Remember the "OLD DAYS" When You Could Walk Alone ... - Page 4

Desertdi · ‎03-13-2010

I rode the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) by myself to grade school

♥Surface of the Sun♥

Susan in California · ‎06-02-2014

My sister and I were just talking about how our parents would let us play in a city park several blocks from my dad's office in Berkeley.

We were young, maybe 8 and 11. We would play to our hearts content, and then walk back to my dad's office.

It was a nice neighborhood, but still a public park. I would never, ever allow our granddaughters to be there alone now.

I also used to wave to my seven year old son, alone at a school bus stop, as I drove to work. He is forty now, so you know how many years ago that was...

Looking back, it was probably careless even back then.

At night: I remember walking around a lot in both Berkeley and San Francisco.

I try to not be too afraid of getting out and about at night. But I am certainly more cautious.

Do you think the world is crazier now, or do you think we know more about it now?

Buck-i-Nana · ‎09-28-2010

@jubilant wrote:
@dooBdoo wrote:
@deepwaterdotter wrote:
I rarely walked alone at night, even when I was younger in my teenage years and as a younger woman. My parents wouldn't allow me to leave the house alone after dark, usually was with friends, brothers, or parents. When I would babysit for a family in my neighborhood, I insisted that either one of the parents take me home or one of my family members come and get me.
I am unclear on the correlation between "the few people on the QVC forum" and "the government" regarding "help and answers".

          We weren't allowed to walk alone at night as kids, whether we were in a larger city or in a small, rural town.   I've lived in several locales, all sorts of sizes and types, and no matter how long ago it was (or now) I didn't think it was wise to walk alone at night.

          I, too, would like to know what the government has to do with this. Or other posters having a discussion. Very unclear.

******** What the government has to do with it, imo, is stricter sentences for rapists and child molesters....and I mean a lot stricter. No one used to worry about sending their daughters to college, for example. These crimes deserve many years of prison. We shouldn't have to be living next to child molesters and rapists who got out after a few months with a slap on the hand. Look them up. You might be surprised how many dots you see on that little map and how close they are to your neighborhood.

I went to college in the early 70s. I was raped on campus. I even worked for campus security at the time, but my report went nowhere. He said/she said was what I was told the situation was, and nothing was done.

My sophomore year a freshman nursing student was stabbed to death on campus. Her killer plead "not guilty by reason of insanity". He spent a few short years in a mental hospital before he was declared sane and stable enough for society.

As others have stated. The reality is that crime has always been around us. The difference now is that we are bombarded with the news of violence 24/7 and through multiple sources and that news is reporting it from not just our own communities, but across the country and around the world.

jubilant · ‎06-10-2010

@dooBdoo wrote:
@jubilant wrote:
@dooBdoo wrote:
@deepwaterdotter wrote:
I rarely walked alone at night, even when I was younger in my teenage years and as a younger woman. My parents wouldn't allow me to leave the house alone after dark, usually was with friends, brothers, or parents. When I would babysit for a family in my neighborhood, I insisted that either one of the parents take me home or one of my family members come and get me.
I am unclear on the correlation between "the few people on the QVC forum" and "the government" regarding "help and answers".

          We weren't allowed to walk alone at night as kids, whether we were in a larger city or in a small, rural town.   I've lived in several locales, all sorts of sizes and types, and no matter how long ago it was (or now) I didn't think it was wise to walk alone at night.

          I, too, would like to know what the government has to do with this. Or other posters having a discussion. Very unclear.

******** What the government has to do with it, imo, is stricter sentences for rapists and child molesters....and I mean a lot stricter. No one used to worry about sending their daughters to college. These crimes deserve many years of prison. We shouldn't have to be living next to child molesters and rapists who got out after a few months with a slap on the hand. Look them up. You might be surprised how many dots you see on that little map and how close they are to your neighborhood.

          One of my sisters was raped in college, and that was years ago.   It was at a lovely university, a place I guess we would think was safe in the "good old days."

          Prisons are filled with people who should be in facilities for the mentally ill.   Prisons are now the largest mental-health facility in the country, but clearly are not equipped for this and this is the wrong environment for anyone hoping to get well or at least get better. This happened because we allowed insurance companies and politicians to close down mental-health facilities and push so many needy, ill people out into the streets.    Also, many prisons are overcrowded, many have closed, others are allowed to be privately-owned, for-profit, and aren't managed well.   The courts are flooded with all these cases which often are mental-health issues.   Unless and until we look at these things, bringing more charges or longer prison sentences won't work.   It's not physically possible, if we look at the constraints of the courts and the prisons.

