Serious- Were the 90's in America legitimately idyllic?

[Goo Punch 4275]

I'll try and keep this short, and then open the floor to all opinions. For me, the 90's were the 50's of the latter 20th century- it was post- Cold War, pre 9/11 USA; everything was bright, and sunny, and neon, and 7th Heaven, and Tool Time, and Disney, and Nickelodeon, and Friends, and Barenaked Ladies, and so on and so forth. It was a time where the vibe of the country was positive and wholesome. Relatively speaking anyway.

For example-  our movies/TV were far more innocent and far less bloody and/or graphic; our pop music was dominated by Mickey Mouse Club alumni and was more wholesome and less overtly sexual or violent or crude; TV was dominated by family sitcoms which espoused family values and always had a happy ending; there was far less blood, and guts, and violence, and sex, and rape, and drugs than there is today, and when they did show up in media it was not so...horrifyingly accurate, let's say. In the 90's pop culture was largely more wholesome than it has been in previous/following decades. It really was a different time in my opinion.

So- what's your opinion? For me, post- Cold War, pre- 9/11 America was totally different from any other time since I've been alive. For me it was a more wholesome, innocent, idyllic, optimistic time than any other decade I've been alive. No internet, no smart phones, kids riding their bikes and being outside all day, kids having more independence to be out on their own all day, no 24/7 news cycle dominated by school shootings and police-on-minority- violence, kids and parents both having less fear of the world around them, and just an overbearing sense of security, and wholeness, if not prosperity, something that imo we see much less of today. But then again I'm only 34 years old, going on 35. I'd be interested to hear the perspective of those both older and younger than I am. And I now cede the floor to them. 

[Newdoc 3433]

You’re describing “nostalgia” and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that but think about your age at the time. I’m a decade older than you and for me, I’ll take the 80’s. But that’s my paradigm. It’s easy to romanticize your childhood and teenage years if you had a relatively good life.

 

[South Austin 52171]

What he said about the 80s and personal nostalgia.

[GottaB 591]

Yeah. I see where you are coming from but definitely a narrow view. I think of crack cocaine and grunge music. Not exactly Disney.

As for military, I remember that we were always intervening somewhere. Libya, Panama, operation desert storm, Bosnia, Mogadishu. It felt like we were team America world police and someone was always taking pot shots.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Everyone looks thru their own lens of experience. I would say the 90's was the last era before technology completely took over our daily lives, and became so intimately engrained. 

Edited May 25, 2019 by Onboard 2.0

[Leamas 29]

Speaking from personal experience, the 1990s were to me the best period in human history to be a child. On the old board, I started a thread in Nasty's facetiously dedicated to 90s kidz and 90s nostalgia. You can revisit its glory here.

[Guest]

I was raising 2 kids, trying to figure out how to be a husband, and working my ass off to lay a foundation for my career.

I am reaping the benefits now...LOL.   In all honesty, much of the 90's is just a freaking blur to me.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

2 minutes ago, Leamas said:

Speaking from personal experience, the 1990s were to me the best period in human history to be a child. On the old board, I started a thread in Nasty's facetiously dedicated to 90s kidz and 90s nostalgia. You can revisit its glory here.

Not even close for kids. Growing up in the 60's 70's and before were all better (personal opinion and perspective of course). By the time the 90's rolled around you couldn't have those "childhood mistakes" without potentially fucking up your life going forward. The 24 hour news cycle has made life, and the world smaller. In the 60's and 70's you could fuck up as a kid, and move on.

By the 90's a toy gun could get you in serious trouble as a kid, bringing an aspirin to school would get you suspended, pantsing your buddy in gym class would get you a sexual predator mark on your record.  

[Chet Steadman 940]

9 minutes ago, Leamas said:

Speaking from personal experience, the 1990s were to me the best period in human history to be a child. On the old board, I started a thread in Nasty's facetiously dedicated to 90s kidz and 90s nostalgia. You can revisit its glory here.

+rep.  That was one of the best threads on Shaggy.  Mind starting a new one here again? 

[Pato del Muerto 52365]

You were a kid in the 90s derka. That’s why everything seemed rosey. 

[Deej 76599]

Gulf War, Rodney King and the L.A. Riots, O.J. Simpson, The Menedez Brothers, JonBenet Ramsey, Kurt Cobain blowing his brains out, and the Columbine shootings.

Oh, and the Barenaked Ladies.

 

 

 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Just now, Deej said:

Gulf War, Rodney King and the L.A. Riots, O.J. Simpson, The Menedez Brothers, JonBenet Ramsey, Kurt Cobain blowing his brains out, and the Columbine shootings.

Oh, and the Barenaked Ladies.

