Kids In The 1970S

[Ben1996]

Did gangs of kids ever bully and harass adults in their 20s back in the 1970s

[jennyjoan]

My cousin asked me the same question - was I ever bullied at school, work and I always say never, and I could have been with being deaf and quite pronounced lisp. Nobody every made fun of me.

Just one little lad many years earlier did say "why do you talk funny". Sorry Ben - that's not the answer to your question.

[Bobbisox1]

I’m not so sure they do that now Ben although I do think discipline is very fractured now

[jennyjoan]

I know in the 1960s/70s there was a family lived me (family home), dad and 3 sons were blind.

They were bullied and I did hear years later my twin brothers always looked out for them. One of the blind lads told me this.

[Buenchico]

>>> Did gangs of kids ever bully and harass adults in their 20s back in the 1970s

Yup! The gangs were called 'classes' and their victims were called 'teachers'. [Written by someone who started his teaching career in the 70s!].

On a slightly more serious note, I don't think that many of the kids I taught would have gone around, with their mates, deliberately harassing adults. However there were then, as there always have been, I'm sure, a few groups/gangs who would pick on people whom they deemed to be weak, vulnerable or 'different' in some way, whether they be pensioners, gays or whoever.

[Paigntonian]

Not in my neck of the woods, South Devon.

[Buenchico]

I've just realised that I'm posting on a thread started by someone who, according to his username, wasn't even born until a full quarter of a century after I started my teacher training. I'm now feeling very old!

[eve1974]

I was born 1974. Bullying always existed but nowhere near the level it is now. Respect for adults was instilled on my youth and I had never, ever heard of a 20yo bullied by kids

[Peter Pedant]

jesus no the 20 y olds used to bully US !

[Peter Pedant]

remember historically
that there are so many ex children who said they were bullied - -
that there arent/werent enough bullies to go around

[jno]

some bullies used to multitask, PP.

[Mozz71]

It wasn't kids that were the problem...

[burlyshirley]

No that I recall and they didn't carry machettes either !

[barry1010]

I do remember an elderly lady who lived in a near derelict house close to my school. She was certainly harrassed and experienced some vandalism from schoolchildren to the point she got the police involved.
Their excuse? They thought she was a witch.
I also witnessed schoolchildren verbally abusing an adult with Down's syndrome.
These things happened but they weren't reported in the news - no social media to endlessly repeat the same occurence either.

[woofgang]

I was a youngish adult in the 70's and I do remember one occasion when I had been to a pizza takeaway and a group of young teens tried to harass me and take my order as I was returning to my car...I did look young and its possible they thought I was in their age group. Anyway I sent them scuttling in short order. I remember being angry and surprised as we lived in a nice area....but yes apart from telling my husband when I got home, I didn't mention it.

[ummmm]

Not from what I remember.

[carolegif]

Most people have been bullied at sometime in their life. I went to 9 schools by the time I was 23, (father’s job moved him around!). I worked out that the best way to stop being bullied was not to let the bully know they had ‘got’ to you. Shrug your shoulders, make them laugh, walk away etc.
Nowadays though, with social media, it is relentless, not just in schooltime. A granddaughter is being bullied at the moment. She is very clever, so the bullies call her stupid and thick. Told her to tell them that it takes one to know one and walk away. She smiled and said that was what her mum had told her.

[carolegif]

By the time I was 13! Not 23! No glasses on!

[AuntPollyGrey]

The OP is not about being bullied by kids of your own age, its about kids bullying adults.

[AuntPollyGrey]

Kids bully adults now becasue they have no discipline in the home -they are the products of bullies and wasters. They know there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it.

I confronted 5x 14-15 year olds harrassing an autistic adult outside the co-op. They were throwing crisps at him and he ended up crouched down with his head covered. I told them off, and what I thought of them -they were genuinely shocked someone was telling them off and went away with their tails between their legs.

[barry1010]

I've just remembered a shameful, horrible time from my schooldays.
A newly qualified maths teacher, a young man, started his career at my school. He couldn't control the class, had a tendency to blush and had no confidence at all.
He lasted a term - weeks of verbal abuse, out of control kids running riot. I know he had a nervous breakdown and joined the civil service. Definitely a square peg in a round hole but he didn't deserve that. He must have dreaded going to work every day and of course his dream of being a teacher was shattered.