this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2024
282 points (98.6% liked)

News

23259 readers
2718 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
all 35 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] snekerpimp@lemmy.world 116 points 10 months ago

How bout you just give all your money to rich people, it will trickle down on your face and keep you warm. Just pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and work harder, put down the avocado toast.

[–] Paddzr@lemmy.world 69 points 10 months ago

Did they not know, they could just buy a house?

But landlords buying any and all available properties are not a problem!

I'm so jaded after months of stupid comments. All i can do now is just sarcasm.

[–] Fafner@yiffit.net 51 points 10 months ago

Time to start pulling on them bootstraps.

[–] dmtalon@infosec.pub 39 points 10 months ago

It's almost like essential services are just entirely too expensive. You know the simple things like housing, food, and health care.

On the bright side... Um, well... I'll have to get back to you on that one.

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 34 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Gotta love how every single comment here is talking about boomers like they're a monolith that's been voting for Republicans since the Nixon era.

[–] hperrin@lemmy.world 43 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Boomers have been consistently voting conservative since the Nixon era. Sure, not all of them, but the majority. And they’ve been the largest voting bloc since. Millennials are due to overtake them soon though.

[–] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com -1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Right, but relying on the voting habits of a majority to justify mocking a poor old person becoming homeless is pretty reductive and just ever so slightly cruel. It really doesn't make for a compelling discussion.

Edit: thanks for the downvotes, but in case you didn't read lolcatnip's first comment, I'm agreeing with them as a rebuttal to hperrin, not saying hperrin is doing the things I said. hperrin was going to bat for the commenters.

[–] hperrin@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I’m not a fan of mocking homeless people. Calling it a consequence of the voting habits of their generation is a perfectly valid argument though. It’s a good jumping off point to a larger discussion about the consequences of a generational rejection of progressive policies. We’ve consistently allowed wealth, property, and power to accumulate in the hands of a tiny group of powerful people/companies, and this is the result of those policies. We already knew that this would be the result, because it always is, every time.

[–] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 10 months ago

Didn't say you were. OP of this thread was talking about the general response from all commenters.

[–] wsweg@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Source? https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2018/03/01/1-generations-party-identification-midterm-voting-preferences-views-of-trump/ Y’all really do have this boomer scapegoat in your head. Also, millennials make up a larger voting bloc now than boomers.

[–] hperrin@lemmy.world 18 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Republican and conservative are not identical terms. Boomers are not a majority Republican, but they are a majority conservative. (Actually it’s a plurality, not a majority, so I did misspeak. It’s a very hefty plurality, though.) Conservative Democrats are a minority in the Democrat party, but they exist, and they help pass conservative legislation, and they block progressive legislation.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/181325/baby-boomers-likely-identify-conservative.aspx

Also, as of the 2016 election, boomers still outnumbered millennials, but maybe that’s changed. I haven’t heard the news if it has. The trend line for boomers is going to accelerate down as boomers become older. You also have to factor that around 70% of boomers vote whereas only about 50% of millennials vote.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/04/03/millennials-approach-baby-boomers-as-largest-generation-in-u-s-electorate/

Also, where was I scapegoating boomers? I said they’re consistently conservative. That doesn’t mean they deserve to be homeless or each one is personally responsible for the housing crisis. I think you might be assuming that everyone younger than the boomers is a monolith.

[–] knova@infosec.pub 29 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I’d like to be sympathetic, but this is the world they created. And on top of that, our generation was called lazy, entitled, etc. by the boomers. Guess you can lay down in that nice bed you made.

[–] wsweg@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago

“I’d like to be sympathetic” Based on your comment it seems like quite the opposite, actually. You’re no better than this boomer boogeyman figure you’ve created in your head.

[–] mriormro@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

If these baby boomers are still paying rent or are facing homelessness, then it's probably safe to assume that they probably weren't the ones who had a say in the world that was created.

Poverty and the proletariat exist in all generations.

[–] sebinspace@lemmy.world 26 points 10 months ago

Ever heard of a job‽ Pull yourself up by the bootstraps!

[–] LazyPhilosopher@lemmy.world 26 points 10 months ago

They should buy less avocado toast 😏. Lazy ass generation

[–] AFaithfulNihilist@lemmy.world 20 points 10 months ago

And the boomers are still talking about slashing social security... We will be a beggar nation before they're done robbing us.

