General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis message was self-deleted by its author
This message was self-deleted by its author (PeaceWave) on Sat Jun 21, 2025, 11:44 PM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
NameAlreadyTaken
(2,301 posts)
Baitball Blogger
(52,307 posts)We will all suffer because they aren't paying attention to the details that should put a sharper slope on that learning curve.
poozwah
(412 posts)it appears that an entire generation of children was left behind. oh well, you gotta be tough if you’re gonna be dumb.
The Wandering Harper
(915 posts)listen to them? nah, they're idiots, right?
We'll just stay in our safe little bubble of 50+ers
where we talk about our vacation homes and investment portfolios
while our children and grandchildren have to move further and further afield
in ever worsening conditions.
But they're the idiots right?
With attitudes like this, this site will die as its current members die
Celerity
(54,333 posts)real life social set here to post on DU, I have had almost no luck (out of over 100 invites) in terms of any of them sticking, all one needs to do is look at some of the broadbrush youth-bash replies in this thread, and then extrapolate those out to a site-wide footprint.
It also is so ironic to see people from Gens who have been the most likely to vote Trump and Republican (especially Boomers and now, starting in 2022 and 2024, Gen X) try to have a go at us young folk about our support for Trump/Republicans, when we, overall, are far less likely to vote Trump/Republican than their Gens are.
The Wandering Harper
(915 posts)maybe in 20 years it'll be just you and me on here lol
most of my friends are younger than me
I'm mid Gen X
kerouac2
(1,495 posts)I think those that say the economy is their deciding factor actually, deep down, just mean they want more for themselves. More money, more screen time, more beer, just more. And that means the economy.
Anything for someone else, or the country in general, doesn't hold a candle to me and more.
misanthrope
(9,480 posts)His record is garbage. Experts told us last fall his plans were dangerous.
CentralMass
(16,964 posts)
Drum
(10,666 posts)
mackdaddy
(1,971 posts)They are all the same and it does not make a difference, don't you know.
Maybe they are not old enough to have lived through the previous Republican recessions, but they should remember the Covid one. This one is going to make those look like a little bump in the road.
There are three Gen Z in the building at work. Two of three are what us "old-timers" used to call: clueless
Response to PeaceWave (Original post)
Post removed
W_HAMILTON
(10,331 posts)
Also, correction: they've let THEMSELVES down.
They've repeatedly bought into Russian-boosted Republican propaganda that fooled them into thinking both parties are the same, so what difference does it matter who is elected. They turned their backs on the most progressive president in my lifetime and instead think Twitter clapbacks are more meaningful than actual legislation and policies that helped millions of Americans.
They've been duped ever since 2016 and they -- and unfortunately, the rest of us -- will be forced to live with the repercussions for decades.
They've fucked themselves and the rest of us.
Think. Again.
(22,456 posts)And exactly what is David Hogg going to do, attempt to lobby for more gun control that is already despised and turns out more votes against us than anything else?
Hogg is viewed by most Americans as Greta Thunberg with five o' clock shadow.
He is not going to change one vote our way.
Butterflylady
(4,584 posts)What are you doing?
hay rick
(9,589 posts)If a Democrat makes a statement and there is no tv or newspaper covering him, did he make a sound?
Think. Again.
(22,456 posts)
SunSeeker
(58,251 posts)His posts on Facebook and X were straightforward and informative, not the all caps rants of Trump postings. I guess people didn't find them entertaining enough. Are you saying Dems should talk like Trump??
pimpbot
(1,171 posts)Dems need their official account and then a translated account which takes whatever they are saying and converts it to trumpspeak. Maybe that will get through to the zombies.
Alliepoo
(2,825 posts)This is a reality tv world for younger people. Good or bad- that’s what it is now. They have to be met on the social media that they use and in a way that they will pay attention and listen and learn. And that’s exactly what donvict and his ilk know. And use. To their advantage. Dems are SO behind the curve in realizing this and need to change NOW. The kids that vote or are getting close to voting age enjoy the type of delivery that maga uses. My grandson and his friends would never listen to or be attracted by a measured, quiet delivery of information. We are losing the young people by being unwilling to meet them where and how they are.
yardwork
(69,347 posts)If this is true - and I fear it is - the human species is done for.
