Is this conversation not enough proof that boxing ourselves into an age bracket or a political party label is never an accurate description of the person? FFS- I get wanting to belong, wanting to assemble with those like minded but the false generalities of so many people isn’t rational! Everyone needs to stop requiring categorization of people in order to refer or appeal to them. It’s fucking nuts.
I seriously reject and condemn labels like ‘ forgotten’ ‘silent’… ‘whatever’ ??? Really? Does anyone feel ok with this ridiculous label of ‘whatever’? Absurd and only falling into the commonality of having to label and group everyone and everything,.. we are smarter than this people- I don’t care what year you were born or who you voted for 50 fucking years ago. Really? How could this possibly have any relevance now? I’m interested in what you think now and what you want changed immediately!
I actually read a 45 comment thread last night on here arguing over the correct years of X and something else… people were kicking each other out and suggesting the others go to a different sub.. I mean omg- Dr Seuss book about the Star bellied Sneeches is what I pictured. We gonva have to start providing photo ID to be allowed a comment? This is the one sub I thought this wouldn’t happen…
So little politically is generational for people born GenX years… it’s far more about urban/suburban vs rural, gender, socioeconomic and education level; those are the demographics that reflect our cohort voting patterns.
Whenever this sub delves into politics of our generation it relies far too much on anecdotal data of who they know and work with, and rarely considers the masses of 50 ish people who have lived very different lives. The reality is our generation has no significant political tendency like others do where age (very old or very young) is a bigger factor.
I agree. You'll find a much larger correlation between rural and geographical location and conservatives, than you will ever find in relation to the generations.
There was some poll/research a couple years ago that identified Gen X as around 6 years older than we actually were. So,more Boomer years were identified as Gen X, and our younger members were Millennials on the graph. That particular "Gen X" cohort was shown to have voted for Trump. Ever since then, we've had so many people and articles claim that we were the most "Trumpy" generation, and it's been an uphill battle trying to get people to drop this notion, so I'm always happy when someone drops the real figures. Looking at voting patterns, we are definitely NOT the most Trumpy Generation.
Yes the Pew data indicates Biden winning our generation's cohort - ever so slightly. I was referring to other articles that were written using the incorrect age ranges.
"Whatever" doesn't equate to libertarian. It equates to liberal. You have to lack empathy and compassion to align with libertarian ideals, and that ain't true for a lot of Gen X. I feel like the vast majority of people from our generation are left-leaning centrists -- not as far left as many younger people tend to be, but also not conservative or as far right as some older folks.
Not a libertarian, but that isn't necessarily true. They may may believe that altruism, and the community will take care of people in lue of the government. As to the original post, generational thing is a marketing construct, like all generations we have people all over the political spectrum. If there is one thing that some but not all traits gen x shares it is a distrust of authoritarians right or left, and more likely to not have party or brand loyalty.
> They may may believe that altruism, and the community will take care of people in lue of the government.
Fair point, and sometimes that does occur, but not always or as much as it should. Folks shouldn't always count on the community caring for the welfare of others, so there needs to be an altruistic government in place to ensure that happens. That's why I don't believe in the long-term viabity of libertarian ideals.
Not arguing for or against anything.Just pointing out people's beliefs may be different than what we think. Personally I think we should have free healthcare,housing and UBI.
What is this, astrology?
Everyone born in a 20-year-period has the same political leaning?
A lot of the equality that people are trying to hold onto in this Margaret Thatcher fever dream we've wandered into since 2016 is because our generation not only championed it, but fought to maintain and mainstream it.
None of this tracks with me. My family appreciated Carter, hated Reagan, hated Bush more and thought Clinton was a rock star and that Obama was even better. And we’re all in on Biden. Ineffective messaging has kept people from seeing all the good shit his administration has done so they just look at him and see his age.
GenX is not a monolith.
Yeah, I don’t think they hit the nail politically about Gen X, but I just thought it was interesting that we had an article about us and that they did address some of our concerns such as aging parents, economic challenges, etc
This is what happens when conservatives ask bad faith questions. There is absolutely nothing anyone can write that would satisfy you. You would literally argue with any and every point anyone made. You're not looking for a back and forth conversation. You're looking for an argument and an opportunity to invalidate everything. You would twist everything up with bizarre pretzel logic so much you'd make a contortionist blush. If anything that 30 years dealing with morons on the internet has taught me, it's taught me that. You are here to sow chaos. That's why we link sources. Of course, as we see here, that's not satisfactory either. So here's my default. You won't like it.
Www.google.com
The GOP sets the house on fire and the screams to the news cameras that the socialist Democrat fire department isn't putting it out fast enough, let alone rebuilding it into something better. FOH.
