Even 100+ days into this mess, Gen X, with no filters for race or gender, support him more than any other generational grouping. Then, white Gen X even more, white Gen X and male, more still, and finally, the people I've known are the absolutely worst Americans for my entire adult life: White, Male, Gen Xers who didn't go to college. They'll be in line to be his Eva Braun in the bunker.
I can’t believe how many Americans, mostly younger, have no idea that we’re called Generation X because we’re the first generation in some time that wasn’t projected to do better than their parents. This is a sad yet important fact that needs to be acknowledged. At least we had Dylan and Brendan 😍
I always love a generational read on the world from Gen Xers. You remind us to get real and get serious. You guys make great bosses if you’re college educated. Unless you just want to please the Boomers. Pleasing the Boomers gave us robocalls and made the whole world less friendly.
I wonder if voting for Trump was to get the ultimate Boomer bad boss off everyone’s case? Say you go along with the destructive guy who wants to dominate and he will attack someone else while you quietly deliver on your own objectives. People in companies with departments think they can whether the high turnover. I admit to not understanding the guys driving trucks to clients’ homes while listening to satellite radio. Except I guess with a job like that you think it’s you against the world and there’s no room to acknowledge people in other demographics?
I thought the Gen Xers were more cynical overall. The "dead-eyed cynicism of the Millennials “ comment stung a little and I feel like it is accurate for our reaction to student loan debt and the burst of the housing bubble but not overall.
I’m an Xennial or elder millennial and think we got the benefit of childhood in peacetime between the Gulf War and 9/11 when I was in K12. There was space to benefit from hippie parents and treat the environment and other people well. I still want to believe we’re going to bring back diversity, equity and inclusion even though JD Vance is Vice president. We also have AOC.
Born in ‘68. I Never thought I would live to my 20’s(the day after trauma) and now close to 60! Went to college like I was told too, ended up in debt but got 1 of those good GM Salary jobs in 1999. I missed getting a pension by 2 weeks. That’s ok though, they ended up taking most of the salaried pensions away later. My plant closed in the crash of 2008. I was “lucky enough” to stay with the company and move to 4 plants in 6 yrs-Pontiac, Kansas City, Flint and back to Grand Rapids. I “retired” after COVID. I was part of those who learned corporations don’t care about people. They just need warm bodies to work. They sold us a bs American dream but didn’t tell us, it was one of those clubs you have to be a member and pay dues to be in. Fuck the tangerine Idi Amin.
I'm not surprised how many people of my generation suck and voted for trump. I feel like I know more Gen X folks who claim to have never watched The Simpsons than not. How does that happen? It's been commenting on how messed up America is for over 30 years. Too many of my generation "Don't want to think about it."
Ugh. It's like we bought a Thighmaster even knowing how that went the first time? I saw those commercials when I was younger and used to laugh. Too many didn't I suppose. Or maybe they just got worn down by the marketing plans without a good product. What do you have to lose? In that case it was $49.99 and the belief that a simple piece of exercise equipment would do all the work for us. Now it's a useless item we can't really return. At least for longer than we would hope. And yet the commercials promising us greater things persist. And folks still buy that shit. Even today. Probably knowing that more Thighmasters are on the way. Oye Vey.
The Monica Lewinsky comment was genius, made me laugh. Here's the thing -- the tail end of the "boomers" -- those of us in our early 60s now -- are not the same as the Boomers born much earlier in the generation. This has been pointed out a number of times. I am not the same as someone born in 1946! I grew up in the 1970s, where we were kind of starry eyed about the future (as an example, solar and wind power would give us utopia!) but still hedonistic, and then were young adults in the 80s wearing shoulder pads and learning just how fun credit cards could be (and, of course, ending up saddled with debt). Not the same as someone who grew up in the 60s, at all. The democrats did a pretty good job of shaming the GenXers into feeling bad about themselves, to the point where they threw their vote to someone who didn't make them feel guilty about using the wrong pronoun for someone. It was stupid and shortsighted and clearly plenty of people are figuring that out very quickly. Probably the most striking thing was so many professed to voting for Harris and then in private voted the other way. Now here we are.
I totally agree with you about the difference between early and late Boomers. I just turned 60 so I'm on the cusp - and I definitely identify more with GenX. But I also grew up close to New York and knew way too much about this guy from the '80s to ever believe anything he said in 2016 or 2024. Can't believe so many people bought into his bullshit. And here is something that just occurred to me: growing up in the '80s, we were all impacted by the AIDS crisis, right? I am seriously wondering if that trauma created some residual racism and homophobia, or strengthened some fundamentalist beliefs, among that particular (white male) demographic that then ended up leading people to the MAGA cult. Just a thought.
