Gas Bandit's Political Thread V: The Vampire Likes Bats
- Thread starter GasBandit
- Start date
"I miss the good old days."As much as I hate to let Charlie Kirk take up even one neuron's worth of mental space in anybody's head around here, I think this is a worthy retort to most fascist "The America I grew up in" bullshit
'Oh? Which parts, specifically?'
*suddenly bashful* "Oh... you know the ones."
The key that always gets to me is the part about the America you "grew up in".
Everyone often looks back at their childhood fondly, even those that went through abuse (like me) often look back with more rose tinted glasses then our modern, adult problems.
"Kids these days" has always been a rally call from old farts that can't understand why all those whippersnappers keep saying "sus" and ain't waking up to the moral lessons of Howdy Doody.
It's shit like this that keeps giving us generational divides and has been the easiest thing for grifters to use to get people scared of change.
Everyone often looks back at their childhood fondly, even those that went through abuse (like me) often look back with more rose tinted glasses then our modern, adult problems.
"Kids these days" has always been a rally call from old farts that can't understand why all those whippersnappers keep saying "sus" and ain't waking up to the moral lessons of Howdy Doody.
It's shit like this that keeps giving us generational divides and has been the easiest thing for grifters to use to get people scared of change.
And the elderly are just scared in general. Why do you think they're such easy prey for scammers? Every year around tax season, scammers call old people and warn them that "an American police officer" is going to arrest them because their taxes weren't done right. The only way they can avoid bankruptcy or a lengthy jail sentence is if they buy $200 in Target gift cards and relay the PINs over the phone. Despite the facts that the IRS doesn't operate that way and the supposedly professional agent speaks in poorly accented Engrish, the elderly tend to get played. Fox News used to run these Goldline TV advertisements, with Pat Boone advising their old viewers to buy commemorative gold coins as a solid investment. It was a total scam but their audience fell for it in droves.
The fogey who falls for scams like those is also likely to fall for a radio host who tells them that long-haired Marxist college kids will destroy America with their rap music unless everyone at the retirement village pulls the R lever in the next election. The old men will march in lock step and tell their wives to do the same. The widows will still vote Republican because "it's what Herb would have wanted me to do."
The fogey who falls for scams like those is also likely to fall for a radio host who tells them that long-haired Marxist college kids will destroy America with their rap music unless everyone at the retirement village pulls the R lever in the next election. The old men will march in lock step and tell their wives to do the same. The widows will still vote Republican because "it's what Herb would have wanted me to do."
Every generation in history has looked on and sneered at its youth. 20 BCE: "Our sires' age was worse than our grandsires'. We, their sons, are more worthless than they; so in our turn we shall give the world a progeny yet more corrupt."
The last couple generations, in particular Gen X+, are interesting in that it feels like there's a noticeable antipathy/apathy towards older generations. We don't venerate them as much anymore. It may be a western world issue as the Boomers were increasingly the sole beneficiary of a generation of peace and prosperity and have grown simultaneously soft in their ability to manage change and hardened against the needs of society versus their own needs. I am 'lucky' in that I haven't had contact with my parents for 10 years, but the grapevine tells me that their sensibilities have certainly swung to the Fox News side. That's not so much noteworthy aside from the fact they have a gay son, a bisexual daughter, and a transgender nephew.
The last couple generations, in particular Gen X+, are interesting in that it feels like there's a noticeable antipathy/apathy towards older generations. We don't venerate them as much anymore. It may be a western world issue as the Boomers were increasingly the sole beneficiary of a generation of peace and prosperity and have grown simultaneously soft in their ability to manage change and hardened against the needs of society versus their own needs. I am 'lucky' in that I haven't had contact with my parents for 10 years, but the grapevine tells me that their sensibilities have certainly swung to the Fox News side. That's not so much noteworthy aside from the fact they have a gay son, a bisexual daughter, and a transgender nephew.
