I found this on another blog and couldn’t help but agree with it completely. I find this to be an accurate depiction of how society has changed over the past 50 years. I shudder to think what it’ll be like in the year 2057.
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SCHOOL — 1957 vs. 2007
Scenario:
Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
1957 – Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack’s shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2007 – School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.
Scenario:
Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1957 – Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 – Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.
Scenario:
Jeffrey won’t be still in class, disrupts other students.
1957 – Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 – Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.
Scenario:
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor’s car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1957 – Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 – Billy’s dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy’s sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy’s mom has affair with psychologist.
Scenario:
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1957 – Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 – Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.
Scenario:
Pedro fails high school English.
1957 – Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.
2007 – Pedro’s cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro’s English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro ends up a drop out because he cannot speak English.
Scenario:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.
1957 – Ants die.
2007- BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny’s Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
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.
1957 – In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2007 -Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.
Scenario:
Johnny has an attraction to Billy, the handsome lad on his football team.
1957- After Billy beats him up for being a queer, Johnny hangs himself.
2007- After Johnny tells Billy he is gay, Billy invites Johnny to attend the Gay-Straight Alliance Club meeting. They become best friends, even though Billy is straight.
Scenario:
Johnny wants to go to the best high school in town.
1957- Because Johnny is a Negro, he has to go to a rundown school and share textbooks from the 1920s with other students.
2007- Johnny has been in a Gifted Student program since 4th grade and easily passes the test to get into the Magnet School of his choice.
Scenario:
Johnny’s sister Julie wants to take shop class.
1957- Julie is told that girls take home economics, not shop. She marries at age 19, has four children, and never gets to become the architect she dreamed of being.
2007- Julie is encouraged to take shop by her counselor. She goes on to attend college and is now employed as a model builder for a medium-sized architecture firm.
I would not want to go back to 1957. If you were a middle to upper class straight white male, you could look forward to a bright future. If you were female, gay, non-white, or poor- well, things weren’t so great, were they?