Our presidential choice suggests that there may be something to this logical fallacy.
When I was eight and nine my dad spent a lot of time in the hospital, and I spent a lot of time in waiting rooms and trying not to go crazy. The gift shop provided some relief. On several occasions I reached as high as I could, grabbed a Playboy, and placed it inside an open Sports Illustrated and flipped through the pages. I can still feel my heart pounding. It just occurred to me that my son is eight going on nine. I would be horrified if I caught my son doing the same today.
Conversely, I never drank alcohol or did drugs. I hope my kids abstain, but I am working on lowering my expectations.