What did she actually mean?

[GinUser]

I was bullied into spending time in the UK in late November/early December last year to "babysit" my mother.
She came out with a lot of odd statements, bit one of them was "people don't know their place any more".
What did she mean?
Should add that she is 88 and grew up in a house with "staff".

She thinks she's better than the people around her and is surrounded by the help who are not acting the way she thinks they should. like servants dong her bidding

She meant that she thinks people from "the lower orders" should not try to do things that she thinks should be exclusive to those if a higher social standing.

Context woukd be helpful but I would imagine examples she would give might be something like the daughter of a roadsweeper studying to be a Doctor (she should not aim higher than a nurse) or a divorced actress aiming to marry into the royal family.

Once these objectives are achieved it suddenly mysteriously always seems to become acceptable.

Bullied into babysitting your Mother!!! What an awful statement! If she brought you up,surely you would know what she meant?

It means she's a judgemental snob.

you'll have to ask her yourself rather than have internet strangers guessing for you.

I think it's oblivious what she means. What do you think she means?

Obvious

Bullied into babysitting your Mother!!! What an awful statement! If she brought you up,surely you would know what she meant?

Not everyone has a nice mother. Doesn't sound like the OP does.

Maybe she's frustrated by the falling standards of service? If you are being paid for doing a job your 'place' is to bloody do it properly-many people seem to fail to grasp that.

Perhaps she means that people seem oh so sure of their rights but abdicate their responsibilities.

She could be talking about servants not bowing or a black woman not giving up her bus seat or any other kind of nastiness but no one here knows what she meant.

What a strange question.

She means that she prefers the stronger cheeses, eg some Parmesan rather than Edam.

Did the 'help' talk to her? Most improper

Perhaps she was commenting on people who get confused about different types of flatfish?

Reggae....no they don't, but being bullied into it sounds like he may not have taken his turn up to now (possibly being bullied by fed up siblings?)..that's the way I read it. "People don't know that place anymore" isn't an uncommon statement. I would expect his Mother to have used it before?!

She came out with a lot of odd statements, bit one of them was "people don't know their place any more".
What did she mean? Bloody hell, you are presumably at least 50 yourself OP. How can you not know what she means? She's probably been coming out with things of this ilk for years. Or do you not read books, watch TV dramas, movies? Listen to plays, read the newspapers? I'm sorry but it just seems so peculiar that you need to ask this!

General lack of knowledge about flatfish lately.

It is a class thing. Have you seen the romnie barker ronnie corbett and john cleese sketch on twtwtw - I know my place

Huh?

You sound as horrible as your Mam

It's apparently quite common to revert back to earlier reminiscing times as you age. An elderly aunt of my friend total forgot English which she had spoken for 40 years and could only communicate in her native tongue on Flemish!