Alliepoo
(2,825 posts)Those kids are good, smart kids but today’s world is much different than ours was in terms of communication and socializing. It’s their norm and it’s not easy for us older folks to understand or accept but that’s kind of how it’s always been, isn’t it?
yardwork
(69,347 posts)They can't listen to their managers give them quiet, calm information? They reject their doctor's advice because it's given in a quiet, calm way? When they pick up their prescription they can't hear the pharmacist?
The only people they listen to are the ones screaming? Foul mouthed over the top screaming?
We're done for.
Alliepoo
(2,825 posts)Sorry if I wasn’t specific enough. Of course they can have normal interactions face to face and in the workplace and personal interaction.
kelly1mm
(5,756 posts)
LisaM
(29,626 posts)Maybe they should enlighten themselves by seeing what the party actually stands for. They get too caught up in personalities.
As far as housing goes, I am a late Boomer and I have never been able to afford property. And I know many people my age who couldn't, especially single women. It's hardly unique to Gen Z but they could do things like fight short term rentals in their cities and boycott them as consumers. They all gripe about minimum wage and then take advantage of the gig economy. Do they think Door Dash and Shipt and Uber Eats all pay minimum wage or benefits?
Yes, it's a tech dystopia. And they don't get it.
marble falls
(71,884 posts)Alliepoo
(2,825 posts)In school anymore. Government, history, civics is a quick gloss over. Not in depth learning. Teachers have to teach to the test nowadays in order to keep the funding rolling in and that doesn’t allow for the type of education that us older folks were fortunate enough to have.
Dan
(5,155 posts)Donald has always been a part of their lives - they really don't know what a normal president should be. But having said that - it's downright sickening.
choie
(6,900 posts)they were around for Biden - a real president. So that doesn't ring true.
Dan
(5,155 posts)They are truly the entertainment generation.
msongs
(73,716 posts)
MustLoveBeagles
(16,264 posts)Then we are fucked.
tavernier
(14,435 posts)I have many friends and family in that age group and I also had them in high school where I work. Even in a red county most were adamantly anti Trump.
I don’t even recognize the group he spoke of.
spooky3
(38,589 posts)Would agree with those sentiments, most would not. The gen z kids were mostly really good people. Most weren’t extremely well informed about politics and civics however, and some were quite worried about financial issues.
MustLoveBeagles
(16,264 posts)The original post was scaring me.
2naSalit
(102,652 posts)Real soon too.
hay rick
(9,589 posts)Actually I'm tail end of the "Silent" generation. My fossilized take on the reported views:
"Everything's already so fucked up that we may as well shake things up even more."
I somewhat agree. We need a shakeup- just in the opposite direction from what's offered by Trump. Gen Zers are victims of an economy that has smothered opportunity by making certain basic goods unaffordable for most young people: housing, education, childcare, healthcare... If Kamala won she could have prevented further looting of everybody by the rich for 4 years, but she was never going to be in a position to significantly reverse the bulk of the damage to affordability wrought by decades of surging oligarchical inequality. In any realistic scenario, the billionaire class would have retained the power to stymie progressive legislation using the Senate's 60-vote filibuster roadblock and a captive Supreme Court. It's easy to see that Gen Z should have a better option. It's harder to imagine what the path to an actually better future would look like.
Gaza:
I spoke with a leader of Democratic college youth in Florida and asked him about Gaza. He said they did a lot of polling, asking the students which of 14 designated issues were most important to them, and Gaza slogged in around 12th. Highly visible protesters in the media did not translate into widespread concern.
"The economy was also deemed more important than either womens' rights or LGBTQ rights"
The same source said housing, good job availability, and cost of living were all top concerns. Womens' rights were high on the list, but part of that was due to a pro-abortion amendment being a highly contested issue on the ballot. LGBTQ rights were further down the list.
The United States is a broken thing that needs to be exposed to a disruptive new software development in order to "make it better."
This is vague and I am probably taking it too literally, but I would agree that we specifically need a new ubiquitous social media app that is independent of the billionaire class. We also need a single Wikipedia-style authoritative reference news source.
LuvLoogie
(8,808 posts)The United States is a broken thing that needs to be exposed to a disruptive new software development in order to "make it better."
This is vague and I am probably taking it too literally, but I would agree that we specifically need a new ubiquitous social media app that is independent of the billionaire class. We also need a single Wikipedia-style authoritative reference news source.