Same, grew up reading about this moron in Newsday and hearing his nonsense on Howard Stern. It never once crossed my mind that he was anything other than a racist, sexist nepo baby failure. Who TF bankrupts *casinos*??
It's the lead paint. I mean, I just cannot wrap my head around how people that grew up in the same era I did could see this horrible person and give him their vote.
As part of the dead eyed cynical generation- at least we have bucked the trend of turning conservative with age! Also I didn’t really think that was the defining characteristic of being a millennial…agree with another commenter, we are usually accused of being way too earnest. Of course by now we are all dead eyed & realists.
Blows my mind, and most of our music was by gender-bending artists which should’ve taught us to keep an open mind culturally. Though I also look back and see great movies with predominantly white male actors and comedians. I like to assume our underground pop culture raised us better but perhaps not, the Boomers turned a 180 against their counter culture too.
As a millenial it pains me to see how far we have fallen. To know this hyper capitalistic hellscape we now call Anerican culture is just the fruit of seeds planted during the Reagan era before I was even born really bums me out. We never even got a chance to try to fix the country because the boomers refused to step aside for fresh blood. Thats why our democracy is so fragile and weak now.
That said, how determinative? That is how many actual voters voting reactively. 1994 is the high tide of the baby bust. We are just not that many and no pol would go out of their way to motivate a group that small specifically. So I would say analytically that while I feel like there was a failure of fraternity in Gen X, ultimately it is general white male that it is the problem. A 80 year old can hate the elite and a 20 year old. Their reasoning will differ tho MAGA generalized a language of hate. But it is not limited to a generation. But oh I guess well whatever (quoi d'autre) nevermind. (Gee maybe this is why we did not talk!)
I do not know if it is a problem but I feel we were the first white men in US history to disidentify with the norm. Kurt Cobain is the example, though I see people like Michael Stipe and Bob Mould as exemplary. And they ain't Boomers. That is the silly generational demographic hill I will die on. What I mean is that it might be a problem is those left might get angry that people left. Especially because sometimes disidentifiers were vicious in their disdain. Like Cobain. It is not like it was a discussion but oh in the art. Heck Slack M-f-er by Superchunk which I think is really about an idiot boss has it's own They Ain't Us undertone.
i have no "generation"; no labels; no Ego trump can kill
What i am is the silent thing in conservatives bedroom closet when the door creaks open
And i'll stand at the foot of their bed.
Even 100+ days into this mess, Gen X, with no filters for race or gender, support him more than any other generational grouping. Then, white Gen X even more, white Gen X and male, more still, and finally, the people I've known are the absolutely worst Americans for my entire adult life: White, Male, Gen Xers who didn't go to college. They'll be in line to be his Eva Braun in the bunker.
I can’t believe how many Americans, mostly younger, have no idea that we’re called Generation X because we’re the first generation in some time that wasn’t projected to do better than their parents. This is a sad yet important fact that needs to be acknowledged. At least we had Dylan and Brendan 😍
Can I quote you on that Kraken of Karens please? 😆
I’m sure you’ve got it all figured out.
I always love a generational read on the world from Gen Xers. You remind us to get real and get serious. You guys make great bosses if you’re college educated. Unless you just want to please the Boomers. Pleasing the Boomers gave us robocalls and made the whole world less friendly.
I wonder if voting for Trump was to get the ultimate Boomer bad boss off everyone’s case? Say you go along with the destructive guy who wants to dominate and he will attack someone else while you quietly deliver on your own objectives. People in companies with departments think they can whether the high turnover. I admit to not understanding the guys driving trucks to clients’ homes while listening to satellite radio. Except I guess with a job like that you think it’s you against the world and there’s no room to acknowledge people in other demographics?
I thought the Gen Xers were more cynical overall. The "dead-eyed cynicism of the Millennials “ comment stung a little and I feel like it is accurate for our reaction to student loan debt and the burst of the housing bubble but not overall.
I’m an Xennial or elder millennial and think we got the benefit of childhood in peacetime between the Gulf War and 9/11 when I was in K12. There was space to benefit from hippie parents and treat the environment and other people well. I still want to believe we’re going to bring back diversity, equity and inclusion even though JD Vance is Vice president. We also have AOC.
Born in ‘68. I Never thought I would live to my 20’s(the day after trauma) and now close to 60! Went to college like I was told too, ended up in debt but got 1 of those good GM Salary jobs in 1999. I missed getting a pension by 2 weeks. That’s ok though, they ended up taking most of the salaried pensions away later. My plant closed in the crash of 2008. I was “lucky enough” to stay with the company and move to 4 plants in 6 yrs-Pontiac, Kansas City, Flint and back to Grand Rapids. I “retired” after COVID. I was part of those who learned corporations don’t care about people. They just need warm bodies to work. They sold us a bs American dream but didn’t tell us, it was one of those clubs you have to be a member and pay dues to be in. Fuck the tangerine Idi Amin.