I think it's because Boomers have built a reputation as ladder kickers. If you're unfamiliar with the term, they climbed the ladder of success and kicked it down so nobody else could join them. They benefited from thirty years of post-war prosperity and seem set on denying that opportunity to everyone else. They went to university when it was relatively cheap and then brought forth politicians who defunded state schools while voting against student loan relief. They also became homeowners in the 1970s when the median price of a new house was $26k. Now those same houses are worth at least $416k (and much more in desirable areas) and their owners have become the most quarrelsome NIMBYs. "They're building multi-family housing near the golf course? Not In My Back Yard!"
I'm either an elder Millennial or a young Gen Xer depending on who's measuring. Gen X was a baby bust generation and they are heavily outnumbered by their parents. Gen X children were tasked with getting themselves and their younger siblings ready for school while Mom self-medicated with a pint of gin in the bathroom. It was also not uncommon for them to get back from school to see a note on the fridge that read, "we're out late tonight. Feed your sister." Now Gen X is responsible for supporting the massive wave of Boomer pensioners. The way many Gen Xers and Millennials see it, Boomers threw themselves a raucous party and handed the bill to their kids.
I'm either an elder Millennial or a young Gen Xer depending on who's measuring. Gen X was a baby bust generation and they are heavily outnumbered by their parents. Gen X children were tasked with getting themselves and their younger siblings ready for school while Mom self-medicated with a pint of gin in the bathroom. It was also not uncommon for them to get back from school to see a note on the fridge that read, "we're out late tonight. Feed your sister." Now Gen X is responsible for supporting the massive wave of Boomer pensioners. The way many Gen Xers and Millennials see it, Boomers threw themselves a raucous party and handed the bill to their kids.
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Dave
Staff member
It's interesting that my father was politically ambivalent. He always said it didn't matter who wore the crown, the serfs were going to get shit on. As far as I know he never voted.
My mother loved politics and was a hard core republican until Reagan when she pivoted to independent and then full on blue. She was born in 1935 and said that Obama was the best president she'd ever had the privilege of voting for. She was deep into Alzheimer's during the end of Obama's second term and I'm glad because she'd have lost her shit at Trump.
This is actually similar to my own parents and my paternal grandmother. It's funny because they were all registered "R", but all their view points tended to be very liberal. Hell, the last 20 years of her life, my grandmother was very liberal in her views and her voting. She hated the Trump family even back in the 80's, so it's a good thing she passed before 2016.
So, obviously, we can't paint entire generations with the same brush because there are plently of exceptions. But I still wonder why some people can see things in society, and others can't.
I think a fair amount of it is that the millennials and probably a good amount of Gen X have never been alive during a time when America was on the upswing. All I’ve ever seen has been America rotting away. Then the boomers were real fucking trigger happy to send my generation into fucking stupid wars without a plan, without the equipment needed and without any real chance of success.
It’s hard to really believe that a generation is better than us when we’re surrounded by their failures.
figmentPez
Staff member
There's going to be a national test of an emergency alert system on October 4th, and conspiracy theorists are claiming that it will be used to "activate" some nefarious part of the covid vaccine.
PolitiFact: FEMA’s emergency alert test won’t activate graphene oxide in people
Yahoo News: Posts tie US emergency alert to vaccine conspiracy theories
Some even claim that this will turn every vaccinated person into a zombie.
PolitiFact: FEMA’s emergency alert test won’t activate graphene oxide in people
Yahoo News: Posts tie US emergency alert to vaccine conspiracy theories
Some even claim that this will turn every vaccinated person into a zombie.
Meh, humanity had a good run.
I, for one, welcome our new zombie overlords.
I, for one, welcome our new zombie overlords.
I think the good times ended in March 2000, right when the dot coms crashed. All that late '90s optimism faded away and was replaced by endless rounds of layoffs, gratuitous patriotic gestures, and one recession after another. I suspect that the zombie genre's enduring popularity is related to people just throwing up their hands and thinking "I give up. Just burn it down already."
Really? I dunno, C+ for effort or something, but overall...
Can you believe it's been 10 years since the Emergency Broadcast System was "hacked" to warn us of zombies?
Hacked is in quotes because does
login: admin
password: admin
really count?