Well first, you need to participate in the apps that are out there. Except for twitter. Fuck that bigoted hellscape.
The TikTok ban was stupid. They ate our lunch on social media, not because social media apps aren't independent enough. It's because Our politicians and political operatives weren't on the ball. The next big app isn't going to save us.
That's like saying, we just need the right car, or I need a better guitar, when you really don't know how to drive and got no chops.
Look. We just have to do the right thing always. We don't need to play nice with rapists, drunks, and Nazis. We have to lead in showing how people can become unenthralled to the traditional power structures. That's going to be difficult with so many of our own politicians invested in perpetuating those power structures. We are too invested in getting people to buy into the American Dream, when it is increasingly shown to be the bullshit it has always been.
That dream never included the indigenous, Black Americans, women as equal partners and citizens. The bigotry and greed is winning out because that is what fueled America's growth. It is in our DNA, flowery pretensions at liberty and justice for all notwithstanding. Liberty and justice for all has never been the MO of America. Not then. Not now.
Will it ever be? Not in its current state.
womanofthehills
(10,988 posts)Posted that 19 million Dems who voted in 2020 did not vote in 2024. Number one reason they gave (29% of all reasons given) was genocide in Gaza.
yardwork
(69,347 posts)hay rick
(9,589 posts)Student stutters...(first thing that pops into mind)...uh, Gaza. I am skeptical of reasons offered, especially those chosen from a list, for not doing something that they know they should have done. My guess is that half these folks can't find Gaza on the map. Those who can find Gaza on the map are presumed to believe that Bibi's preferred candidate, Trump, would do no worse in Gaza. I'm not buying Gaza as a significant reason, only as a popular excuse.
ZRB
(465 posts)But good effort, comrade. PS, there is no genocide in Gaza.
newdeal2
(5,377 posts)They grew up with the pandemic and Trump was their president for a lot of their formidable years. They never saw normal, no wonder they’re messed up.
Not that I excuse them completely. They are not savvy when it comes to doing their own research and knowing what’s true or false.
LisaM
(29,626 posts)There are still plenty of people around who remember the Depression and WWII. Those were not normal times. The 50s were marred by the threat of "the Bomb" and tightened belts all through Europe, and the beginning of the Iron Curtain and the Vietnam War. The 60s were complete turmoil as the war slogged on and students (male students subject to the draft) started vehemently protesting. The 70s continued that battle, then there was Watergate and the revolution in Iran. The 80s were marked by horrific corporate greed and the unchecked power grabs associated therewith by Reagan and Thatcher, along with a huge rise in the influence of fundamentalist religion worldwide. Europe was subject to numerous terror threats. There were hijackings all over. Ethiopia went through a massive famine, and people were finally waking up to the injustice of apartheid. I could go on, but you get the drift.
It's a punch in the gut to hear someone whine about how hard things are now when even recent history is so unsettled. I didn't even go back to WWI, the Spanish flu pandemic, and the Panic of 1919, and the Wall Street crash and they're not that far away.
I am a history buff and I can tell you that the periods of time it's most difficult to get information about are the periods of relative calm and prosperity. Would that we lived in such times, but we don't. That's why the history section in book stores and libraries slant so heavily to the Civil War and WWII. The most recent trends are to focus on one year (1491! 1619!) and to scold people now for events from hundreds of years ago, but that's divisive and unproductive.
Okay, climbing off the "We're Not Unique" soapbox.
Alliepoo
(2,825 posts)But that when they do it’s maga that’s out there reaching out to them in their preferred form of social media and not the Dems. As someone in a comment above said- maga “ate our lunch” in being light years ahead of us on the social media platforms. TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, podcasts, streams etc is where we need to have outrageous young people delivering the Dem message to the younger folks that are looking for information.
KT2000
(22,138 posts)those people and share with them the 25 pages of what President Biden did for this country. Their careless, cavalier attitude about peoples' lives shows an immaturity that needs to be corrected. I would also suggest they view videos about the history of the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party. There are definite parallels. Governments have a lot of power and they think it is a high school election. They have no concept of consequences.