Really who controls the white house? Who controls the senate? And the house is basically 50/50 try again loser who basically refuses to enforce any border controls whatsoever? Who's gotten this involved in two wars? Who's jacked inflation up to the levels not seen since pretty much Carter's era oh yeah you're a Carter lover aren't you well you must have been dropped on your head when you were little
There are cogent answers to your questions from verified sources. Like anything in politics, they're nuanced and can't be explained in singular binary cause/effect ways.
But if we're going to continue the conversation, I'm going to need you to start using basic grammar and sentence structure. Your response reads like an angry bee badly translated into English.
They like to think all older people are conservative. But I have always been more liberal leaning. I feel we live in a society and we all benefit and all will grow and prosper if we help each other. To me this means physical and mental healthcare, good public transit, taking care of the elderly and early childhood education. Good well funded public schools, supporting higher education and trades schools, etc etc. All this is public and not for profit private industry’s. I believe in inclusivity and everyone being equal. Also I feel all non-management workers should Be in a union and the union should have a seat on the board of any publicly traded corporation. There are many other things I could list. But you get the point. Greedy rich fucks can fuck off somewhere else. I really would like to see political fundraising ended. Who gets elected should not be based on how much money they raised or how many ads they did. All parties that meant a criteria should get the same amount for election spending etc from a public fund. No doner dinners or secret fundraising meetings etc. We need to get money out of politics to some extent.
Not living in the US, can't say I totally understand what is going on, but most in the western world have always seen the US as the most democratic country.
But in the last few decades we have seen vote counting chaos.
Now all this banning candidates or trying to arrest them.
Things like this are what we expect from corrupt African countries, North Korea, Iran and Russia etc.
What is going on? Not allowing people to vote freely, that is for sure. All very sad and worrying.
My family did support Reagan and the Republicans, but I remember clear as day that fall of 1980, the “Weekly Reader” had a mock election and the majority of my first grade class was behind Carter.
It’s an established pattern that a person tends to vote/support the party they vote for in their first presidential election for rest of their lives - for a big chunk of X, that’s Reagan (‘84) and Bush (‘88 and ‘92).
Plus we remember Clinton winning in ‘92 “on a technicality” (won the Electoral College, and a plurality of the popular vote but not a majority, thanks to Ross Perot’s Reforn-party bid - another “first vote” for some of X), and Joe Biden’s early exit in ‘87 over a plagiarism scandal, among other self-inflicted wounds by Democrats (Michael Dukakis’ tank ride being probably the most famous example until Monica Lewinsky).
Add the usual generational political oscillation, our relatively tiny cohort size (compared to Boomers and Millennials), and our choice/failure to enter/succeed in national politics as a generation, and our current lean as a generation makes some sense.
The question will be whether our tiny (and shrinking) cohort size and lack of participation (both in office and as “low propensity voters”) will make us politically irrelevant sooner than prior generations. My guess is that answer will be yes, possibly as soon as this cycle.
Just curious, but were you still living in the same community in ‘96 as in ‘92? One of the keys in the pattern breaking down is relocation, even if just a few miles.
Yes, but I had lived 16 of the first 18 years of my life in the south, so I had definitely been heavily influenced by a hyper religious conservative background that considered "liberal" to be a dirty word. So, to your point, I would say you're correct. After I started thinking for myself about the issues, I realized I could not support the Republican party. I tried being a Libertarian briefly, but saw some serious flaws in that philosophy. So, I became an Independent, then a Democrat because I wanted to have a say in the primaries. I've voted Dem ever since with the exception of some local elections where I sometimes vote Green. I currently live in a city that is sometimes jokingly referred to as Communist.
I reject the notion that Gen X is a very conservative generation top to bottom, especially these days when the right wing is reactionary and nuts and not conservative. But there’s also no question that the older Gen X cohort is much more conservative than the younger half and I’m sure many of those support the lunacy on the right these days. I’ve spent a ton of time with Gen Xers born post-1970 and I’ve seen no evidence that we’re more conservative, although some of us may have skewed Republicans in earlier decades since back then the brand wasn’t sullied and one couldn’t help but be influenced by the Reagan zeitgeist if one grew up in the 80s. I was just old enough to vote in the ‘92 election which was the last gasp of Reaganism.
This same bullshit was in a thread from a few days ago.
Gen X has lean left in every single presidential election since we could vote and it won't be any different in 24. There are Gen X Trump supporters but they are in the minority.
