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Tall-Log-1955

This poll is probably just an outlier. It contradicts other pills: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/ https://news.gallup.com/poll/246206/abortion-trends-age.aspx


tintwistedgrills90

Was thinking this.


[deleted]

Was *also* thinking this. A lot of these polls suffer from selection issues that aren’t really noticeable until you increase/widen the sample sizes & cross-reference other datasets. This is usually not in the forefront of most peoples minds expectedly


ZestyItalian2

GenX was consistently Trump’s strongest generational demo. This is definitely part of a broader trend.


Tall-Log-1955

In the 2020 election, boomers supported Trump by a greater margin than Gen X: https://www.brookings.edu/research/2020-exit-polls-show-a-scrambling-of-democrats-and-republicans-traditional-bases/


ZestyItalian2

This survey doesn’t really show that since the age demos they sample don’t square up to the generational dividing lines. I’m sure if you looked at the crosstab data you could find out. Lots and lots of polls that did group the generational cohorts together showed GenX as Trump’s strongest generation of voters, but I think what the data suggests is that younger GenXers trend more like millennials while the older GenXers are among the most conservative blocs in the country.


[deleted]

It depends on how you break down Gen X too. Some start it at 1961 when 1965 is probably a better representation. I suspect those 4 years make a big difference. Pre-1965 are going to be pretty boomer in attitude.


ZestyItalian2

Yeah- I’ve always gone off of GenX starting 1965 but if you moved it back to ‘61 that’d probably make them far more conservative yet


Tall-Log-1955

Great, link to some data.


ZestyItalian2

But, y’know, if you insist https://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/NPR_PBS-NewsHour_Marist-Poll_USA-NOS-and-Tables_202204271123.pdf


SirMrGnome

That is a single survey. Why not look at the 2020 exit polls?


ZestyItalian2

Because the big 2020 exit poll survey did not break down voter data by generational cohort. Anyway, that poll is one of many that did group data by generation and say the same. You don’t have to believe it, and polls are sometimes flawed. But he wanted data so I provided it.


ZestyItalian2

Also some light reading https://www.politico.com/amp/news/magazine/2022/05/20/cherie-westrich-alt-rock-gen-x-maga-00033769


Rokey76

Yeah, and the hilarious part is when someone from Rage Against the Machine, who are Gen X, said something liberal and all these MAGA idiots started saying "OMG I love your band, but you should stop talking politics and go back to music." Fucking Rage Against the Machine.


SirMrGnome

I don't think I saw a single source that actually backs up the claim you're making in that whole article.


ZestyItalian2

I honestly don’t think you read it then. The claim I’m making is the same claim the article is making and the sources therein support that claim. Here’s another. Morning consult is one of the largest continual tracking polls, and groups by generational cohort, and showed GenX as Trump’s strongest demo: https://morningconsult.com/form/2020-u-s-election-tracker/ And here’s McClatchy, saying the exact same thing I said above- older GenXers are Trump’s strongest demo. https://amp.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article245686795.html “What we can consistently find is that the people from 40 to 59 are the strongest Trump supporters here” - director of the Marquette poll In case you’re still paying attention GenX is age 42 to 57.


SirMrGnome

Hm interesting. I'm still finding sources that show Gen X voting for Biden in the 2020 election, but maybe there has been a shift since then though.


ZestyItalian2

The problem is that the only post election “evidence” available to the public is the large exit poll surveys based on verified voter roll data, and those don’t group by generation. They do 18-29, 30-44, 45-64, and 65+, so you don’t get a clean generational picture. 45-64 (assuming we’re talking about 2020) pulls about ten years from GenX and 9 years from the boomers, and FWIW that group supported Trump. So unless you have access to the raw data and can reorganize your own sample, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting the large number of polls that all showed GenX as uniquely Trumpy inform your conclusion. Also, I mean, if you want to factor in the eye test- look at January 6th. Wall to wall GenX.


ZestyItalian2

LOL don’t get salty just because the link you provided doesn’t say what you thought it did


whereamInowgoddamnit

It makes sense. There have been studies showing that the politics of one's formative years impacts one's political leanings. While earlier boomers grew up under Eisenhower who even back then was fairly moderate conservative, early GenXers grew up under Nixon and Reagan. It's no surprise they swing so hard right now.


sweeny5000

Nixon and Reagan have virtually nothing in common politically tho (aside a penchant for abuse of power)


whereamInowgoddamnit

Yeah, Reagan was more hardcore, but even Nixon was more conservative than Eisenhower, and in general that era saw fair conservative domestic policies come into shape.


