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Showing Original Post only (View all)Went to a dinner party tonight attended by mostly Gen Zers - Enlightening for all the WRONG reasons... [View all]
Keep in mind that these folks were almost all Democrats and none of them were what I would deem to be a schmuck. They had solid educational backgrounds and good starts to their various careers. All of them were struggling with their housing options, with one couple looking at buying a home 100 miles from their preferred location. Such is the housing market for Gen Z.
Anyway, the conversation started with other topics, but eventually turned to politics. It was then that I was astounded to hear one after the other fresh face espouse some variation of "Well, we grew up with Trump. So, we know what to expect and aren't worried about him." Another recurring theme was "Everything's already so fucked up that we may as well shake things up even more."
Kamala was spoken of with outright disdain by the men in the group. "Never a realistic option" opined one while another said "It would have been nice to actually have a choice regarding our candidate." When specifically asked whether Gaza was a deciding factor in their voting decision, both men and women said "Not at all. The economy mattered far more." The opinion of these mid to late 20 year olds was that Gaza only mattered to kids still in college. The economy was also deemed more important than either womens' rights or LGBTQ rights.
When the question of who was now leading the Democratic Party went around, nobody could agree. When AOC was offered as a future Presidential candidate, the suggestion was met with laughter, with one person offering "Why do you think Pelosi and AOC dislike each other so much? It's because they're so similar. Two women who, in their own districts are unbeatable, but who would be wiped out if they ever tried to run for President."
All in all, an enlightening evening for all the wrong reasons. Gen Z views the United States through the eyes of a group who grew up idolizing not rock stars but rather tech developers. The United States is a broken thing that needs to be exposed to a disruptive new software development in order to "make it better." In these young peoples' minds, Donald Trump is an app - like TikTok - for them to use to achieve their personal goals. Little to no thought is given to what happens when the app spins completely out of their control to their detriment.
