genderhawk:beepboopbitch:marsupials-of-mars:lostsometime:i had a very illuminating conversation with
genderhawk:beepboopbitch:marsupials-of-mars:lostsometime:i had a very illuminating conversation with a guy about 10 years younger than me that really put this change into perspective, which is this:i have a very distinct memory, in my childhood, of the moment of my disillusionment. i believed that grown-ups knew what they were doing, and that the things that seemed so obvious to me had to be obvious to them, too (things like DON’T GO TO WAR IN IRAQ, for example). i believed that, and had that belief pulled out from under me, so my disillusionment comes with a sense of betrayal.a mere 10 years younger than me, this guy has no such moment or memory. he never believed grown-ups were fundamentally competent, or good, or reasonable. he never lived in a world where things didn’t feel constantly careening wildly out of control. there’s no betrayal in his sense that the government has failed him - of course it has, it was always going to. he doesn’t remember a time pre-bush, or pre-9/11, or pre-iraq war. this is just what the world has always looked like for him. so it’s not really a sense of “disillusionment,” actually - his generation never had any illusions to lose. they’ve just been in this world so long it’s all they’ve ever known.As gen z, yeah this adds up… also we grew up with the internet where everyone was always disagreeing and calling shit out so it never seemed like everyone knew what was bestsame tbh, ive never felt like the govt WASNT being shitty or the world wasnt absolutely insanepeople who are marginalized by society for visual differences (race and disability, as well as some other factors) ALSO never had a moment of disillusionmentor it happens so young that I dont remember…Adults never took care of me, never had my best interests at heart… Cops were always a threat, as were any other government officials and their tools. I grew up into romantic and sexual interest with the knowledge that if I was lucky same sex marriage might be recognized in the USThe very first time I went to the mall on my own, with friends by no adults, I was followed around a store and asked to empty my pockets at another…The people making laws argue about my humanity and my rights as if I could not hear it or would not understandhaving faith in the established order is a sign of privilege -- source link