No whiffey, we were facing IRA bombs devestating London (give or take 5 years).
We also had the Special Patrol Group roaming London picking up anybody they felt like, we had the West Midlands
Serious Crime Squad fitting up anybody they felt like.
We had Bloody Sunday in Nortern Ireland with civilian marchers being shot by paratroopers.
It's nothing new, maybe our parents were just less panicky.
As for common sense, I loathe and despise this term. It carries with it a notion that there are values and notions
that we all carry in common. It promotes lazy thinking "surely that's just common sense?" it stops us from questioning whether what we are doing is right.
It's appealed to in the gutter press knowing that they can distort facts because few people check them out - like your McDonalds coffee case.
Did you ever check that out or did you just believe what the media told you?
If you'd checked it out you'd have discoverred that the coffee was so hot woman sufferred 7 days hospitalisation and required skin grafts.
You'd also have discoverred that it wasn't the first case and McDonalds had settled several previous cases out of court and required their restaurants to serve coffee at teast 20 degrees hotter than any other restaurant.
How's your common sense doing?
http://www.vanosteen.com/mcdonalds-coffee-laws uit.htm