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In reply to the discussion: On DU's population aging, and change to DU... [View all]Sympthsical
(9,071 posts)And I'll use an easy example. Note the hostility to Bernie Sanders and people like AOC or the Squad, etc. I mean the absolute off-the-walls hostility where even inconsequential statements or mild criticisms by them can go completely off the rails into dozens of ragingly hostile responses.
Now understand that those figures in our party (and party adjacent) are overwhelmingly supported by people 45 and younger. No one else in the party generates that kind of enthusiasm or support. It isn't even kind of close.
That's where younger people are. And that is anathema to a lot of people in the space. Has anyone ever looked at a student loan thread? Holy shit, why does everyone sound like my Republican grandfather all of a sudden? And look, it is what is. I know I'm cheese stands alone in a lot of what I say and think here. I think it'd be boring to agree all the time.
It isn't helpful when self-awareness just lacks. Every time I see this topic come up (which is constantly it seems for the navel is an alluring thing), it always goes the same way. "We're not out of touch. And to prove it, we shall now have a parade of endless self-celebration about our general awesomeness." No reflection, no self-evaluation or criticism. It just goes full Principal Skinner every time.
And that's fine. Everyone deserves their own spaces. People should own what they are and where they are. I know the environment I'm posting in is not necessarily friendly to my views or my thinking or anyone my age and younger in general. The space is way more conservative than a lot of the younger party base. It gets papered over with some social liberal bumper stickering, but at the core, the changes younger voters want and need to see meet push back in a lot of ways in this space. This is more of a hard core tribal space rather than a policy space. And that's ok! It's a big internet that allows for variety. Just be aware of it.
Here's a return question: Why would younger Democrats come here? What does it offer someone who is a Sanders or AOC progressive that they would want to check in here everyday? What relevance is on offer to their lives and experiences? Younger Democrats are not watching cable news all day, and that is a huge portion of content half the time.
It's fine for things to be exactly what they are. But self-awareness shouldn't have to be a fight.