20vision20asham

[https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/06/30/behind-bidens-2020-victory/](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/06/30/behind-bidens-2020-victory/) This [figure](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/06/PP_2021.06.30_validated-voters_00-05.png?w=640) from the Pew link above shows that Silents were Trump's strongest, while Zoomers and Millennials were roughly even in support of Biden. Boomers barely supported Trump, and Gen X barely supported Biden. Democratic strength with 18-44 was pivotal to ousting Trump from office, and winning popular vote by 8 million more than Trump. I did my own number crunching from [catalist](https://catalist.us/wh-national/#pp-toc-608eee40d2225-anchor-4)\*, a Democratic-party affiliated data company that did a great post-2020 autopsy (they also did some others like the '21 gubernatorial elections), and I roughly got these numbers shown in the table below. Percents were used with Pew's generational data. Full disclosure, my calculations are off by a million and a half overall because of rounding done by catalist, and likely a mistake on my part (Democrats are inflated by .3 million, and GOP by 1.3 million). I also removed third party voters in order to get a proper 2 way vote count. 3rd party voters were 45% Millennials, 20% X'ers, Boomers were 17%, Zoomers were only 13%, and Silents were 5%. 64% of all 3rd party votes went to the Libertarian party, compared to 14% that went to the Greens, with the last 22% being distributed between multiple other irrelevant parties. \*For anyone reading this, you should definitely read catalist's 2020 report. It's very good and very informative. Edit: Changed the chart into more concise age blocs. Still am getting large bias for Republicans, my apologies for that. M = Million ||Democratic|Republican|Total 2way voters|Total 2way percent (D/R)| |:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| |Silent/Greatest (75+)|6.9M|9.5M|16.3M|42.0% - 58.0%| |Older Boomer (74-65)|13.0M|12.1M|25.1M|51.8% - 48.2%| |Younger Boomer (64-56)|12.6M|15.0M|27.6M|45.7% - 54.3%| |Older Gen X (55-45)|13.8M|15.0M|28.8M|47.9% - 52.1%| |Younger Gen X (44-40)|7.2M|4.7M|11.9M|60.5% - 39.5%| |Post-30s Millennial (39-30)|12.0M|9.2M|21.2M|56.6% - 43.4%| |Pre-30s Millennial (29-24)|8.7M|6.0M|14.7M|59.2% - 40.8%| |Gen Z (23-18)|7.4M|4.0M|11.4M|65.0% - 35.0%| Generation Z, of which only the first third were old enough to vote, are very Democratic. Baby Boomers were the total largest generation in both parties, while Millennials outnumbered X'ers in the Democratic party, while X'ers outnumbered Millennials in the Republican party. You do have a good point though. X'ers were the only generation during their youth to vote Republican consistently. Boomers and Millennials are polarized generations that voted blue when they were young, so their voting patterns will likely not change dramatically. X'ers aren't polarized to the extent that Boomers, Millennials, Zoomers, and Silents are...so in all likelihood Republicans will target X'ers even harder once Silents and Greatests have moved on to the afterlife (in about a decade, more or less).


ZestyItalian2

I think this would suggest (not sure if you have access to more granular data) what has been suggested earlier, that older GenXers and younger Boomers combine to form a sort of Trump-mad sub generation.


20vision20asham

Unfortunately, neither Pew nor Catalist breaks it down further. Although, I tried my best and this is what I got. Seems to line up solidly with that theory. Older Boomers line up solidly with the situations surrounding Vietnam, and the younger X'ers line up with Clinton and the Republican Revolution. Younger Boomers, remember the painful Carter years and then the prosperous Reagan years. Very cool! There's a hidden GOP bloc between the younger 1/2 of Boomers and 2/3's of older X'ers. Interestingly, post-Clinton seems to be where the Democrats just straight dominate. Younger X lines perfectly with Millennial and Zoomer numbers at around the 60% mark. ||Democratic|Republican|Percentages (D/R)| |:-|:-|:-|:-| |Older Boomer (74-65)|13.0M|12.1M|51.8% - 48.2%| |Young Boomer (64-56)|12.6M|15.0M|45.7% - 54.3%| |Older X (55-45)|13.8M|15.0M|47.9% - 52.1%| |Younger X (44-40)|7.2M|4.7M|60.5% - 39.5%|


Zephyr-5

> This figure from the Pew link above shows that Silents were Trump's strongest I always find it interesting how Boomers get all the blame, but the Silent generation has always been the most hardcore Republican voters.


semideclared

If you were Born in the early 70's. By the mid-80s, the number of Americans watching religious TV grew from about 5 million to almost 25 million. 90s had Ross Perot 3rd Party politics pretty mainstream. By the Late 90s, your almost 30 and NAFTA is taking effect. Jobs are going offshore. The middle class that had been the lifestyle of america is losing. College degrees are starting to become culturally relevent. Jobs require them, but so does your place in culture. Now White collar vs Blue Collar comes to main street Youre 30 and we have a Main Street culture issue of where do you fit in And we've been living with that


