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?

Isn’t the whole point of coping that it’s a response to a difficult situation?

Why would people live they’re they’re “coping” when they don’t have to.

Very few people would be unable to deal with a situation if they really had to.

OP I think you might have a spot of compassion fatigue. I think it's worth bearing in mind in your line of work you will rarely be seeing people at their best, or being their best self. You may feel like the people who are accessing your service are the ones who still have the get up and go to do so, and the really desperate people are overlooked, and feeling a bit demoralised about whether what you do is valuable. Maybe take a holiday and destress and come back to it with renewed energy when you're feeling better?

OP I agree with you. I've worked in a charity and got fed up with the people who were capable of working but had never worked, had no intention of ever working and who got angry when they we couldn't or wouldn't give them what they asked for. They were entitled and grabby. As to what would happen if we had a war? I dread to think. I know people who throw clothes out if a hem comes down or a button comes off rather than mend them.

Fascinating thread!
Agree with those who point out we often only hear the mystique that has been built up around WW2. My dad was 2 weeks old in Portsmouth when the war broke out. His mum was 45, grandad was 65 and had lost a leg in WW1. They were bombed out 4 times. My dads next oldest sibling, who was 4 when the war began, suffered such bad ptsd that he never came right. My grandmother ended up caring for him till she died at age 90.

Society and how it is structured has changed a lot since ww2 but people haven't changed that much. People were some homogenous lump whistling to keep their peckers up back then.

I think alot of it has to do with no social media or ways of contacting each other really. News spread slowly and the media was highly edited.

People today wouldnt stand for that and demand answers.

All my grandparents said the war is romanticised so much.

My grandfather was evavuated and abused and basicly used as cheap free labour with him and his brother being badly beaten daily. My poor grandma then having to bring them back to the city balancing. It wasnt as safe but at least they where being looked after.

My grandma got trapped in a house that was bombed. Woke up to find the place looted.

My other grandfather got conscripted down the mines and said he got so much abuse for it.

My other grandma had a friend who got pregnant by an american GI and got banished to an unmarried mothers home. And had an awful time of it.

Sexual assult was also previlent in the black out apparently.

This is just things ive been told by my family. So I am sure everyone elses is the same.

So this romanticised image of it. Is wrong.

People didnt cope at all. They just got on with it because they had to. People now days are more woken so wouldnt stand for it.

It feels strange to write ‘rose tinted glasses’ in the context of living through wartime but I’m pretty sure that families living through it - while having the skills and adaptability to get through such a tough time - did have points where they screamed and shouted about how bloody unfair it was to have their loved ones far from home (or lost) and to have to make do with what they had.

Thanks Babdoc, I knew the convoys ran the gauntlet of the U boats but didn't know they'd supplied such a large percentage of the food. So much in WW3 scenario would depend on it. If there was not the capability or political will to obtain and distribute enough food then society would break quickly.

My MIL died last year and I had to clear her 4 bed home. Beautiful furniture, dining table and chairs, beds that hadn't been slept in, lovely coffee tables and a gorgeous mahogany dresser. I couldn't get rid of this stuff for love nor money despite it all being immaculate, even the charity shops wouldn't take it because "no-one wants dark furniture anymore" and they suggested I chopped it up for firewood.

And, IME, while there are people who want vintage furniture like this, they usually live in small flats and terraces (often because they are working in arts / charity / public sector) and this sort of furniture is too big for their homes. That was the case for my gran's furniture, which I would have liked, but it was unwieldy - other relatives had to keep saying this until I accepted it, and they were right. I'm not sure the wardrobe could .have even been got into the bedroom.

As Anouk said there were lots of things not talked about and not reported i the press. How many people on here are aware of strikes in the early days of the war?

The furniture thing's interesting. My parents set up home late in life, having always lived in married quarters. All their furniture was mid century. I've kept all the Ercol, my son has their table and chairs. Both his and my friends are deeply envious. It all comes down to fashion in the end.

I knew someone 20 years ago who had "Brown furniture" container shipped to the States for resale.

I guess the large population with generaly bigger family homes created the market.

Re the imported food via wartime convoys - the U.K. now has much better food security and the figures are reversed. We produce 76% of our own food and import the rest, instead of only 30% during the war.
I think the problem back then was that Britain was the crucible of the Industrial Revolution, and traded manufactured goods for food with the largely agricultural countries of the Empire. Food security was a big issue during and after WW2.

"They promised us homes fit for heroes.

Instead we have heroes fit for homes"

John Sullivan Only Fools and Horses.

@HelenaDove sadly that’s still true today

YY Hen. That line was Grandads line from the episode when he Del and Rodney were trying out a nuclear shelter.

I remember that one!

Times change Progress is meant to happen.

e.g. take the heatwave I dont think many would cope with just standpipes now. Or stand for it.

a. because the water bill is one of the bills that many are going without food to pay for.

b. did Buckingham Palace have to have standpipes in 1976. I think people would at least question it now. The Royal Family arent as revered as they were back then and if we were to be truly all in it together.............

c. people tend to shower/bathe every day now rather than once a week. would employers be happy with their employees turning up without having showered. I know some colleugues wouldnt by the previous threads on this very board.

d. hygiene/health and safety laws have changed/been brought in since the last century.

e. There are more hair and beauty salons and gyms now than there were in the 1970s and they need water to operate. So a water shortage would affect the economy much more now i would think.

Ive used the heatwave and its possible effects as my example but WW2 really wasnt a romantic experience like its portrayed in Goodnight Sweetheart.

People generally would cope but there would be some who couldn't. That's life.

We accept what is now and would be foolish not to make the most of it. It's not all plain sailing but things are better than they were.

Harking back to previous ages isn't helpful at all. I sometimes look at old films or documentaries that deal with war time and rationing etc and think, "Thank goodness I wasn't around then". I'm extremely thankful to be an adult in our society at this time. Doesn't mean I wouldn't have coped though.

Helenadove just because people only bathed once a week in a previous era didn't mean nobody washed between baths. A stripwash at the sink each day was the norm. Not everyone was smelly.

A stripwash at the sink each day was the norm

I don’t think many who’ve never had to make do would be happy with that now though, do you?

My grannie was fairly well off during the war and still got washed using a bowl and jug. It affected people from all walks of life, and all income brackets.

If something which affected us all in the same way was to happen again, I’m not convinced we have enough sense of community to cope .

And how would disabled people cope with strip washing at the sink?

Dont forget a lot of disabled people were in institutions back then so it wouldnt have been an issue.

It's more comfortable and less frustrating than weak trickly showers as a way of using less water (less water than an extravagant power shower).

I think it's something a lot of people just assume would be awful, because they haven't really tried it. In summer especially it's really refreshing. And people in Britain might not be as used to flannels as they used to be. (Apparently Americans like washcloths.)

DH still uses a flannel

I bought a sponge recently from Superdrug but havent used it yet.

I use those body puffs sometimes but they have to drip dry which is a PITA.

Different for people with some types of mobility issue, but when there's a health condition where tiredness is a factor, it can be less tiring than being surrounded by all the hot steam from a shower, and you don't feel like you have to do everything in one go the way you do in a shower because now you've got into it.