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Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit (2011)

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Re: Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit (2011)

#81
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boomers are 1945 to 1965, X is 1965 - 1980.

We did't even get a full 20 years like the boomers but only 15! Stands to reason I guess.

Different people states different years. The following years are averages of about 30 sources I found online:

Lost Generation: 1883 to 1900

Greatest Generation: 1901 to 1924

Silent Generation: 1924 to 1945

Me Generation (Baby Boomers): 1945 to 1965

Generation X (Thirteeners): 1965 to 1980

Generation Y (Millennials): 1980 to 1997

Generation Z (Centennials): 1997 to 20xx?

Re: Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit (2011)

#82
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had a couple Gen X'er friends tell me the generation is collectively stuck in the past. Are there any plausible theories why that might be? Was it a lack of meaning in the general narrative that made growing old too painful for many to face or something?

>I've had a couple Gen X'er friends tell me the generation is collectively stuck in the past. Are there any plausible theories why that might be? Isn't this true of most generations? It seems like a pretty universal human attribute from what I can tell, at least to some degree. Is the idea that it's a stronger pull in Gen X?

I've never heard anyone who's not an X'er describe themselves that way. I don't think Zoomers really could be stuck in the past, given that they don't have much depth of memory yet (and the rapidity with which trends shift in that community). My own generation, the millennials, do remember the '90s, but we tend to remember them as a rather weird and embarassing, if simpler, time. I'd characterise us as pessimistically forward-looking, maybe that's a function of my friends group though.

Which leaves the Boomers, and while there's certainly a lot of nostalgia in that community, I've known more that were looking forward to their retirement than would go on about the good old days.

But of course, this is all anecdotal.

Re: Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit (2011)

#83
post #3

At first I was a little annoyed, but then I had to smile at just how emblematic of Generation X the article really is. Screwed over by their parents, depressed, substance-addicted, and hopeless, but not one single hint of any effort or plan to change things. Generation X is the generation of ennui at the ruination of the world. Millenials and Gen Z might just be pissed off enough to do something about it.

Gen X never had the numbers to do anything substantial. Millenial's population total crossed the Boomers in 2019. Gen X will not do the same until 2028. From 2019 forward, governmental power will be exercised by Millenials. Gen X will never have an era of ascendancy, our lot is to simply figure out how to be satisfied where ever we find ourselves.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/28/millennials...

Re: Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit (2011)

#84
post #26
post #7

I'm Gen X and I'm sick of this bullshit. Generations aren't a monolith and this schmuck doesn't speak for me.

I don't even know what the fuck generation I am, when I was a kid they called me Gen X but then I got retconned to Gen Y and now who knows. When I started highschool mobile phones and the internet weren't a thing and when I started university they were ubiquitous, that should date me closely enough.

If you learned to ride a bike with a helmet on, you are Gen Y. If you learned helmet free, you're Gen X.

Re: Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit (2011)

#85
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We did't even get a full 20 years like the boomers but only 15! Stands to reason I guess.

Different people states different years. The following years are averages of about 30 sources I found online: Lost Generation: 1883 to 1900 Greatest Generation: 1901 to 1924 Silent Generation: 1924 to 1945 Me Generation (Baby Boomers): 1945 to 1965 Generation X (Thirteeners): 1965 to 1980 Generation Y (Millennials): 1980 to 1997 Generation Z (Centennials): 1997 to 20xx?

I'm betting Gen Z will end in 2016-2018. Either Trump or COVID will change things enough.

Re: Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit (2011)

#86
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't even know what the fuck generation I am, when I was a kid they called me Gen X but then I got retconned to Gen Y and now who knows. When I started highschool mobile phones and the internet weren't a thing and when I started university they were ubiquitous, that should date me closely enough.

If you learned to ride a bike with a helmet on, you are Gen Y. If you learned helmet free, you're Gen X.

I feel like this is super regional but they brought in helmet laws where I live when I was like 10.

