Boomers say that because historically, with increasing age people usually also managed to have some things they might want to conserve, like a home and some financial assets to cover their retirement. I’m in my mid thirties and the only feasible way for me to ever own a home is inheriting one. My retirement plan is to die in the revolution. I have nothing to be conservative about
I’m 31, I was most conservative in my teens when I was in a private Christian high school in the south. Then I went to college, worked at a jail, went to law school, and in the process learned about the world and the people in it.
I am still astonished at the people who have done similar things and still don’t have an ounce of compassion for the poor and struggling. Conservative values only make sense when your sense of self only encompasses you, your family, and your religion. Once you realize that you are a part of something bigger, and the gay Hindu man and the black Muslim woman has the same consciousness and feelings as you it’s a lot harder to think of them as enemies or pitiful souls who need to be saved.
When you realize that people are people, and we are all the same, but for our circumstances, then it’s impossible to be conservative.
Was raised on Rush Limbaugh starting in the 5th grade, did the edgy Libertarian thing and now ... now Bernie Sanders is like the only guy in the country that makes any sense. And now I get to argue with most of my family and many of my friends or just never talk politics or walk away completely. And I get to reckon with all the harm I've caused.
Know what's fun? Constantly realizing what a piece of shit you've been. Feeling incredibly stupid for not realizing it sooner. Wondering how you can possibly atone.
I was born in 1991 and I've noticed a trend amongst people my age reaching their 30s which I call "the middle generation conundrum"
Basically, most of us grew on our parents belief that hard work meant a good life.
But as time passed we started to notice a couple of things:
- Our parent's way became more and more out of reach, even with the same involvement in our work. No more traditional way of life on a single salary, even starting out in the middle class
- We tend to feel closer to the next generation's way of life which is "work to live" and not "live to work"
- We are also feeding on the general nihilism towards our planet's future which is making some of us less likely to aim for the traditional "family lifestyle"
The result is that whereas me and my friends would have tended to move right on the political spectrum, the majority of us are actually moving far left as we age.
Last (French) presidential elections, I actually couldn't believe how many people around me voted left. It would have been unthinkable a couple of years before
Actually I went from moderate liberal to pinko-tree-hugging-anarchist-commie-radical thing.
Some folks did the math For me, it was watching shit go down in Ferguson 2014 and then realizing this what America looks like a bit too often. Next thing I knew, I was outraged and reading Das Kapital and singing glorious Bolshevik anthems.
That always pissed me off. They were basically telling me "You're going to become a selfish fuckwad by the time you're my age. You'll stop caring about civil rights. You'll stop caring about the environment." Etc.
I was always leaning liberal and now I'm even more leftist. Mainly because conservatives got even more dumb.
And I'm someone who grew up with parents that were staunch republicans and made me go to church every Sunday. Then I turned 18 and my parents are still christian, but they don't do church anymore. hmm wonder why. Also one of them hates republicans now and switched registrations. I don't even think older people even believe that whole "you get more conservative as you get older" garbage.
This will never stop being weird to me, or at least unfamiliar.
Reason; I was raised by boomers, but they were legitimate 1967 Haight-Ashbury hippies (actually my dad derosed out of Vietnam in '67, so he wasn't in SF until '68, but leave us not quibble) who even now, though both my parents are dead, are still far to the left of me, and I'm basically a Bernie-style democratic socialist.
To put in perspective, while my parents weren't actually part of the SLA, they personally knew and were friendly with some of the most notorious of the lot, though they had parted ways by the time the SLA started to get seriously crazy.
All of which is just to say that growing up with Boomer parents in NorCal was a very different experience for a lot of gen Xers like myself.
Also conservatives: let's murder the gays!
Similar for me. I was told this repeatedly when I was younger, but all I heard was "If you get rich and successful then the wealth will corrupt your values". I'd like to think I could keep my values if I became wealthy, because I know what it's like to be homeless and hungry. But money does change people.
My mother was a hippy before I was born, marched in every march going when I was a kid. Anti war, greenpeace, Land Rights the works. The last thing she did on her drive to the hospital for what would turn out to be her last time, was post in her postal vote for gay marriage rights. She was 74 years old. You don't get more conservative as you get older unless you choose to.
Keep drifting left and I've gotta say, that sweet sweet Libertarian Anarchism/Communalism seems pretty level headed to me. Vertical hierarchy inevitably leads to abuses/corruption and representative democracy infantilizes and negates the will of the people. Direct democracy and horizontal organizing structures keep everyone accountable and makes every voice heard. A world of contemporaries working towards our common goals sounds like the kind of thing you build a future (that's not on fire) out of.
Boomers say that because historically, with increasing age people usually also managed to have some things they might want to conserve, like a home and some financial assets to cover their retirement. I’m in my mid thirties and the only feasible way for me to ever own a home is inheriting one. My retirement plan is to die in the revolution. I have nothing to be conservative about
We don't have lead in our veins this time around.
The older I get the more I learn about the workers history that the rich have hidden from us, so of course I become more socialist.
I was born in 1970 and have steadily grown more and more toward the left. Mainly that's because the right has gone completely insane.
When I was 18 I was a right wing libertarian. When I became a software engineer and started making good money I became a progressive democrat. Now that I make 6 figures I'm an Anarchist Communist. Question: when does my career of the last decade become a "real job" and make me a conservative asshole? Because I'm still waiting.
Same here. I became even more left leaning, the longer I had to partake in the shit Show called economy.
When a Boomer complained to me, that our generation never got anything done and I reminder him which generation was responsible for our low incomes and our inability to move upwards in our carrers thanks to there being to much of them and bl9cking the opportunity, he got really pissed.
I had what turned out to be Semi leftist ideals as a kid. As a teen I went through an Anti Conservative edgy Atheist ark. Intellectual dark web tried to turn me conservative, but while I was watching Sargon and other Alt Shite content I was always watching some leftists. My homepage was a nightmare. I believed in the marketplace of ideas, free speech, and socialism. But I didn't know the word socialism. I was a no theory having motherfucker. So, I became an anti liberal mad at SJWs for thinking everything was more important than class and that Class wasn't important at all. However, the right ended up being homophobic and shit with no principles and also didn't care about poor people are class.
So I'm a communist cause I finally found the politics that actually cared about humans. The politics that were treated as "impossible" my whole life. As I age, I only drift further and further left. I challenge more of the grand narratives I was raised with. Even if I was to "get something to conserve" there is more out there than my crumbs.
We need to end capitalism so there is a future.
I think we radicalize when we get older. The issue is that the boomers have radicalized to the extreme, turning into the people their parents gave their life to fight against. So we are turning ourselves to the other direction. Also, the center in the us would already be considered right in Europe so having a mild leftist opinion is perceived as extremist.
hey it me
Additional possible data point that the current US conservative movement isn't all that motivated by economic issues and is spending most of its time talking about social stuff like "groomers," woke culture, abortion, CRT, etc.
They are losing ground with suburban voters and gaining with non-college educated voters because of these issues. So those factors are probably working against the traditional trend of "make it in your career, move to the suburbs and then start voting with your pocket-book"
(In addition to the whole you're-never-going-to-own-a-house thing others have already pointed out)
this shit is even worse than the reddit 196
That's unrealistic. You can't burn a rainbows and also beer is not flamable.
Only true when you force your views on society and drug those that get more conservative when they get older. Like when your get older you appreciate the professionalism and authoritarian rules. No being more conservative doesn't mean you hate gays and want death upon them, you libs sure do like to assume and generalise.
Thank you!
