The Political is Personal: Loved ones and their bonkers beliefs

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > The Political is Personal: Loved ones and their bonkers beliefs

Mooseontheloose: May 13, 2003

teen witch posted:

I feel like with the older generations (�ok, white upwardly mobile boomers. It�s them and maybe a smidge of Gen X) that they were the �end of history� and that they got the loving Yub Nub scene when the USSR crumbled and clearly things will only get better through inertia. No nuclear war to worry about, the ozone layer? We can make some satellite or something, income inequality? Uh, computers. Racism is gone with a mere speech and like one law.

And then whoops poo poo isn�t getting better and that they�re to do something. This is the moment where their generation was to put selfish needs aside, like every generation did prior for them, and think about the future, and I�d say they hosed it up but that would imply that they did something, which they did not. Let the good times roll!!!!

Now as their kids grew up with the internet and how it gave us more information, said kids learned that it isn�t getting better, it is getting catastrophically worse, it has been bad for many people for a long time (because I cannot paint a white baby boomer the same as one of color, not straight, not Christian, etc), we are literally killing our planet. Now more and more those kids are adults, having to clean up the mess of the parents while trying to shape something, anything for the future ahead, if there is any.

Every generation prior to baby boomers seemingly had instilled a sense of duty now for the future and the boomers were like �Nah I�d rather do coke� which believe you me I�m very pro! Very pro doing drugs! but like, let�s do it after fixing systemic inequality and mass heat death. let�s have the good times roll AFTER we fix some poo poo.

So, as the kids of boomers age up, and learn that no one was performing basic maintenance on this whole �functioning society and planet� thing - we�re rightfully pissed! They were given keys to the castle and recreated Salo! And when we go �hey what gives� instead of an answer we get heads buried in sand. We get unbridled rage. We get told that this is our fault for participation trophies that they gave us as kids. We don�t deserve nice things like �retirement�, �a habitable planet� or �basic human needs met� because we didn�t work for them despite the fact that we were kids, and they were the adults in charge who didn�t work for them, the prior generations did.

It�s a mass shirking of responsibility and when called out they cannot look themselves in the mirror and admit their failures. Again, this isn�t every boomer, some actually did the loving legwork and wanted to set up a better world for the future. To never have to deal with the insane bullshit they did. They did the duty then for the future now. But a lot�didn�t.

There is something to be said that the USSR represented both a clear existential threat and ideological threat to the United States. The constant fear of nuclear annihilation and upending of your society put people on guard for a long time. That all disappeared in 1991. With no clear huge ideological threat to the United States, lots of people started to look inward and they don't like what they find. Add to the fact that we are the most educated generation ever and its creating conflict between previous generations. After 9/11 there was kind of an ideological threat and people felt threatened but as time has gone on, I think most people don't fear a radical Islamic takeover to the same degree they fear the communists nuking us to oblivion.

Also, lets be real the system failed millennials and is failing Zoomers and the boomers can't possible accept that.

# ¿ Jul 22, 2021 16:45

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# ¿ May 18, 2024 04:33

Mooseontheloose: May 13, 2003

BiggerBoat posted:

Others have touched on it but I think some of it has to do with being "edgy" and "telling it like it is". Like, if I'm not offending somebody or making them uncomfortable, I'm just being soft and politically correct because The Truth Doesn't Care about your feelings so I'm softening my opinions (being weak - the ultimate sin). If someone isn't pissed off at my language or my opinion, I must be lying. People like Rush Limbaugh sort of invented the model of the conservative rebel, if you will, and it sort of added a weird kind of cool to it.

Prior to that, by the book types, salesmen, business majors, hardcore christians and corporate stuffed shirts were kind of viewed as square.

The thing is there is a kernel of truth in that in that personal growth or societal growth or business growth, whatever your growth can't occur without conflict and honest disagreement and reflection.

But that's the rub here right? Growth requires you to be wrong and self reflective.

# ¿ Sep 20, 2021 17:54

Mooseontheloose: May 13, 2003

There is also a lot of survivor bias I think. If you grew up in crappy conditions and made it out you saw what "didn't work." Not realizing that you more than likely just got lucky.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2021 18:24

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