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has taken time out from her busy schedule of trying to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda - regardless of their country of origin - to announce that just because someone is gay & fleeing a homophobic regime, or a woman who has escaped from a country that considers her little more than the personal property of her husband or father doesn't mean that they should be considered as refugees. 
The United Nations High Commisioner for Refugees has taken time out of their schedule to point out that according to the Refugee Convention - which the UK is signed up to - (paraphrased) "yes they fucking are".
The United Nations High Commisioner for Refugees has taken time out of their schedule to point out that according to the Refugee Convention - which the UK is signed up to - (paraphrased) "yes they fucking are".
2000 is a good year to pin where the rot broke through the skin.
<--graduated high school in May 2000.
I tried to explain to my dad once that my entire adult life has been one strife after another. No breaks, no peace.
I actually called into Houston Public Radio with a similar comment. We graduated high school when the dot coms went under. Patriotism got weird after 9/11 and the US became blindly nationalistic. Seriously, I never saw people praising servicemen with "thank you for your service" before 2001 except on Veteran's Day or Memorial Day. Suddenly it become perfunctory. Anyways, we were just starting our careers when the economy crashed in 2008, and we struggled to find entry level work while the Boomers who had been laid off easily fell into those jobs because they had 30 years experience. What really annoyed me was the same Boomers who helped cause the crisis smugly told Millennials "just cancel Netflix and quit eating avocado toast." We were entering mid-career when COVID wrecked everything and now we're in the middle of a global cost of living crisis.
GasBandit
Staff member
I love it when some crusty fuck starts babbling "hard times make strong men, strong men make good times, good times make weak men, weak men make hard times" because they're ALMOST ALWAYS born after 1945, and I get to point out that they are one of the weak men made by good times, and their generation's shortsightedness is what has made the current hard times. And I know that's a lot of words, which is why everybody else shortens it to "Ok, Boomer."
Well now she’s even MORE like a potato. Here’s hoping @Dave had her on his card this year.
Death of Dianne Feinstein: Newsom Faces Pressure to Quickly Appoint a Replacement (Published 2023)
Filling the seat would help Democrats maintain control of a closely divided Senate during a critical time in Washington. But the choice could be complicated for California’s governor, Gavin Newsom.
Weekend at Feinstein's?Well now she’s even MORE like a potato. Here’s hoping @Dave had her on his card this year.
—PatrickDeath of Dianne Feinstein: Newsom Faces Pressure to Quickly Appoint a Replacement (Published 2023)
Filling the seat would help Democrats maintain control of a closely divided Senate during a critical time in Washington. But the choice could be complicated for California’s governor, Gavin Newsom.www.nytimes.com
Oh shit, I meant to rate this "WTFetc." not "She's Very Mature For her Age", if it alerts you otherwise.
...I mean, she is. Was.
Good lord.
Her return to the senate was the most ghoulish thing I’ve ever seen. Wheeling her around while she looked like a melted candle. I’ve heard a couple conspiracy theories as to why her staff kept her in office and I hope they all die of throat cancer for what they did to Feinstein in her last months.
And I fucking hated Feinstein. She should have retired a fucking decade ago.
And I fucking hated Feinstein. She should have retired a fucking decade ago.
I blame Pelosi.
figmentPez
Staff member
U.S. votes against anti-Nazi resolution at U.N.
"The United States says it was one of three countries to vote against a U.N. resolution condemning the glorification of Nazism over freedom of speech issues and concerns that Russia was using it to carry out political attacks against its neighbors.
"The resolution entitled 'Combating glorification of Nazism, Neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,' was approved by the U.N.'s human rights committee on Friday with 131 in favor, 3 against with 48 abstentions."
"The United States says it was one of three countries to vote against a U.N. resolution condemning the glorification of Nazism over freedom of speech issues and concerns that Russia was using it to carry out political attacks against its neighbors.
"The resolution entitled 'Combating glorification of Nazism, Neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,' was approved by the U.N.'s human rights committee on Friday with 131 in favor, 3 against with 48 abstentions."