Eastwood rants at "soft" generation.

Handsome Bob

Clint Calls Us 'Generation Pussy'
Posted Dec 16, 08 2:09 PM CST in Glossies, Arts & Living

(Newser) – "We live in more of a pussy generation now," Clint Eastwood tells Esquire upon the release of his new film Gran Torino. "Everybody's become used to saying, 'Well, how do we handle it psychologically?' " Eastwood, who grew up having to duke it out with bullies, looks back to a more stoic time: "My father had a couple of kids at the beginning of the Depression. There was not much employment. Not much welfare. People barely got by. People were tougher then."

But stoicism didn't mean a lack of sentiment, Clint adds. "Look how fast—seven years—people have been able to forget 9/11. Maybe you remember if you lost a relative or a loved one. But the public can get pretty blasé about stuff like that. Nobody got blasé about Pearl Harbor."
Source: Esquire

http://www.newser.com/story/45398/cl...ion-pussy.html

So what do you say people? Are we a generation that demands everything on a plate without putting the work in to earn it? Or did cranky ol' Clint wake up on the wrong side of the baby? Or maybe, just maybe, this is just a publicity stunt since it coincides with Clints portrayal of a pissed off old man in Gran Torino?

I posted this in AH because it's more than just about a celebrity, it brings up what many people would feel is a reasonable point about the behaviour of "the younger generation". And hey, if we can have a thread about Brand and Ross in AH then why not this?

Oh, and here's 8 not so macho facts about Clint.:pac:


http://www.cracked.com/article_14872...-eastwood.html

Quazzie

Is Clint the Citizen?:eek::eek:

Sleipnir

I'd say he could still beat me up.

Quazzie

LZ5by5 wrote: »

Oh, and here's 10 not so macho facts about Clint.:pac:


http://www.cracked.com/article_14872...-eastwood.html

Its actually 8 facts. The clue is in the link

http://www.cracked.com/article_14872_8-not-so-tough-facts-about-clint-eastwood.html

Dragan

Personally i think he is spot on. There are kids in college now who don't know what it's like to never have the net, a mobile phone, parents with two cars at their beck and call.

And the amount of sheer pussies knocking about the place is simply sickening.:pac:

Call Me Jimmy

It's defo true, but it wont be forever. As each country goes through cycles economically the attitude/toughness of its people are bound to change. It's only natural.

Degsy

There are people who know ****-all about anything apart from what they learned in school,thier idea of a hard day's work is sitting in front of a computer screen all day AND they expect to get paid the earth for doing it.

Handsome Bob

Quazzie2002 wrote: »

Its actually 8 facts. The clue is in the link

Thanks for the heads up chief, it was a hastened mistake!:pac:

Dragan wrote: »

Personally i think he is spot on. There are kids in college now who don't know what it's like to never have the net, a mobile phone, parents with two cars at their beck and call.

And the amount of sheer pussies knocking about the place is simply sickening.:pac:

There is certainly an attitude among certain young people that they have an "entitlement" to everything being handed to them on a plate.

However on the other hand I don't think anyone, especially Americans, has forgotten about 9/11. It was a strange statement by him to make, I mean what was his basis for saying that?

mike65

Dunno about 9/11 as I'm not a Septic or in the USA.

But on the broader point, he is an "angry/grumpy" old man railing against soft kids. Its the birthright of every person to be considered a youthful waster and to then condemn same once they reach a certain age.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Its not the kids who are wimps, it's the bloody parents. All sense of adventure has gone out of childhood in case they get a scraped knee and have to call an ambulance, which the parents will probably have to pay for in the near future. Or in case they scrape their knees outside your house and you get sued for ambulance/hospital bills...

Terry

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Its not the kids who are wimps, it's the bloody parents. All sense of adventure has gone out of childhood in case they get a scraped knee and have to call an ambulance, which the parents will probably have to pay for in the near future. Or in case they scrape their knees outside your house and you get sued for ambulance/hospital bills...

Indeed.