Re: Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit (2011)

#87
post #55

There is a concept in/around civil engineering I've heard referred to as the 3 generation rule, though the only place search engines seem to turn it up is Ken Burnside's formulation on Atomic Rockets, which specifically applies it to space stations. >The Three Generation Rule of Space Colonies states that space colonies have an average life-span of three generations until the life-support and other technical system d…

> to generation n, ... the world don't work that way anymore

...and that's where we get back to tech. Younger techies tend to act as though none of the hard-won knowledge about how to store/move/act on data, how to write robust software, etc. applies any more. The fact is that some does and some doesn't. Time after time after time, things that we once knew about (for example) network congestion or storage failure modes are ignored or forgotten because "the world don't work that way anymore" then come back to the fore very suddenly and painfully because yes it does. A large part of the reason I retired is that I got tired of over-promoted kids ignoring warnings about things I had lived through once and could see coming again. "I told you so" is no substitute for being allowed to contribute in the first place.

P.S. I'm not a Boomer; I'm very early GenX, and way more attuned to those experiences/attitudes.

Re: Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit (2011)

#88
post #3

At first I was a little annoyed, but then I had to smile at just how emblematic of Generation X the article really is. Screwed over by their parents, depressed, substance-addicted, and hopeless, but not one single hint of any effort or plan to change things. Generation X is the generation of ennui at the ruination of the world. Millenials and Gen Z might just be pissed off enough to do something about it.

Eh, Generation X created the internet. Tesla/SpaceX, Amazon, Google, Paypal, Netflix, Ebay, Square/Twitter, and Signal were all founded by members of Gen X. Gen X made San Francisco a tech hub. Gen X created Linux as well as *BSD. Gen X invented Java, Javascript, Python, and Ruby. Gen X created the PEV revolution.

And Y-Combinator, together with hacker news. Thank Gen X for that.

Re: Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit (2011)

#89
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My friend, a plurality is not a majority. And in a two party system, even a majority won't help. Biden got elected thanks to young voters, but look how little climate action the new administration has taken. Sad that you're looking to assign blame rather than problem-solve for future generations.

More education of how the US government works is what's in order here. People look at everything trump did and think "why can't Biden do the same, but for good?" and the problem is, the government is built to be torn down, not built up. Biden has no power to take climate action. The EPA doesn't have the ability to just subsidize solar panels or enact taxes on CO2 emissions. They've actually tried to do that for CO2 a…

Oh, I'm extremely mad at Manchin and Sinema. But I believe you are underestimating the power of the presidential podium. I will readily admit that the Democratic party deserves more blame than Biden himself.

If Biden cared, he could shame these "Democrat" senators and prevent them from getting re-elected. If he uses his platform to inhibit their campaign fundraising, they will surely change positions out of fear of loosing their seat.

And something to keep in mind before we make campaign contributions for 2022, remember that some votes are way more valuable than others. Each vote for a Senator in Arizona counts more than 5x than in California.

Re: Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit (2011)

#90
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More education of how the US government works is what's in order here. People look at everything trump did and think "why can't Biden do the same, but for good?" and the problem is, the government is built to be torn down, not built up. Biden has no power to take climate action. The EPA doesn't have the ability to just subsidize solar panels or enact taxes on CO2 emissions. They've actually tried to do that for CO2 a…

Oh, I'm extremely mad at Manchin and Sinema. But I believe you are underestimating the power of the presidential podium. I will readily admit that the Democratic party deserves more blame than Biden himself. If Biden cared, he could shame these "Democrat" senators and prevent them from getting re-elected. If he uses his platform to inhibit their campaign fundraising, they will surely change positions out of fear of l…

> If Biden cared, he could shame these "Democrat" senators and prevent them from getting re-elected

It's hard to do that when you are unpopular nationwide[1] and downright loathed in Arizona[2]. Independents approval/disapproval is 30-60.

Sinema is much more popular than Biden, but not so popular among her base. A democrat can't win in Arizona just on the basis of the Democratic vote. They have to win the independent vote and hope for low turnout in the GOP. So Biden is already a drag on Sinema's re-election. If he publicly attacked her, her popularity would go up. Why do you think she is opposing these policies? Because it increases her political capital and support at home. The more the media focuses on her as the one blocking these unpopular policies, the more Arizona voters rally to her side.

[1] https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-approval-rating/

[2] https://nypost.com/2021/09/08/bidens-approval-rating-down-in...

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