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What have we done? (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 month ago by Powderhorn@beehaw.org to c/chat@beehaw.org

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From a young age, I was allowed to leave the house by bike and be home by dinner. I still have scars from that, but, you know, it's not really terrorizing.

Let us contrast this with whatever the fuck passes for parenting these days.

We're buying the concept that parents can't raise their own kid, and thus the government needs to step in.

Well, some are. But seriously, the past 40 years of destroying critical thinking worked.

There are few reasons to be thankful for being 46. We don't exist in the media, and we're somehow never mentioned. Boomers ... Millennials. Um, you missed a step.

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[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I agree that we are largely in agreement. In the '80s, there were payphones. I'd be sent out with a quarter in case of an emergency. Same interest in safety, just far less expensive than a phone plan.

I never used that quarter, because if I really needed to call, a friend's house was close enough by that a payphone would have been a mile or two out of the way in an emergency.

This, of course, was back in the day when you had your home phone number memorized, so in case of the unexpected, any reasonable adult stood ready to help, including (glad we don't have downvotes on this instance) the police. The social contract wasn't just about economics, it was also knowing that approaching an authority figure meant you knew you'd get help, as opposed to drawn guns.

[–] buttmasterflex@piefed.social 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 0 points 1 month ago

Oh, I never wore a helmet. They were quite sweaty in Arizona heat, and really, the only real risk of injury was knees and elbows, as I knew to bail ahead of going head over handlebars. I picked my bike out of the scrub several times, sometimes having to walk it home with multiple injuries that would call for Neosporin, although, with my mom being a hippie, they only used calendula oil.