Half of my grief over what is happening now has to do with the population that is morally and ethically vacuous. I had no idea America became so stupid and cruel.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219802089
mahina
(20,638 posts)Greenland- many reasons, breaking Nato, minerals
Panama- wont allow Russian oil through the canal
Canada- a former 💧ally and competitor for oil
Tarrifs- break our economy
Mexico-“” including food
Giving Elon the keys to the treasury- potentially demolishing us.
Itʻs as if half the people watching the Japanese Zeroes thought they were dropping flowers, not bombs.
Walleye
(44,728 posts)paulkienitz
(1,507 posts)Aussie105
(7,897 posts)They can't see the trees for the forest, they just have a vague feeling Trump is a tough guy who will bring them what their little hearts desire!
I mean . . . Biden messed up the economy, Harris is a woman and not white (double whammy), Trump makes promises, tough guy, he is going to 'fix' things, right?
GenZers have a childlike shallow outlook - no critical thinking skills, accept honesty as a given in others, never experienced a painful economic downturn, have wishful thinking as their dreams, expecting things to get better, all will be good if you just have faith.
Children, grow up! You are in for a big, big nasty lesson!
In for a world of pain - and your self-pitying whimpers will be ignored by all.
Tarzanrock
(1,250 posts)It's their generation. They got the Turd they voted for. The got the Turd they wanted. It will soon enough be their "world" completely beset with all the problems which the Turd has wrought and which he and his rotten ilk will bring to their table. The coming economic calamity which they asked for in voting for the Turd is going to hit these skillless Shitheads real hard especially the undereducated and the stupid within this Gen Z group of which there are millions. I have zero sympathy for them. Maybe, when they are hungry enough -- they will learn how to vote right!
Mariana
(15,623 posts)According to the exit polls, Trump got 43% of voters aged 18-29, and 47% of 30-44 year olds. He got the majority of voters aged 45 and up.
JI7
(93,573 posts)They sound like the usual fools that only sees the Presidency .
moniss
(9,043 posts)good enough for them apparently. The problem I have had with many younger people is their lack of understanding of what came before. So many seem to want things to be "perfect" for them as in "good career, good pay, big house, good schools, good child-care, good transportation, obsessive sports fandom, lots of travel and vacation etc." and if they don't have that then they resort to the equivalent of a child throwing a tantrum and tearing at their surroundings.
Not all mind you but an alarming number to be sure. I blame the "consumption culture" and advertising for a good deal of it by inundating people with this constant barrage of presenting "happiness and success" as being the things I mentioned above. Pavlov redux. Yes there are other reasons too but I talk to so many and read their stories and I want to scream.
So many have no idea of how the past 60 years have been with so many losing jobs, losing houses, never having a vacation, constantly trying to "pick ourselves back up" etc. Also so many have no idea of what came before the 1960's when people worked an entire lifetime for the dream of having enough down-payment to even buy a modest house and that meant working multiple jobs, putting in incredibly long hours and foregoing things like new clothes etc.
Pisses me off to no end when people have the attitude of "I got my education so now things should all come my way."
Response to moniss (Reply #24)
PeaceWave This message was self-deleted by its author.
moniss
(9,043 posts)purchase is that so many stand there at the ripe old age of 25 and are looking at buying a 4000 square foot home. My first house was just under 900 square feet and I lived in it for years with satisfaction and gratitude that in my late 20's I already had what so many of my elders struggled for an entire lifetime to have for themselves.
I am weary of seeing people in their 20's with a good education and a promising future load themselves up with a huge mortgage, big car payments etc. , behave as though the rainbow should last forever and then tear at others when it doesn't.
Response to moniss (Reply #27)
PeaceWave This message was self-deleted by its author.
SunSeeker
(58,251 posts)It ain't the housing. It's the sexism and racism.
Response to SunSeeker (Reply #35)
PeaceWave This message was self-deleted by its author.
SunSeeker
(58,251 posts)There's nothing complex about sexism. Gen Z women went for Harris by 61%, only 47% of Gen Z men voted for Harris.
https://www.laloyolan.com/e2024/a-divided-generation-why-the-gen-z-voting-bloc-is-split-by-gender/article_afa22f12-55aa-5919-8b17-0f95fc58eb0b.html
questionseverything
(11,817 posts)People who couldn’t afford a $400. Emergency shouldn’t be looking to buy a house
A lot of workers have 2 part time jobs, no benefits and talking to them about down payments was insulting or at best tone deaf
SunSeeker
(58,251 posts)In Los Angeles, they're probably living in their car.
moniss
(9,043 posts)in an area and income is not enough to make it then it is irrational to stay there. Nobody says people have to stay there. The housing market in those areas like SF is rigged against people. Just like in many other areas. Gentrification for years and years has done this throughout urban areas in America. Add to this the glorification in the media and culture with "flipping houses" for ever increasing profits and you get that added to the problem of "easy money" underwriting big mortgages because the people arranging the mortgages get their cut up front and the collapse of the mortgage becomes just one more "opportunity" for them to prop it all back up and pump up the asset/commissions over and over.