[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 18 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Governments don't seem to give a shit. I'm Canadian and all our government talks about are foreign affairs, scandals, bureaucracy. While ignoring housing costs, food costs, lack of safety net and jobs with decent wages. They're just kicking the can, while we drown in debt.

[–] hperrin@lemmy.world 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Governments actually do talk a lot about local affairs, but people generally don’t tune in for it. Become more active in your local and regional governments and get involved in the conversations and debates about these local issues.

[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I think cost of living has gone beyond being a local issue. Frankly it's a global issue, but at the very least it's national, and the federal government telling us to complain to the local governments (who have zero power to change food or housing costs) isn't a solution, it's a merry go round.

[–] Dudewitbow@lemmy.zip 3 points 10 months ago

its less of a global issue, its very specific to countries. it basically affects countries who has a lot of property that can be seen as an investment for profit. house ownership is a rolling ball, once you own a few, it becomes easier to own more, and then it results into a situation where concentration of ownership is in the hands of the few.

[–] hperrin@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

I don’t know how it works in Canada, but in the US, each state has its own minimum wage. In California, we just upped minimum wage for fast food workers to $20/hour. If there’s something similar that you can do in Canada, that would certainly be a great first step.

[–] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I love how people point the finger at Trudeau, citing his disastrous immigration policy as the main reason housing is fucked. PP claims he'll fix it....by literally changing nothing. The NDP is a joke at this point. I'm not sure what parties people support, but something is truly rotten in Ottawa. And don't even get me started on Bernier and his one man culture war.

[–] inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago

Something, something socialism.

[–] flicker@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

We can do both.

I want to capitalize on this and use these disgruntled, hurting voters to strengthen our social safety net, maybe lower the retirement age, fix the social security benefit to a cost of living index, and protect them and everyone who comes after them from dying in poverty when you no longer serve the corporate overlords and are discarded.

But I want us to do that while making comments about telling them to put down the avocado toast and stop buying so many expensive coffee drinks. Tighten your belt a little! Maybe don't have that Ensure for breakfast, gramma!

Because the truth is, while on an individual level, they likely don't deserve to die sick and miserable. But on a generational level, the majority of them are, statistically, the reason we are in the mess we're in. And we should be allowed to snark and give them back a taste of what they gave us our whole lives, while we clean up this mess. Hopefully by making them vote for what will actually help everyone for once.

[–] wsweg@lemmy.world -4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Being snarky towards homeless people! You’re really showing them! Stick it to those stupid boomers!

[–] flicker@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

I've been homeless before, and I have no problem snarking at a homeless person because they're still people and not strictly speaking, victims. It's far more damaging to be unseen than it is to be snarked at but ultimately, helped. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that at least someone snarking at me meant they saw me as a real human being.

[–] TIMMAY@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

welp I know what my future looks like in 40 years

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I always thought conservatives were more likely to be rich and poor people die off more quickly resulting in aging populations being more conservative.

The problem here is that I would guess poor boomers are probably less likely to be conservative so it feels really dumb to cheer on boomers dying from being unable to pay rent.

[–] skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 10 months ago

It's probably less that they are conservative or not, and more that they were the generation of having multiple houses, properties, and boats. Credit and debt was the name of the game. Buy all the things recklessly. It was a learned societal behavior on the rear end of WWII. Capitalism will only always go up, so why worry?

Then they enter retirement, and don't want to admit to themselves that the world is more shitty than it was when they were younger, nor that they were directly/indirectly responsible (probably also amplifies that warped "MAGA" perspective.) One was promised 40 years work at one job without a college education (and associated debt), a pension, social security, and retirement with all the things they acquired along their fruitful life. The now world must look like a dystopian nightmare by comparison.

Once this fiscal viewpoint they grew up with is applied in retirement, even the most conservative could easily become ensnared in a lack of funds if they didn't tone down their previous fiscal behavior and learn new methods that fit with the era. It would also be really hard to undo fiscal mistakes when on a fixed income and no easy job prospects to hit the undo button with.

I know some retired boomer indirectly that takes out home equity lines of credit every time their property values increase, and then they moan to their HOA to ensure it is spending every dime to make it look like a golf course in the desert so their property values continue to increase. (So they can get that next home payout.)

Poking fun is fun, albeit crass, but also it just kinda makes you feel sad for an entire generation that believed these lies so hard that they screwed up their own lives and generations after them. I can understand the fun-poking though, with all the loud uneducated boomers screaming online about how younger generations just don't "get it" when they're actually the ones that don't.