 

 

 

So there was at least one good deed in the weary world.

[EMAWesome 101]

1 hour ago, Goo Punch said:

I'll try and keep this short, and then open the floor to all opinions. For me, the 90's were the 50's of the latter 20th century- it was post- Cold War, pre 9/11 USA; everything was bright, and sunny, and neon, and 7th Heaven, and Tool Time, and Disney, and Nickelodeon, and Friends, and Barenaked Ladies, and so on and so forth. It was a time where the vibe of the country was positive and wholesome. Relatively speaking anyway.

For example-  our movies/TV were far more innocent and far less bloody and/or graphic; our pop music was dominated by Mickey Mouse Club alumni and was more wholesome and less overtly sexual or violent or crude; TV was dominated by family sitcoms which espoused family values and always had a happy ending; there was far less blood, and guts, and violence, and sex, and rape, and drugs than there is today, and when they did show up in media it was not so...horrifyingly accurate, let's say. In the 90's pop culture was largely more wholesome than it has been in previous/following decades. It really was a different time in my opinion.

So- what's your opinion? For me, post- Cold War, pre- 9/11 America was totally different from any other time since I've been alive. For me it was a more wholesome, innocent, idyllic, optimistic time than any other decade I've been alive. No internet, no smart phones, kids riding their bikes and being outside all day, kids having more independence to be out on their own all day, no 24/7 news cycle dominated by school shootings and police-on-minority- violence, kids and parents both having less fear of the world around them, and just an overbearing sense of security, and wholeness, if not prosperity, something that imo we see much less of today. But then again I'm only 34 years old, going on 35. I'd be interested to hear the perspective of those both older and younger than I am. And I now cede the floor to them. 

I loved watching those Mickey Mouse Club episodes with Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor.

[Armybrat 40755]

Late 1940s.... USA #1 in most everything after kicking ass in WWII, nobody else had the Bomb, our dads were finally home, Harry Truman was President, Spike Jones Orchestra, Abbott & Costello, Martin & Lewis....... things were great (for little white kids)

[Goo Punch 4275]

27 minutes ago, Deej said:

Gulf War, Rodney King and the L.A. Riots, O.J. Simpson, The Menedez Brothers, JonBenet Ramsey, Kurt Cobain blowing his brains out, and the Columbine shootings.

Oh, and the Barenaked Ladies.

 

 

 

ORLY?

 

[Thatguy 8541]

80's were better than the 90's by a longshot. 90's crack was in full swing. Gang warfare. Gulf war. AIDS.

[Guest]

Cowboys SB wins...

[Par4 146]

8 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

80's were better than the 90's by a longshot. 90's crack was in full swing. Gang warfare. Gulf war. AIDS.

Agree. AIDS was kind of a big deal. Emergence of grunge added a big depressing wet blanket on top of all. 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

4 minutes ago, Par4 said:

Agree. AIDS was kind of a big deal. Emergence of grunge added a big depressing wet blanket on top of all. 

AIDs was an 80's thing wasn't it ?  I remember having lots of discussions/debates about it in college.

[Par4 146]

Just now, Onboard 2.0 said:

AIDs was an 80's thing wasn't it ?  I remember having lots of discussions/debates about it in college.

It was a gay thing in the 80's. In the 90's it became a thing for all of us. 

 

[Your Mom 4799]

At any given time, the previous decade was awesome, the one before it sucked royally, and the one before it was an absolute classic. Then each decade slides into the place of the next one as another decade passes. 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Just now, Par4 said:

It was a gay thing in the 80's. In the 90's it became a thing for all of us. 

 

Yeah true to a greater extent, but it had already started affecting straight people by then. Arthur Ashe contracted AID's in the early 80's thru a transfusion. Magic Johnson came out in 91 which means unless he was on the down Low he contracted it in the late 80's at least thru hetero sex. 

It was full blown for sure by the 90's, but it was already crossing over in the 80's, and was a major topic of discussion among the non married set.

[Helobious 9490]

I was born in the 90s, don’t remember much. I know the entire country had stupid high homicide rates. I lost a 14 year old cousin to gang violence & he wasn’t even a gang member. I know UT football didn’t really do so hot. 

But 3 yankee WS titles is what defines it for me. It was a great decade hands down.

[troph 24592]

I didn’t see any bare naked ladies until the late 90’s so hard to call the whole decade idyllic.

[Parliament 14149]

The peace divided after beating the Russians. We just won the Gulf War.  Internet.  Life was good.  Movies and music were a bit overrated though; particularly at the end.

[SDG 3319]

1 hour ago, Deej said:

Gulf War, Rodney King and the L.A. Riots, O.J. Simpson, The Menedez Brothers, JonBenet Ramsey, Kurt Cobain blowing his brains out, and the Columbine shootings.

