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Apr 14, 2007 04:19 PM Then and now, or 8 (more) reasons the 1950s are unfairly maligned
A friend in Chicago sent these 8 scenarios comparing life in 1956 and today. We are always told how repressive, staid, homogenizing, and uncreative the 1950s were. These comparisons suggest how far off-base that stereotype is. 1. Scenario: Jack pulls into school parking lot with rifle in gun rack. 1956 - Vice Principal comes over, takes a look at Jack’s rifle, goes to his car and gets his to show Jack.2. Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school. 1956 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends. Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.3. Scenario: Jason won’t sit still in class, disrupts other students. 1956 - Jason sent to office and given a good paddling by Principal. Sits still in class.4. Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his father’s car and his Dad gives him a whipping. 1956 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.5. Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some headache medicine to school. 1956 - Mark shares headache medicine with Principal out on the smoking dock.6. Scenario: Pedro fails high school English. 1956 : Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.7. Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed. 1956 - Ants die.8. 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. 1956 - In a short time Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
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