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Generation Gap, and How The Fandom Isn't Your Therapist
3 years ago
One of the things that we "Grey Muzzles" were supposed to do, is advise the young'uns when they get to acting stupid. And when the stupidity goes to eleven, we'd usually smack them on the muzzle with a suspension of some kind. Then someone would reach out and coach them on how to be a nicer person.
Often times, it was just that they either have zero socialization, or they are on the spectrum and need time to learn how to overcome that part of their biology. Often times, it was both.
But a few things have happened in the last 10-15 years.
1. Everyone is completely overworked, to the point where nobody has any time, or mental energy, to do those kinds of things anymore. So people are extremely selective with who they choose to spend their time with, and/or who they expend energy upon. So anyone with few social skills, or those on the spectrum, get shoved out the door and left to cope on their own. With results that YOU get to see in your comments and Discord.
2. All the older furries who might have had time, or energy, to help those people, have all been burned out. We aren't getting paid to be a therapist, and most of the time, we ain't qualified to do it anyway. And with all these layoffs, losing our homes, losing family members to diseases both political and biological, sometimes BOTH, we are just fucking DONE with other people's shitty behavior.
3. The young people are also done with our shit. We, the older generation, have pretty much failed the younger generation. Whatever it might have been; crappy political choices, crappy financial choices, crappy social choices - the world ain't in the best of shape, and young people's prospects ain't looking good for the next decade, let along the next 100 years. So if we Grey Muzzles might have had any advice to help the new kids fit in, it's understandable if they aren't inclined to listen.
4. Honestly? 99% of the kids DON'T need our advice. They're actually doing pretty good, figuring out how to be a decent person, and flat-out refusing to take any shit from people who want to keep things the way they are.
But that 1%...
Whoof.
Ostracized from their peer group for shitty behavior, nobody with the time or energy to coach them, and no reasonable prospects going forward?
Yeah, that ain't gonna go well. Not at all.
Often times, it was just that they either have zero socialization, or they are on the spectrum and need time to learn how to overcome that part of their biology. Often times, it was both.
But a few things have happened in the last 10-15 years.
1. Everyone is completely overworked, to the point where nobody has any time, or mental energy, to do those kinds of things anymore. So people are extremely selective with who they choose to spend their time with, and/or who they expend energy upon. So anyone with few social skills, or those on the spectrum, get shoved out the door and left to cope on their own. With results that YOU get to see in your comments and Discord.
2. All the older furries who might have had time, or energy, to help those people, have all been burned out. We aren't getting paid to be a therapist, and most of the time, we ain't qualified to do it anyway. And with all these layoffs, losing our homes, losing family members to diseases both political and biological, sometimes BOTH, we are just fucking DONE with other people's shitty behavior.
3. The young people are also done with our shit. We, the older generation, have pretty much failed the younger generation. Whatever it might have been; crappy political choices, crappy financial choices, crappy social choices - the world ain't in the best of shape, and young people's prospects ain't looking good for the next decade, let along the next 100 years. So if we Grey Muzzles might have had any advice to help the new kids fit in, it's understandable if they aren't inclined to listen.
4. Honestly? 99% of the kids DON'T need our advice. They're actually doing pretty good, figuring out how to be a decent person, and flat-out refusing to take any shit from people who want to keep things the way they are.
But that 1%...
Whoof.
Ostracized from their peer group for shitty behavior, nobody with the time or energy to coach them, and no reasonable prospects going forward?
Yeah, that ain't gonna go well. Not at all.
Kids these days... i dunno, theyve been through a hell of a lot in the last 20 odd years.
September 11th.
That crazy 2000 election.
The Mayan doomsday thing that didnt happen.
The 1999 doomsday that didnt happen
COVID....
i mean, lets face it, the kids today have been through a lot of SHIT... even MORE shit than we were kids. i dont knw how i feel about the future but...man, it does do my heart a lot of good to see the Generation Z voters really shine this last election. i get the feeling a lot of these kids just want to love who they want, have babies when they want to, and more or less live the way they want to.
Good show!