General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Ocasio-Cortez: House Democrats too old to understand income inequality [View all]Tom Rinaldo
(22,913 posts)We are for the most part not a young bunch but I don't recall what our average age seems to be. I am confident though that we are not representative of the population at large, we are older on average. Whether or not it is always literally true (and obviously it is not always literally true) there is a perception among many younger voters that their world view can't be adequately represented by political bodies overwhelmingly run by Boomers. I'm a Boomer and I believe they are right. I would say the same about an overwhelmingly white body representing People of Color, of an overwhelmingly Male body representing women's interests, or of an overwhelmingly wealthy body representing the needs of the working class and the poor etc.
The proportions don't need to be perfect aligned, but they shouldn't be wildly out of whack either. I'm a straight white male who I think usually does well regarding issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation etc. Doesn't matter, I can have a positive role to play but people need direct representation by people like themselves. When that is lacking problems almost always happen.