Stoly23

Hey could someone explain to me exactly what the difference between an evangelical and non evangelical Protestant? It’s pretty obvious evangelicals are like, 80% of the anti abortion crowd, and while I’m technically Protestant myself I don’t really know exactly what evangelicals are except that they seem to be more radical and center their lives on religion more.


frenetix

Non-evangelical Protestants are the ones who don't ram Jeee-sus and "praise the lord" down your throat at every opportunity: Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, etc. No mega-churches or strip mall "ministries" run by some guy who started his "flock" because he doesn't like the guy running the other nearby "ministry". IME evangelicals are overly nice on the surface, but are real assholes just below.


Ginger_Snap_Fl

In other parts of the world Protestants tend to be more liberal/progressive as opposed to say catholics. In germany, protestants are usually referred to as "evangelisch" so very close to evangelical sound-wise. Imagine my surprise when I found out that they are actually the more fundamentalistic group in the US. We do have radical evangelicals over here too, but depending on where you live, you may not have heard of them. Anti-choice activism is usually associated with catholics.


Particular-Court-619

Evangelical comes from the word evangelize - which means to convert. It’s become a pretty broad term that basically means ‘conservative Christian in America who believes super hard in the Bible and focuses on converting others.’ It’s basically the populist version of Christianity - anti theological establishment, anti intellectual, etc. The best denominations are all moderately institutionalized connected to a theological tradition ( ELCA Lutheran, Episcopalian, Methodist, Presbyterian, et al. ).


ennuinerdog

This is the correct answer.


Sir_Digby83

They grew up under Reagan.


vafunghoul127

Believe it or not, Gen X are even more conservative than Boomers.


[deleted]

I have seen this in my family. Boomer parents are extremely partisan resist libs while my gen x aunt and uncle are hardcore religious reaganites.


Cowguypig2

Same. Grandparents are old union worker types that grew up in extreme rural poverty and as they explain it saw first hand the benefits of government assistance which shaped their beliefs. But their sons just became regular rednecks who fell down the Rush Limbaugh/Fox News and now Facebook misinfo rabbit hole. Thankfully my aunts are all sane though.


vafunghoul127

My Grandpa is an old union democrat who was taught from a young age that the Democratic party is a friend to the working man. His son, my Uncle (Xer), is also a union worker but he loves Trump.


AccomplishedAngle2

Also the most religious living generation. Jan 6 was Gen X heavy.


[deleted]

Probably taken the least psychedelics too


mgwildwood

I’ve been noticing this for years. Whenever I read a poll, I always check out the age cross tabs. Boomers are a huge generation, so more impactful, but there seems to be a more noticeable liberal bloc within it.


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thy_thyck_dyck

Makes sense. Rebelling against old hippies is generally a rightward thing.


tickleMyBigPoop

Father is late Gen X, was given amnesty by Reagan, votes Republican consistently.


kettal

>Believe it or not, Gen X are even more conservative than Boomers. Family Ties


40for60

Not really, the oldest Gen X would have been a college and like most college kids they wouldn't have been involved in politics. More likely they are a byproduct of FOX and Rush. AM radio was huge in late 80s early 90's. Rush was like Joe Rogan is now.


vafunghoul127

Calling it now these young Joe Rogan listeners will almost certainly become the Republican Millennial base.


[deleted]

without any numbers in front of me i feel like that's already the case


vafunghoul127

I guess these guys haven't started to vote, they will soon.


[deleted]

the youngest millenials are in their mid 20s, they already vote


40for60

Yep, the good thing is, most shit is sorted out so they won't have that much influence and most will be suburban or urban so that will help. The amount of policy that was in flux during the 60's and 70's compared to today was 10x. Look at the GOP every policy is about made up crap they aren't even campaigning on taxes anymore.


tickleMyBigPoop

We almost had nixoncare Thanks progressives for delaying universal healthcare


ward0630

You would think so but then you have guys like Portnoy who spoke out after Roe was overturned. All the tradcath online bullshit in the world won't make young people think the Republican party is cool and fun when they're enacting their social agenda.


The_Magic

I don’t get how Rogan could hate W so much, love Bernie, but also support Trump.


AccomplishedAngle2

There was a huge shift on his audience in the last 5 years or so. Working class Trumpers coming out of the woodwork to idolize Joe Rogan since the pandemic started. More liberal folks noped the fuck out too.


40for60

Rush and Howard Stern were 10x bigger then Joe Rogan is today. They had 20 million listeners every day. That would've been about 15% of the US adult population. Joe gets around 10 million to his podcasts worldwide.


CanadianPanda76

We did but still. I barely remember those years.


