Much of today’s social ills can be traced directly to the 60’s. Most of the 60’s Flower Children were raised in traditional middle class homes and still had some sense of middle class values despite their rebellion. 40 years and a dependent Great Society later we have social chaos in too many quarters.
ALSO, it’s not as if brutal crime/gangs, etc. didn’t exist in the 50s and 60’s, but in those days there wasn’t 24/7 news, either.
Zodiac murders - 1968-1969 - San Francisco, CA - Five murders over 10-month period.
Manson Murders - 1969 - three "events", 7 victims, plus a few others related to the trial of Manson Family members
Richard Speck murders - 1966 - Eight victims, student nurses.
Charles Whitman/Texas Tower shootings - 1966 - Sixteen victims dead, dozens wounded.
Kitty Genovese murder - 1964 - Queens, NY.
Race Riots...
Rochester, NY - 1964
Philadelphia, PA - 1964
New York City, NY - 1964
Watts Riots - Los Angeles, CA - August 1965
San Francisco, CA - 1966
Cleveland, OH - 1966
Detroit, MI - 1967
Newark, NJ - 1967
Baltimore, MD - 1967
Baltimore, MD - 1968
New York, NY - 1968
Washington, DC - 1968 Chicago, IL - 1968
Bobby Kennedy assassination - 1968
Martin Luther King assassination - 1968
Not to mention the many KKK bombings, etc. during the 60s.
I know that I am likely forgetting many other horrific crimes and unpeaceful events from that era in which I grew up. It certainly wasn't an all peace and love and everybody can sleep with their doors unlocked kind of era. As we age, we tend to forget the bad stuff and remember the better memories - keeps us from going nuts ourselves, I suppose.