TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

The General US Politics Thread

Go To

Nov 2023 Mod notice:


There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.

If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines before posting here.

Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.

If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules when posting here.


In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.

Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Ludlow Since: Apr, 2013
#257501: Oct 12th 2018 at 7:03:14 AM

[up] Well, one of the main characteristics of generation x is general tendency to not make waves, to quietly survive instead of making their voice known. There's a reason generation x is often compared to the silent generation in the late 40s-50s.

PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#257502: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:05:45 AM

Except when it's time to whine about millennials, of course. Then they along with Boomers can't seem to shut up.

i'm tired, my friend
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257503: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:11:23 AM

It's one of those privileges that comes with growing older. Heck, some millenials are already expressing scorn at Generation Z to the point of taking sketchy polls claiming Generation Z is far more conservative at face value.

And you can't really fault Generation X for having a harder time speaking out against their elders. They are the Latchkey Kid generation. Spending their formative years starved for parental affection has made them more willing to appease their entitled Baby Boomer parents.

Edited by M84 on Oct 12th 2018 at 11:13:43 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#257504: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:18:00 AM

Which generation (birth year wise) is Generation X again?

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257505: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:23:05 AM

It's pretty vague. Anywhere from the mid 60's to early 80's.

Disgusted, but not surprised
MorningStar1337 The Encounter that ended the Dogma from 🤔 Since: Nov, 2012
The Encounter that ended the Dogma
#257506: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:23:23 AM

80-90s IIRC.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257507: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:24:09 AM

Millenials are anywhere from mid Eighties to early 2000's.

Disgusted, but not surprised
SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#257508: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:26:12 AM

Which generation (birth year wise) is Generation X again?

Around 1965-1985. Of course, it's hard to say for any generation besides the Boomers, since they are the only ones who have been outright defined by the census.

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#257509: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:30:22 AM

[up]x2 Which is flawed because having been born in the early '80s, I don't feel like I have anything in common, experience-wise, with someone born in 2000.

Ludlow Since: Apr, 2013
#257510: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:31:48 AM

I'm not sure it's so much the lack of parental affection that makes generation x the way it is politically and culturally. They were raised in the 80s, a time where political engagement was disparaged and the pursuit of a career, money, and possession were paramount. It was an extraordinarily alienating time where gaining the latest toys and other worldly possessions took precedence over relationships and big causes. Then the economy declined in the early 90s when they were teenagers, around the same time welfare was beginning to be decimated. So they learned that money was important but scarce, and that nobody would help them if they fell behind. So they learned to keep quiet, take practical jobs, and ride out the storm until hopefully, things were prosperous again. It's not their fault, it's just the environment that raised them.

From what I've read, a lot of the trends are happening to Generation z right now.

KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#257511: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:33:58 AM

I wouldn’t say that political engagement is disparaged today - if anything, it’s more prominent than ever.

Edited by KarkatTheDalek on Oct 12th 2018 at 11:35:14 AM

Oh God! Natural light!
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257512: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:34:25 AM

[up][up]And there you go already making assumptions about an ENTIRE generation of people who have not even reached adulthood yet.

Edited by M84 on Oct 12th 2018 at 11:34:39 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Cris_Meyers reluctant author, willing misanthrope from Chicagoland (Fifth Year at Tropey's) Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
reluctant author, willing misanthrope
#257513: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:36:55 AM

Then if you really want to make the generation chart confusing, look at the ones that separate Gen Y from Millenials

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#257514: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:37:44 AM

And there you go already making assumptions about an ENTIRE generation of people who have not even reached adulthood yet.

Seriously.

Teenagers not being engaged in politics (as is the norm for their age demographic) doesn't mean they'll stay that way, similar to how just because they have thrifty personal finances does not mean that they're fiscally conservative.

People need to stop making spurious assumptions about a generation that has yet to actually mature into proper characteristics.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Oct 12th 2018 at 11:38:20 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257515: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:39:30 AM

As someone born in 1984, I could possibly count as either Gen X or a Millenial. So which stereotype should I be stuck with?

Disgusted, but not surprised
Friendperson Since: May, 2018
#257516: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:39:44 AM

[up] [up] Precisely. This is also a reason I hate seeing small kids with political signs, like younger than 5 or 6. Parents need to let their kids figure stuff out on their own.

Edited by Friendperson on Oct 12th 2018 at 8:40:35 AM

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#257517: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:39:53 AM

Honestly, the big issue is the Baby Boomers took control over the country and never let go or desired to yield power and are still holding onto it. It's also why they're in such a shitty position now as they have no one to take the reigns because they're alienated from the new generations.

They're the wealth accumulators and everyone else has been trying to survive.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Ludlow Since: Apr, 2013
#257518: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:41:13 AM

I said I heard, as part of my masters degree in library science we read books and studies about generation z all the time. I didn't say they were going to be generation x, just that similar alienation and lack of political engagement seems to be happening to today's kids. Besides which, I never said anything about individuals, there are plenty of activists and outspoken generation x individuals, hell generation x gave us hardcore punk and riot girrl music. But when you're talking about generational trends, some generalizations have to be made.

[up] That's true, the boomers are unfortunately a very outspoken generations. This was great back in 1960s when they were younger, more creative, and willing to look at past assumptions with a new eye. Not that they're old and set in their ways, that same outspokenness has a chilling effect on newer generations.

Edited by Ludlow on Oct 12th 2018 at 8:46:13 AM

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#257519: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:43:42 AM

Honestly, the big issue is the Baby Boomers took control over the country and never let go or desired to yield power and are still holding onto it. It's also why they're in such a shitty position now as they have no one to take the reigns because they're alienated from the new generations.

Dominant electoral demographics don't just 'let go' of power, they get aged out. Boomers in this respect are perfectly normal. Anyway, the problem is not that they stayed engaged, the problem is the form that their engagement took.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Oct 12th 2018 at 11:44:31 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257520: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:48:45 AM

[up][up]How about not making assumptions about Generation Z at all until enough of them are actually voting age and engaging in politics and activism and what not.

Generation Z has also grown up with more diversity, less traditional nuclear families, and have grown up with the advent of social media and grown up in the time of the banking crisis.

We shouldn't make assumptions about what they will become.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Ludlow Since: Apr, 2013
#257521: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:52:29 AM

[up] Making guesses based upon what you know is not making assumptions. I'm not saying what they WILL be, I'm saying what they MIGHT be. I'm also not making any judgments here, sometimes (like now) political engagement is necessary to survive, but sometimes its also good to have a generation which focuses on other things besides politics.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257522: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:54:20 AM

[up]It seems unfair to be even doing that much, especially when you're basing it on a few things that it shares with past generations while ignoring EVERYTHING ELSE that sets them apart.

And let's be honest — no generation can really get away from politics. All that does is effectively cede control over your life to those who do remember that votes = power.

Edited by M84 on Oct 12th 2018 at 11:56:16 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#257523: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:55:37 AM

[up][up] Like what, for example?

Also, do you have any links to these studies (if they exist online, that is)? It might help if we could see the data for ourselves.

Edited by KarkatTheDalek on Oct 12th 2018 at 11:56:43 AM

Oh God! Natural light!
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257524: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:57:01 AM

NVM

Edited by M84 on Oct 12th 2018 at 11:57:14 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#257525: Oct 12th 2018 at 8:57:23 AM

People are living longer than ever, which has a logical impact on the conventional knowledge that older people skew conservative.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.

Total posts: 417,856
Top