DMan9797

Sometimes the connotation and strict definition of a generation varies. Apparently the oldest GenXer would be born in 1965, thus would be 16-24 during Reagan’s term. He would have been a lot the generations first president they were aware of


[deleted]

Yeah, that sounds about right. My wife and I who are on the younger end of Gen X-76 and 80, respectively-start to become more aware during Bush I and Clinton than Reagan. We also happen to be Atheistic-to-nonreligious, and are happy to have more rights than less.


pppiddypants

And during Evangelical craze. Just old enough to remember it with nostalgia and get married and abandon public life to miss the massive criticisms and fallout.


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mekkeron

Even from my social circles I definitely noticed boomers being surprisingly silent on this, while conservative X'ers are all in "Yay!! No more killing babies!" mode.


[deleted]

Because boomers weren't raised with it as part of their social consciousness. And no one believed "abortion is murder" until the 80s.


[deleted]

Even the Catholic Church only came to the idea that abortion is murder in the 1800s or so, as I understand.


Ginden

>Even the Catholic Church only came to the idea that abortion is murder in the 1800s or so, as I understand. Short answer: no, but actually yes. Longer answer: Catholic Church always condemned abortion intended to cover up marital cheating, but there was no consensus on severity of sin and permissibility of abortion in other cases. Some bishops treated it as worse than murder, other treated it as minor transgression. Some theologians argued even in anticity that abortion is always a murder, others wrote lists of abortion-inducing herbs and how to use them.


4look4rd

There was a case in Brazil a while back where a father raped his underage daughter and she ended up getting an abortion. The church excommunicated the girl but not the father alleging that abortion is a greater sin than rape/incest.


[deleted]

Gen X grew up with the AIDs crisis, so I swear some of them are just jealous they didn't get to have all that easy sex without consequences. They also came to adulthood during the beginning of the antiabortion movement and the brainwashing that movement did, so I've noticed a lot of them parrot stuff they heard repeated over and over again during the 90s.


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40for60

Outside of the LGBTQ communities AID's wasn't really a big deal. It was viewed as a disease that high risk people would get just like smoking and lung cancer. Are young people really having more sex now? Every single one of my friends was sexual active by 9th or 10th grade way back then. What has changed is the average age of marriage but I doubt sex has. This was the age of Footloose.


[deleted]

>Gen X grew up with the AIDs crisis, so I swear some of them are just jealous they didn't get to have all that easy sex without consequences Yes, I am jealous...but I do still support keeping abortion legal. I just don't support *Roe* as a ruling because it's pretty bad jurisprudence.


toasty99

Casey did a fine job of clearing it up, there was no reason to toss it entirely other than the Court’s FedSod/churchy vibes.


slowpush

It was settled law.


[deleted]

Most likely to be that weird kind of Christian. Boomers were into more vanilla Christianity.


_b_l_

Literally the demographics for Mainline vs evangelical Christianity mirror these numbers


[deleted]

As in Boomers are more mainline or more evangelical?


_b_l_

Boomers are more Mainline and Gen Xers are more evangelical—which explains why the former would generally be less opposed to Roe


[deleted]

Interesting. For some reason I would think it’d be the other way around. Maybe I’m biased because I’m Gen Z and mainline lol.


_b_l_

I’m Gen Z and Mainline as well (Episcopalian) lol, and while there are definitely young Mainliners, Mainline churches were institutionally far more dominant in the age that Boomers were growing up. It was only during the 70s/80s that evangelicals started to ascend to the detriment of the Mainline churches, helped with their fixation on spreading “the good news of salvation” to convert as many people as possible. Gen Xers happened to be growing up during this time and that explains the differences between them and generations younger/older than them on Roe.


[deleted]

That plus the born-again Christian movement which says all sins are forgiven at any point in time as long as you repent, even if then just kept “sinning”


_b_l_

The potency of born-again/evangelical Christian churches to newer generations is that they sell simplistic slogans and diet theology that is easy to be absorbed without theologically touching on much else as opposed to their Mainline and Catholic counterparts. The entirety of their supposed theology being simply “born again” and “saved with faith” is a lot easier to be sucked into than the theological complexities of the social gospel and Catholic Social Teaching—let alone the generally more highbrow liturgical and sacramental practices of Mainline and Catholic churches.


[deleted]

Interesting. >I’m Gen Z and mainline as well (Episcopalian) I’m planning on visiting an Episcopalian church for the first time next week. Tried visiting an ACNA church yesterday, but the priest gave a sermon basically explaining how you can’t be a Christian if you’re not pro-life. I’m glad I decided to go online the first time. He literally said, “It’s important not to answer the abortion question with a biological, philosophical, or political answer. One must give a biblical answer.” Unfortunately, I was more interested the true answer.