There some woods right across from my house.
As kids we would spend entire Summers there builing tree houses, dodgy swings which resulted in several broken bones, jumping down the 50 foot cliff in the middle of the woods, getting caught in traps set up by the older kids, who would then give us a kicking for getting caught. The fun was endless.

These days you have to be careful around kids. If you bump into one, you run the risk of being done for assault.

mike65

Every child should buy thier parents "The Dangerous book for Boys"

javaboy

julep wrote: »

Indeed.

There some woods right across from my house.
As kids we would spend entire Summers there builing tree houses, dodgy swings which resulted in several broken bones, jumping down the 50 foot cliff in the middle of the woods, getting caught in traps set up by the older kids, who would then give us a kicking for getting caught. The fun was endless.

These days you have to be careful around kids. If you bump into one, you run the risk of being done for assault.

+1. I cut my hand on a piece of glass in a friend's house a while back and asked for a plaster (shut up Clint, it's not like you never used a bandage). They said they didn't have any because they never needed them. And they had three kids under 10. When I was that age, I could tell you what I did for the last two weeks by looking at my elbows and knees.

thebman

I think he's talking crap.

Isn't the whole point of the society to try to make sure your kids had it a little easier than your generation.

If so then we achieved that, hurray for us!

I agree with the bloody safety police aspect though. Kids should be allowed scrape their knees. On the other hand sports such as downhill mountain biking and skateboarding have never been more popular. I'm confused

SAVE_ME.222

It's easy to lecture people on the harshness of life when you have hundreds of millions of dollars and live in a mansion.

Degsy

I remember there was a thread on Parenting called "somebody allowed my child to fry".
This wasnt about some kid getting the elctric chair as a result of a bad defence lawyer,no.
It concerned a six year old who the parents had sent to some summer camp style thing and it came back with a bit of sunburn.
the mother concerned was even talking about legal action against the owners of the summer camp.
Pathetic.

Wagon

SAVE_ME.222 wrote: »

It's easy to lecture people on the harshness of life when you have hundreds of millions of dollars and live in a mansion.

Never looked at it that way...hmmm...

Degsy

SAVE_ME.222 wrote: »

It's easy to lecture people on the harshness of life when you have hundreds of millions of dollars and live in a mansion.

Well i'm glad its Clint lecturing for a change and not that soft little runt Bono.

grahamo

I've no doubts Clint had a tough upbringing,things would have been much harder when he was a kid.
I think he's right though, I worry that my kids won't be able to look after themselves when the time comes as they are all mollycoddled by their Mother. They get everything on a plate these days!

thebman

grahamo wrote: »

I've no doubts Clint had a tough upbringing,things would have been much harder when he was a kid.
I think he's right though, I worry that my kids won't be able to look after themselves when the time comes as they are all mollycoddled by their Mother. They get everything on a plate these days!

Break the plate over their heads. Smash those noggins!

That'll learn them! :P

It should be taken into account that he is taking about american youth.
They are furthur down the mollycoddle line than us at this point in time.

Latchy

Be careful out there .

Biggins

He's living in America for fraks sake!
He's falling across American teenage twats daily, twats that wouldn't last a week in certain estates around Ireland. They would crap themselves.
I went to an American school for a year and at least half had their head shrinks on speed dial!
Clint is right in some aspects. America - Kop the fcuk on!

Terry

Degsy wrote: »

I remember there was a thread on Parenting called "somebody allowed my child to fry".
This wasnt about some kid getting the elctric chair as a result of a bad defence lawyer,no.
It concerned a six year old who the parents had sent to some summer camp style thing and it came back with a bit of sunburn.
the mother concerned was even talking about legal action against the owners of the summer camp.
Pathetic.

Screw that.
She needs to go higher up.

I'm taking legal action against the sun. I have freckles and they may develop into skin cancer because of the actions of sol. I also have contact dermatitis which prevents me from wearing sun tan lotion, so I have no defense against this beast. Apart from staying indoors of course.

Degsy

Biggins wrote: »

He's living in America for fraks sake!
He's falling across American teenage twats daily, twats that wouldn't last a week in certain estates around Ireland. They would crap themselves.
I went to an American school for a year and at least half had their head shrinks on speed dial!
Clint is right in some aspects. America - Kop the fcuk on!