So you have people who make $100,000 per year taking on debt as though they make $500,000 per year. All fueled along with advertising presenting images of "others" doing it with big smiles on their faces and realtors and lenders salivating at their upfront commissions.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(28,493 posts)How much of the day do most people have a TV on? And what percentage of any broadcast is commercials?
I don't happen to own a regular TV -- I watch on streaming -- and I never see commercials. Never. It's quite nice.
moniss
(9,043 posts)mortgages, real estate etc. are all happy faces skipping through a fantasy world. To say you aren't exposed to advertising just because you stream is not realistic.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(28,493 posts)is to get rid of all, or almost all of the ads. I'm not bombarded (as is essentially everyone else) with commands to buy, with promises that I'll be better looking, smarter, richer, have a better job, if only I purchase their thing.
Never seeing those ads is really quite nice.
moniss
(9,043 posts)way back one of my college professors was fairly adamant that the way most ads are constructed and presented actually serves no beneficial purpose to society and in fact are mostly self serving to the corporations. I agreed with him mostly except in the case of an "ad" that is strictly informational and isn't hyped for example would be an ad by the government telling people to be aware of Social Security scams and giving them a number to call if they think someone has done that to them.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(28,493 posts)see ads. I do not see ads on my streaming services. Honest, I don't.
betsuni
(29,054 posts)Used to be you'd probably move for career opportunities or stay in school longer and didn't have money anyway (or want to go into debt -- or are they all financially well off?). I wonder when that changed. Seems awfully old-fashioned, like the fifties when people married and had families early, bought the house in the suburbs with two cars, a dog named Spot.
yardwork
(69,347 posts)People expect a lot more now, and it makes even basic housing impossibly expensive.
Poll most DUers and I'll bet a lot of us grew up in a small house that had one bathroom. I'm a younger boomer and my parents never had more than one car at a time. My dad drove my mom to work.
We didn't have granite counters or huge refrigerators or tons of gadgets.
I know some young people who recently rejected an affordable apartment because it didn't have a pantry!
Dave says
(5,416 posts)However, we have a perfect spot for a standalone pantry, but it has to be furniture quality (it’s in the dining room). I found 2 that fit perfectly and were nice enough looking, but so far can’t get my wife to agree to pull the trigger. We’ve been looking for 2 years. It took 3 years to buy a couch, so we have some time.
(With the couch, I ended up just buying one, thinking it was the same as our agreed second choice. Turned out to be the wrong couch, but she grew accustomed to it.)
Mariana
(15,623 posts)Then they put up a giant McMansion on the lot. Right now there are zero small homes for sale in my town.
yardwork
(69,347 posts)I didn't mean to suggest that there are options. I'm just saying that we've been sold a lot of lies.
haele
(15,379 posts)Boomers were all grown up, and took to the Yuppification propaganda full on. You can have it all was the mantra being pushed during the Reagan years.
Everyone wanted the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Even poor and working class folks on TV had nice, large, comfortable homes. American audiences were bombarded with the idea that normal sized apartments and smaller houses were for college students, the "sharing to save" buddies (in comedies), bohemians, criminals, or the elderly. Not for married couples or families starting out.
Anyway, that's been my experience.
But, the Tiny Home concept is still establishing itself, if you can get the land and utility hookup figured out. But living in a Tiny Home takes discipline and few belongings and toys, and not a lot of GenZ want to give things up.
Tarzanrock
(1,250 posts)do not have significant reading comprehension abilities beyond that of a sixth grade student and their math is even worse. Education has had to consistently "dumb down" high school curriculms and college curriculms for their parent's generation and for their generation. The future is not going to be very bright for this generation of Americans.
