Generation X Doesn’t Want to Hear It

The only inter-generational envy I have is over the price of land/housing. I don't see the need to get into a pissing match over who did what or how important it is. We currently have better and cheaper drugs than at any time in human history, more cheap entertainment than I could consume in my entire life, and access to the sum total of human knowledge via the internet. Yet all I want though, is about 10 acres where I can have goats and farm a little while working from home. Funny how that works.

 

I told myself that I wouldn't respond to trollish responses...oh well. Here I am, the "OP". Somehow, you misinterpreted the entire message conveyed by the authors rant, and more importantly the significance it had for me. You decided to go on for a bit, giving advice and spewing your personal philosophy. You interpreted everything in such a way, immediately picked perceived opportunities to judge, and force self-gratifying, self-fulfilling bullshit to allow you to step on your soap box. Surprisingly, my personal philosophies have many parallels with yours. You wouldn't know, you never asked. You must be fucking psychic. Let's disclose it all? How about some facts about me.

I was "raised" by a schizophrenic mother who couldn't hold a job. No father, he left before I was a year old. She was very physically abusive, and some of her partners were sexually abusive to me and my sister. We lived off of food stamps and welfare in some of the shittiest places you probably can't imagine, such as the back of a chevy citation for a year. We were typically a minority, usually one of the few "white" families in our neighborhood. Vandalism, theft, violence, juvenile hall, many fights ( usually jumped at least 2-3 times a week )...blah blah blah. Ran away a few times, then almost ended up in foster care. My asshole uncle took me. A former Army drill sergeant with two Vietnam tours under his belt. Sister went to her biological father. I was 13. Managed to stay in high school, moved out of his house at 17. Graduated in top 10%, realized I had a knack for learning. I joined the delayed entry program for the Navy before I graduated. 7 years, a lot of shitty time spent in the gulf and over a year at sea. Got out, made it through a divorce, cheating wife, having a child, full time student, and full time job at IBM. Graduated with no wife and no child...they left with the Radiologist she liked to fuck, and moved to the west coast. I was bankrupt and living on my friends couch after the legal fees. Back to zero. It's a great place to be, it only gets better from the bottom. Struggled with drugs, alcohol, depression. Graduated with a 3.7, BSCIS. Met my soul mate, she put me back together. I have a six-figure+ income and earn every fucking penny. I discovered I have a genetic disease that almost put me in a wheelchair. I had 4 of the best neurosurgeons tell me, "there was nothing that could be done". I won't go into detail, but you can read my blog and discover how I overcame that impossible scenario. The link is posted in my profile info.

I don't make excuses, I don't whine, I don't give up. I am the fucking definition of stubborn.

Why this sad little story? To give you an idea, when you advise someone, "quit bitching, suck it up, etc...". You have no fucking idea what you're talking about.

 

uncharted - not that I disagree with anything you've said, but sometimes it's better to expand on your thoughts in your original post rather than a single sentence then posting the fulltext of the blog post. You said it sums up your frustration, etc. but just leave it at that. It's easy to misinterpret the intent of someone's post when it is that terse. I might be mistaken, but I read Glory's Sun's post as not speaking directly to you, but more to the general class of people in the Gen-X demographic who feel that general malaise and use it as a crutch. But here I am making my own generalizations.

Your story was pretty amazing to read, I can imagine it was quite challenging for you growing up. Also, welcome to the TFP

 

Oh I'm sorry. I didn't realize that I tagged you or addressed you specifically. Nice to know that you're narcissistic enough to assume such. When I refer to the OP, it's the Opening Post.. and since the opening post consisted of an article from a tumblr blog, reason would state that my response was to the article. Who's the psychic now? Oh that's right.. I am.

But anyway, thanks for your background and your precious little assumptions.

Here's another little tidbit: The funny thing about media in any of it's myriad of formats is open for interpretation by the consumer. I am free to interpret the article any way I please and by assuming that my interpretation was somehow directed at you personally, you in turn step on your own little soap box and misinterpret my own thoughts. Further more, you go on to play the martyr claiming I was judging in a self-gratifying manner when in turn you do the exact same thing you are taking offense with.

So yes, my points still stand. Quit bitching and moaning seem to apply even more given the response and misinterpretation of how the article spoke to me personally. So spare me your dissertation on life and what you assume to know about me. If I wish to address someone personally, I will tag them or call them out by name. It goes like this: uncharted Thanks for taking me out of context and subsequently becoming the very thing you claim against me. Bravo! Bravo! Go on my son. Go on.

 

Looks like a bit of miscommunication then. In my experience, "OP" has always meant, "Original Poster". Followed by "I don't give a shit what generation you belong to", you can understand how it was perceived. I apologize, all better?

 

No need to apologize. It's nice to see some sort of passion around here again in all honesty. Even if that passion spreads the rules to their thinnest extent. (both of us obviously)

No worries.. it's the internet. It's not exactly a serious, life altering thing.

 

For my part (born in '65, not sure which generation that makes me a part of), the generation that you are a part of is irrelevant when you are dealing with 'now.' Everyone is a part of and has a vested interest in what is going on 'now.' Whether you are eighteen or eighty. I've never been a generational thinker.

 

As an X-er, I have to admit, the newer generations are getting fucked on college costs, and loans. I probably didn't spend $30k during my 8.5 on again/off again college career, getting an engineering degree. I don't know how I'm going to 'help' my daughter pay for hers... but I'm going to

 

I'm not sure if I'm gen x or y. Can we get an ad exec in here to clarify the years that delineate?

Someone needs to append "people from older generations whining unironically about people from younger generations" to the list of sure things. Maybe between death and taxes.

 

Generation X is generally 1960-1982, Generation Y was 1983-2000, Millennials are 2000 to nowish. I think.

Word to the wise: there are more scholarships in the world than one can possibly dream of. Go through every single one of them before even thinking about taking out a college loan, because they are like selling your soul at a variable interest rate. Granted, my information is about a decade out of date, but I'm pretty sure things are still messed up.

 

GenX was not born on Madison Avenue. It was coined by Douglas Copeland in his book of the same name. I think he regretted it about two minutes later (if not the pay cheque that came with it).

 

I want a divorce.

 

We are on it. My new wife has just finished a two year nursing degree, and it was paid as she went. I had a hard time believing how much community costs these days. My semester tuition was $415 going to college ( in the 80's ), and was still less than a grand when I finally graduated. Community college was about $2k per semester last year. And the books, don't get me started.

I would have a substantial college fund for her, but for medical expenses, but we will get it done with as few loans as possible. Hopefully none.
--- merged: Oct 20, 2011 3:15 PM ---

Maybe we should get some counselling...

 

I agree with any statement that makes the baby boomers look stupid and incompetent.

Bunch of treehugging, weed-smoking, promiscuous idiots the lot of them!

*punches wall in rage and turns GenY emo by not following the "along the street, not across" instruction*

 

I have to admit, exotic dancing never occurred to me during school as a way to make money. I mostly did whatever jobs I could get my hands on from landscaping to flipping burgers to selling hardware at Sears.

My favorite scholarships were the ones that required either essays or community outreach/donating time. As a middle-class white agnostic, I found myself running into similar "Native American Methodist Ginger Double-Jointed Scholarship Alliance" kinds of things. I have to say, though, good on the Native American Methodist ginger double-jointed community for donating to help kids in need. Those kids have it rough enough.

 

HEY,

I only dream of being promiscuous, these days.

 

What's interesting about that post B_G is that Smashing Pumpkins have kind of faded into obscurity.