I think the worst part is that we do, in fact, know it will get worse… But we were raised thinking we’d all live in big houses and be free of debt by now.
Millennial about to turn 41.
I’m tired.
I’m not particularly fond of my fellow Americans anymore.
And I don’t have an ounce of patriotism left.
This country can go ahead and fuck itself. Which it appears to be doing pretty thoroughly. Dumbest fucking country in the history of the world if you take into account its wealth and influence compared to its quality of life and happiness index.
Weighing how much effort/money it would take to get Canadian citizenship and whether I have that kind of energy left in me.
Man, I felt this so hard. Every word of it.
My only two cents beyond that, I fear Canada is too close.
At this point I think if anyone loves America they’ve bought into Republican brainwashing. I don’t think I could love this country. Anything good has been stripped away.
The best parts are the natural wonders and some of my best friends. My friends can come from anywhere and aren’t beholden to their birthplace. The wonders are only wonders thanks to conservation, and Republicans want to strip mine Yosemite for oil and coal.
Hey, you can always move to EU. Decent healthcare and stuff. It’s not perfect by any means, especially now but it’s so much better than the shit I see happening around. Makes me feel happy I was born here.
If I had money I would move. But if I had money, most of the issues would be solved in the first place.
I’m an ‘84 baby like you and recently I’ve been trying to remember when the last time I actually felt national pride.
I keep thinking maybe in the general upswell of national pride post 9/11 but that was probably mostly mob mentality and juvenile ignorance.
I am proud to be a Minnesotan though! When I’m abroad in the country the other Americans I meet seem generally decent but it just doesn’t feel like home if I’m outside of my state.
'81 baby here. My parents told me I’d jam along to Reagan’s “Born in the USA” ads in my underoos with a tiny plastic guitar. I think that’s the last time I felt national pride.
It’s not like this is a millennial thing:
- 2000-02: dot-com crash
- 1990-92: early 90s recession
- 1987: Black Monday
- Mid-1980s: Savings and Loan Crisis
- Early 1980s: Early 1980s recession
- Mid 1970s: Mid 1970s recession
And you can keep going back. Also, the plural of crisis is crises.
Masks off.
This country has always been pretty awful.
We just had a short golden age where we taxed the fuck out of rich people and were simultaneously benefitting from the spoils of a World War.
I wish I could upvote this more than once.
The economic boom the US experienced in the 1950s and 1960s was the result of:
- Pro-worker economic policies enacted during the great depression that were kept in place through WWII and remained in place until they started getting killed off in the 1970s and were fully killed off in the 1980s by Reagan.
- The top tax bracket being set at 90%.
- The US being one of the only countries that didn’t have its infrastructure absolutely trashed during WWII.
Even if the US went back to pro-worker, anti-oligarch policies, we’re unlikely to see another golden age unless there’s another world war that doesn’t damage the US. When people talk about their grandfather supporting 4 kids as a plumber, that was wonderful, but it was never the norm.
Let’s see: !lemmysilver
!lemmysilver
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1987: Black Monday
That one didn’t really matter that much to regular Americans. Less than a third of Americans owned stock back then, and that crash didn’t have an obvious cause from actual economic fundamentals. And the Fed managed to contain the liquidity crisis, as your linked Wikipedia page describes, so that the broader economy was largely unaffected.
Recessions matter. Stock market crashes only matter when they are caused by, or are the cause of, an actual recession in the real world.
Gen X here, and yeah… “first time?” meme.
It’s almost like the term for a series of crises is “history” or maybe “life”. TBF, wanting to feel special is normal.
I’m tired, boss
I’m an “elder” millennial… I’m 40+.
Pretty much everything went to shit right after I got to the workforce. It was somewhat subtle at first, but it’s only gotten far worse and far more obvious as time has gone on.
Kids? Nah bro. Have you seen the world? I don’t want to live here, why would I subject someone that I care about to a life, living in this hellscape? Like all parents, I’m sure I would love my children if they existed and even though they don’t exist, I still love them enough to not subject them to gestures at everything this.
I haven’t gotten a meaningful raise since starting work. I was originally hired at basically minimum wage, a bit better than it in my area (ironically, my starting wage in my career is now below what minimum is now), and the only time I went up in salary is when I changed jobs.