Mariana
(15,623 posts)He got the majority of voters aged 45 and up. What is your explanation for that?
misanthrope
(9,480 posts)Is either ignorant, or lying to themselves about their own bigotry.
Why would anyone feel Trump's economic plans were better? Trump has a long track record as a financial dunce and con man. Nearly two dozen Nobel-winning economists pointed out Harris' economic plans weren't just better than Trump's, but that his ideas would be disastrous.
So where would the confidence in his plans come from? Because he is an old white guy instead a Black woman?
kelly1mm
(5,756 posts)misanthrope
(9,480 posts)But willful ignorance bound in the refusal to understand that was Obama’s economy. Don’t underestimate the influence of bigotry on that belief as well.
SunSeeker
(58,251 posts)They're whining because they can't afford a nice house in town? Pretty soon they won't be able to afford a nice latte in town because they will be out of a job. Such fuckwits.
Harris offered them $25k down payment assistance, but they laughed it off. They just could not continence a brown woman as president. It really is about racism and sexism among these Gen Z bros.
Wait until Trump crashes the economy with his tariffs and government shutdowns/payment stoppages. They have no idea what's about to hit them.
Democrats will do what they always do, run a serious, smart candidate to pull the country out of the ditch that Trump drives it in. I presume we will not run a woman in 2028, sadly, so these bros might finally vote for a Democrat.
I am so disgusted.
kelly1mm
(5,756 posts)but rather are trying mightily to make enough money as to insulate themselves and possibly their family from the depravations to come. See Soylent Green for a possible future.
JI7
(93,573 posts)SunSeeker
(58,251 posts)Looking at Gen Z men, however, this pattern shifts. More men ages 18 to 29 (49%) voted for Trump over Harris (47%). Gen Z women voted to the left, with only 37% of women ages 18 to 29 voting for Trump, and the majority (61%) voting for Harris.
https://www.laloyolan.com/e2024/a-divided-generation-why-the-gen-z-voting-bloc-is-split-by-gender/article_afa22f12-55aa-5919-8b17-0f95fc58eb0b.html
usonian
(25,142 posts)They are the new Gods.
And the ultra individualistic Ayn Rand philosophy has permeated society.
Tech is God. Everything else has seemed stagnant. I grew up with the transistor and the IC. My first radio kit had vacuum tubes. And I believed in tech as liberative, not controlling.
Computer Lib: Dream Machines.
See "What Technology Wants" by Kevin Kelley.
Sociopaths get all the pub, adulation snd money. Big tech = Money = God.
I brought up my kid right, with great values and moral compass.
haele
(15,379 posts)Most of them have only a cursory video game level view of history, very little philosophy or ethics, not to mention civics.
Mainstream Colleges and Universities were starting to decouple the idea of a classical education because the Monied conservatives in the WWI and Silent Generation did not want their Boomer kids to become Commies or Beatniks.
But since they had to come up with some reason to keep Proles in school, they pushed the idea that Liberal Arts (especially Philosophy) were for Losers and trying to get as many Boomers to focus on Finance (as MBAs) and STEM as the method for success.
True, there had been problematic issues within 19th century/early 20th century philosophy that couldn't deal what the rapid technological evolution was doing to society, but too many of the parents of the Boomers couldn't deal with that rapidity, and did whatever they could to keep their children from wanting to actually change society in such a way that would leave the old "traditions" behind.
Just my theory. But Boomers were the first generation to experience "teenage" as we now know it, and a lot of it was because their parents wanted to "enjoy their childhood" and protect them from the outside world far longer than generations prior.
Keepthesoulalive
(2,282 posts)The Haitians did nothing wrong, women are dying from lack of appropriate medical care, Mother Earth is drowning from pollution, people are having a hard time feeding their families and depend on free food at school , school shootings and they only care about themselves. He isn’t going to fix any of their problems only make them worse.they voted their bigotry and their entitlement. Now go sit next to Latino men and People who were supposedly concerned about Gaza. Because goddess forbid we have a recession or depression with the house of stooges in charge . They will find out.
no_hypocrisy
(54,881 posts)In the Seventies, many of my friends and I still were suspicious of Republicans after Nixon. We still marched. We cared about the Environment. We wanted a better World.
Then Reagan got elected. And there was a new movement. Our addiction to weed was converted to addiction to money. And status. Wall Street.
