To think everything is getting worse?

[francesfrankenfurter]

I watched the British Olympics opening ceremony this morning in 2012. It was only 10 years ago, but it seems a different world. It was such a hopeful time with a public mood of feeling proud of our country.

Now everything seems to be getting worse. The economy, cost of living crisis, crime, housing, corruption amongst MPs, poor public services, etc etc. Every day brings more gloom and doom and the public mood seems to be, things can only get worse.

AIBU

what medieval thinking

I'm not sure how you account for the Black Death then. Pretty much everyone in the country was Christian.

Really? You don't agree with me so you call me names?
Is that what Mumsnet is like then? I thought it was a forum for adults to discuss things. Not to act like twelve year olds with name calling.

That’s working well for the Americans.

YANBU @francesfrankenfurter.

There were no empty shelves in 2012.
The idea that we would have a sitting PM who has broke the law, lied to the queen, lied to the House, lied to other political parties, lied when drafting international business agreements and lied repeatedly to electorate, with no consequences would have been seen as damaging as it actually is.
War in Europe.
The effects of climate change were not being felt as severely.
We had enough people to do jobs.
Small businesses and hauliers weren't being hammered by Brexit.
Brexit hadn't divided the country.
NHS waiting lists were smaller.
We hadn't been through a pandemic.
Fewer folk needed food banks.

Optimism was in greater supply in 2012.

Depends, if you (not you personally OP) voted tory then no, everything isn't getting worse. Instead everything you voted for is coming to fruition and you're now enjoying the benefits of voting for a corrupt shower of shites.

If you didn't vote for tory then yes, things have stopped progressing and we're now on a downward spiral until the turkeys stop voting for Christmas.

Yes town centres everywhere look shit right now, but that is because everything is changing.
People are shopping online and many town centres are now becoming more food based.

The town I live in now was a very different place when I moved here 20 years ago. Back then the town centre was full of shops and the docks were full of industry. However you couldn’t get a decent cup of coffee or find anywhere to eat that wasn’t a bad pub or a dreadful chain.
Now the docks have reduced in size and the warehouse are now full of pubs and cafes. Many of the town centre shops have closed but lots of restaurants have opened.

Things change. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. We are in a time where we are in the middle of the change.

The 70s were a time of change and it was a shocker. The 80s were better. The 90s were good. We are just in the furrow right now. It’ll get better again.

That is not true. The European Convention on Human Rights (which is what I assume you mean as there is no EU human rights court) still doesn’t require states to recognise same sex marriage. There was no such case fought and lost by the UK. Name it and link if you think there was

@PriamFarrl the city I am in has had a good restaurant culture for many years. Now it is struggling with lots of chains instead. I don't want an identikit meal that has been ready frozen. I want local places with good quality food freshly made. But these kind of places seem to quickly close.
I think our town centre will become mainly housing. I don't see any other options.

The 80s were better

No they weren’t. Thatcher was destroying the North of England and the mining communities. Youth unemployment was through the roof, and life was pretty miserable in the North.

l think it was probably great in the south.

And we were living in the shadow of the Cold War fuelled by Thatcher and Reagan.

Less unpopular opinion, more offensive religious shite. Take a hike.

I agree things felt brighter in 2012. We have such a dreadful government - if you vote Tory, thanks a fucking bunch for giving us this lot - and that does mean we have a general air of corruption and decline.

And Brexit is obviously dog shit too, that hasn't helped.

I do think that the NHS is not delivering like it used to.
The problem with the NHS is that advances in medical knowledge, equipment , surgical techniques etc.. have become incredibly expensive due to vast, expensive research and technology that it has become an almost bottomless pit re funding.

So many simple procedures are being abandoned eg hernias, ear syringing, podiatry and varicose veins, to name but a few ( unless v. Serious/life threatening.)

NHS dentistry... where is it?

However, peoples expectations have changed.
So many young couples want a 3/4 bed house early in their relationship.