With more than half a dozen years of experience (this is a while back) I was fighting for anything over $60k/yr (it gets worse), while housing in my area was skyrocketing above $400k for a modest home…
After the usual expenses of food and rent, I’ve been robbed blind by being given no choice but to buy things “as a service” and own fucking nothing. I’ve pushed back against it as much as possible and after years, I paid off my vehicle and absolutely, positively, 100% own this now 13 year-old car. Whoopee…
I’ve lived through everything from 9/11, to Trump… Twice… And nothing has ever quantifiably gotten “better” without getting worse in some other way.
Better, faster, more capable computers? You’re obligated to run software that spies on you. Better cars with fancy tech that makes them basically drive themselves? Only if you subscribe to activate the seat warmers for a nominal yearly fee… Phones are more capable, better, faster, more connected and overall significantly improved? These are now devices used by companies to harvest every meaningful ounce of information from you, selling it to the highest bidders (multiple times, I might add), and giving you nothing for your contribution. Congratulations, someone has monetized your existence via an app on your phone.
Everything is worse. You never have time off work anymore. Even if you take vacation, the expectation is that if they call you, you’ll answer, then you’re working for free. But if you don’t answer, then your job is at risk.
Fuck everything. This world sucks. I’m fucking sick of all of this shit and I’m mad as hell about it.
Same position and age as you, except I got diagnosed autistic and ADHD at 33. Haven’t been able to work in the one field I have any training in for decades, as that now basically means call centre work which triggers migraines (now known to be sensory overload).
Can’t afford to retrain, can’t get disability to help with costs because of UKGov cycling disability claimants through tribunals to massage the statistics. I lose the disability, I lose my funding. I get the disability back plus back pay, but am still booted from university for not being able to pay in the mean time.
G fucking G. I guess I just wait around until I die or get angry enough to commit an act of political violence that leaves a mark.
I was diagnosed with ADHD a few years back… Just shortly before I turned 40.
I’m lucky that seems to be the only thing my brain struggles with. After about a year and a half, I found a combination of drugs that works for me, and I’ve been doing ok, as far as my ability to think, concentrate, or focus at work goes…
I’m in Canada, so we have similar issues with our social support programs. I know this because, while I got off light in my diagnosis, my brother has far more severe ADHD symptoms, and he has other medical complications that make treatments difficult at best. I won’t go into his medical issues since that’s not my story to tell, but from a high level, most of the problems root in the fact that he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in his mid-teens…
He’s actually registered in the disability system and I’ve helped, or at least tried to help him navigate it and get to a point where he can do anything and get any support at all. Needless to say, I get it. Our system isn’t super different from the UK system. Personally I think it’s shameful that we give such a hard time to people with diagnosed disabilities, it’s not like those disabilities are going to… Idk, stop being a thing? It’s kind of a life long problem.
I’m lucky in the fact that if I continue taking the meds, I’m more or less “normal”. I have a steady job and I help my brother as I am able.
None of this is to detract, compare or “one-up” your challenges. The purpose to saying all of this is that I get it, I emphasize with your situation. I hope you are doing better and that the UK disability system stops fucking up your coverage so you can get back to living your life.
All the best, from across the ocean.
Still “experimenting” via my GP with various meds. Perhaps one day we’ll stumble onto something that works.
Glad to hear you’ve found a regimen that works for you though, and that it enables/better places you to help your brother.
Ultimately, helping each other survive existence with the minimum of anguish is the best any of us can be.
As for UKGov (or CanGov for that matter) getting their collective heads out of arses and not using disabled folk as easy marks, I suspect much worse is to come before it gets better. This place is like a microcosm of the US in a lot of ways.
I appreciate your well wishes all the same 💛
I agree, helping eachother is the best any of us can be. I’ve dedicated my life to helping others.
My dayjob is IT support, and I am often holding certification in first aid (I currently need to renew this), and I have a lot of skills that I’ve developed specifically to assist others. I have, know how to operate, and actively use radio technology as a qualified amateur and regularly volunteer for events to help communication and coordination between medical teams, security, supplies and other services at public events.
