A friend of mine sent me this in an Email and I thought it was worth quoting here. So, here it is:
My personal memories of the 1950s (I was 2 in 1950) were Seattle with no traffic lights and instead
things that look at lot like railroad crossing signs instead but there was no yellow light so people crashed a lot when it went from the red arm to the green arm railway type of signal in 1950. At 2 or 3 I often rode in the back seat of my Dad's car. I just stood up and held onto the his back seat of his 1941 Century Buick which was set up for street racing. It had been his brother, Tom's car who had disappeared during World War II. He was a secret test pilot for the Army in 1942.
I remember traveling south to San Diego from Seattle where my parents both grew up mostly and wearing a trench coat and suit with a tie at age 4 and telling anyone who asked that I wanted to be a "Gentleman" when I grew up. I carried a smaller version of a businessman's briefcase only my briefcase held Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls and comic books for me to read on the train ride south to San Diego (my new home) far away from all my relatives and friends.
Later we moved from Vista to El Cajon to Tujunga when I was 6 and then to Glendale (because they had the best public schools for me to attend at age 8 in third grade. My teacher at Horace Mann Grade school picked up boys in my class by their ears and made them cry so I didn't give her a reason to do that to me. Sometimes the boys ears bled from being picked up by their ears. She was old and needed to retire anyway I guess. In 4th grade I had the best teacher of my youth (temporarily) in Mrs. Crell, who promptly got pregnant and quit after telling everyone I wrote the wonderful story that she read before the class and I turned red in embarrassment. In 5th grade I had a good teacher too and also in 6th Grade. But, when I graduated 6th grade I was a vegetarian (which was very unusual then) and we were served hamburgers and entertained by little Hawaiian girls doing the hula so I told my teacher I couldn't eat a hamburger and was very chagrined by this. She told me to eat everything else but not the hamburger but don't tell anyone it's a problem so I did. No one noticed. Or if they did they didn't say anything.
That day I and a pretty girl from my class were "scrubbed" which was a hazing from junior high kids where they rub lipstick all over your face and under girls dresses up to their panties until they cried like they were being raped. I felt bad about this but didn't want to go to the hospital or die fighting older bigger boys. You had to put up with a lot in the 1950s if you didn't want to die before your time.
Here is: Making Amends:
"Raw Onions", The Gazette, January 21, 2013
____________________________________
MAKING AMENDS
Several women reading the last edition of Raw Onions
criticized me for writing about how good the 1950's were
(in America) compared to today, and listed a set of my
inaccuracies and I guess portraying it as an Ozzie & Harriet
type of atmosphere in that decade.
So, I'll try and make amends in what I left out. Gotta be politically correct, these days. I failed to mention that growing up in New Jersey, jobs were easier to get than in other parts of the nation.
criticized me for writing about how good the 1950's were
(in America) compared to today, and listed a set of my
inaccuracies and I guess portraying it as an Ozzie & Harriet
type of atmosphere in that decade.
So, I'll try and make amends in what I left out. Gotta be politically correct, these days. I failed to mention that growing up in New Jersey, jobs were easier to get than in other parts of the nation.
I
left out the McCarthy witch hunts, the Hollywood blacklist, the
lynchings of black men in the south, the cowardly Klan, unequal pay for
women, women unable to get a legal abortion before Roe v Wade, what it
was like before the Civil Rights Act of 1964,was passed, Medicare,
Medicaid, and....add your own, dear readers. Ms Jackowski read my
article and sent me one of hers with permission to use it in this
column.
I
certainly agree with her. So, from another perspective, read
on.
the onion cutter
Regarding the Skirts, Buzz Cuts and Bombs
by Rosemarie Jackowski
(Friday, October 19, 2007)
"In the 50s kids grew up hating Indians, "Japs", Germans, and black people.
Kids now grow up hating Muslims, "rag heads", and an assortment of other groups."
Kids now grow up hating Muslims, "rag heads", and an assortment of other groups."
This country is just not what it used to be.
How many times have you heard that.
This country is just not what it used to be -
and it never was. It never was the way I was taught
to believe when I was in high school.
Remember those good old days.
The days of pretty girls in poodle skirts
and cute boys with buzz cuts.
The really cool ones always carried their pack
of Camels rolled up in the sleeve
of their sparkling white T-shirts.
How many times have you heard that.
This country is just not what it used to be -
and it never was. It never was the way I was taught
to believe when I was in high school.
Remember those good old days.
The days of pretty girls in poodle skirts
and cute boys with buzz cuts.
The really cool ones always carried their pack
of Camels rolled up in the sleeve
of their sparkling white T-shirts.
Everyone was happy back then -
well not exactly everyone.
Lynching continued in the south
but we never talked about things like that.
I went to high school in the 50s
in a small coal-mining town in the north.
. Talk about lynching was never heard.
Many years later, when I learned that lynching
continued through the 60s, I wondered why
Mr. Kopetz never taught about it.
I still remember Mr. Kopetz.
He was a tall, distinguished looking man.
He was highly respected in the community
and was well known for the no-nonsense way
he ran his classroom.