My parents and in-laws in the 60s and 70s had to rent a room or rooms, a flat or live with parents whilst starting a family in many cases.
Yet so many now moan about these people sitting on paid off properties and almost blame them .

12 years of Tory government...

Brexit, high cost of living, sexual assault/domestic violence increase but all time low conviction rate for these offences, Grenfell and resulting cladding/leasehold scandal, NHS services at breaking point and corrupt politicians/PM.

Covid obviously hasn't help but I think we are doing worse than many other similar EU countries.

It t’was ever thus.

it’s always gone in cycles. Reading a book about the Rebecca Riots in Wales in 1840’s.

A similar argument in favour of equal marriage rights was given by Mr Schermers in W. v. The United Kingdom.58 He found that the fundamental human right underlying Article 12 ECHR should also be granted to same-sex couples, even though that was not the issue in that case. He was of the opinion that the right to marry and to found a family is of paramount importance for the individual and denial of this right would mean condemnation to solitude and loneliness. Schermers advocates that there must be strong arguments to justify such condemnation. He also discusses the principle of proportionality and the point often made that public order would be disturbed if persons of the same sex could found a family, but doubts whether that is a valid argument because it would be unacceptable discrimination if only those who are able to procreate had the right to family life. Schermers finds very little on that side of the scale to justify the discrimination against the individual interest of same-sex couples. This is similar to the views of judges Rozakis, Spielmann and Jebens in Schalk and Kopf concerning Article 14 ECHR and the robust justifications needed.

https://www.elevenjournals.com/tijdschrift/ELR/2017/3/ELR201770100033006

https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/8851/Europe-and-LGBT-rights-in-the-UK/pdf/EuropeanddLGBTrightssinthee_UK.pdf

The second link is to show how much the European court of human rights has been instrumental in protecting lgbt people in the UK. It is very recently that lgbt people have had civil rights here.
That is one thing I don't see going backwards.

@WishILivedInThrushGreen I agree young peoples expectations are higher than when my generation was young. But our generation had brought them up with the idea things improve, not get worse.

The problem is that everyone got used to cheap restaurant food. Most people aren't prepared to pay what it actually costs. The staff were mainly low paid Eastern Europeans whose wages were topped up by benefits, so each time someone ate out, it was costing taxpayers.

Same with all the other services where people were working for minimum wage.

Lots of restaurants can't get staff or can't get good staff. I miss a few places I used to go and eat where the food was home made and tasty.
Lots of chains are just slightly pushed McDonald's. I go if meeting friends. But the food is not that good. Wagamama is probably about the best.
I know there are reasons for it such as brexit, I just find the loss of independent cafes and restaurants depressing. I have five restaurants or pubs within walking distance of where I live. All are chains.

I do agree with you but there are some things that people , today , think is their right...
Eg, owning a car, foreign travel, someone else to look after their children , endless cheap clothes, and so on.

The need for food banks is absolutely shocking and, that alone, speaks volumes about today's society.

Surely this is hugely dependent on where you live.
There are 7 cafes/pubs/restaurants within walking distance of my house and none of them are chains.
The 80s were cold (crap heating and insulation), unemployment was ridiculous and families at my school defauted on mortgages due to interest rates.
Child sexual abuse was rife and hidden.
My children are warmer, safer and have more opportunity than children of previous generations.

You often need a car to get to supermarkets, hospital appointments or work,

And if you work you need someone to look after your kids.

These things are needed for life, they aren’t special things.

2012 was four years after the financial crash

We’ve just had two major global shocks, first the pandemic, plus Ukraine war still ongoing

Tge latter is straining all countries right now in terms of cost of living

Hopefully for the Ukrainian people in four years things will be better for them, and being linked for everyone else

I think the trend is generally quite promising, look at all the countries England has invaded militarily throughout history, they’ve really really cut back on that sort of thing these days. That’s an improvement?