I even carry a car battery boost device in my vehicles trunk for the odd time I come across someone who’s car won’t start, and I have a set of booster cables in case the battery in the pack is flat… As an example. I usually have a first aid kit in there too. Just in case.
There’s a lot we could, and probably should be doing to help ourselves and others; I firmly believe that basic emergency first aid and CPR should be a part of the highschool curriculum, and we should learn how to access social services like disability services, welfare, unemployment, and other government services, in highschool as well. Instead we take classes on English in countries where that’s the native language, yet people still don’t know how to articulate themselves in a comprehendable way, and we take several years of maths classes, including algebra, geometry, and so much more, that most people never even see similar problems again ever… Instead of teaching algebra, how about a class on how to file your taxes?
I have a lot of strong feelings about it and bluntly, nobody with any possibility of enacting change, cares.
I strongly feel like highschool failed me, and most of the people in society, and it could be so much better, and there’s simply no evolution or evaluation of what’s being taught and what’s actually relevant for people to know.
In any case, I hope I can continue to help others and that’s the biggest reason why I’m still alive. I’m trying to make this place a bit more livable for the people that are here.
We share a lot of traits and opinions it would seem.
It’s uplifting to come across someone who reminds you that there are still at least a few worth fighting for, that not everyone is a self-absorbed asshat with an axe to grind or agenda to push.
School in general in the UK is a bit of a shit show, slowly getting more and more privatised with each successive government. “Privatisation isn’t working… Maybe we’re not doing it hard enough…”
Perhaps the things your economy relies on should not be placed in the hands of organisations whose very raison d’être is to extract the maximum possible profit possible for themselves…? Energy, transport, education, healthcare, food supply; all privately owned and decreasing in quality while costing more, and, to rub salt into the wound, the entities responsible then dodge as much tax as is possible.
Our supposed “Labour” party is captured by self-serving neoliberal corporate puppets that are beholden to the extremists running the US right now.
They’ve recently announced that they’re going to make it even harder to claim disability benefits, and those that still make it will be paid less than currently. In almost the same breath, they were excited to let everyone know that they’re going to either cut or get rid of the new Digital Services Tax designed to ensure Amazon, Google et al actually pay tax to speak of. Because, y’know, Bezos needs another new yacht.
Honestly, it seems we’re long overdue to remind the politicians who they’re actually supposed to work for. If that means a few heads have to come off to get the message across loud and clear, I’m certainly not upset about it. I don’t see things getting better until that level of event occurs, to be frank.
I don’t think you’re wrong about the level this needs to get to in order to change, which is kind of sad tbh.
This is why I can appreciate someone like Luigi Mangione. As far as I’m concerned, the man is a martyr. He demonstrated that, we, the people, have the power. Not some short list of corporate elites. He fits into the mould of the whole “anonymous” movement; where anyone and everyone could be a part of it, they’re coming, expect them to come, but you will never know who, where, or when, they will come for you.
Anonymous has no formal structure, it’s just people that collectively decided to get something done; and enabled eachother to do it. Random citizens that have just fucking had enough of the bullshit and acted to make a difference.
As far as I’m concerned, that movement is growing in number, eventually it will be less of an individual effort by like-minded persons, and more of a social movement towards real, and hopefully lasting change.
IMO, this is helped along by what’s happening in the USA right now, since a nontrivial number of Trump supporters are getting royally screwed from what he said he would do, and eventually did. It’s a shame that many are unlikely to transfer those feelings onto others that are just like Trump in the future. They’ll think he’s a one-off bad Apple type thing and keep voting for the “fuck the little guy” politicians, thinking they’re not the “little guy” and get fucked by the very people they voted for. By the time they learn any different, they’re one foot in the grave.
I support social programs. Whether childcare (I don’t have children), disability (I am not disabled), education (I am neither a teacher nor student), healthcare (I rarely need medical help beyond a family doctor), welfare (I’ve been gainfully employed or on employment insurance benefits for over 10 years and I don’t expect that to change), or any of a plethora of other programs that benefit people who are not me.
I also support unions, though my line of work (IT support) is usually excluded from collective agreements specifically…
To me, these are worthwhile social and governmental goals. Things that help everyone. Even if everyone doesn’t include me in that specific case. It’s simply the best thing for everyone. There’s far too many people that are only looking out for themselves and being highly selfish, aggressively individual, and aggressively capitalistic. That kind of thinking should be bred out of society.