Oh, and the Barenaked Ladies.

 

 

 

I see all of that and will raise you Napster and internet porn.  The 90's were a great time to grow up.  

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

33 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I was born in the 90s, don’t remember much. I know the entire country had stupid high homicide rates. I lost a 14 year old cousin to gang violence & he wasn’t even a gang member. I know UT football didn’t really do so hot. 

But 3 yankee WS titles is what defines it for me. It was a great decade hands down.

Jeebus H. Yankees wins made it for you ?? I feel for ya pal  : )  (long time suffering O's fan here). At least the Cowboys were relevant for me.

[Nueces River Rat 5531]

I graduated from high school in 90 and undergrad in 95.   Yea I farted around and changed majors and all the shit for a year and we didn't have all the advanced/dual credit shit kids have today.   I guess I got a good view on both the 80's and 90's vs some who might have graduated from high school later in the decade who might have been a little immature to make good observations about the 80's.  Of course I think the 80's were great because no one really gave a shit about your politics or anything else.  You could agree to disagree and still be friends.  Thanks Facebook and Twitter for helping to totally fuck that up today.  

Anyhow I guess the 90's look like good times now.   The Soviet Union was gone.   The now internet/computer thing was kicking into high gear later in in the decade.   The GOP gained strength on local through Federal offices, but compared to the cluster fuck in DC now, both parties worked together and got some significant stuff done.   On the downside, the seeds for tabloid style Journalism began to sprout thanks to the TV trials noted above, etc.   

BUT I will say the 90's were sort of like the roaring 20's and the Ike years of the 50's where we all thought things were humming along and then boom shit hit the fan the next decade.   The 20's the mojo was a rising stock market,  isolationism because we just fought a bloody war in Europe and everything was good until the meltdown on Wall Street which helped start the Great Depression which really didn't end until WWII.   The 50's we were all on the same page and were beginning to face and try to reconcile some Civil Rights issues and it was carrying over into the 60's.  Then JFK got shot and Vietnam occurred and those baby boomer who were going through their teens during the 50's and early 60's went ape shit and the mid to the late 60's into the 70's were total chaos with Watergate as icing on the cake.  I mean people talk about chaos now, talk to your parents or grandparents about that era and you might think today is just a walk in the park.

The 90's, the seeds of 9/11 were being planted starting with the first attempt at bombing the WTC and a few other things we deferred on dealing with OBL and his organization.   Same thing with what led to the financial crisis in 2008.   Bank regulations were changed to allow pretty much anyone who could sign their name to borrow for a new home and a few other things in the investment side which came back to bite (see Bears Stearns).  

Funny thing now looking back after writing this is seems like when we feel like things are a total mess, we actually were OK and look back at those time being better.   Everyone thought during the 80's we were going to blow up the world with the Soviet Union.  Now my kids think the decade I grew up in was pretty bad ass.  Go figure but I kind of agree.  I think one thing they like is we grew up without the instant communication thing.

 

[Homercles 10205]

Born 1980, a good read: http://joelhousman.com/blog/2016/5/23/the-star-wars-generation

I think that comment is a little off about last generation to own a car, etc...but it’s certainly true that coming of age during the latest technological transformation helps me be wary of it and not really fall into the trap.

The 90s were a defining one for me, so naturally I look at it fondly...like Walsh says at the end of the Eagles documentary (paraphrasing) ‘at the time your life seems like total insanity and chaos, things just happening to you...then you look back and it appears like a finely crafted novel’.

90’s we were

Dad went active duty USAF so started living the brat life

Rotating back from Incirlik in 96, having lived in Turkey for 3 years: learned the world isn’t full of Americans.

Picking my undergrad: made lifelong friends at OSU and through whom I met my wife

Dawn of the Internet...PCs went from a curiosity and game machine, to something much more involved. I had to really learn how it works, including the networking stack and troubleshooting things like IRQ ports, DIP switches, winsock performance, etc. that set the stage for my career starting in tech Support but ended up as a good job as a PM.

...but fuck y’all for leading me to reminisce and remember that I’ve been out of undergrad almost as long as my entire life was leading up to it.

[Deej 76599]

At least Waco has stayed the same...

[Beau Vine 54018]

1 hour ago, Thatguy said:

80's were better than the 90's by a longshot. 90's crack was in full swing. Gang warfare. Gulf war. AIDS.

I don't think you remember the first couple of years of the 80s.

[achooloco 1065]

No. Longer post later but no. Above post in nostalgia spot on. If you thought it was idyllic  then you were too young to really have experienced life at that age. 