We're not far behind to judge by the way some people are speaking like the cast of Laguna Beach or The Hills.
Yesterday i heard some prat say at the top of his voice "Oh my God,i neeed some sushi!"

Ross_Mahon

wrote:

"Look how fast—seven years—people have been able to forget 9/11. Maybe you remember if you lost a relative or a loved one. But the public can get pretty blasé about stuff like that. Nobody got blasé about Pearl Harbor."

I don't think anyone will forget about the tragedy of 9/11, Clint Eastwood has lost a few screws, Thinks hes the man with no name again.

Alarums

He's got a point to be honest. These days we are living in a prolonged state of adolescence. We play video games into our thirties and forties, many of us live at home way past what would have been normal back in Clints day and many of us have never been in a fight and would not intervene if we saw one. When I watch Saving Private Ryan I think "There is no %&$!ing way I would have gotten off that boat.". In comparison to his generation, I think it's fair to say we are soft men.

thebman

Alarums wrote: »

He's got a point to be honest. These days we are living in a prolonged state of adolescence. We play video games into our thirties and forties, many of us live at home way past what would have been normal back in Clints day and many of us have never been in a fight and would not intervene if we saw one. When I watch Saving Private Ryan I think "There is no %&$!ing way I would have gotten off that boat.". In comparison to his generation, I think it's fair to say we are soft men.

There is nothing different about playing computer games than watching a movie, its just interactive entertainment.

People live at home because its impossible to buy a house. In most cases, it isn't a choice. Look what happened to the people that did take the risk of a mortgage ten times higher than what they earn. Each generation does what they have to in order to survive.

As for intervening in fights or running face first into bullets, I don't think its a bad thing that we are less eager to kill or hurt each other. I'd call that progression.

I think we live in a much greedier world TBH. We don't kill each other, our battlefields are in the business and financial world. I long for the day that crap ends and we actually live in a real society and not just dog eat dog which is where we are at for the moment.

Alarums

brim4brim wrote: »

There is nothing different about playing computer games than watching a movie, its just interactive entertainment.

People live at home because its impossible to buy a house. In most cases, it isn't a choice. Look what happened to the people that did take the risk of a mortgage ten times higher than what they earn. Each generation does what they have to in order to survive.

As for intervening in fights or running face first into bullets, I don't think its a bad thing that we are less eager to kill or hurt each other. I'd call that progression.
.

I agree with everything you said there. I spent most of yesterday playing Fallout 3. My point is you can see why someone of Clints generation would look at ours and think we are a bunch of pussies.

Tricity Bendix

Degsy wrote: »

There are people who know ****-all about anything apart from what they learned in school,thier idea of a hard day's work is sitting in front of a computer screen all day AND they expect to get paid the earth for doing it.

Don't you work in a library?

Biggins

The Israel government has the right idea.
Stick all teenagers in the army for two years when you finish highschool. Toughens them the frak up - I know they do it for self-defence reasons - but the kids come out the other end with at least tougher, stronger and more mentally able to take on this world of dog eat dog.
I've worked along side them and I can honestly tell you, they have more kop on and awareness of the real world than the gormless twats found draping themselves daily around our shopping centrers dossing about!

Puddleduck

Biggins wrote: »

The Israel government has the right idea.
Stick all teenagers in the army for two years when you finish highschool. Toughens them the frak up - I know they do it for self-defence reasons - but the kids come out the other end with at least tougher, stronger and more mentally able to take on this world of dog eat dog.
I've worked along side them and I can honestly tell you, they have more kop on and awareness of the real world than the gormless twats found draping themselves daily around our shopping centrers dossing about!

Yea, and on the upside, if ever theres a war half of them will get blown up. Awesome.

Biggins

Puddleduck wrote: »

Yea, and on the upside, if ever theres a war half of them will get blown up. Awesome.

...and the other remain half will still be defending, while the gormless twats are crapping in their pants crying for their mammies, daddies and playstations, hiding under their beds!