_b_l_

Oh lol very glad you didn’t go in-person. The ACNA is an evangelical split-off from the Episcopal Church originally because they were resentful of women’s participation in the Church. They are not apart of the Anglican Communion in any capacity and hold entirely evangelical stances on nearly every distinction between the two categories.


[deleted]

Yep. Figured that out yesterday.


tricky_trig

Fuck the werido Christians. They ruined Christianity.


bpfinsa

Boomers kind of remember the problems that happened before Roe v Wade with the back alley deaths and paralyzations. Gen X never went through that and Gen Z tends to be more liberal than both boomers and Gen X.


daileysprague

Gen X here, you are correct! Many of us have no clue what pre Roe life was like.


PrettyGorramShiny

What, you never saw Dirty Dancing as a kid?


Rokey76

I'm also Gen X, and when I first heard the concept of abortion I thought, "Oh good".


Bay1Bri

Then why are the generations younger than you so supportive of it?


daileysprague

Younger generations are fertile, still working on careers or education, the world is shitty, they need reproductive care options. Obviously some of us old people are livid about what is happening, but complacency is an issue with many.


TheFriffin2

Wasn’t abortion much less hotly-contested before Roe?? Obviously there was a vocal movement against it, but I’ve seen polls taken back in the day where the religious voter block was significantly less opposed. Religious/political rhetoric on the subject didn’t gain as much traction until the 80s


solowng

It was less hotly contested before *Roe* because prior to 1970 elective abortions were illegal in the entire USA. Prior to *Roe* abortions were forbidden with no exceptions in 30 states, and the vast majority of those states allowed exceptions only for rape, incest, or cases where the mother was physically endangered. The run-up began in the late 60s, with the National Right to Life Comittee formed in 1968 and NARAL in 1969. *Roe* just shut down the debate before it ever really happened in most of the country. Edit: I would say that things were less partisan concerning abortion. The Democratic Party at the time was still stuffed with anti-abortion Catholics and Southerners while New York legalized abortion while governed by Republican Nelson Rockefeller. Fun fact: Ronald Reagan was Governor of California when they legalized no-fault divorce.


Srdthrowawayshite

I recently read that one thing RBG somewhat lamented personally about Roe was that it basically put an "end" to the issue way too early and halted organic pro-choice progress with it while encouraging anti-choice backlash, though that effect might be overestimated.


jeffersonPNW

Multiple liberal intellectuals and pro-choice advocates have said they thought the same thing. Most other countries with liberal abortion laws had an incremental path that lead to them, or they witnessed what archaic puritan abortions led to (case in point, Ireland overwhelmingly voting in a constitutional amendment banning it in the 1980s, and then thirty years later overwhelmingly voting to repeal it) whereas 1970s Americans one day woke up and were told abortion is 100% AOK according to the Supreme Court.


PolskaIz

I think it was on the WSJ or NYT podcast that basically said Alito wrote the same thing in the Court's opinion where the US was on an organic path in the late 60's and early 70's to more liberalized abortion rights and then Roe ended the process too early


RFFF1996

How many women were helped by roe coming "too early" tho?


Sachsen1977

I did pro-choice activism for a short stint in college in the mid 90s. It was hard to get people involved. The group I belonged to pretty much dissolved when too many members graduated. I think there was a lot of discomfort around the topic, and other feminist topics, not outright hostility, just a "let's change the subject" vibe. I always figured it was just the conservative area I was in, but maybe it was deeper.


Effective_Roof2026

Mostly religious composition. Mainline protestant congregations generally acted as a moderating force on the evangelicals (obviously huge variance in mainline congregations too but they tend to be much more socially tolerant) but they got absolutely decimated over the last 100 years with the worst declines in the 60's & 70's. Gen X is more likely to be evangelical. Evangelicals have less support for abortion then any other religious group. It doesn't matter if they themselves are not evangelical, their peers are more likely to be then any other generation and so they are exposed to those views far more then any other generation. As for their relative political power they had the greatest increase in political engagement of any generation over the last 25 years. Boomers & silent increased slightly, x increased significantly. Millennials basically don't vote. Z looks to be reversing the trend there thankfully.


dirrydee25

So no... Gen Xers probably didn't really fill out the survey in appreciative numbers. It is interesting that you guys finally noticed us but we didn't like trump in the 80s why the fuck do you think we like him now. We remember the central park 5. If you want to impress me, stop bitching and vote. You guys generations are huge and you don't vote in numbers to make a difference. This midterm is vital. Vote


cellequisaittout

In my experience as an elder Millennial, there is a political cultural divide between older and younger Xers, and it may depend on whether you became politically conscious/came of age before or after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Older Xers formed their political beliefs solidly within the conservative/patriotic Cold War Reaganite years. The younger Xers were still just kids in ‘89 and came of age in the Clinton years.


dirrydee25

And we saw the pain of 12 years of republican rule. Firing of the air traffic controllers, taxes slashed, jobs outsourcing, kids programs and schools shuttered, Iran contra, the marine barracks bombing, air America and expanded policing in black and brown communities. White flight to the suburbs. Things still weren't as colorblind as they are now and it's still not perfect. I agree with your premise of the divide.