********** I am not saying it didn't happen back then. I know it did. I do think it is getting more rampant with every passing day. I agree totally about needing better mental health care. Not all people can be helped, however. For those proven to be depraved and evil and repeated offenders I would even consider the death penalty. Things are and will continue to get worse if peoples hearts don't change and we cannot communicate enough to even make laws.

I am also looking at this, dooBdoo, from a spiritual standpoint. That is how I roll....as you probably know. I know many will disagree with me and that is ok. I cannot say all I would like to or even mention what I have found in my studies about certain patterns that happen in society and what happens if we don't get wise to it. I will just have to leave it there.

I respect your opinions.....especially on mental healthcare and I think you are probably right about longer prison sentences but where does that leave us? I personally think the only way things will get better is for people to turn back to the only One powerful enough to solve these problems. Just my take on all our many problems today.

QVCkitty1 · ‎05-23-2015

I think that it's a false narritive that things were so much better way back when. I'm in my 60's, and I think that it was always foolish to walk alone at night. Life is never perfect, but many things are better now than when I was growing up. I wouldn't go back for any reason. JMO.

" You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts."
Daniel Patrick Moynihan

tansy · ‎01-02-2011

@dooBdoo wrote:
@jubilant wrote:
@dooBdoo wrote:
@deepwaterdotter wrote:
I rarely walked alone at night, even when I was younger in my teenage years and as a younger woman. My parents wouldn't allow me to leave the house alone after dark, usually was with friends, brothers, or parents. When I would babysit for a family in my neighborhood, I insisted that either one of the parents take me home or one of my family members come and get me.
I am unclear on the correlation between "the few people on the QVC forum" and "the government" regarding "help and answers".

          We weren't allowed to walk alone at night as kids, whether we were in a larger city or in a small, rural town.   I've lived in several locales, all sorts of sizes and types, and no matter how long ago it was (or now) I didn't think it was wise to walk alone at night.

          I, too, would like to know what the government has to do with this. Or other posters having a discussion. Very unclear.

******** What the government has to do with it, imo, is stricter sentences for rapists and child molesters....and I mean a lot stricter. No one used to worry about sending their daughters to college. These crimes deserve many years of prison. We shouldn't have to be living next to child molesters and rapists who got out after a few months with a slap on the hand. Look them up. You might be surprised how many dots you see on that little map and how close they are to your neighborhood.

          One of my sisters was raped in college, and that was years ago.   It was at a lovely university, a place I guess we would think was safe in the "good old days."

          Prisons are filled with people who should be in facilities for the mentally ill.   Prisons are now the largest mental-health facility in the country, but clearly are not equipped for this and this is the wrong environment for anyone hoping to get well or at least get better. This happened because we allowed insurance companies and politicians to close down mental-health facilities and push so many needy, ill people out into the streets.    Also, many prisons are overcrowded, many have closed, others are allowed to be privately-owned, for-profit, and aren't managed well.   The courts are flooded with all these cases which often are mental-health issues.   Unless and until we look at these things, bringing more charges or longer prison sentences won't work.   It's not physically possible, if we look at the constraints of the courts and the prisons.

Standing ovation!!

magicmoodz · ‎03-16-2010

I consider my neighborhood to be very safe, but things happen everywhere. We have new neighbors who live across the street and 6 doors down. They have three adorable daughters probably ages 4 - 7. They always wear little dresses and tear down the sidewalk on their scooters. Obviously they are allowed to go to the corner (9 houses away) and back.

Working in criminal justice as long as I have, I know I can over-react, but I find myself "babysitting" those little girls from my window or the front stoop. They will probably grow up to be independent, confident and self-assured young women, but in the meantime, I will keep watch over them.

dooBdoo · ‎06-27-2010

@jubilant wrote:
@dooBdoo wrote:

@jubilant wrote:
******** What the government has to do with it, imo, is stricter sentences for rapists and child molesters....and I mean a lot stricter. No one used to worry about sending their daughters to college. These crimes deserve many years of prison. We shouldn't have to be living next to child molesters and rapists who got out after a few months with a slap on the hand. Look them up. You might be surprised how many dots you see on that little map and how close they are to your neighborhood.

          One of my sisters was raped in college, and that was years ago.   It was at a lovely university, a place I guess we would think was safe in the "good old days."

          Prisons are filled with people who should be in facilities for the mentally ill.   Prisons are now the largest mental-health facility in the country, but clearly are not equipped for this and this is the wrong environment for anyone hoping to get well or at least get better. This happened because we allowed insurance companies and politicians to close down mental-health facilities and push so many needy, ill people out into the streets.    Also, many prisons are overcrowded, many have closed, others are allowed to be privately-owned, for-profit, and aren't managed well.   The courts are flooded with all these cases which often are mental-health issues.   Unless and until we look at these things, bringing more charges or longer prison sentences won't work.   It's not physically possible, if we look at the constraints of the courts and the prisons.

