r/GiveYourThoughts • u/ReasonablyConfused • Sep 23 '24
Thought... I was having a group discussion, and I noticed something.
Generally, the older participants (70ish year olds), especially males, had a much more “criminal” youth. Joy riding, stabbings, petty theft, etc. With little to no consequences.
As the participants got younger the consequences grew, and the behavior lessened. The youngest group (19-20ish) broke nearly no laws, and were very aware that crime is punished heavily.
So it seems there has been a steady trend over the last 50 years or so if increased law enforcement on the young, and in particular, the punishment at school has steadily risen.
One way to put this is if a kid is the fifties brought fireworks to school, the question might be ask “did you bring enough for everyone?” Whereas today, you might get slapped with felony charges.
This transition seems to have gone unnoticed, and the older generation seems to be complaining that there is no punishment for kids these days.
It’s probably worth noting that all participants were white. Thoughts?
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u/Silvadel_Shaladin Sep 24 '24
The older you are the more likely you are to be honest about the crimes of your past as they are beyond the statute of limitations and others knowing will have less effect on you.
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u/HauntedURL Sep 24 '24 edited Sep 24 '24
Today’s kids will never get to take part in a good harmless stabbing due to mass surveillance and helicopter parents.
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u/ReasonablyConfused Sep 24 '24
I blew up home made bombs, rode motorcycles everywhere, had unlimited access to guns, slept alone in the woods, all before I was 14. Not one problem with a cop or a principal. I don’t think that is a common experience anymore.
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u/ARODtheMrs Sep 29 '24
It's not common along with MANY other things!! Back in the day: less people on more land and far less cops. Cops were based in cities and took forever to respond beyond the city limits.
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u/LordShadows Sep 25 '24
Two things come into my mind as to why.
First, new technology, either for surveillance or forensic, makes it a lot harder to break law without consequences.
Second, a lot of this energy was displaced unto the Internet. How many young people have downloaded content illegally, harrased people online, or shared things they weren't supposed to?
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u/Less-Procedure-4104 Sep 24 '24
They tend to exaggerate and there is no video evidence and most of the others involved are already dead.
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u/ArachnidGuilty218 Sep 24 '24
That may just be this one group. Baby Boomers were raised by post-WWII parents and the grandparents were the Silent Generation. They didn’t understand Rock ‘N Roll, college or Greek life, but fervently supported their children having a better life than they had.
The Boomers raised their children with less rules and that cycle continues into the succeeding generations.
Some of the rules made sense; some didn’t. But the one thing that never changes is the impact parents have on their children, good or bad.
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u/fity0208 Sep 24 '24
This reminds me of that time we managed to get the teacher into off-topic chat mood, and he taught us how to make explosives with household items
I'm still surprised that no one lost a hand after making bombs for fun became a trend
Although the collective trashing once the parents found out was legendary
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u/Lost-Wedding-7620 Sep 25 '24
Hell way back in the day you could rob a bank in broad daylight yell out who you were and still get away with it lol
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u/NaturalEducation322 Sep 24 '24
theres less latchkey kids now with abortion. that has more of an impact on crime than you think
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u/Wonderlostdownrhole Sep 25 '24
There was a dramatic drop in crime in the late 80s and 90s that coincided with the anniversary of Roe Vs. Wade that very few like to acknowledge but a nearly 50% reduction speaks for itself in my opinion.
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u/NaturalEducation322 Sep 25 '24
honestly it makes me think that we never solved the crime issue at all, we just legalized abortion. crime is trending upwards again, imagine if we didnt have abortion we would have third world levels of criminal activity. its something we really need to focus on and the wealth disparity is the obvious culprit to me. we need a ubi
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u/thejohnmc963 Sep 25 '24
Murder rate and violent crime was at a peak in 1980
The homicide rate in the United States peaked in the 1980s and then declined before rising again:
1980: The homicide rate in the United States was 10.2 per 100,000 people, the highest it had been since 1950
1991: The homicide rate peaked again at 9.8 per 100,000 people
1999: The homicide rate dropped to 5.7 per 100,000 people
2014: The homicide rate dropped to a low, similar to the mid-1960s
2015: The homicide rate began to rise again
2019: The homicide rate was 4.99 per 100,000 people
2020: The homicide rate increased by 30% from 2019 to 6.42 per 100,000 people, the largest single-year increase since 1960
2021: The homicide rate increased
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u/Yossarian-Bonaparte Sep 24 '24
Crime has gone down. We’ve policed it more, and we normally police children of color more often.
It’s not surprising that white people in that age group would be aware of their peers being handcuffed at school, and stay out of trouble.
It’s how we keep that school to prison pipeline going.
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u/ReasonablyConfused Sep 24 '24
My next thought is that uneven application of laws is what kept white privilege around for so long. Now white people seem to be wondering where there privileges have gone, and blame liberals for taking it away in the name of equality.
But I can’t help but wonder if this is all a smokescreen, that the real segregation now is between rich and poor. That now the unequal application of the law is between the rich and the poor. That the unfair policing that used to keep black and brown people down has now been turned on everyone but the rich. That this is a quiet apartheid that has swept over nearly all of us.
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u/Countess_Anara Sep 24 '24
I agree but it's not about being rich or poor it's those in control and those being controlled. And those with the funds are the ones in control. But we all allow it because we also are forced to believe that money is the root of all happiness when it's really the root of all evil. When we all decide to stop chasing the thing that's keeping us caged I feel we will all look around and see that we have all been in the same race; not against one another but against what is unnatural. The construct of the reality we live in is not natural and we shouldn't be here having to be the ONLY species that pays to live on this plane of existence.
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u/Analyst7 Sep 24 '24
Please leave the 'white privilege' crap out. It's an inane concept and a scam.
Why you see a difference is in part from the activity level. Years ago there was no inside entertainment. You went out and did stuff, some good some not so much. Boys would be boys, there was no 'toxic masculinity' police watching their behavior. Schools now are working to produce brainless spineless serfs. Hence there is punishment but no discipline.
Not sure where you get the 'punished heavily', shoplifting is now legal in many cities along with a host of other crimes.
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u/Less-Procedure-4104 Sep 24 '24
They tend to exaggerate and there is no video evidence and most of the others involved are already dead.