I'm not surprised how many people of my generation suck and voted for trump. I feel like I know more Gen X folks who claim to have never watched The Simpsons than not. How does that happen? It's been commenting on how messed up America is for over 30 years. Too many of my generation "Don't want to think about it."
Ugh. It's like we bought a Thighmaster even knowing how that went the first time? I saw those commercials when I was younger and used to laugh. Too many didn't I suppose. Or maybe they just got worn down by the marketing plans without a good product. What do you have to lose? In that case it was $49.99 and the belief that a simple piece of exercise equipment would do all the work for us. Now it's a useless item we can't really return. At least for longer than we would hope. And yet the commercials promising us greater things persist. And folks still buy that shit. Even today. Probably knowing that more Thighmasters are on the way. Oye Vey.
The Monica Lewinsky comment was genius, made me laugh. Here's the thing -- the tail end of the "boomers" -- those of us in our early 60s now -- are not the same as the Boomers born much earlier in the generation. This has been pointed out a number of times. I am not the same as someone born in 1946! I grew up in the 1970s, where we were kind of starry eyed about the future (as an example, solar and wind power would give us utopia!) but still hedonistic, and then were young adults in the 80s wearing shoulder pads and learning just how fun credit cards could be (and, of course, ending up saddled with debt). Not the same as someone who grew up in the 60s, at all. The democrats did a pretty good job of shaming the GenXers into feeling bad about themselves, to the point where they threw their vote to someone who didn't make them feel guilty about using the wrong pronoun for someone. It was stupid and shortsighted and clearly plenty of people are figuring that out very quickly. Probably the most striking thing was so many professed to voting for Harris and then in private voted the other way. Now here we are.
The Lewinsky comment was true genius, I agree.
I totally agree with you about the difference between early and late Boomers. I just turned 60 so I'm on the cusp - and I definitely identify more with GenX. But I also grew up close to New York and knew way too much about this guy from the '80s to ever believe anything he said in 2016 or 2024. Can't believe so many people bought into his bullshit. And here is something that just occurred to me: growing up in the '80s, we were all impacted by the AIDS crisis, right? I am seriously wondering if that trauma created some residual racism and homophobia, or strengthened some fundamentalist beliefs, among that particular (white male) demographic that then ended up leading people to the MAGA cult. Just a thought.
Same, grew up reading about this moron in Newsday and hearing his nonsense on Howard Stern. It never once crossed my mind that he was anything other than a racist, sexist nepo baby failure. Who TF bankrupts *casinos*??
It's the lead paint. I mean, I just cannot wrap my head around how people that grew up in the same era I did could see this horrible person and give him their vote.
As part of the dead eyed cynical generation- at least we have bucked the trend of turning conservative with age! Also I didn’t really think that was the defining characteristic of being a millennial…agree with another commenter, we are usually accused of being way too earnest. Of course by now we are all dead eyed & realists.
Blows my mind, and most of our music was by gender-bending artists which should’ve taught us to keep an open mind culturally. Though I also look back and see great movies with predominantly white male actors and comedians. I like to assume our underground pop culture raised us better but perhaps not, the Boomers turned a 180 against their counter culture too.
As a millenial it pains me to see how far we have fallen. To know this hyper capitalistic hellscape we now call Anerican culture is just the fruit of seeds planted during the Reagan era before I was even born really bums me out. We never even got a chance to try to fix the country because the boomers refused to step aside for fresh blood. Thats why our democracy is so fragile and weak now.
That said, how determinative? That is how many actual voters voting reactively. 1994 is the high tide of the baby bust. We are just not that many and no pol would go out of their way to motivate a group that small specifically. So I would say analytically that while I feel like there was a failure of fraternity in Gen X, ultimately it is general white male that it is the problem. A 80 year old can hate the elite and a 20 year old. Their reasoning will differ tho MAGA generalized a language of hate. But it is not limited to a generation. But oh I guess well whatever (quoi d'autre) nevermind. (Gee maybe this is why we did not talk!)
I do not know if it is a problem but I feel we were the first white men in US history to disidentify with the norm. Kurt Cobain is the example, though I see people like Michael Stipe and Bob Mould as exemplary. And they ain't Boomers. That is the silly generational demographic hill I will die on. What I mean is that it might be a problem is those left might get angry that people left. Especially because sometimes disidentifiers were vicious in their disdain. Like Cobain. It is not like it was a discussion but oh in the art. Heck Slack M-f-er by Superchunk which I think is really about an idiot boss has it's own They Ain't Us undertone.