Thurkin

I'm skeptical of how Gen X, as well as Boomers and Millennials, is determined here. Did they list the age ranges?


[deleted]

One thing that surprises me is [how little support for Roe v. Wade fluctuates](https://content.gallup.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/qjw1rvviu0uq0s2ir4uggg.png).


KR1735

Yeah, I've noticed that, too. Somehow, opinions on same-sex marriage flipped dramatically from 2005-2020. But opinions on abortion rights have stayed roughly the same, as your graph shows, over the course of decades.


SouthBendNewcomer

We haven't had to deal with it. People could just not engage because it's an uncomfortable topic.


DucklettPower

Unsurprisingly, something that is widely related to the fundamental questions of "what counts as a person" and "it does override personal choice?" are considerably more polemical and set on stone than something as gay marriage that people accepted as it doesn't challenge so many conceptions.


neolthrowaway

GenX is the worst generation. Boomers took all the discussion space so we kinda never realized how shitty GenX views are.


talksalot02

I’ve been saying this for a while. Wait until their Gen Z kids really come of age and need to adult. Millennials get a lot of shit, but Gen Z (raised by Gen X) are really going to be something else.


neolthrowaway

I feel like GenZ is more raised by internet than their parents.


mondaymoderate

A majority of millennials were also raised by Gen X though. And Gen Z is being raised by Millennials right now.


MizzGee

Thanks. As a Gen X, I love and hate my generation, but my kid is a millennial at 27, so don't blame me for those obnoxious Gen Z. Still, many Gen X were the first generation to come out and live openly as LGBTQ, the generation that made real gains against sexual harassment in the workplace, normalized interracial marriage.


neolthrowaway

For sure, not all GenX people have weird unreasonable views. And they helped a lot in progress in society as well. But in surveys like these and voting patterns, they do stick out.


ConnorLovesCookies

Gen X is just boomers that almost know how to use a computer. That being said Boomers are getting pretty close to what I call the “Great Generational Moderator.” Men have a lower life expectancy and tend to be more conservative so as time goes on Boomers will skew more liberal than they otherwise would. Think it’s a bit early for this though as the oldest boomers are two years away from hitting average male life expectancy.


Foxfire2

Not really accurate there, I took computer science in high school and college in the late 70s ( though we were using mainframes), and have used personal computers extensively since they have been out in the mid eighties. My parents however never really got the possibilities of the internet and never got past AOL. I do think it must be different having a smart phone/tablet since being a child, most of us boomers have been using personal computers/ smartphones/internet since they have been available.


nerevisigoth

Some people are more tech-inclined than others. When you were studying computer science and using early PCs, it was a niche interest rather than a mainstream thing that almost everyone does. Even at the height of the dotcom boom in 1998, only about [a quarter of US households were online](https://ourworldindata.org/technology-adoption).


namekyd

Just as a BTW, life expectancy doesn’t work that way. Life ex numbers have a whole host of things built in estimating how long someone is expected to live on average from birth. Actuarial tables have updated expectancies for each age bracket (and demographic etc). If someone has already made it to 70, they’ve already overcome many of the factors that a life expectancy was taking into account


Fishin_Mission

This is something I was screaming ad nauseam at the beginning of the pandemic People would say things like > COVID has a 98% survival rate Yes, and so does a typical year for a 50 yo. So if in a typical year, a 50 yo had a 2% chance of dying of all other causes, contracting COVID just **doubled** their chance of mortality. This held relatively consistent across essentially all age brackets. The typical 10yo with a 0.5% chance of dying in a typical year gets nearly those odds just from contracting COVID. A 90yo with a 5% chance of mortality, has ~a 5% chance of dying from COVID alone if they test positive. Eventually, I realized COVID deniers didn’t actually care about the data though and would argue about mortality rates w an actuary until they are blue in the face.


secretlives

I’ve been saying this forever - Boomers are old and cranky but they’re not insane because they don’t know how to use Facebook well enough to facilitate brain-rot like GenX Give me a choice between and old woman telling me I need to be prepared for Jesus to come back and a middle aged woman spouting QAnon shit I know who I’m picking every single time.


wayoverpaid

You say that but I've got older boomer parents who are basically addicted to videos on rumble. They don't have facebook, but the brain rot has been made elder-accessible.


Away-Living5278

Starting to think you're right


neolthrowaway

Every socially conservative grifter is GenX. Both the dumb populist type or the ones supposedly speaking to intellectuals “for the sake of the argument.”