He taught the "Problems of Democracy"
class to seniors at Luzerne High School.
Maybe it was my fault that I did not learn
about extreme racism in my PoD class.
Maybe it was taught one day during the 5 minutes
that I was sneaking a smoke in the girl's room.
well not exactly everyone.
Lynching continued in the south
but we never talked about things like that.
I went to high school in the 50s
in a small coal-mining town in the north.
. Talk about lynching was never heard.
Many years later, when I learned that lynching
continued through the 60s, I wondered why
Mr. Kopetz never taught about it.
I still remember Mr. Kopetz.
He was a tall, distinguished looking man.
He was highly respected in the community
and was well known for the no-nonsense way
he ran his classroom.
He taught the "Problems of Democracy"
class to seniors at Luzerne High School.
Maybe it was my fault that I did not learn
about extreme racism in my PoD class.
Maybe it was taught one day during the 5 minutes
that I was sneaking a smoke in the girl's room.
Facts about lynching were not the only gaps
in education in the old days.
While I was in high school being taught
that this country never did anything wrong,
the CIA was in Guatemala killing the people there.
Many years later, when I eventually learned about that,
I knew that I had been deceived by the educational system.
I was not alone. Most who went to school during that era were similarly brainwashed.
in education in the old days.
While I was in high school being taught
that this country never did anything wrong,
the CIA was in Guatemala killing the people there.
Many years later, when I eventually learned about that,
I knew that I had been deceived by the educational system.
I was not alone. Most who went to school during that era were similarly brainwashed.
Are things any better in schools now?
Are students taught about covert CIA actions, about how the US got its base at Diego Garcia, about the atrocities at NoGunRi? When I evaluate history textbooks, one of the first words I look up in the index is NoGunRi. Usually there is no mention of that war crime.
Are students taught about covert CIA actions, about how the US got its base at Diego Garcia, about the atrocities at NoGunRi? When I evaluate history textbooks, one of the first words I look up in the index is NoGunRi. Usually there is no mention of that war crime.
It still amazes me that I never heard the words "conscientious objector" while I was in high school. WW2 was a big topic.
Most of us knew the official version of that war. We learned those lessons well. The Saturday matinee was the big event of the week. Any kid with 12 cents got in. Kids without the 12 cents usually were smart enough to figure out alternative methods of entry. The movies were often war films about the "Japs".
Hating them was a patriotic duty.
We were never taught about the hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese civilians who were needlessly slaughtered by the atomic bombs. About the fire bombing of Dresden - well that didn't matter either. After all they were Germans.
Most of us knew the official version of that war. We learned those lessons well. The Saturday matinee was the big event of the week. Any kid with 12 cents got in. Kids without the 12 cents usually were smart enough to figure out alternative methods of entry. The movies were often war films about the "Japs".
Hating them was a patriotic duty.
We were never taught about the hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese civilians who were needlessly slaughtered by the atomic bombs. About the fire bombing of Dresden - well that didn't matter either. After all they were Germans.
Kids grew up playing
cowboys and Indians. We were taught to hate Indians. We never gave a
thought to the fact that Columbus could not have discovered a country
that already had a
native population. Logic would indicate that maybe the native people
had been the real discoverers.
The European explorers, who were heroes to us, had blood on their hands. We never learned about their criminal acts.
The European explorers, who were heroes to us, had blood on their hands. We never learned about their criminal acts.
In the 50s kids grew up hating Indians, "Japs", Germans, and black people. Kids now grow up hating Muslims,
"rag heads", and an assortment of other groups. Recently, it has been
interesting watching and listening to the hate talk that has been
directed toward people from other countries. Glen Beck, Lou
Dobbs, and a few others lead the pack. If we label people "illegal", it
is socially acceptable to hate them. New York Governor Spitzer has
suggested that
those from other countries be allowed to get drivers' licenses.
The backlash and hate from ordinary citizens has been mind-boggling. Hazleton, Pennsylvania is another hate zone.
those from other countries be allowed to get drivers' licenses.
The backlash and hate from ordinary citizens has been mind-boggling. Hazleton, Pennsylvania is another hate zone.
The term "illegal alien" is loaded with prejudice.
No human being is illegal. Sometimes the law can be wrong.
Remember, slavery was legal - that did not make it right.
Why should the geographic location of person's mother
at the time of his birth give any special privileges or penalties?
Am I the only one who still believes that all men are created equal.?
Prejudice based on geography is no more acceptable
than prejudice based on race, creed, ethnicity, or economic status.
No human being is illegal. Sometimes the law can be wrong.
Remember, slavery was legal - that did not make it right.
Why should the geographic location of person's mother
at the time of his birth give any special privileges or penalties?
Am I the only one who still believes that all men are created equal.?
Prejudice based on geography is no more acceptable
than prejudice based on race, creed, ethnicity, or economic status.
It all goes to show that this country is just not what it used to be.
What it used to be never was,
and what it is becoming
is even worse.
What it used to be never was,
and what it is becoming
is even worse.
{art editor: John Thompson}
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