Generation ... ME ?@!#

I don't like people my age. When people attack the youth of America I often go well I hate em too. The malla ttending over privileged bastards piss me off to.

I want to say this upfront. Or more directly I don't like the people being represented as people my age.

I just finished a book called Generation ME by Judith M Twenge and it is supposed to be a response to the ideas that this generation which she hyper extends ( I talked about this with Belledame who I met YEAH) and contends that we are lazy entitled blah blah blee.

Well considering the scope of the folks they are talking about middle to increasingly high income college educated white kids and their assimilating cohorts. We are more likely to cheat,lie, expect random shit to be given to us.....

Oh wait they ain't talking bout me . I'll be over here with with those of us who aren't that and also aren't eager to assimilate to that . Shit their not even talking about those of us who arent that politically incline but just don't expect the world handed to us on a platter.

EL 's post on The View got me thinking about the effect of generational identification ( She's young and BW was a dotty old condescening woman because she was young) versus the personal ( OH MY GOD I WANT HER SHUT UP).

I agree with EL's asessment that some feminist bloggers and this is not isolated to youth but sex,sexuality,race, and other criteria say women and mean women like me .

The generational studies and female studies and theory discussions however consistently highlight my NON membership ( and of tacit EXCLUSION) from any kind of debate on these issues. When Hasselbeck went shakey crying ab out the rights of the baby she flaunted a couple privileges ( class race, belief of some security from sexual harm,use of a public forum , and yes her youth and inexperience ) that allow her to make these statements. SO to me it was watching two very privileged idiots have the conversations that usually results when privbiliged people get together.

When Politt says "featherheads" in regards to young women and many young women don;t run out to agree , I think it's not jut the " women like me" complex talking.

Sitting in a class having watched our survey results compiled I found out some disturbing shit . Sixty seven percent of these women believed abortion was bad and should be stringently regulated that number fell to 33 percent when it became THEIR problem. In essence one third of my highly educated class didn't give a damn about the rights part of the equation as much as about the " saving my own ass'. The same girls that gave shit a bout TAKE BACK THE NIGHT and choice bake sales and sat on their hands wanted and expected that right available to them should they deign it necessary.

Their inaction and entitlement is narcisitic and disrespectful . It's not a function of lack of acess or knowledge . They are selfish assholes and said as much. This kind of thing makes me think featherhead is one of thekinder things they could be called.

When Twenge talks about selfesteem she makes apoint I can identify with that many kids are being taught that you are great no matter what you do.

My contention is that while ALL of the generation was TOLD this not all of us receive the reenforcement. The girls in my class aren't once challenged for their inherent contradiction in terms. When Hasselbeck throws a damn fit even if it's condescending she gets addressed.

Class privilege and recognition of play space ( space where you can be incomplete or off an not receive soul crushing or legal response) is parsed out very differently. Those girls got to have the space of both being morally superior but scientifically protected.

They are granted all the space in the world to fuck do dumb shit and WITHOUT FAIL someone will regard their mistakes as " youthful folly" or "young indiscretion. That same person will take basically the SAME ANTICS from a person of lower class/ or different race and pathologize the ever living fuck out of them.

The fact that their young suddenly become moot to the fact that their poor/black/latina/indigenous /LGBT/orphaned/Underserved by social services.

And frankly yes some of this is straight up jealousy and bitterness. I like biterness it lets me know when I'm being poisoned.

Why does the loss of a middle class white girl receive multiple days of Front page coverage , while the loss of a black girl only become above the fold if attached to the story. So they can drum up an epidemic of young disappearances ?

Why does Oprah have to partner with Time before somebody investigates why a whole lot of kids ( mostly poor white and rural) arent graduating?

We're not good enough for concern?

However the fact that the middle and upperclass have made a career of cross genrational consumption suddenly wont be able to suck up as much resources as the generation befor e them is the cause for national hand wringing?

Especially since they themselves cant be bothered to deselect from an IPOD to figureout why?

Meanwhile an entire section of the population who are being factored out of the college equation or must attend doing damn near feats of magic to survive is okay and has been okay for YEARS NOW?!

That same population meanwhile is making huge strides in taking care of our own shit . Ignoring the dire predictions of doom and gloom , and rather than ask why is it that we suceed its more important to find out why Suzy and them are failing despite having everything.

Frankly callit my bad mood but I don't give a shit.

This made sense to me but it also pissed me the fuck off. Why because of this and I wiill say it and quote me.

NO MOVEMENT WILL GET OFF THE GROUND NONE WITHOUT THE PARTICIPATION AND ACTIVE RECRUITMENT OF AFRICAN/AFRO CARRIBEAN/LATINO/ASIAN AMERICAN YOUTH.

IT WILL NOT MAKE IT PAST THE GATE IF IT DOESNT OPENLY CONTACT THE POOR.

And for the most part we're no longer apathetic as is being bemoaned about the Great White Hypes of my generation.

WE ACTIVELY AVOID YOU.

Years of cultural appropriation and benevolent condescnsion and dismissial have resulted in an attitude of we'll do this shit ourselves thank you.

I protested in college and there is little chance you'll get me to do it again.

We gave up , when we want to save the kids we go teach,we volunteer. We go to the soup kitchens and the churches, the blogs and the writings and the documentation.

We've been doing it ourselves and while people keep playing wring the hands at random crap we continue.

What you are watching is not the fall of movements as much as they'd like to call it that. What you're watching is the fact that the historically strong voices that received no credit ,Women of color, the poor, the cross class identifiers are faling away from mainstream movements . We don't fucking care anymore and whoops you'renot as strong as you thought youd be without us.

But hey we matter less than liars cheats and out right assholes lkong as they fit the right demographic.