We should be dead

A must read for people over 25 yrs of age.

Subject: We should be dead

To the survivors:

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who
were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's probably shouldn't have
survived. Our baby cots were covered with bright colored lead-based
paint.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets,
and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.)

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding on the back of a tractor on a warm day was always a special
treat. We drank water from the garden hose or streams in the hills and
not from a bottle. Horrors!

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and
no one actually died from this We ate cakes, bread and butter, and
drank lemonade with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we
were always outside playing.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we
were back when the street lights came on.No one was able to reach us
all day. No mobile phones. Unthinkable.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then
rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After
running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games
at all, no 99 channels on sky or cable, video tape movies, surround
sound, personal mobile phones, personal computers, or Internet chat
rooms.

We had friends! We went outside and found them.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth,and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and
although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very
many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the
door, or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them.

Footy teams we're picked by hand and not everyone made the team.
Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard
of. They actually sided with the law. Imagine that!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and
problem solvers and inventors, ever.
T
he past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new
ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we
learned how to deal with it all.

And you're one of them!

Congratulations. Please pass this on to others who have had the luck
to grow up as kids, before lawyers and government regulated our
lives, for our own good.

Nice one TrueLies. It's totally true too. Kids today are pussies.

this is about the third time I have read this here..

it's been around in email spamming people's computers for years.

it was funny the first time...

well written...i'm one of those living that should have died me and my friends would run around the neihgborhood playing 'army' ,cowboys and indians had toy guns too!!!!!...never locked the doors at night, stayed out till midnight..boy, how did we ever survive???...u know, maybe it is all the 'sheltering' and PC that is wrong....just a thought

That's an excellent post. I can relate to every point. Drinking dettol, falling off the shed roof and almost getting impaled on the neighbour's fence, racing around on a bike with no brakes ... bliss !!!

May I offer a heartfelt to the creators of the 'Nanny state', especially Anthony Blair, esq.



[Edited on 28-1-2004 by Pisky]

Good post! How the times have changed.

I have read this before also. The author should really get over himself. Im not in his generation that should be dead but I think I did just about as much stupid stuff growing as he did where the chances of death or injury are hust about equal (except for lead in my crib and the tractor rides). He is sad cuz he is old.

I'm not over 25, i'm 21 infact, but i've done just as much stupid # as this guy did.

jumping off roofs, eating weird things, blah blah blah blah blaaahh!

He doesn't need to "get over himself" it's a fact.

Kids these days are being over baby sat. They are turning into kids who won't be able to take any "risks"
when they get out in the real world where youre unprotected. so you know what, quit being so stupid and use your head... That's what this post is about.


Even though I'm 21, I see kids that are 4 years younger then me being overly babsat.



This whole generation is like a bunch of bowling balls rolling down the lanes, except without going into the gutter because they got those bumper stumper things blocking it so that the balls goes straight into the pins.





You need experience and street smarts. If your not #ing up then your not living.

And if your getting away with too much # then your not learning.

Mankind should've been gone more than once.

I agree, but we're talking about this instance.



Since this is posted under education and media, this has to do with education. to make it blantantly obvious, this has to with kids growing up in this day in age, as opposed to 15+ years ago.

I think it really depends the kid. Im 14 and still very active. When I was little I would walk to school, which is like 3/4 of a mile from my house. I have a lot of bros and sisters and we were outside ALL the time. Maybe its just how my parents raised us. I see what you mean, though. Alot of kids are overwieght and I think its due to computers, tv, video games, etc. Parents, kick your kid outside for at least an hour a day! It really builds character. I still go on walks and jump on the trampoline. Also consider putting your kids in sports.

As for seatbelts, even though your alive and you didnt wear them when you were a kid, I encourage EVERYONE to wear them now. To tell someone not too because it "sissifies" a kid or w/e is stupid. Lets use our brains here.

Despite what most people think, alot of kids still do this stuff. Not ALL kids are the lazy, video game playing, cheeto eating wimps that they are stereotyped to be. And you shouldn't disrespect our generation. We are the future and the ones who are going to be making the decisions when you are old.

Good post Illusion,


I want to point out that my mom would kick me outside when I was younger for more then an hour!
When I wanted to come in sometimes, she would lock me out!

But when I would run away I remember one instance where she tied my to our tree in front so I couldn't run away.

Talk about confusion!!

Although when I was younger I was blessed with a bunch of other kids who lived on my street (my dad called us the swarm) and we would travel up and down the street together, playing, and knocking on doors asking for candies...


I believe the best thing you can do is live in a neighbourhood full of other children.



When your with a bunch of kids, imagination is endless.
Looking back, it was a very enchanting feeling.

You need experience and street smarts. If your not #ing up then your not living.

True words true lies

I been living large all my life

Originally posted by OzChris
this is about the third time I have read this here..

it's been around in email spamming people's computers for years.

it was funny the first time...

I believe it started as an adaptation of a Rush Limbaugh rant against Clinton environmental legislation...basically saying scientists are idiots, eat paint, I did.

It's less partisan now and has been tweaked both ways, but the message is the same.

Yep i should be dead too, but one more thing. when i went to school there were no calculators or computors, you had to learn long divison and write it out. now there teaching our kids how to use computors there was an older movie called the forban project where a computor took over the world for the benifit of mankind, in a sense it's happening. the next generation is only going to know how to push buttons, ask them a math question and they will have to get to a pc scary

I totally disagree with this. Kids today are actually better off in every way but athleticly, and thats because in todays world EVERYTHING is more competitive. Yes there are lazy/fat/unmotivated people, but there are in every generation, in every nation. I agree that people today need to exercise more, but lets face it - if you want to go to a decent school, you have to work your ass off cause if you dont someone else will. This makes todays kids much more able to "handle the real world" because if they have anykind of motivation, they didnt spend hours outside riding bikes - they got up early, went to school, then went to at least 1 elective, probably played at least one sport a year for there school (in addition to club teams), went home and studied. repeat mon through thursday. Friday and saterday they go out and get there "street smarts" like people born in the 40's and 50's never could have imagined.

And as far as parents bailing kids out of jail, im sorry - untill recently things like drinking a few beers when your 17 didnt get you thrown in jail.

Originally posted by jjucius
Yep i should be dead too, but one more thing. when i went to school there were no calculators or computors, you had to learn long divison and write it out. now there teaching our kids how to use computors

there was an older movie called the forban project where a computor took over the world for the benifit of mankind, in a sense it's happening. the next generation is only going to know how to push buttons, ask them a math question and they will have to get to a pc scary

i agree with you about that...there were no computers during my time and have to do long division and calculate graphs manually. in the present, all they have to do is get their graphing calculators and let it do the job!!! IMO

I'm not sure about the calculator thing.
Maybe in some school, but as far as I know the teacher's make them learn how to do it so they aren't dependant on a calculator...

Kids are way more advanced in their computer skills then ever before. They know ALOT in that area.

It's unfortunate that it's been consuming their lives and thenceforth, they aren't getting physical activity.


I also read a book in english back in 11th grade, it was a futuristic book and it said that
"in the future, people are going to become nothing but blobs. They won't have enough muscle strength to walk outdoors because the computer would do everything for them."

so i picture a bunch of fat blobs sitting in a chair while computers become their servants...

It scares me... I gotta start working out more!

It's all about moderation. We allow the kids 1/2 hour per weekday and 1 hour on Saturday and and Sunday for computer time. All three also have paper routes to keep them active, and that was their idea.

kids taking at least one elective? things getting more competitive. sure, kids are learning to work the system better, make themselves look better on paper, becoming better laywers in a sense