How (or even would) people cope?

[OWWO]

I’m a relative newbie, and this post came about after a conversation with my elderly mum because of events at my work. I am interested in other people’s thoughts.

AIBU to think that, if people today had to live through an event like WW2, a lot of them wouldn’t be able to cope with the restrictions, rationing etc.

I work for a charity that helps those who are homeless, escaping domestic violence, or on a low income and, while 99% of the clients are genuinely grateful for what we do; lately we’ve had some who have been a little, how to put this delicately... entitled and grabby, not appreciating being told that something isn’t possible, no matter how many ways they ask or demand. Some even tell us to stuff it and walk out!

Am I wrong to think there there is a definite sense of entitlement (and an unwillingness to try to help one’s self) out there in the world today?

People would cope because they would have to. My parents were the wartime generation. They went through shit so we didn't have to. And so did their parents.

That generation didn’t have the luxuries, nor indeed the instant gratification our generation (and especially the younger generation) have.

They went by “make do and mend”, not bin it and go to Primark.

They didn’t have vast selections of cheap, fast food, cheap clothes and shoes, or indeed the opportunities we have either.

They got on with it because they had to, it was get on with it or starve.

Now? Pffft. There would be protests outside Waitrose.

We would do what we had to, it's a bit unfair to compare the two times. There are different pressures now.

I wonder if it is the lack of skills in today’s world that our parents and grandparents took for granted; cooking from scratch, budgeting, repairing clothes and shoes...

@YeTalkShiteHen that’s kind of the way I feel...

I agree there is probably a lack of skills these days. Sewing, darning, growing veg etc. I saw a post recently bemoaning the fact they couldn't order online shopping and have it delivered in the next hour or summat. Queueing for necessities wouldn't go down at all well.

Don't people know how to cook from scratch, how to budget and how to mend clothes? Surely most do. There has always been people who don't or won't.

It’s a difficult one, because we owe the lives we lead today to that generation. But I also think that many of their generation and the one after theirs (my parents) must despair at the disposable, instant gratification culture of now.

Tbh I do a bit too. Everyone is so determined to be right, nobody listens to anyone. It seems a very selfish culture too, me me me, I I I, no community feel.

It would be a big shock but people would adapt.

A lot more of the demanding people would cope if they felt there was a really good reason to. They would stop grumbling and get on with it after a while.

But compared with 80 years ago, there are also more people around now who couldn't, e.g. limited eating due to ASD, multiple allergies, special diets to manage other medical conditions and so on. Many of them wouldn't have survived this long in the 1930s.

@huggybear perhaps I am... I guess I am just looking at all the wars going on in the world today and seeing that it kind of ‘levels the playing field’... if people don’t have the skills to adapt... ???

I could knock a meal up from leftovers and stuff in the cupboard, but I cannot sew for toffee.

The world has changed so much that it's hardly comparable.

100 or so years ago most people lived close to their families and travelled a short distance to work. Now if fuel was restricted, for example, nobody could get to work. This would be ok for WFH sorts but the economy would tank. Hospitals simply couldn't function because a good number of staff couldn't get in.

People have more stuff. They'd notice not being able to have things. Very few people can mend clothes, and that's nobody's fault. It just isn't a thing that's done any more. We'd learn eventually.

I often think about this. There'd have to be some kind of rationing app on your phone (or a card to scan if you didn't have a smart phone). Food would have to be categorised according to how it would be rationed, and it would be rejected at the till if, when scanned, your account showed you'd had your lot.

How people would react is a different question. Pre WW2 there was far less processed food around, so things like spam, powdered egg etc. were a shock to the system. Nowadays rationing might mean living off Pot Noodles.

I agree that there are different pressures now.

There are fewer jobs for those with very basic qualifications, and if you can get an entry level job- manual labour etc- it is unlikely to pay well enough for you to buy a house or even rent anywhere you could have a family in.

My parents are baby-boomers and say how incredibly lucky they feel to have been young at the time they were.

My grandma and granddad lived through WW2- he fought. She was a classroom teacher and he was a car mechanic. They owned their own home and sent my mum to private school. Both of those things would probably be out of reach of a young teacher and mechanic these days.

I'm sure there were plenty of selfish / entitled people around even in WW2. People got on with life as best they could because they had no choice. If WW3 started, we would do the same

People are smart. They are perfectly capable of adapting to their environment and circumstances.

When you say "wouldn't be able to cope" do you mean that the streets would be lined with the corpses of those who couldn't get a Costa coffee and had died of thirst/caffeine withdrawal? Or that they would moan for a bit before getting over it?

If WW3 started, we would do the same

If WW3 started it would likely be nuclear so no coping required. We’d not last long.

I really appreciate people posting, hearing other people’s thoughts and viewpoints - thank you

I thing it's high time we went back to the days where we lived within our means, stop wasting, mend and make do. We live in a culture of want and greed, and we aren't a happy bunch with our lot in life.

Perhaps back in the war there was an "everyone's in it together" mentality. Rather than people feeling it only affects them, whilst they see other people everyday living the life they've left behind.

And perhaps people were supporting others, instead of referring to survivors of homelessness and domestic abuse as "entitled and grabby".

@c3pu I guess I mean that for some people it would be a shock to the system and that they might not have the ‘skills’ (practically or emotionally) to cope

Yes it would be probably be a much greater adjustment for people today than the 30's/40's because our modern day lives are obviously very different to how they were then.
I don't think we wouldn't cope though, in times of crisis people come together brilliantly (I know that my city alone proved that just last year with the Arena attack). People will probably start getting to know neighbours again, and help out with teaching those that don't know how to do basics such as cook from scratch, men's and make do with clothes/furniture etc. A few at the beginning may well try being entitled and grabby, but I'm sure it would very soon be realised that it will get them nowhere, so eventually people will just get on with the things quite simply because they have to and it will just become a new reality for everyone.

Of course rationing wouldn't be pot noodles. The processed stuff would be first to go. I remember reading Housewife, 49 or whatever it was called and was amazed at her descriptions of food provisioning. My fussy eater would probably die of shock.

I feel a Reality TV show coming on!