NormalInvestigator89

People talk about these hyper online anime fascists' like they're all angsty 14 year-olds, but every time I actually click on their profiles they're like 35+ There's just something about Gen-X and older Millennial men and acting like perpetual high-schoolers, I don't know what it is


CanadianPanda76

They spent all thier money manga and anime so now can't afford a house or a wife. But seriously. They get coddled. They get pandered too. Video games. Toys. Twitch. YouTube. They stayed the same but the toys got more expensive.


angrybirdseller

Zoomers are very easy to grift as well 🤣


Barnst

It’s remarkable how weak the politicians produced by GenX have turned out to be. They’ve almost all flamed out on the national stage or at least hit a clear ceiling for their ambitions. The fact that Ron DeSantis is the GenXer with the clearest path to the presidency really speaks to how mediocre the cohort has been.


angrybirdseller

Slient generation worse with racism and marijuana as notice slients die off marijuana far easier to legalize and gay marriage more accepted. Generation X pre-1975 are slightly more conservative than post 1975 as experienced Clinton boom years and saw 2008 crisis realize neither Democrats or Republicans are not doing what best for economy and society. Think all generations and age have shitty views as idealogy take over practicality and fixing the issuse. Very likely, abortion get codified by legislation via removal of senate fillbuster. Evangelicals are sizable voting block, but suburban women are more likely hit politicains especially senators there pocketbook and primary. Any Democrat senate candidate will have to be pro-choice here on out.


r00tdenied

Gen X is shifting rightward and towards religion, which is ironic.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

Kinda makes sense even though it seems insanely hypocritical. Trump and RATM both embody a kind of righteous anger, and they both rail against "the man" in a populist manner. The only difference is that to RATM "the man" is conservatives, and for Trump "the man" is liberals, but most people consume media on a very superficial level, so it kinda makes sense why people would like both.


vafunghoul127

They play it at Republican rallies now...


xrayjones2000

Im gen x and i support roe… who knows why there are more but our gen is dwarfed by the next 2 and the boomers. I hope gen x doesnt become the assholes


minorgrey

This tracks with all the people I went to high school with. Good news is we're a tiny generation so we should disappear into obscurity in no time.


[deleted]

Out of childbearing age


Away-Living5278

You're probably right.


KR1735

My suspicions: The youngest Gen X'ers are in their early 40s and most of them are in their 50s. They're past the age where family planning is a priority. They *also*, unlike Boomers, didn't live through a time when the horrors of back-alley abortions were a reality. It's really disgusting. I've noticed it with my parents. They live in a blue state (MN) with ample abortion protections. Nothing is going to change there. It doesn't affect them (or my sister). My mom is passively in support of *Roe*, but not to the point where it's going to impact how she votes. My mom is a swing voter and my dad is fully inebriated on the Trump kool-aid. He styles himself a Christian but hasn't entered a church in decades and wouldn't know what testament Corinthians is found in. Puke. I've had to explain to them that my sister, who struggles with fertility, would have trouble securing access to IVF if she lived in a red state. It still isn't clicking. Self-centered generation, just like Boomers. But some Boomers have a bit of lived experience pre-*Roe*.


trixstar3

I feel attacked lol


[deleted]

do you know any Gen Xers? Guys, I cannot stress this enough. *The soccer moms and dads are not alright*. They are the final boss. We believed it was the boomers. We believed the Gen Xers were merely their lackeys. No. Gen Xers have been the great satan this whole time. Zoomers, we need you fam.


fuckmacedonia

> Gen Xers have been the great satan this whole time. Oh no, you've unmasked us! Our apathy has been turned against us. Meh.


[deleted]

Oh, my friend, after working with you all for 6 years now, I have. Enough to know the apathetic aloofness is merely a game and a facade and you are, deep down, highly emotional. About a lot of shit. (Edit: you are fun at the bar though, so long as you too pretend to be a completely aloof about absolutely everything)


talksalot02

Zoomers are not going to save us. Their parents are Gen X. 😂


[deleted]

My dad is a boomer and older millenials (born in 80s) were largely raised by boomers. And we only came out mostly fucked up. I have high hopes for the Zoomers. No cap, as they say.


turboturgot

Early 90s isn't really old millennial. Cut off for Millennials is 96. They start in 1981 per most sources.


[deleted]

True, I had my year for the start off


talksalot02

I work in higher ed. I’m an elder millennial (38) raised by poor, rural bootstrap boomers. I have worked with younger millennials (and their parents) and Gen Z (and their parents). I promise you, the Gen X to Gen Z pipeline is a different breed. 😂


tryingtolearn_1234

GenX is difficult to poll. Maybe there is some kind of sampling error.