********** I am not saying it didn't happen back then. I know it did. I do think it is getting more rampant with every passing day. I agree totally about needing better mental health care. Not all people can be helped, however. For those proven to be depraved and evil and repeated offenders I would even consider the death penalty. Things are and will continue to get worse if peoples hearts don't change and we cannot communicate enough to even make laws.

I am also looking at this, dooBdoo, from a spiritual standpoint. That is how I roll....as you probably know. I know many will disagree with me and that is ok.  I cannot say all I would like to or even mention what I have found in my studies about certain patterns that happen in society and what happens if we don't get wise to it. I will just have to leave it there.

I respect your opinions.....especially on mental healthcare and I think you are probably right about longer prison sentences but where does that leave us? I personally think the only way things will get better is for people to turn back to the only One powerful enough to solve these problems. Just my take on all our many problems today.

Thanks, @jubilant. I respect your opinions, too. I'm a spiritual person, also, but I'm all too aware of the practicality of this. The keys to fixing the problem are multiple. Keys. And complex. If we can address all of them, we have a chance of making positive changes. If we only look at one facet of the problem, we'll never make it better.

Few things reveal your intellect and your generosity of spirit—the parallel powers of your heart and mind—better than how you give feedback.~Maria Popova

dooBdoo · ‎06-27-2010

@tansy wrote:
@dooBdoo wrote:

Jubilant wrote ******** What the government has to do with it, imo, is stricter sentences for rapists and child molesters....and I mean a lot stricter. No one used to worry about sending their daughters to college. These crimes deserve many years of prison. We shouldn't have to be living next to child molesters and rapists who got out after a few months with a slap on the hand. Look them up. You might be surprised how many dots you see on that little map and how close they are to your neighborhood.

One of my sisters was raped in college, and that was years ago. It was at a lovely university, a place I guess we would think was safe in the "good old days."

Prisons are filled with people who should be in facilities for the mentally ill. Prisons are now the largest mental-health facility in the country, but clearly are not equipped for this and this is the wrong environment for anyone hoping to get well or at least get better. This happened because we allowed insurance companies and politicians to close down mental-health facilities and push so many needy, ill people out into the streets. Also, many prisons are overcrowded, many have closed, others are allowed to be privately-owned, for-profit, and aren't managed well. The courts are flooded with all these cases which often are mental-health issues. Unless and until we look at these things, bringing more charges or longer prison sentences won't work. It's not physically possible, if we look at the constraints of the courts and the prisons.

Standing ovation!!

Thanks, @tansy. I'd love to genuinely believe this is all about changing one thing in society, but I know it's really much more involved than that. Certainly, it's important to look at spirituality and how we teach and guide younger generations -- both with our words and our actions. But also we need to learn what's happened with the mental health system, with prisons, and with politicians, insurance companies, and the private owners of prisons, and take these into consideration if we really want change.

Few things reveal your intellect and your generosity of spirit—the parallel powers of your heart and mind—better than how you give feedback.~Maria Popova

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

I guess some seem to 'get' what I was saying. What I was referring to is that I guess people seem to be in and out of jail when they commit a crime...

Think about it....we always hear about people breaking the law...but we never hear what happens to them. That's what I'm talking about. I don't think the laws are enforced. Is that what it is? Is it that there are more people in the world today? Is that it?

I could tell you the town I'm from and I guarantee you the people I know would tell you we played outside until 9:00 at night (hide and go seek). We weren't afraid to be out at night.

I know places vary, I stated that where I lived we weren't afraid to play outside in the evening.

So, are many of you saying you don't think things have changed for the worst? Is that what you are saying? I'm trying to figure out how it got that way (I see it as a change for the worst).

Last time I checked it was the government (on the whole) who is responsible for enforcing laws that are already on the books (I'm talking about breaking basic laws). I don't think it's the fault of the police, I don't think they get the back up they need.

You know. It's interesting that so many people here only come out and make statements (blips here and there) when someone else makes statements.

I thought long and hard before I put this on here. But I thought it would be interesting to see what others think. I have an idea you could probably tell the ages of most (not all, I know) of the people according to their posts.

Many of us who are in our 70's will say that we WERE able to play outside and not be afraid of being hurt when were kids.....just saying....

My grandchildren go back and forth from their home to the pool during the day but they have to text their mom when they arrive. They live in a safe area, but they wouldn't be able to do it at night, I'm talking about at dusk.