‘Hold me close, young Tony Danza’ - me at 9.

He is a symptom of the disease, and both must be dealt with as such.

He’s already declared his political opponents and the majority of us that don’t share his ideals as terrorists and hostile enemies, signed a EO to that effect September 2025.

We gotta try something, and many other things too. Not trying is a big part of why we’re in this mess.

This may not qualify as currently reading - however I just finished Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre yesterday. Fantastic and difficult (emotionally) read. Really connects the dots and gives an inside look into Epstein’s world as well as an incredible story of survival and self-empowerment.

I’m also re-reading 1984 by George Orwell. I read it for the first time ~15 years ago and it terrified me, now it’s terrifying in a whole new way.

Gonna need a lighthearted read after this.

Oh awesome! I own this book and have not read it, it’s on my list to read this year.

Your point is valid, my hope is that a popular choice would have a wide ranging effect to de-incentivize the current two party system beyond the presidential elections. It could also help push similar legislation beyond presidential elections.

Again, this is my hope -

This is so real. I remember being a preteen when pagers were a big thing, and seeing a newspaper article written for parents that listed all of these ‘pager codes’ so parents could decode what their kids were saying to each other. Out of a list of perhaps 20, I only recognized 3 and the rest were so elaborate and clearly made up for this article. A few years later, I saw a nearly identical article listing largely the same ‘codes’ but for AIM chats. Shit like ‘2219’ means ‘parents nearby, pick the drugs up at Sally’s instead’. Like wtf?

Like you said, inventing a largely imagined culture for the generation they’re completely out of touch with.

Instead of ‘decoding’ what kids are saying, how about actually talking to them?

If this passes, my bet is on the two party system becoming a distant memory very quickly.

This is what we need.

Come on America, despite the horrors we see now this is our chance to make things right and show the world that we actually intend to become the country we’ve always pretended to be. Let’s show the world how to rise up, break free of our shackles, and create a society that takes care of each other and our planet.

Also only drink soda, sir. Forget water, soda is the thirst mutilator!

I also believe this, and want to add that conservatism is mostly a combination of ideals based on grievances and a complete lack of critical thinking thinking as well.

I still say a lot of it too, dweeb and grody being choice to use at opportune moments.

I personally love slang, without it our language skills would remain static and even degrade. IMO slang helps language evolve.

100% agree with you. My childhood was so steeped in the nostalgia of a generation that hit its prime before I was born that I legitimately knew more about 60’s and 70’s popular culture than I did about the popular culture in my own time because of how hijacked it was by boomer nostalgia. Even in media designed for my generation, the message was clear: boomer culture was the peak culture and anything that came after was a cheap imitation or flat out ‘wrong’.

Let me be clear: millennials have their own issues with nostalgia, and I also see some of us giving younger people the same treatment: ‘oh you don’t remember that song/movie/actor from when I was growing up and you weren’t even born yet?! Did you even have a childhood?!’ type of crap. While this isn’t ok either, I can’t help but wonder if because that’s the attitude we received from our elders growing up, some of us use it for a template to handle our own feelings of irrelevance as we age. My message to these people as well as a reminder to myself as I get even older: let the youths be. Let them enjoy being young and see it simply as that. It has nothing to do with you, and your job is to listen to them and nurture their efforts to improve their world so they can continue to do so for those that come after them.

I’ve also heard it described as a tolerance test; it’s a social behavior we all engage in but in the case of narcissistic personalities it’s much more nefarious and manipulative. The narcissist’s prayer sums it up well.

These types will also turn this tactic into its most extreme form, a DARVO attack, when confronted directly.

Nothing is ever their fault, they are immune to accountability and will never ever accept that they need to change. Simply step into the mind of your 5 year old self when caught doing something you knew you knew weren’t supposed to yet felt you could whine your way out of and you’ll come close to understanding this mindset.

They had no idea what they were talking about is my best guess.

Oh my word, now there’s another generation saying things for the explicit purpose of upsetting the adults, oh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

It’s like older people actually forget they did the exact same thing as they were growing up, and it didn’t mean anything then either.

Now for a whole new generation to blame and words to ban and make scaries! (Yeah I’m on a tangent and switching perspectives ffs)

Oh wait, forget the slang - the kids aren’t alright! The kids we raised are ruining everything!

Oh wait this you too?

Boomers, this you?