Gen X: From Slackers to Conspiracy Slingers?
So, I’m reading this piece, right? About how Gen X – my generation, the supposed "slackers" – are now the ones mainlining internet rage and spewing it out in Aldi checkout lines. Political assassination as casual convo? Give me a break.
The article talks about some dude in Aldi ranting about political assassination, like it's just another topic for small talk. Then Health Secretary Wes Streeting is "alarmed" that racism is becoming "socially acceptable" again. Newsflash: It never went away. People just used to hide it better. Now they're mainlining Facebook and thinking that qualifies as a real conversation.
This "sauna politics" thing is interesting, though. The idea that people are just vomiting their inner monologues – the crap they used to be embarrassed to even think – out loud now. My generation likes to think we're too cool for this, that we're more "tech-savvy" than our parents, less TikTok-addled than our kids. But are we really? Or are we just better at hiding how much we're mainlining the digital poison?
Midlife Crisis: Now With Added Conspiracy
The article hits on something real, though: midlife crises. Gen X is hitting that wall where we realize the world is changing, and maybe we're getting left behind. Redundant? Unhirable? Marriages imploding? It's like the world is laughing at us.
And that's where the rage comes from. It's not about politics, really. It's about feeling powerless. It's about that gnawing feeling that life didn't turn out the way we planned, that we’re all getting older and no one cares. And what's easier than finding someone to blame? Someone to hate?
The piece points out that Gen Xers are fueling the populist surge, more likely to identify as Republican in the US, and a third of those aged between 50 and 64 in Britain would vote Reform UK now. That’s a hell of a shift from the "Cool Britannia" days. As Gaby Hinsliff notes in Meet gen X: middle-aged, enraged and radicalised by internet bile | Gaby Hinsliff, this internet radicalization is a growing concern.
The Unregulated Free-Speech Experiment
The scary part is that nobody seems to care why this is happening. We're so busy patting ourselves on the back for being "tolerant" and "open-minded" that we've created a breeding ground for this crap. The internet was supposed to set us free. Instead, it's turned us into a bunch of angry, isolated weirdos.
The article mentions the Smidge project, a study on how conspiracy theories spread among middle-aged folks. But is that enough? Are we really going to "deradicalize" people with a few online workshops? Or is this something deeper, a fundamental flaw in the way we communicate now?
Maybe I’m just being cynical. Maybe this is just a blip, a temporary glitch in the matrix. But I don't think so. I think we've opened Pandora's Box, and we're just starting to see what's inside.
So, What the Hell Happened to Us?
Gen X, more like Generation WTF. We were supposed to be the cool, ironic ones, too smart to fall for this garbage. Now we're just another bunch of angry, confused boomers in training. I ain't buying it.
