Aug 8, 2026, 8:58 AM@mtnrbq65 @crcollins @joyce @davidtheeviloverlord @jik
I think sweeping generalisations about people on the basis of anything but what drives them aren’t helpful. Some people, because of trauma, deprivation etc, are defensive & look after themself & their own. Some people are driven by their values, around integrity, compassion etc. And some are driven by greed for wealth &/or power.
@Susan60 @mtnrbq65 @joyce @davidtheeviloverlord @jik
Yes. Makes me sad when I see people posting about "Boomers," as if we are all a monolith & not the largest cohort in the history of the USA. I arrived during the latter half of this, "Generation Jones." Never had all that glorious wealth and was always more interested in jobs that did some good rather than paid a lot. I took the "hippie" movement to heart, I guess, which I was too young to be a part of.
@crcollins @Susan60 @mtnrbq65 @joyce @davidtheeviloverlord @jik I’m also Generation Jones and have yet to see wealth. I’m also a progressive liberal, for whatever that’s worth.
Aug 9, 2026, 6:28 AM@CA_Hawthorne @crcollins @mtnrbq65 @joyce @davidtheeviloverlord @jik
I’m not familiar with the term Gen Jones. Not used here in Australia.
I too was too young for hippiedom or 2nd wave feminism.
“Liberal” means something different here. Our Liberal party used to be genuinely liberal, a centrist party, but has swung over to the right. Meanwhile our “Labor” party, formed originally out of the Trade Union movement, is more like a centrist “progressive” party, but has lost its soul.
@Susan60 @CA_Hawthorne @crcollins @mtnrbq65 @joyce @jik
I think Gen Jones is wedged in between Boomers and Gen X. It's for people who were born on the cusp, and feel they don't belong in either of those generations, no matter what the "official" dates say.
@davidtheeviloverlord @Susan60 @crcollins @mtnrbq65 @joyce @jik
Gen Jones (1956-62/64?) is the back half of the Boomers. My siblings were born in the early 50s and I was born in '59. Very different experiences. On TV, westerns for them, Star Trek for me.
Liberal and conservative is muddy these days, and especially from country to country. At this point, I lean towards being a Democratic Socialist (Bernie-crat).
@CA_Hawthorne @davidtheeviloverlord @Susan60 @mtnrbq65 @joyce @jik
Oh, Star Trek on TV instead of US westerns? That might explain the difference right there 🤣
I don't call myself "liberal" anymore as it seems like centrists Dems have claimed that. I've always registered as "independent" rather than either of the two parties &, at this point, am far left of the liberals.
@crcollins @davidtheeviloverlord @Susan60 @mtnrbq65 @joyce @jik
Political labels are kind of crazy right now. There are democrats who fight, and those who don't (most). There are progressives, and there are corporates (most). Corporates are paid to look the other way, or lamely complain, while the radical right robs our treasury.
Increasingly, no matter the label, people are starting to see through them. Is it too late? Pretty close.
Aug 9, 2026, 10:54 PM@CA_Hawthorne @crcollins @davidtheeviloverlord @mtnrbq65 @joyce @jik
US politics has always been more right leaning than Australia. Your democrats are more like what our conservative party used to be. Centre right. Hearing them referred to as “the radical left” Is a joke. Even this new crop of more left wing activist politicians wouldn’t be seen as “radical” in Australia. Just old school left leaning.
Aug 9, 2026, 10:48 PM@davidtheeviloverlord @CA_Hawthorne @crcollins @mtnrbq65 @joyce @jik
The label isn’t used here, but the idea is familiar.
The cut off points between generations are arbitrary. What matters more is the size of the family & age of the parents. I had friends who were the youngest of 5 kids. I was one of 3 kids, & my parents were several years younger than theirs. Their fathers had fought in WWII; mine had still been a kid. Those different ages & life experiences of parents made a big difference to their parenting styles.
I think that will show up again in kids born this century, with big differences between parents who had kids in their 30s or even 40s after establishing careers & buying a home, & those whose parents started families younger. One lot of parents wealthier, but older than the other lot. (Having teens in your 50s & 60s… glad I didn’t have to do that.)