dzheremi
Coptic Orthodox non-Egyptian
- Aug 27, 2014
- 13,566
- 13,725
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Oriental Orthodox
- Marital Status
- Private
Being so concerned about communism in this millennium (when there are five such states in the entire world: North Korea, China, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam) is a bit like being similarly concerned about blimp crashes: sure, they do occasionally still happen, but they're not really like the Hindenburg anymore, as basically the entire world has moved on from blimp-based human transportation, and is much better for it.
It seems like when most boomers of a certain mindset hear trigger words that they don't like (they don't even have to be 'communism' or 'socialism' specifically; plenty of people are triggered by vague enough words coming from the other political side, like 'change'), they automatically have in mind the worst possible historical examples of the thing they don't like. It makes sense, in a way: a generation that spent a significant amount of its lifespan being taught that the Rooskies were going to bomb us at any minute (and for some, actually being alive when we came closer to that being a reality than ever before, during the Cuban Missle Crisis) isn't likely to want to roll out the red carpet for what they see as a manifestation of similar political ambitions among the youth. I've definitely had boomers who did not know me personally assume that, since I'm apparently too young to know these things (I just use the internet to get taken in by WND articles, after all...), I just need an education in how evil and scary the Russian menace truly was, which...sure, I guess...I mean, хотите как хотите, Товарищ. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I just wish these same people would understand that this entirely sensible reaction also works 'the other way around', if you will: why would a generation like the Millennial generation which in the USA largely graduated higher education (which boomers spent their children's entire educational life up until that point telling them they needed to get to be able to work at any place greater than McDonalds) directly into a supposedly historic recession, and then more recently suffered the same recessions that everyone else has felt with the arrival and continued reality of Covid (with the notable difference that unlike the not-retiring boomers, the millennial generation by and large didn't have stable jobs or housing to see them through it, because recall the above reality of their post-education economy) at all feel inclined to sit through even one more second of lectures from the generation that got into their first apartments right out of high school for the equivalent of $500 in places that now rent for 4 times that much (or more!) despite Americans' wages not having significantly improved since the late 1970s? Why should millennials feel any particular deference to the generation that famously burned their draft cards and hung out in Canada smoking pot or whatever while their less fortunate (read: poorer/less well-connected) classmates died for nothing in Vietnam, but then apparently felt nothing about lying their damn heads off once they got into positions of power about why we absolutely, positively needed to go to war with Iraq (again)? Why should the millennial generation ever listen to the boomers who decry us as the worst, laziest generation ever while their fellow boomers continue (or sometimes even ramp up) lifetime patterns of drug abuse, financial irresponsibility and philandering, and generally treating existence itself like it's a big game of Supermarket Sweep and they have to collect as much 'stuff' (consumer goods, property, spouses, etc.) as they can before they run out of time, and to heck with what sort of mess that leaves for everyone else?
It seems like when most boomers of a certain mindset hear trigger words that they don't like (they don't even have to be 'communism' or 'socialism' specifically; plenty of people are triggered by vague enough words coming from the other political side, like 'change'), they automatically have in mind the worst possible historical examples of the thing they don't like. It makes sense, in a way: a generation that spent a significant amount of its lifespan being taught that the Rooskies were going to bomb us at any minute (and for some, actually being alive when we came closer to that being a reality than ever before, during the Cuban Missle Crisis) isn't likely to want to roll out the red carpet for what they see as a manifestation of similar political ambitions among the youth. I've definitely had boomers who did not know me personally assume that, since I'm apparently too young to know these things (I just use the internet to get taken in by WND articles, after all...), I just need an education in how evil and scary the Russian menace truly was, which...sure, I guess...I mean, хотите как хотите, Товарищ. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I just wish these same people would understand that this entirely sensible reaction also works 'the other way around', if you will: why would a generation like the Millennial generation which in the USA largely graduated higher education (which boomers spent their children's entire educational life up until that point telling them they needed to get to be able to work at any place greater than McDonalds) directly into a supposedly historic recession, and then more recently suffered the same recessions that everyone else has felt with the arrival and continued reality of Covid (with the notable difference that unlike the not-retiring boomers, the millennial generation by and large didn't have stable jobs or housing to see them through it, because recall the above reality of their post-education economy) at all feel inclined to sit through even one more second of lectures from the generation that got into their first apartments right out of high school for the equivalent of $500 in places that now rent for 4 times that much (or more!) despite Americans' wages not having significantly improved since the late 1970s? Why should millennials feel any particular deference to the generation that famously burned their draft cards and hung out in Canada smoking pot or whatever while their less fortunate (read: poorer/less well-connected) classmates died for nothing in Vietnam, but then apparently felt nothing about lying their damn heads off once they got into positions of power about why we absolutely, positively needed to go to war with Iraq (again)? Why should the millennial generation ever listen to the boomers who decry us as the worst, laziest generation ever while their fellow boomers continue (or sometimes even ramp up) lifetime patterns of drug abuse, financial irresponsibility and philandering, and generally treating existence itself like it's a big game of Supermarket Sweep and they have to collect as much 'stuff' (consumer goods, property, spouses, etc.) as they can before they run out of time, and to heck with what sort of mess that leaves for everyone else?
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