Stop with the WW2 comparisons

[BecomeStronger]

If I see it one more time...

Yes, living through WW2 must have been terrible. Having waved a loved one off to a real (but much smaller) war I can't begin to imagine what it was like for mothers/wives waiting back home or what living in the Blitz was like. It must certainly be incomparable to anything we're going through now.

However, everything you've ever seen or read about that time references the camaraderie of the soldiers and the community spirit back home as being what got people through. It's exactly that which is being denied currently.

Of course the physical hardships aren't comparable but mentally, to face this (or that) alone without social contact is an entirely different proposition.

I was saying to my DSis this really annoys me for one thing the trauma of the war fucked up parents so much that they passed that onto their children there's huge evidence that this resulted in a peak in serial killers. link here
I also think it's used as a stick to beat the younger generation with, my mum does it and she was born after the war so didn't even know what it was like! Ok rant over

But the thing is you can’t compare lots of things. World War 1 was different to WW2. The flu pandemic of 1918 is different to Covid 19. The plague was different as well!

It’s more about resilience and however you look at it I can’t help but feel that we have more “help” in dealing with this situation than previous generations did with their own. Imagine how much worse this would be without the advances of science that we have today, social media, mobile phones, zoom, all the technology that facilitates so much day to day life. Even step back 30 years and by golly this would be so much harder.

@friendlycat

But the thing is you can’t compare lots of things. World War 1 was different to WW2. The flu pandemic of 1918 is different to Covid 19. The plague was different as well!

It’s more about resilience and however you look at it I can’t help but feel that we have more “help” in dealing with this situation than previous generations did with their own. Imagine how much worse this would be without the advances of science that we have today, social media, mobile phones, zoom, all the technology that facilitates so much day to day life. Even step back 30 years and by golly this would be so much harder.

I do something wonder if the "help" you put in quotation marks has made things worse. My mother, a wartime child, would certainly say so. Much better to put a brave face on it and get on with things than be talking about all your woes.

pollynextdoor DM is 92. There's still a lot of them about you know! Her two next door neighbours are 92 and 103 respectively.

DP’s 90 year old grandma said that at least the war was interesting - there was always something happening or something to do. Not just sitting around waiting for...what? And a good sense of camaraderie and community. She says this is worse than the war from that point of view.

People in their 90s were teens during the war. I personally don’t buy all the talk about camaraderie and community during the war. It’s war seen through rose tinted glasses and told by people with I suspect little memories of the war. Can’t believe people compare sitting at home staring at the telly with WW2.

I suppose in all fairness one can only take on board what somebody has to say having experienced both as we haven’t. So if those that have experienced both and think this is worse ok I hear that.

The only thing with that comparison is that they were much younger and more resilient during WW2, now they are really very old and likely a bit frail and their needs are different. But I do take on board the difference with isolation and they need family and comfort.

I agree OP, I'm sick of the comparison. On facebook it's generally used to make people who are having difficulties with the pandemic feel bad.

Agree on the fact that most ww2 survivors alive now were children. I hope DS never learned the number of times I have cried myself to sleep over lockdown (and in the NW, our period of full respite from restrictions was very short). Instead I have tried a narrative of "we get to spend time with each other and do interesting things in the house".

In 70 years time he will hopefully talk about this mostly being a time of baking, not imprisonment.

Maybe its being compared with the wrong war. In the time of the Cold War and the fear of nuclear annihilation the Protect and Survive leaflet told people to stay at home and build their own coffins

There was fear in both cases.

Agree on the fact that most ww2 survivors alive now were children

Yes My now 84 mum was working the fields at seven years old because my grandfather had to go into the Italian Army.

I think the analogy to war is not that its the same as ww2 but that this is the biggest event to hit this country since then in terms of impact on everyday life. We've been lucky not to have had anything this disruptive nationally since then until now.

I found this fact check about the general public’s response to the restrictions in WW2 fascinating fullfact.org/online/blitz-spirit-tweet/

@Hyperbolistic

I think our generation would not have coped at all well with WW2. Look at everyone moaning now about having to go to work if they're not furloughed about the amount they get paid if they are on furlough, that they're cold in ventilated rooms the list goes on. It's embarrassing.

Your comment reminded me of somebody who said how university students wouldnt get to meet their first loves as they had to SD and wear masks

Why is that funny? My 19yo DS isn't at uni but it's soon going to be approaching a year since he went anywhere to meet anyone (male or female).

I was saying to my DSis this really annoys me for one thing the trauma of the war fucked up parents so much that they passed that onto their children there's huge evidence that this resulted in a peak in serial killers

Sickof what about the trauma of the First World War? Those who survived the trenches suffered appallingly. Was there a peak in serial killers after that war?

@Andante57

I was saying to my DSis this really annoys me for one thing the trauma of the war fucked up parents so much that they passed that onto their children there's huge evidence that this resulted in a peak in serial killers

Sickof what about the trauma of the First World War? Those who survived the trenches suffered appallingly. Was there a peak in serial killers after that war?

There was a huge crime wave during the war and yes, some analysts do credit the war for the increase in violent crime, including serial killers during the 1970s and 80s, with perpetrators who were children during the war.

www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45324622

@BecomeStronger

Why is that funny? My 19yo DS isn't at uni but it's soon going to be approaching a year since he went anywhere to meet anyone (male or female).

It's not funny, it's absolutely horrible. My DD has a boyfriend she's allowed to sit next to at school (they're in Sixth Form) but not meet indoors at home. Next week she's out of school on a rota basis so she can meet him outside 2m apart like they did all summer. I would have been devastated if it had been illegal to kiss my boyfriend when I was 17.

And this whole "it's only for four weeks". Well it's not, is it?

@Andante57

I was saying to my DSis this really annoys me for one thing the trauma of the war fucked up parents so much that they passed that onto their children there's huge evidence that this resulted in a peak in serial killers

Sickof what about the trauma of the First World War? Those who survived the trenches suffered appallingly. Was there a peak in serial killers after that war?

I would imagine the WW2 would have hidden them. Can't find the link with the article but recall that this study looked at the American civil war as well as the Holocaust and found long lasting affects including heart disease and schizophrenia.

Threads like these make me realise how old I am in MN terms. My GM was born in 1898, lived until she was 103. She lived through both world wars and lived independently until she died. Nothing wrong with her or her memory. My DM likewise. It's the loss of independence they find horrifying. The elderly neighbours I mentioned above are the ones still going out shopping and meeting friends, they have a whole different perspective on life.

My dad always used to tell us about the time his aunt got a telegram saying her husband had been killed. Dad could remember all her friends and family going to her house to comfort and support her. Dad died on Sunday and due to the new lockdown, me and my sisters are not even supposed to be in the same house, let alone hugging, the same when mum died at the end of March. Not all aspects of WW2 were harder.

There seems to be an awful lot of sweeping generalisations in these conversations...'the elderly', 'the wartime generation', 'the young'...all are made up of individuals.
You can't attribute an attitude, a moral fortitude or a lack of one, to a whole group of people.

I'm so sorry for your terrible losses @trappedsincesundaymorn

@mynameisnotmichaelcaine it is awful and unfair. My 16 year old ds is in the same boat, but you can hardly compare it to the war when the young men 16+ (many younger) would probably have been off fighting for the country.