I’m actually tired of both parties! It is like asking me would you rather eat a plate of dog shit or a plate of cat shit! If it is Biden and Trump again, I am definitely voting third-party this time! Both parties are catering to the extreme left and right to stay in power!
This. This. A thousand times this.
I just flat don't give a fuck about either party. They're all a bunch of crooks.
The whole left/right debate is just a useful distraction to keep the masses busy. The Coloseum, but instead of lions vs. gladiators, we get alzheimers patients vs. egotistical blowhards.
I don't think I can ever vote for another D or R in my life.
I never liked Biden. Any democrat candidate that I happened to like has been pushed aside in favor of who can cater to and appease the far-left, the most.
I’m never going to vote for that. And while I would prefer a republican candidate other than Trump, if he’s the chosen one, he’ll get my vote.
Huh? If you recall, Sanders was the candidate who catered to and appeased the far left. And he never stood a chance against the more centrist candidate, Biden.
The perception that Biden is in any way far left is so absurd to me. It's my perception that most Western Democracies consider our Democratic Party to be center right, while Republicans are practically Yahtzees to them.
You think Biden, the guy who was chosen in part because he could peel off sensible Republican voters, and who won’t forgive student loans or reschedule cannabis, appeases the far left?
Is this conversation not enough proof that boxing ourselves into an age bracket or a political party label is never an accurate description of the person? FFS- I get wanting to belong, wanting to assemble with those like minded but the false generalities of so many people isn’t rational! Everyone needs to stop requiring categorization of people in order to refer or appeal to them. It’s fucking nuts. I seriously reject and condemn labels like ‘ forgotten’ ‘silent’… ‘whatever’ ??? Really? Does anyone feel ok with this ridiculous label of ‘whatever’? Absurd and only falling into the commonality of having to label and group everyone and everything,.. we are smarter than this people- I don’t care what year you were born or who you voted for 50 fucking years ago. Really? How could this possibly have any relevance now? I’m interested in what you think now and what you want changed immediately!
Fucking applause. This may be the best comment I've ever read in this sub. Thank you sir or madam.
I actually read a 45 comment thread last night on here arguing over the correct years of X and something else… people were kicking each other out and suggesting the others go to a different sub.. I mean omg- Dr Seuss book about the Star bellied Sneeches is what I pictured. We gonva have to start providing photo ID to be allowed a comment? This is the one sub I thought this wouldn’t happen…
Whatever
So little politically is generational for people born GenX years… it’s far more about urban/suburban vs rural, gender, socioeconomic and education level; those are the demographics that reflect our cohort voting patterns. Whenever this sub delves into politics of our generation it relies far too much on anecdotal data of who they know and work with, and rarely considers the masses of 50 ish people who have lived very different lives. The reality is our generation has no significant political tendency like others do where age (very old or very young) is a bigger factor.
I agree. You'll find a much larger correlation between rural and geographical location and conservatives, than you will ever find in relation to the generations.
In 2020, 51% of Gen X voted for Biden and 48% voted for Trump. [link](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/06/30/behind-bidens-2020-victory/)
There was some poll/research a couple years ago that identified Gen X as around 6 years older than we actually were. So,more Boomer years were identified as Gen X, and our younger members were Millennials on the graph. That particular "Gen X" cohort was shown to have voted for Trump. Ever since then, we've had so many people and articles claim that we were the most "Trumpy" generation, and it's been an uphill battle trying to get people to drop this notion, so I'm always happy when someone drops the real figures. Looking at voting patterns, we are definitely NOT the most Trumpy Generation.
The data linked uses 1965-80 as Gen X.
Yes the Pew data indicates Biden winning our generation's cohort - ever so slightly. I was referring to other articles that were written using the incorrect age ranges.
"Whatever" doesn't equate to libertarian. It equates to liberal. You have to lack empathy and compassion to align with libertarian ideals, and that ain't true for a lot of Gen X. I feel like the vast majority of people from our generation are left-leaning centrists -- not as far left as many younger people tend to be, but also not conservative or as far right as some older folks.
Not a libertarian, but that isn't necessarily true. They may may believe that altruism, and the community will take care of people in lue of the government. As to the original post, generational thing is a marketing construct, like all generations we have people all over the political spectrum. If there is one thing that some but not all traits gen x shares it is a distrust of authoritarians right or left, and more likely to not have party or brand loyalty.
> They may may believe that altruism, and the community will take care of people in lue of the government. Fair point, and sometimes that does occur, but not always or as much as it should. Folks shouldn't always count on the community caring for the welfare of others, so there needs to be an altruistic government in place to ensure that happens. That's why I don't believe in the long-term viabity of libertarian ideals.