[Hanrahan 1306]

Not even close for kids. Growing up in the 60's 70's and before were all better (personal opinion and perspective of course). By the time the 90's rolled around you couldn't have those "childhood mistakes" without potentially fucking up your life going forward. The 24 hour news cycle has made life, and the world smaller. In the 60's and 70's you could fuck up as a kid, and move on.
By the 90's a toy gun could get you in serious trouble as a kid, bringing an aspirin to school would get you suspended, pantsing your buddy in gym class would get you a sexual predator mark on your record.  

Lol wut. I was a 90s kid and we pants people all the time, had B.B. gun wars in public and I don’t recall seeing or hearing about any issues with otc drugs at school.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

15 minutes ago, Hanrahan said:

 

Lol wut. I was a 90s kid and we pants people all the time, had B.B. gun wars in public and I don’t recall seeing or hearing about any issues with otc drugs at school.

 

I'm sure it depends on where you grew up.  By the 90's it got pretty upright here in suburban Va.   the son pansted his bud and we had to go visit the school to get the ridiculous sexual predator marks removed from his record.  Saw kids get expelled from school all the time for having prescription drugs and aspirin in their book bags.   The son played airsoft with his neighborhood  buds and the cops were called a couple times.  They were back  in the woods and people (uptight housewives) still called the cops.  We ran thru  the streets among houses with guns that looked more real than the real thing at times .Had the gym teacher falling down laughing cause a friend got pantsed by one of the guys in our gym class .  That was the 70's very early 80's.

[El Diablo 4232]

The 90's had its low points too, Derka. Destruction of Sarajevo. Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia. Rwandan genocide. First Gulf War and growth of CNN and the 24 hour news. Rise of the Taliban, Al Qaeda and Rush Limbaugh. Selena, Tupac, Biggie Smalls. A/S/L ?

[Parliament 14149]

The 90's lasted more than 10 years too.  They started in 1988 with "Straight out of Compton," and ended on September 10, 2001.  And 13 years in, that "decade" had gotten REAL stale.  By 2001 we had Limp Biscuit and Toby Keith.

[JimmyJames 12271]

The 90s were great because back then there was no way for my girlfriend at the time and future wife to send me text messages or even call me on a cell phone. She had to settle for angry voice mail messages on my apartment phone instead. It was paradise on earth. 

[F250 28716]

I never cared for all of the 60's nostalgia back in the 90's.

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3861]

I think there’s some truth to it.  Post Cold War victory glow.  Internet infancy when the future seemed wide open.  Big economic expansion.  And the best movies.  

[WBT 20443]

21 minutes ago, JimmyJames said:

The 90s were great because back then there was no way for my girlfriend at the time and future wife to send me text messages or even call me on a cell phone. She had to settle for angry voice mail messages on my apartment phone instead. It was paradise on earth. 

It wasn't a voicemail then, it was just a message on your answering machine.

[Thatguy 8541]

It wasn't a voicemail then, it was just a message on your answering machine.

I had a pager in the 90's. Pulling up to a payphone to call a girl back at 2am was a must.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[JimmyJames 12271]

5 minutes ago, WBT said:

It wasn't a voicemail then, it was just a message on your answering machine.

Exactly. My 2019 self made an error on that one. 

Even better. 

[JimmyJames 12271]

3 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

I had a pager in the 90's. Pulling up to a payphone to call a girl back at 2am was a must.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

We’re you a drug dealer, or a doctor?  Both? 

[Parliament 14149]

Gigalo

[Guest Lobo]

 If you think it’s bad now ,  just remember the 1930s had a war on women a war on gays a war on minorities a war on immigrants and a war on anyone who wasn’t a Bible beating Christian.   and on top of all that everyone was eating pickled tumbleweed  ( no I’m not joking look it up ) because that’s all there was    

 And their reward whether they were white black gay straight Christian or otherwise ,  was to go off and fight the Japanese a few years later      

[Deej 76599]

and on top of all that everyone was eating pickled tumbleweed  ( no I’m not joking look it up ) because that’s all there was    

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

Nostalgia just isn't what it used to be.

[South Austin 52171]

I will say that the 90s were a great time for undergrad and law school. That speaks to the point of idealizing the times of your childhood and early adulthood, provided you had an overall good experience.

[atomheartbevo 89475]

[Incredulity 11566]

12 hours ago, Deej said:

Gulf War, Rodney King and the L.A. Riots, O.J. Simpson, The Menedez Brothers, JonBenet Ramsey, Kurt Cobain blowing his brains out, and the Columbine shootings.

Oh, and the Barenaked Ladies.

 

 

 

We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning since the worlds been turning.