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Mon, 14 Apr 2025 01:37:48 GMT

People have been asking, where is GenZ? I had a conversation with my kid about why they think their generation isn't turning out. This kid has turned out to protests, but they haven't convinced friends to come along. In the following, I'll summarize why.

Talking about a descent into autocracy feels like hyperbole, crying wolf, because these kids grew up with Trump. They're desensitized to the bullshit. How is it worse now? Maybe it is worse, but it's not obvious to these kids that it's actually worse. Life goes on.

There's the concept of being uncool if you care too much about a thing unironically. They're basically saying, get a job. You care about this too much.

It's depressing, but a lot of kids don't feel they have much future anyway. A lot of kids think, what future are we protecting by being an activist? What is helped by me going and protesting? I'm just one more person at a protest.

Somehow the 3.5% rule needs to be communicated in layman's terms.

Thinking back to the BLM protests, it's not obvious to them what was accomplished. Part of the city was messed up for a while. At least it was a spectacle.

Kids who would not go to a peaceful protest, because it's boring, might be interested in a protest where something dramatic might happen. Nonviolent protests seem boring. Not to promote violence at all, but something more interesting or creative should happen.

Their friends ask, is anything interesting happening there? It's boring to stand around with old people. Going to a Bernie and AOC rally actually sounds appealing to them, because at least those are celebrities, but they doubt their friends would feel the same.

At one protest, a young guy driving by rolled down his window to say, "you guys look so dumb". If you show up, and are surrounded by a lot of people who are super invested, people will associate you with them. Kids want to be cool, not overly enthusiastic.

Music could help. You'd have to convince GenZ musicians to show up. Or get a good DJ? However, making a concert political seems like it would dampen it, and feel like the politicians are trying to appropriate it. The whole Kamala is brat thing was kind of cringe.

In the last couple weeks they've noticed a lot more people talking about tariffs and commenting about how the whole stock market is plummeting. The Trump tariffs are like a comical spectacle of idiocy.

Kids already feel like their future is fucked. It's hard to get jobs, to pay for rent or college. It feels insensitive for older generations to point out your future will be taken by fascism. The kids already perceive it as fucked, not specifically because of Trump.

It was already hard to get a job and pay rent. That didn't seem better under Biden. Young people don't have enough money to spend on fun things. They're not thinking about social security and medicaid yet.

The descent into fascism thing seems abstract. It's like the left is missing the forest for the trees. Everyone already feels like their future is dim. They don't have investments in the stock market, so what difference does a falling market make to their life?

Many trans kids are already used to not getting the care they need, often prevented by their parents, long waiting lists, or being denied care for other reasons, not specifically Trump.

In short, going to protests is boring and makes you seem like you care too much, and people don't feel like their future will be any different with Trump or without him, because they already feel like it's bad. It needs to be made clear why turning out matters.

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 01:18:59 GMT

There's the concept of being uncool if you care too much about a thing unironically. They're basically saying, get a job. You care about this too much.

Somehow the 3.5% rule needs to be communicated in layman's terms.

Thinking back to the BLM protests, it's not obvious to them what was accomplished. Part of the city was messed up for a while. At least it was a spectacle.

Friends who would not go to a peaceful protest, because it's boring, might be interested in a protest where something dramatic might happen. Nonviolent protests seem boring. Not to promote violence at all, but something more interesting or creative should happen.

Their friends ask, is anything interesting happening there? It's boring to stand around with a bunch of old people. Going to a Bernie and AOC rally actually sounds appealing to them, because at least those are celebrities, but they doubt their friends would feel the same.

Kids already feel like their future is fucked. It's hard to get jobs, hard to pay for rent or college. It feels insensitive for older generations to point out your future will be taken by fascism. The kids already perceive it as fucked, not specifically because of Trump.

The whole descent into fascism thing seems abstract. It's like the left is missing the forest for the trees. Everyone already feels like their future is dim. They don't have investments in the stock market, so what difference does a falling market make to their life.

Many trans kids are already used to not getting the care they need, often prevented by their parents, long waiting lists, or being denied care for other reasons, not specifically Trump.

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 01:16:11 GMT

There's the concept of being uncool if you care too much about a thing unironically. They're basically saying, get a job. You care about this too much.

Somehow the 3.5% rule needs to be communicated in layman's terms.

Thinking back to the BLM protests, it's not obvious to them what was accomplished. Part of the city was messed up for a while. At least it was a spectacle.

Many trans kids are already used to not getting the care they need, often prevented by their parents, long waiting lists, or being denied care for other reasons, not specifically Trump.

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 01:16:09 GMT

There's the concept of being uncool if you care too much about a thing unironically. They're basically saying, get a job. You care about this too much.

Somehow the 3.5% rule needs to be communicated in layman's terms.

Thinking back to the BLM protests, it's not obvious to them what was accomplished. Part of the city was messed up for a while. At least it was a spectacle.

Many trans kids are already used to not getting the care they need, often prevented by their parents, long waiting lists, or being denied care for other reasons, not specifically Trump.

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 01:15:42 GMT

There's the concept of being uncool if you care too much about a thing unironically. They're basically saying, get a job. You care about this too much.

Somehow the 3.5% rule needs to be communicated in layman's terms.

Thinking back to the BLM protests, it's not obvious to them what was accomplished. Part of the city was messed up for a while. At least it was a spectacle.

Many trans kids are already used to not getting the care they need, often prevented by their parents, long waiting lists, or being denied care for other reasons, not specifically Trump.