Family Quote by Tana French
““I remember this country back when I was growing up. We went to church, we ate family suppers around the table, and it would never even have crossed a kid's mind to tell an adult to fuck off. There was plenty of bad there, I don't forget that, but we all knew exactly where we stood and we didn't break the rules lightly. If that sounds like small stuff to you, if it sounds boring or old-fashioned or uncool, think about this: people smiled at strangers, people said hello to neighbors, people left their doors unlocked and helped old women with their shopping bags, and the murder rate was scraping zero. Sometime since then, we started turning feral. Wild got into the air like a virus, and it's spreading. Watch the packs of kids roaming inner-city estates, mindless and brakeless as baboons, looking for something or someone to wreck. Watch the businessmen shoving past pregnant women for a seat on the train, using their 4x4s to force smaller cars out of their way, purple-faced and outraged when the world dares to contradict them. Watch the teenagers throw screaming stamping tantrums when, for once, they can't have it the second they want it. Everything that stops us being animals is eroding, washing away like sand, going and gone.””
About This Quote
Nostalgic lament for a past where community, respect, and safety were norms, contrasted with a perceived decline into selfishness, aggression, and social decay.
In simple terms: Loss of communal values and rise of self‑centered behavior.
Moral erosion erodes social cohesion.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- Reflecting on changing neighborhood dynamics
- Discussing generational shifts in behavior
- Analyzing urban safety trends
Key Concepts
Practical Applications
- Sociological research on community decline
- Public policy aimed at rebuilding civic trust
Questions to Reflect On
- What concrete actions could restore mutual respect in modern neighborhoods?
- How much of this perception is shaped by selective memory versus actual change?