[Ammi]

Originally Posted by joeysteele

Not as to attitudes towards poverty though..

The point has I would say been made that in the 40s the poverty then could not be compared to now as there was in effect no welfare state.

However, I think even you said it too, people were in the same boat and had empathy with each other, so tried their best to come together to help too.
There was also the knowledge too that there was poverty at that time.

Now the attitudes seem to be, no one should be in poverty so there needn't be poverty and some don't think there is so dismiss it, despite others saying that they have seen and come across.

It is different poverty and the attitudes are different because now in the main, people don't pull together as much or look out for one another.

It is really startling to hear that people should be washing nappies and heading back to such times.
Especially when those who have had children, would have possibly hated themselves to do that,as to cleaning nappies, washing them and drying them,who will have bought constantly the pampers style of nappies for their children,to then think other children, just because they are in a poor family, should not have them too.

It is the more,'I'm alright Jack' attitude now that is bad as to poverty, rather than that coming together in the main that likely existed in the 40s.

I wouldn't deprive anyone of anything I have myself,I have already upgraded 2 TVs in the last 4 years and given the other 2 to someone who had smaller TV's,one person who had none even.
A daft example to some maybe but to some, seeing those people with that newer,larger TV that they never had to buy, would be seen as someone on benefits getting more than they should.
I know because I have heard it directly.

It is ridiculous the way attitudes are thrown out as to demonisation as to all on benefits, because I have yet to see from someone who calls or terms those on benefits scroungers, the real thing, that is in fact, that it is a minority and not the vast majority who likely are scounging as to benefits.

It is easy when all is going good for anyone to look down on those who are far poorer, it's the easiest thing in the world to do but for me it is totally wrong,that is my opinion.

Things I have come across as to how some people have to live in the UK now in this day and age, have made me really sick and the hardline attitudes of those who can just judge and condemn,well that really makes me feel even more sick as to the UK in the 21st century.

What some would expect and only give to their children, that should be their right,to then go on and say it should not be the same for all children,especially if they are part of a very poor family is unbelievale..
If anything, attitudes towards the poor and any poverty have got worse than likely in the 40s and that is really saying something and nothing to be proud of in my view.

I have no children, I may never have chidlren but I would never,if I had anything to do with things, give to one child what I would expect another child to be deprived of.
I prefer the word 'selfless' anyday to 'selfish',I hope I never change from that either.

...I really don’t think it is more of an ‘I’m alright Jack’ attitude now, Joey...I agree with you in that one of the fundamental differences was the absence of a welfare state back in the day ..you know, when people receive acts of thought and kindness directly from someone they know or even a stranger, that touches them so much more because it’s so personal so it would obviously create much more of a community and pulling together type feeling ..and obviously that’s all there was back in the day without any state help, so the feeling would be that people were kinder/more caring back then..but equally as in now, some people/neighbours etc would have been thoughtful for struggling families and some wouldn’t have been, I don’t think that’s something you can generalise about either because it’s just people and their different characters like everything in life and like then and like now... and I think that there was probably as much ‘judgement’ back in the day/the gossipy over the garden fence type thing... it’s just that it wasn’t media/internet fed and driven but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t exist, I think that it more meant that people were more only prone to be aware of their own small community/environment and very little beyond that...so really only had a much more limited perspective...

...hmmmmm, I remember a thread once on here and I think it was a single mum who was on benefits who had spent a huge sum of money on her children at Christmas..it was quite a while ago and I think you can imagine there where many judgements of her in that and many opinions etc...but those negative judgements of her if I recall came from both people who were in work and people who weren’t...hmmmm, should she really be spending all of that money on gifts when I have a job and I can’t afford or wouldn’t do that ..?..but also from those in a not too dissimilar situation to hers because her choices were different to those that they themselves would make and there was a large amount of disapproval with that...so there will always be and has always been judgements ..but from my experience many people do still pull together and think of others as you have shown with your old TVs etc, for some it might be something similar, or maybe making sure that someone is able to do their shopping if they struggle with transport, or making sure that they’re aware of all benefits that they’re entitled to, that they have the facilities to and are able to prepare hot meals for themselves etc...and just generally doing whatever they can if they see a family struggling or someone living on their own, someone who is less able etc...those things are still around, Joey because they’re to do with people and people’s character just as much as they always were and yeah equally there are and always have been people who don’t think about others so much or what they can actively do to help ....

...the technology that we have now and the information available now is a great thing and a really positive thing but obviously there will always be some negatives as well with that, and one of those is the often negative portrayal and judgement of anyone who is unable to work for whatever reason...but virtually no one I know in real life or indeed on the forum ‘buys into’ thinking that it’s any more than the small percentage of what could be described as ‘scroungers’ than it actually is ..in the same way though, I think it’s also equally wrong to generalise in an ‘I’m alright Jack’ kind of way because that’s lumping together and judging a huge amount of people wrongly and it makes me sad that you feel that’s your overall experiences of the many people you have met... because some with less will still give and do whatever they actively can and think of others and some will not..some with more will give and do whatever they actively can and think of others and some will not and I think really that’s always been the way through times and times and times....