Degsy

b.ie curious wrote: »

Don't you work in a library?

I do now but its not the only job i've ever had.

Acacia

He kinda has a point. I think a lot of adults have a fear of growing up, both physically and emotionally. Back in the day, you would just get on with it, accept the responsibility that comes with growing up- sure, in this country, you would work from about 16 or 17 ( if not younger), and you'd be expected to have a family by your early twenties.

Now there is a whole generation of people who want to stay 15 forever. They want to constantly have fun, never want to settle down, and think they have 'The Worst Life Evar!' if they don't have the most fashionalble clothes or gadgets. I see people like this in their thirties and think ''God, I know teenagers who are more mature than them!". They just have everything so easy.

I know I'm generalising a bit here, but I kinda agree with Clint. Though I don't know where he got that "Everyone has forgotten about 9/11" thing.

Dudess

Degsy wrote: »

I remember there was a thread on Parenting called "somebody allowed my child to fry".
This wasnt about some kid getting the elctric chair as a result of a bad defence lawyer,no.
It concerned a six year old who the parents had sent to some summer camp style thing and it came back with a bit of sunburn.
the mother concerned was even talking about legal action against the owners of the summer camp.
Pathetic.

Well it is when you say "a bit of sunburn" (to suit your argument) but the poster in question described her daughter as "roasted" - and we've no proof she wasn't. Those taking care of her daughter that day were in loco parentis and duty-bound to apply suncream to the child's skin throughout the day.
Being concerned about sunburn (which is quite dangerous - especially for children) doesn't make you a "pussy". I'm from one of the generations who played outdoors all summer, broke several bones a week yadda yadda... and in hot weather, my mother made us cover up til we were whingeing.

Biggins wrote: »

The Israel government has the right idea.
Stick all teenagers in the army for two years when you finish highschool. Toughens them the frak up - I know they do it for self-defence reasons - but the kids come out the other end with at least tougher, stronger and more mentally able to take on this world of dog eat dog.
I've worked along side them and I can honestly tell you, they have more kop on and awareness of the real world than the gormless twats found draping themselves daily around our shopping centrers dossing about!

True. I'd be fairly toughened if I was trained to torture, humiliate and kill people.

I'd apply what Clint says to poncey metrosexual men all right - the likes of Christiano Ronaldo etc. What women!!

Love "manly" men - and my god, Clint was the manliest!

Biggins

Dudess wrote: »

True. I'd be fairly toughened if I was trained to torture, humiliate and kill people.

:rolleyes: Jeeze - that only happens after basic training when they are given the option to stay on and specialise in categorical areas specific to the army.

RedXIV

I'd say he's right. I'd like to think I'm not too badly affected but i know i still am at a level. To this day, i still look at my dad as one of the toughest B*****ds to walks to the planet. He's been on his own since he was 18, deals with everything himself, hates when people mention the word "psychologist" and fondly remembers his school days where corporal punishment was still in full effect.

I have things alot easier than he did, even if i've done my fair share of tough jobs or fights etc. I still would hate the thought of scrapping with my dad, he'd probably strangle me with my own leg

Puddleduck

Biggins wrote: »

:rolleyes: Jeeze - that only happens after basic training when they are given the option to stay on and specialise in categorical areas specific to the army.

I really dont think exposing teenagers to the brutality of war is going to be useful. I think making the youth useful would probably help toughen them up. Instead most seem to fart around outside supermarkets and shops all day.
Also 'Back in the day' how many people were screwed up because they didnt pay any attention to emotional matters since thats for the wimmins.

Mingey

Sounds like Clint is suffering from a bout of Backinmydayitis. If he is not a careful it will stay with him until he draws his last breath.

Dudess

Yeah, this stuff of "in my day there was no such thing as depression, no therapists, we just got on with it"... Yeah, by self-medicating with alcohol...

Puddleduck

Dudess wrote: »

Yeah, this stuff of "in my day there was no such thing as depression, no therapists, we just got on with it"... Yeah, by self-medicating with alcohol...