One word for you. Antidepressants
Here’s one for you: Empathy.
Ha. I’m on them. The meds I take for ADHD are classifiably also anti depressants.
What now, Poindexter?
I’m on the oldest edge of Gen Z, 27 year old here.
I can maybe handle my parents promising a good life for me before rug pulling that. Well, I can’t and that’s one of the many reasons why I have mental health issues.
I don’t think they could have predicted 3 economic crashes in my life before I turn the age they conceived me.
It’s just profoundly sad that there are people who were raised for this planet and the planet has changed fundamentally in the last 20 years alone. The technology, the temperature, the expected job market, the ability to own even basic things, the political climate.
Most people on Lemmy were raised with a bright future that has been dimmed each passing year. The only light we have are those we are close to.
A big reason why the old people don’t get it, is that they see young people with luxuries, and don’t realize that luxuries, like my high end gaming PC and addiction to junkfood… Still costs less than three month’s rent no matter how much I splurge
While being called lazy
I keep telling myself: could be worse. Could also be better, but could be worse 🤷😬
Not sure who I’m trying to convince haha.
And it will be. Buckle up, comrade.
Millennials were also the generation that got to watch the surface web turn into an abandoned mall.
Good times.
Early 2000s internet was so good. I don’t know that it’s possible to go back there. You needed it to be a little bit wild west, you needed to say “Hey, if I click this website, am I going to regret it?” But folks were generally real (except apparently the girls I talked to in AIM chat rooms, but hey, I survived).
18/f/cali is a mindset, not a statement of fact.
Agreed.
But I still debate whether or not unrestricted internet access as a older kid/teen was a good thing or not haha. I’m sure we’ve all clicked links we regretted or went to those sites (rotten, or other shock sites). If we didn’t see all that shit growing up, would we be different? I’m not sure, but would be interesting to see some research on this (there may be some already, I haven’t looked).
Anyways, I recently found a great website for lemon-themed recipes. It’s www.lemonparty.org, check it out!
Ah yes, the site for learning more about trump’s upcoming plans. Good share.
Stop crying, geez.
(You’ll need those tears for your forties)I’m about to hit 50 and I’m still not done crying.
To be faaaair, i never said when it ends
sob I know sob
Just wait til you’re in your 40s…
In the 2020s alone we had COVID, Russian Nazis, and now Trump Nazis. Oh, and we went past 1.5 degrees.
Trump Nazis were 2015.
I feel like I live in interesting times, and understand why it’s used as an insult
GNU Terry Pratchett
More than half of millennials are >=37 years old now…hell, the oldest are in their mid forties now
And many of the “smart” ones still think economic market models are more accurate than reality.
I had a discussion about this very thing with a Boomer, who proceeded to state they essentially went through more and including the shared recessions that myself as a millennial went through. Gas shortages of the 70s, wars, protests, etc, failing to grasp the point that was being made that their generation has had all the opportunities. They closed it out with, oh well maybe you should work harder and save more… yeah okay, hard to do that when I am overtaxed, inflation is on the rise, were likely entering Great Depression 2.0 thanks to Donvict, can’t afford a house when a mortgage would be cheaper than renting where I am at, but sure yea I will just work til I drop with little living in between, that’s the fix, its not the system, its me. Their “I got mine” attitude is astounding dismissive and part of the issue with their generation. Not all of them, some of them get it, but a large majority look at millenials and the younger generation as being lazy and that’s why there is such a massive homeless population problem. Not that wages have not grown proportionally with the cost of living, its just that we don’t work hard enough. I half joked that the greatest thing that could have happened was that COVID wiped a large swath of their generation off the map, it would save Social Security, free up housing, bring down the burden on healthcare, lower GOP voting base of angry bigot whites that hold on to the belief that America is only right if it is white, a large part of politicians that have made a career out of it would be removed ushering in a new more modern means of thinking into politics, and we might actually make some progress in this country. But nope, now we have angry Karens and racist Kyles who blame immigrants for all their problems rather than looking at the disparity between American generations.