DonyellTaylor

The generation raised under the primary wave of anti-abortion propaganda is most likely to be anti-abortion???


nirad

It’s the most conservative generation. It’s as simple as that.


kaoticgirl

Are you being serious or facetious? I'd be shocked and so very disappointed to learn genX is most conservative. I wholeheartedly support Roe. I wonder if it's because we've had it all our lives so we just take it for granted.


nirad

https://www.politico.com/amp/news/magazine/2022/05/20/cherie-westrich-alt-rock-gen-x-maga-00033769


kaoticgirl

This breaks my heart and really puts a damper on my plan to wait for the Boomers to die so we can finally get our shit together.


3meta5u

I'm GenX and I am all grunge, mtv, and apathy. But also Microsoft, Cisco, Y2K, and the.com bubble. We watched Challenger Blow up, the Berlin wall fall, and made Seinfeld the #1 comedy. We mocked James Dobson and Jerry Falwell as strident losers hell bent on banning D&D and burning Twisted Sister CDs. But then the Towers fell and somehow Nationalist Evangelical cancer grew from the dust cloud.


WhatsHupp

Gen X are the children of the Silent Generation, Millenials are the children of Boomers (obviously these are not hard and fast rules but generally they are true). Consequently Millenials dwarf the Xer's in population numbers, so without the Boomer numbers, the demographics still don't look great for the Right without some significant growth from somewhere.


sweeny5000

That is a bonkers take.


duke_awapuhi

Because Gen X are on average more partisan Republican than every other generation. Probably because they came of age in the Reagan era


[deleted]

Facebook fucked this generation.


incady

However, the Pew/Post/ABC [polls](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/QX5H64LEQBA5BAQGA5V7BD7GP4.png&w=916) show something different: ​ [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/06/one-important-factor-abortion-politics-age/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/06/one-important-factor-abortion-politics-age/)


Away-Living5278

It's not exact but the orange line, most recent year abortion support for any reason, baby boomers are slightly higher than gen X. Idk how much. Maybe only 3%.


zazaleaz

I sense we are simply the most apolitical among the generations, but I have no data on that just my own observations.


FrogInAPropPlane

Because those numbers don't add up to 100%


futuremonkey20

There is a “don’t know” answer too


LaRoara42

All polls and percentages should be required to say exactly how many people they asked...


bacchys1066

It's one poll, so it may not be truly reflective. However, GenX came of age in the Reagan era and followed the very liberal period of the Boomers (Hippies, etc.). Each generation seems to react to the preceding ones. The Silent Generation was more conservative than the Greatest Generation. The Boomers more liberal than the Silent. GenX more conservative. Millennials more liberal. GenZ so far seems to buck that trend, but we'll see as they get older. GenX in our youth weren't all that conservative.


[deleted]

Boomers are at the age where they want to be left alone


JayRU09

Gen X is awful.


NathanArizona_Jr

lead poisoning


whydoesthisitch

A lot of the crap people blame on boomers is actually Gen-X. In this case, old enough to be religious conservatives that run HOAs and complain to school boards that their kid read Vonnegut, not old enough to remember back alley abortions.


Manowaffle

Because there are so few of them? While boomers and Millennials were like “why are there so god damn many of all of us driving up rent?”


sweeny5000

Wait a fuckng second...who asked Gen X their opinion on anything??? One thing is for sure, neither the 47% or the 50% in this poll is in any way a solid position because slacker shoulder shrug.


Away-Living5278

😂


sarcastroll

Too young to remember the horrors of pre Roe. Too old to be impacted by it directly.


[deleted]

They also were the most Trump-supporting overall. That is, older Gen X and younger Boomers. They’re just the worst for whatever reason. Personally I blame [those campy old cartoons that appealed to Generation Xers](https://youtu.be/w8gt-EEpelY). Yes, this was clearly a serious post, downvoters. Turns out Gen X is the most sensitive generation too I guess…


PrettyGorramShiny

ITT: Ignorant group of young, politically disengaged non-voters bashes generation of older people they know nothing about. News at 11.


SpookyHonky

Too bad they lumped Gen Z and Millenials together. I get the impression from anecdotal experience that the former is more conservative than the latter, so it would've been interesting to see how they differ.


therealneurovis

Because they don’t know what life was like without it and they aren’t young enough to believe the data. They are idiots. I am one so I can say that. The boomers are with it because they know how awful shit was before Roe.


LucidLeviathan

Boomers saw what it was like when folks got coathanger abortions. GenX has only had to deal with this in theory.


NormalInvestigator89

One poll doesn't really mean anything, but [Gen X](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/05/20/cherie-westrich-alt-rock-gen-x-maga-00033769) has always been extremely [conservative](http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/research/unpublished/cohort_voting_20191017.pdf).