And here we are with apathetic Gen Z and they more or less have surrendered. They're focused on themselves and view politics like Game Boy.
Henry203
(928 posts)Who only care about themselves. I am in high tech and would have “ enlightened “ them.
Mariana
(15,623 posts)The majority of them voted for Trump. He only got 43% of Gen Z's votes.
OrlandoDem2
(3,234 posts)He voted for Harris but his comments are distressing. He says his generation has given up on owning a home. The American dream is dead to these kids.
My son will be making a lot of money but we have a national housing crisis. As he put it, we are moving to a feudal world again where massive corporations own entire neighborhoods and apartment buildings and everyone just rents like the Middle Ages. He says that people his age figure it’ll be better to rent their whole lives and just save for retirement.
My home is almost paid but I have no incentive to sell to downsize now that my wife and I are empty nesters. Where would I live that’s affordable? That adds to the housing shortage. My home is way overvalued relative to what it is…3/2 ranch style home that exists across the country but I wouldn’t pay the market value for it. It’s absurd. So how would a person on an average salary afford it? And why would a person with a high salary buy it? Quite a conundrum.
We have ALWAYS been told that people vote with their pocket book. That’s what happened in 2024. People viewed inflation as Biden’s fault. I am not at all surprised by your dinner party revelations. They will view further inflation from the Trump tariffs as his fault and that of the GOP then vote accordingly in 2026 and 2028.
Trump won by less than 1.5% mostly because of the economy. Inflation is hammering people but it’s going to only get worse. Gaza was a blip on the radar. I love AOC but she’d get demolished in a national election. She should be a party leader but never the nominee for POTUS.
Again, nothing about your post is surprising, at least to me.
Kaleva
(40,347 posts)Owning or not owning a home will become a very minor issue as he struggles to survive.
PCIntern
(28,348 posts)They truly believe that they invented popular music, alcohol, illicit drugs, and sex.
The fellow in my office believes that we older folk are all quasi-celibate because we don’t know what to do in bed. I’m not kidding. And he’s educated.
genxlib
(6,131 posts)Gen Z actually has the most legitimate complaint about the economy because their concerns are generational and not transient. If a voter decides to vote based on the price of eggs, it is shortsighted and often shallow.
But these young people are facing generational challenges that do not have an easy fix. Coupling the price of education, the burden of debt, the slow growth in earning potential and compare that to cost of homes, cars, insurance etc. It has become a bad deal for most of them.
You and I both know that Trump will hurt them more than help. But desperate people are vulnerable to the promises of populism. When people are frustrated, the grass always looks greener in the opposition party. And a certain nihilistic mindset can creep in leading to the burn it all down crowd. And the conservative new media has established a better beachhead in this market than we have.
At this point, they just have to experience the next few years and see if they change their minds.
Mariana
(15,623 posts)the highest percentage of Gen Z's votes went for Harris and the least for Trump. Their elders were more likely to support Trump.
genxlib
(6,131 posts)The age group definitely went our way but not in the numbers expected.
Just talking about the portion of the demographic that fell short of where we thought they would be.
My daughter is more liberal than me at 23. She is a determined Dem voter but she sees darkness on the horizon for her generation. She is one of those young people who sincerely believes she will never own a home despite having a good degree in a well paying field and zero college dept. They just don't believe in the American dream anymore. I can't say I blame them because they are likely to be the first generation in modern history to do worse than their parents.
TheFarseer
(9,769 posts)I do agree the USA needs a shakeup but how is it not obvious to all that Trump is like mashing the accelerator to the floor in a car that’s going the wrong direction? Yes, he says nice things like, “we are going to lower prices” but when you ask how, he literally says, “by raising them 25%”
Martin Eden
(15,590 posts)If so, they're pretty effin STUPID.
If any politicians in DC have their backs it's the Democrats, but Republicans have repeatedly blocked progress towards halting the transfer of wealth to the oligarchy.
Trump and his coterie of grifters will not rein in the real estate billionaires who make home ownership financially out of reach for those of median income.
The price of nearly everything will go up with the tariffs he EFFING PROMISED.
FloridaBlues
(4,663 posts)About Gen Z generation. Not surprised. Going forward perhaps they we will have a big change of beliefs when reality hits them.
Aussie105
(7,897 posts)So 27 year olds at a maximum?
