Understanding the generational differences.

Understanding the generational differences.

How attitudes to risk taking, have changed

As a young man (born 1942 so talking about years 1958 to 1970,) Myself, and all my circle of friends, associates and acquaintances, had a drug of choice – not need dealers or injections It was adrenaline—although most of us could not spell it or understand enough about body chemistry to explain it— any and everything with some element of danger was what we sought and loved. Narcotics were very rarely available or even known about. Alcohol was consumed in pubs only and they had legally limited hours of operation. This did not stop extended hours by claiming a “market day” or simply hoping the police did not notice late night drinking. For the benefit of city people, rural market towns in England, often have local laws where pubs could stay open all day on market day, since it was in these pubs that agricultural deals and business was done. Market day in a rural setting was primarily where cattle and other livestock were bought and sold. Laws were generally respected, but their application was tempered with tolerance and if no actual harm was done, then a warning from a local copper was enough. No paper work, no court, no lawyers ever involved.

While it was illegal to drive while intoxicated there were no breathalysers and no real measurement of what level of alcohol was illegal. Speed limits on British roads were 30mph in towns and almost non-existent anywhere else. Once you had a provisional license for a motorcycle there was no limit on the size or power of the machine you used. There were no motorways and very little dual carriageways, most cars were (by modern standards) slow and had appalling breaks. Many motoring activities that are now illegal were accepted as normal. No seat belts, except in competition cars, screen wipers almost useless and demisters just did not function, directional signals were by opening a window and waving your arm about in the air. The concept of a vehicle being to a high standard of “roadworthiness” did not exist, if it could move, it could be driven on the roads.

If I reminisce about things I did when young in 50’s 60’s and 70’s modern young people may say—but you might have been killed—Yes that was the point of doing stuff, the risk of injury if fail was the motivation for the attempts. I was not killed I survived. Testing the ability to overcome a challenge, can only be meaningful if there is a “cost” to failure. This is the danger in computer gaming. There is no cost to failure and so young people are being conditioned to believe that they can make attempts at overcoming a challenge but there is no payback, no pain, if fail. My generation understood that failure would result in pain, and expense if vehicle damaged. The general attitude to risk taking was still conditioned by the war (WW2) it had been young men (and women in the behind enemy lines operations) who had flown the fighters in the battle of Britain, volunteering even though “life expectancy” could be as short as 2 weeks. It had been young men who walked up the beaches in Normandy into machine gun fire. So, it was acceptable for young people to take risks, and young people had role models who were adventurers and risk takers. It should be remembered that the concept of “teenagers” had not been invented, If you were at school you were a child and the day you left school and started paid work you were an adult—Very few went into further education, college university, especially in the “class “ I come from.

Odd fact I had a few accidents in cars and on motorbikes and even when the vehicle was “totalled” I never had a scratch, but one day (I do not know why) I left my motorbike at factory where worked and walked into Chelmsford town centre I woke up in hospital – I was told by police later that, I was in crowd waiting to cross a road and I slipped and went head first onto a passing car, broke the wing mirror off car (and broke my nose) It seems I bounced back and crashed my heard on the kerb. An ambulance was in the stream of traffic, and they took me straight to hospital. All I remember was waking and seeing a nurse as she was stitching up my head and said you might have cut this in a straight line. I passed out again. To this day I have no idea why I had not used the bike to get to town. So walking is more dangerous than anything else I used to do.

Our attitude was (still is?) If you do not take yourself to the point where pain may occur, then you have not tried hard enough. As an American racing driver once said (do not remember which one) if everything is under control, you are not going fast enough.

My generation simply do not understand why some modern young people appear to claim they have to be protected from views they do not like. Confronting what you do not understand is how you come to understanding. If you do not have the courage to face ideas and beliefs that are outside of your own safe zone, you will never learn anything