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?

God helps those who help themselves i.e. make some effort or try and bring something to the party. An old truth, but a truth nonetheless.

Glenn is that you?

I had to resort to strip washing when the boiler broke, it was bloody awful.

God helps those who help themselves i.e. make some effort or try and bring something to the party. An old truth, but a truth nonetheless

You choose to write this in the middle of a conversation about how disabled people might struggle with things? Wow.

My wife, born in 1941, still washes her hair in the kitchen sink. She takes showers, but washes her hair in the kitchen. Old habits die hard.

She still has her (English) wartime ration book, somewhere. I could maybe dig it out, if anyone is interested.

On the reality of social media now Vs the heavily controlled news in WWII, how much did the populace know about the way the war was going for the first few years, eg when things were really dire? I wonder if we were in a similar situation now where it looked as though we could lose, what morale would be like? Or would the government take steps to lock down the internet so information flows could be controlled?

There would be no controlling news in 2018, and there was rigid control between 1939 and 1945, in fact until the late 50s. The danger is that a hyperactive media inflate and spin trivial issues to the point that a whirlpool of fear is created. A bit less information might be a good thing.

That’s what I was wondering about @xingming, that with the flow of info now we would end up with a whirlpool pool of fear.
Would it not be technically possible to restrict internet access on a nationwide basis though?

I have always thought there was some sense behind the concept of need to know Tatty. It's not really about preventing people knowing, it's more often about avoiding panic in the wider population.

Anyone who thinks there would be no controlling of the news in 2018 is naive. Of course the government would take complete control of the media. Just as totalitarian regimes do currently around the world. All social media would be monitored if not shut down completely if ww3 was to break out. This would be to prevent leaking of information to the enemy as well as to prevent panic among the masses.

The UKs internet could be cut of from the rest of the world,I guess, cut the submarine cables and somehow stop the satellites from being used. But even in Kent you can get radio signals from France so I doubt you could completely cut us off.

The internet would still technically be able to work within the country, like a huge intranet, so we could still communicate with each other.

When we had our boiler replaced last year I had to strip wash for a few days. Took me right back to my childhood of once a week baths (Sunday night).

Not everyone coped well during WW2. Neighbour of Mums had a nervous breakdown during the intensive bombing of our home town. She stayed in psychiatric hospital the rest of her life, her children had to be farmed out to relatives as their father had already been killed in active service.

My granny had to leave the city they lived in. Her nerves were hammered by the bombing and she died relatively young just after the war. My auntie told me of the day she had to tell her, erroneously as it turned out, that my dad had been killed in a bombing of another place. This was based on the best info they had at the time. It nearly killed her. She had lost a child to a terrible accident shortly before the war and the thought that my Dad has been killed as well was too much.

That's so sad bellini. I often wonder how women coped with losing their sons, so many of them must have gone out of their minds with grief. BMW6, such a tragic story. Poor poor woman, and what a tragedy for her children.