Brain development for abstract and higher order thinking skills probably not all there yet.
Definitely true for me at that age range.
One of the psychological consequences of information overload from social media is the inability to distinguish and get important information sorted in your own head, as separate from white noise.
Plus self-interest of course, like jobs, income, the prospects of buying your own home. Stuff collectively called 'the economy'.
Mariana
(15,623 posts)And yet, a higher percentage of voters aged 18-29 supported Harris than in any other age group - only 43% of them voted for Trump. The majority of voters 45 and over went for Trump. What do you suppose happened to their brain development for abstract and higher order thinking skills?
viva la
(4,592 posts)No women can win, they say?
hatrack
(64,839 posts)Too bad none of the available choices were "appealing" enough, or none of the issues "mattered" enough, or that none of the candidates "spoke to them" to the degree required.
I guess that's what happens when reality is "curated" for you by apps and personal preferences.
allegorical oracle
(6,460 posts)yardwork
(69,347 posts)Unfortunately, I see much the same with my Gen Z stepson and his friends. Not the outright disdain for Kamala (he knows better than that), but the complete lack of any understanding of how things work.
One underlying issue is deep sexism that is pervasive among this generation. They learned this through worshipping Musk and other tech bros, who fed them YouTube propaganda since they were little.
You sum up their mindset well.
NoMoreRepugs
(12,058 posts)feeds that they can’t wean themselves from? F’en morons.
hatrack
(64,839 posts)
doc03
(39,075 posts)the last 9 years of their short lives. About Kamala, in this country it was foolish to think a Black, Indian woman
could be elected president. If Biden would have pulled out earlier and we went through a regular primary cycle
we most likely would have had a different candidate.
ismnotwasm
(42,674 posts)In nursing. I find them to be very aware, more than previous generations. They are afraid of what Trump will do. Outraged about what Trump has done. Many of them have checked out of social media. They gather together, both on-line and in real life. Good people.
Happy Hoosier
(9,531 posts)I make sure that when I talk to my daughters' friends, I constantly reiterate that this IS NOT NORMAL. That THIS is NOT the way it has to be. I want them to hear that.
mike_c
(37,046 posts)One thing that comes up over and over is the cost of living. I think we've done a terrible job of helping young people set realistic expectations for that stage of their lives in a predatory capitalist economy. I can only speak for myself but when I was in my twenties and thirties my partner and I struggled to make rent and eat at the same time. For decades. It took forty years of work to climb out of that hole. I wonder whether young Americans are expecting too much, too quickly. Maybe they should, but that's another conversation.
Prairie Gates
(8,108 posts)
AntiFascist
(13,751 posts)Orrex
(67,089 posts)Harris would have been a viable option in a civilized, developed nation, but her campaign was a long shot from the start, especially with a dedicated press corps reporting daily from way up Trump's festering ass.
If we wag our fingers and laugh at these Gen Z voters and their different way of viewing things, then we'll be sitting here again in four years wondering how the nation could have voted for Vance.
Assuming we have any more elections, of course.
Response to Orrex (Reply #105)
PeaceWave This message was self-deleted by its author.
Orrex
(67,089 posts)Sorry that I conveyed that poorly, and I agree again with your observations.
OTOH, I have a friend who teaches at the grad level in California, in what she knows is a "liberal bubble," but even there she finds that a distressing number of her male students are completely under the spell of Tate and Rogan and Peterson. These are intelligent, educated young men, but they see the bullshit product that these parasites are selling, and they're all in on it.
Distressing times.
applegrove
(132,096 posts)rental markets was not an intentional attack on the middle class to cause young liberals to feel financial anxiety, which itself gets people to vote emotionally rather than rationally. There has been regression analysis that proves financial anxiety causes people to vote that way. When people say the economy they mean jobs and housing.
Response to applegrove (Reply #111)
PeaceWave This message was self-deleted by its author.
andym
(6,064 posts)Democrats need to have a laser focus on the economy and on how the government helps support the economy and future economic growth through promoting infrastructure etc.
Mountainguy
(2,145 posts)Tariffs on lumber alone are going to drive the housing market through the roof. And living that far away is going to be tough when they can't afford insurance on their car, or fixing it if it breaks down.
Hassler
(4,918 posts)So he can "shake things up?" Sounds like critical thinking is being ignored.