http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6243146Oh my.
A rarity, an under-50 primitive, or allegedly under 50 years old.
margotb822 (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-07-09 10:23 AM
Original message
Could age have something to do with it?
(Full disclosure: I'm 26, too young to remember the USSR and barely old enough to remember the Berlin Wall coming down)
So, as I have been observing these protests, I've noticed that a majority of the raucous protesters appear to be at least 40, many are definitely older.
I'm wondering if the "evil socialism" of a government health care option has a stronger influence on people raised in the Cold War era. From what my mom tells me, this generation was raised to believe that socialism is evil and to look at the world in a very black and white way. Could this be why there aren't many younger protesters of the government option? Does the word "socialist" have less power on the post-Cold War generation?
Thoughts?
Sanity Claws (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-07-09 10:25 AM
Response to Original message
1. Definitely true
The evils of communism and socialism were drilled into us. Younger people were spared that.
The buzzy one, a non-primitive on Skins's island, shows up at this bonfire, but because one doesn't want the buzzy one to lose any cred with the primitives, I'll desist from quoting the buzzy one; I'll just give a paraphrased version of his comment.
The buzzy one quotes fallacious numbers for television audiences; then:
surrealAmerican (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-07-09 10:40 AM
Response to Reply #2
9. Age-wise, this is not very different than other TV news shows.
Younger people are not getting their news from television, they're getting it online.
The buzzy one pulls more "stastics" out of his rectal aperture; then:
surrealAmerican (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-07-09 11:50 AM
Response to Reply #26
30. ... but what are the demographics for Beck, O'Reilly, and Hannity?
(I really don't know the answer to this one.)
The buzzy one admits he doesn't know for sure; then:
imdjh (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-07-09 10:26 AM
Response to Original message
3. Sounds like you are trying to understand idiots.
rockymountaindem (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-07-09 10:27 AM
Response to Original message
4. Honestly, I just don't see that level of anger and reactionary suspicion in our generation
I'm 22 and although I know plenty of conservatives, some of whom are my friends, I don't think any of them would be up there shouting about how they want "their" America back or screaming about socialism. I don't think that word has any kind of currency with people who grew up after the Berlin Wall fell.
DrDan (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-07-09 10:44 AM
Response to Reply #4
11. if there was an initiative to re-establish the "draft", then you would probably see some interest - ie, anger.
rockymountaindem (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-07-09 10:49 AM
Response to Reply #11
12. Apples and oranges
Draft or no, I wouldn't anticipate "socialist" rhetoric or rants about "I want MY America back!!!11!1".
DrDan (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-07-09 10:55 AM
Response to Reply #12
16. no - but you might see flashes of anger
havocmom (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-07-09 11:03 AM
Response to Reply #4
22. Thank you. This ploy of pitting generations against each other is same as race baiting
The problem is CLASS warfare. The proponents of the status quo have ALWAYS used the ploy of pitting one group against another as a means of making sure we fight among ourselves rather than deal with the real culprits.
The age thing we see with these demonstrations can be broken down to simple basics, like, who has time to attend town hall meetings during hours most working people (younger and middle aged) are working? Who is more isolated from what is really going on because they are home alone more (and relying on TV/Radio for company)?
A lot of older people fall into those pigeon holes. A lot of us geezers do not.
It isn't generational. It's class warfare and too many people allow themselves to be pawns in it.
I know a lot of older wingers. Sadly, I also know a lot of middle aged and young wingers too.
DU needs to remember that Timothy McVeigh was not an octogenarian. The haters who beat, drag, kill gay people and black people out of shear hate are usually not geezers.
While most of the town hall disrupters seem older, most of the skin-head type thugs seem younger.
The current ruckus is not one generation against another; it is just another sad chapter in generations of greedy people using methods to keep the rest of us at each others' throats while they stay safe in their castles and count their ever-growing piles of gold. And they use the same crap methods to fight the estate tax which doesn't affect most of us, but impacts their own greedy progeny.
It's a reasonably large bonfire, but a pretty boring one.
The unfrocked warped primitive,
sans her nurse's cap:
Warpy (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-07-09 10:34 AM
Response to Original message
6. I sincerely hope so.
One of my earliest memories is of the McCarthy era. My family was one of the first to get a television just so my mother could watch those hearings. She'd had a brief flirtation with the Communists during the 1930s when they were the only ones standing up to Hitler. It didn't last long as she soon realized they idolized Stalin, who was nearly as bad. Still, she was afraid we'd get that fateful knock on the door.
The fear then was pervasive, and even a kid barely out of diapers (me) could feel it. People never knew when a neighbor with a grudge would turn them in. People felt it necessary to prove their loyalty at all times. I think that kids, especially, felt this.
I'm not surprised that people over 65 still have that silly, knee jerk anti socialism. The second cohort of boomers, those born from 1955 to 1964, were kids during the height of the Cold War and share that silly knee jerk anti socialism. These are the main age groups of the Hooters although others are certainly present.
I'm as careful who I tell about my socialism as I am who I tell about my atheism. Otherwise sensible people have those amazing cutoff points in their heads that make it deeply threatening to them that another reasonable person can be either atheist or socialist.
If you're telling me that young folks don't share one of these cutoff points, then I'm much more hopeful for the long term prognosis for this country.
(to this day, I'm extremely shy about signing my name to any petition, no matter how praiseworthy the cause. Thank you, Tail Gunner Joe)
Too bad the warped primitive wasn't extremely shy about swiping some pharmaceuticals that had somebody else's name on them, though.