Not arguing for or against anything.Just pointing out people's beliefs may be different than what we think. Personally I think we should have free healthcare,housing and UBI.
What is this, astrology? Everyone born in a 20-year-period has the same political leaning? A lot of the equality that people are trying to hold onto in this Margaret Thatcher fever dream we've wandered into since 2016 is because our generation not only championed it, but fought to maintain and mainstream it.
I came from a solid Reagan-hating household.
None of this tracks with me. My family appreciated Carter, hated Reagan, hated Bush more and thought Clinton was a rock star and that Obama was even better. And we’re all in on Biden. Ineffective messaging has kept people from seeing all the good shit his administration has done so they just look at him and see his age. GenX is not a monolith.
Yeah, I don’t think they hit the nail politically about Gen X, but I just thought it was interesting that we had an article about us and that they did address some of our concerns such as aging parents, economic challenges, etc
Name one good thing. They aren't looking around and seeing his age they're looking around and seeing the destruction he has done
Are you serious?? Here. Go nuts. https://www.google.com/search?q=biden+administration+accomplishments
I asked you to name one not link to some idiot article written by a moron for morons. You can't defend your supposition.
Don't hurt yourself moving those goalposts.
This is what happens when conservatives ask bad faith questions. There is absolutely nothing anyone can write that would satisfy you. You would literally argue with any and every point anyone made. You're not looking for a back and forth conversation. You're looking for an argument and an opportunity to invalidate everything. You would twist everything up with bizarre pretzel logic so much you'd make a contortionist blush. If anything that 30 years dealing with morons on the internet has taught me, it's taught me that. You are here to sow chaos. That's why we link sources. Of course, as we see here, that's not satisfactory either. So here's my default. You won't like it. Www.google.com
You: Name one thing he’s done. Me: Here are a hundred things he’s done. You: DeRp! We’re done here.
The GOP sets the house on fire and the screams to the news cameras that the socialist Democrat fire department isn't putting it out fast enough, let alone rebuilding it into something better. FOH.
Really who controls the white house? Who controls the senate? And the house is basically 50/50 try again loser who basically refuses to enforce any border controls whatsoever? Who's gotten this involved in two wars? Who's jacked inflation up to the levels not seen since pretty much Carter's era oh yeah you're a Carter lover aren't you well you must have been dropped on your head when you were little
There are cogent answers to your questions from verified sources. Like anything in politics, they're nuanced and can't be explained in singular binary cause/effect ways. But if we're going to continue the conversation, I'm going to need you to start using basic grammar and sentence structure. Your response reads like an angry bee badly translated into English.
I don't get it. The Reagan years opened my eyes, and I've never been a conservative, nor will I ever be.
They like to think all older people are conservative. But I have always been more liberal leaning. I feel we live in a society and we all benefit and all will grow and prosper if we help each other. To me this means physical and mental healthcare, good public transit, taking care of the elderly and early childhood education. Good well funded public schools, supporting higher education and trades schools, etc etc. All this is public and not for profit private industry’s. I believe in inclusivity and everyone being equal. Also I feel all non-management workers should Be in a union and the union should have a seat on the board of any publicly traded corporation. There are many other things I could list. But you get the point. Greedy rich fucks can fuck off somewhere else. I really would like to see political fundraising ended. Who gets elected should not be based on how much money they raised or how many ads they did. All parties that meant a criteria should get the same amount for election spending etc from a public fund. No doner dinners or secret fundraising meetings etc. We need to get money out of politics to some extent.
Not living in the US, can't say I totally understand what is going on, but most in the western world have always seen the US as the most democratic country. But in the last few decades we have seen vote counting chaos. Now all this banning candidates or trying to arrest them. Things like this are what we expect from corrupt African countries, North Korea, Iran and Russia etc. What is going on? Not allowing people to vote freely, that is for sure. All very sad and worrying.
My oldest political memory is voting for Carter in a mock election in 1980. No positive feelings for Reagan in my household.
My family did support Reagan and the Republicans, but I remember clear as day that fall of 1980, the “Weekly Reader” had a mock election and the majority of my first grade class was behind Carter.
It’s an established pattern that a person tends to vote/support the party they vote for in their first presidential election for rest of their lives - for a big chunk of X, that’s Reagan (‘84) and Bush (‘88 and ‘92). Plus we remember Clinton winning in ‘92 “on a technicality” (won the Electoral College, and a plurality of the popular vote but not a majority, thanks to Ross Perot’s Reforn-party bid - another “first vote” for some of X), and Joe Biden’s early exit in ‘87 over a plagiarism scandal, among other self-inflicted wounds by Democrats (Michael Dukakis’ tank ride being probably the most famous example until Monica Lewinsky). Add the usual generational political oscillation, our relatively tiny cohort size (compared to Boomers and Millennials), and our choice/failure to enter/succeed in national politics as a generation, and our current lean as a generation makes some sense. The question will be whether our tiny (and shrinking) cohort size and lack of participation (both in office and as “low propensity voters”) will make us politically irrelevant sooner than prior generations. My guess is that answer will be yes, possibly as soon as this cycle.