Daddy coming home and beating several shades of sh!te out of you made you stronger dont you know?

Also letting bullies beat the crap out of your kids was a good thing.

Mingey

Marital rape? Sure there was no such thing then.

Mingey

Who is this Clint Power anyway?

RedXIV

Puddleduck wrote: »

Daddy coming home and beating several shades of sh!te out of you made you stronger dont you know?

Also letting bullies beat the crap out of your kids was a good thing.

yes and no. My dad gave me a fair few whacks as a kid but nothing i wouldn't have deserved. I haven't seen a kid smacked in years though. I'd 100% believe it did me good. I learned fast too and I have nothing but respect for the man.

As for bullies, i had my encounters with them too. And i overcame them. and it was character building and it did make me stronger. It may not work like that for everyone but it did for me.

Either that or the brain damage has started to kick in

Wagon

I don't think avoiding fights is being a wimpy little ****e, it's more being a smarter one, but any decent bloke will jump in to defend his mates. I think clint is talking more about this...

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/351/guidohd1.jpg

Moral: you can work out and buff up till your biceps are bigger than your head, but you'll still look like a ****ing ponce.

Puddleduck

RedXIV wrote: »

yes and no. My dad gave me a fair few whacks as a kid but nothing i wouldn't have deserved. I haven't seen a kid smacked in years though. I'd 100% believe it did me good. I learned fast too and I have nothing but respect for the man.

As for bullies, i had my encounters with them too. And i overcame them. and it was character building and it did make me stronger. It may not work like that for everyone but it did for me.

Either that or the brain damage has started to kick in

A smack when a kid is bold is a lot different to a beating with a belt or whatever as it was 'back in the old days' By smack I dont mean hard enough to leave marks either. Thats a seperate issue.

You were one of the lucky few then that you managed it so well, many kids are resorting to suicide and self harm. Bullies have also advanced since I was a kid. Theres much more open to them for them to abuse.

Its easy to paint a rosy picture, anyone can do it if you block out the negatives.

Executive Steve

Biggins wrote: »

...and the other remain half will still be defending, while the gormless twats are crapping in their pants crying for their mammies, daddies and playstations, hiding under their beds!

but if they call up everyone then surely they call up the gormless twats too?

do you really want to give a whole bunch of gormless twats automatic weapons?

Biggins

Puddleduck wrote: »

I really dont think exposing teenagers to the brutality of war is going to be useful. I think making the youth useful would probably help toughen them up. Instead most seem to fart around outside supermarkets and shops all day.

A couple of years i the arms toughens up teens physically and mentally.
Doing hard grunt work, living in tough harsh conditions, having to rise early every day with basic food, with training on how to defend yourself and your territory, training in introductory areas (that later can become specific) is not a bad thing either.
It helps you find a place in the world, gives you time to mentally prepare yourself for the real world, discover your limits and even better capabilities and stretches your horizons knowing all this.

Our teens have become a ipod, playstation frakin' wusses. They worry about have they got the latest ringtone or what the latest name in sneakers/runners is right to be seen wearing!

Conscription for two years, yep, I'm all for it. Maybe then we wouldn't be such wusses and take the crap we are dealt out on our streets so much. Maybe we would not crap ourselves so much knowing that if we find ourselves in a awkward situation, well at least we stand a better chance of walking away alive 'cos I can handle myself even at a basic level.
Yep' basic conscription - I'm all for it. If it was available, I'd sign my four kids up for it right now.

Biggins

[cm]tyranny wrote: »

...do you really want to give a whole bunch of gormless twats automatic weapons?

Well the british did and allowed themselves eventually to call themselves America!
- What will be new!

Dudess

RedXIV wrote: »

yes and no. My dad gave me a fair few whacks as a kid but nothing i wouldn't have deserved.

Not the same as being beaten to a pulp and having bones broken. On corporal punishment threads, yes there is always serious idiocy from a very small minority about how even giving your kid a light tip will do irreparable damage... different matter though.

I know you consider your experiences of tackling bullies to be character-building but that doesn't mean it's all right for it to be happening.