to think that people are getting nastier?

[ThisIsNotMyLife]

So many people these days seem to have a problem with some 'other' section of society. I've seen this in the news and in real life.

Immigrants, people on benefits, fat people, smokers, graduates, people who left school early, women who stay at home with the kids, women who don't stay at home with the kids, the rich, the poor....

It really does seem to be getting worse. Is it just me?

i think people are definitely less able to make decisions for themselves without having to get a concensus of opinion, on a whole range of trivial matters. Thats quite depressing really, especially when there is so much information literally at their fingertips

and i think we as a society suffer from the lack of shame about certain things. In days gone by, not doing things because you would be ostracised by the community kept people "in check" to a degree. Now we arent allowed to judge because they are bound to have x y and z and this that and the other, so people have no compunction in doing morally bad things

Edam, I agree.

Me too, the tide is defintely turning against the poor and vulnerable.

Yes, Takeresponsibility I thought exactly the same as I read through this thread.....

Pru stay where you are, it's horrible out here sometimes.

What med and worra said. I agree.

It's only been happening since MN got AIBU.

People seem so much more angry now. If you bump into someone in the street you risk being screamed at. My friend had a tiny little bump in her car, literally just touched the bumper of the car in front and no damage at all. The woman in the car in front leapt out and bellowed and screamed with her face 1 inch from my friend's about how she would 'fucking kill' my friend

I'm no stranger to vitriol. My life choices and circumstances are frequently subject to unsolicited scruitiny. I've developed a thick skin over the years though and I like to just live my life with my middle finger permenantly raised to anyone with any flippant remarks to make about it.

Actually driving instructors confirm that it is indeed worse now.

Recession + tory govt = people start behaving in a more intolerant and selfish manner

I agree with Edam

We live in a very selfish, 'me me me' society, but i think its always been like this. People seem to carry around a lot of attitude and I think there are a lot of people out there who are on the 'edge', ready to just explode.

I am a nice, pleasant person but I've def developed a 'look after my own' mentality recently, esp since having DC's. I wont be taken for a fool by anybody who is after my money (as estate agent and car dealer found out recently) It's getting nasty out there (jobs cuts, risk of homelessness increasing) and everyone has to look after their own interests.

However, I do think the economic situation will bring families closer together, as everyone realises that they need to stick close to their loved ones. It's going to be the only thing many people will have left to cling to.

nah I reckon it's the same as it's always been

It seems that there have always been a 'majority' or a very vocal minority of people who are 'nasty' - or ignorant, or willing to scapegoat other people about whom they understand nothing.
And it's often said that people need there scapegoats more in times of recession.
But I really think it's more remarkable that many people are willing to be so very, very lovely, and I actually think many MN threads show this. I think it's amazing how many posters will hang in there to support and help an OP, and how thoughtful they can be.
So there!

IT makes me sad , People putting bad feeling on others because they have a different colour skin , come from a different country , even down to people being nasty to others about how much money they have or dont have is just depressing , what happened to live and let live ,

Anti- immigration has always been :( anti Irish, Polish, Jewish all not so long ago and people were very vocal about their prejudices (posters in windows etc.)

Also, look at what used to happen to unmarried mothers, people with mental health issues and disabilities (asylums etc)

It's not worse, just different.

".. Think back a hundred years and we have people being sent to Australia for stealing a couple of potatoes .."

1911?

It's not people that have changed, it's the media availability, Go back 70 years and the people you came into contact with would have been a fraction of how many interactions you have nowadays, in person and online.

It only seems worst because people take advantage of these mediums to indulge the worst aspects of their natures.

Ignorance and fear of the unknown, it's a nurture thing and a protection thing, but most of all it is down to intellectual laziness and the refusal to think on am empathic level, it's a shame, and at times disgusting, but it's life.

I'm fully willing to accept that prior to say, the 1970's thinks were alot worse. However, I do think that we're sliding backwards. The prejudices may not be exactly the same, but they are just as harmful and they're rearing their ugly heads and it scares me. We're TTC and it's actually making me think twice about bringing a child into the world.

I agree with edam. The govt and the media are vv cosy.

Thisisnotmylife I agree.

Callisto - for example, Cameron's crap about tackling 'problem families' is an excuse for the papers so inclined to run benefits-bashing stories. There's no objective reason for Cameron to make a big hoo-ha over this - there are already schemes that aim to identify and support families that may struggle. And the truth is that Cameron has cut funding for those schemes, by cutting local authority and NHS budgets. The only reason the government announced it's checklist of problem families was to demonise poor people - if you look at the list, anyone who is poor or disabled is likely to tick enough boxes to be labelled as a problem. (And Cameron knows full well disability causes poverty.)

There are plenty of crap parents who are middle or upper class, who have jobs, but Cameron's not going on about them, is he?

There is less violence than there used to be. No death penalty or corporal punishment. We live in a democracy. No summary justice. Look at this in a historic context. Agree with Callisto. In fact, Stephen Pinker's latest book argues that the world has become a more peaceful place over time - he's analysed all the wars and everything. YABU, so there!

I have to agree with Edam. The media make u-turns at the same time the Goverment do almost every single time. It's hard to say who is worst most of the time.

Yes that the media and government is getting nastier - specifically, the Tory part of the government, who can now be as nasty as they've always been.

But to find people who are not, you just have to look at o
the frothers thread
and blog toomanycuts.blogspot.com/ :)