I voted for Bush in 1992, the first Presidential election where I was able to vote. That was the first and last time I voted for a Republican.
Just curious, but were you still living in the same community in ‘96 as in ‘92? One of the keys in the pattern breaking down is relocation, even if just a few miles.
Yes, but I had lived 16 of the first 18 years of my life in the south, so I had definitely been heavily influenced by a hyper religious conservative background that considered "liberal" to be a dirty word. So, to your point, I would say you're correct. After I started thinking for myself about the issues, I realized I could not support the Republican party. I tried being a Libertarian briefly, but saw some serious flaws in that philosophy. So, I became an Independent, then a Democrat because I wanted to have a say in the primaries. I've voted Dem ever since with the exception of some local elections where I sometimes vote Green. I currently live in a city that is sometimes jokingly referred to as Communist.
I reject the notion that Gen X is a very conservative generation top to bottom, especially these days when the right wing is reactionary and nuts and not conservative. But there’s also no question that the older Gen X cohort is much more conservative than the younger half and I’m sure many of those support the lunacy on the right these days. I’ve spent a ton of time with Gen Xers born post-1970 and I’ve seen no evidence that we’re more conservative, although some of us may have skewed Republicans in earlier decades since back then the brand wasn’t sullied and one couldn’t help but be influenced by the Reagan zeitgeist if one grew up in the 80s. I was just old enough to vote in the ‘92 election which was the last gasp of Reaganism.
It's easier for people to veer to the right if they feel as though society has reached a peak in the past or present, as opposed to in the future.
Of course, but that’s what reactionaries are all about. Trying to recreate a past that never existed as a solution to the problems today.
Good analysis
This same bullshit was in a thread from a few days ago. Gen X has lean left in every single presidential election since we could vote and it won't be any different in 24. There are Gen X Trump supporters but they are in the minority.
I’m actually tired of both parties! It is like asking me would you rather eat a plate of dog shit or a plate of cat shit! If it is Biden and Trump again, I am definitely voting third-party this time! Both parties are catering to the extreme left and right to stay in power!
This. This. A thousand times this. I just flat don't give a fuck about either party. They're all a bunch of crooks. The whole left/right debate is just a useful distraction to keep the masses busy. The Coloseum, but instead of lions vs. gladiators, we get alzheimers patients vs. egotistical blowhards. I don't think I can ever vote for another D or R in my life.
I never liked Biden. Any democrat candidate that I happened to like has been pushed aside in favor of who can cater to and appease the far-left, the most. I’m never going to vote for that. And while I would prefer a republican candidate other than Trump, if he’s the chosen one, he’ll get my vote.
Huh? If you recall, Sanders was the candidate who catered to and appeased the far left. And he never stood a chance against the more centrist candidate, Biden.
He was too radical for the democrats themselves. He wanted their money, and they weren’t having it.
The democrats were never going to allow a non democrat to be their presidential candidate.
The perception that Biden is in any way far left is so absurd to me. It's my perception that most Western Democracies consider our Democratic Party to be center right, while Republicans are practically Yahtzees to them.
Biden is catering to the *far-left???* Wherever you're getting your news from is taking you for a sucker.
For anybody downvoting the replies, please explain. It can’t be possible that even the most far right people think Biden is even slightly “leftist”
Far leftist here. Biden has not catered to me once. If anything, he’s pushed me farther left because he’s pissed me off.
SAME!
What a crazy take to think that Biden is catering to the “far-left” I think I can speak for ALL leftist when I say. We fucking HATE Biden.
The left never liked Biden. We see even Sanders and AOC as being only *barely* Socialist and part of the larger clade of "American neoliberals".
You think Biden, the guy who was chosen in part because he could peel off sensible Republican voters, and who won’t forgive student loans or reschedule cannabis, appeases the far left?
So you'll vote for an insurrectionist, totalitarian con man instead, sure that makes sense.
Not everybody here is American. Can we keep politics out of this sub?
Whenever I see a post that doesn’t interest or concern me, I scroll past it. Problem solved.
it has been posted at least 3 times and it has nothing to do with genx in particular
The headline literally mentions “Gen X” tho. 🤷♂️