The 'Millennial' Generation

[bushforever]

I was born in 1987 and am glad to be part of Generation Y.  The reason we are more conservative is because of our parents and family values.  We understand that what we work for is our money and not the government's.  We enjoy participating in the shooting sports.  We were raised on mass media and big business.  We are the most affluent and love to go shopping.  We love to have a good time.  We would stand up and defend our country if we had to...like it or not, we are the 9/11 generation and it will affect us most.  We do as our parents do, and most of them are now republican.  We don't really care about the environment.  We went to church and sunday school with our parents.  We have a profound respect for life and are compassionate about people and are very social.  We were raised during the suburban boom of the late 90s/early 00s; suburban lifestyle=GOP.  We are highly involved in the community.  We have a do-it-yourself attitude.

Don't listen to the laziness/disrespect and spolied stereotypes you hear.  Spoiledness increases with time and technology and laziness/disrespect is just part of the teenage years.  We will become more respectful and more productive as we become adults.  All I have to say is we are very passionate and we know how to come together as one to defeat anything or just to have fun.  It's Generation X who had the most disrespect and selfishness.  I can see that Gen Y is more united, more powerful, more down to earth, more upbeat.  But I see the generation after us (1994-2010) as being similar to generation X but with much more anarchy and ADD; if the world is destroyed, it will most likely be by them.

[bushforever]

bushwillwin, when you say "we," I think you may be seeing your entire generation in your own scope more than anything. Perhaps this is true, but locally, this generation is nothing like that. It may be regional. It may be cultural. I'm not sure.

Or it may be that you can't group millions of people based on how old they are.

Yes, I think it is hard to group millions of people based on how old they are because we are all different.  I'm just giving my perspective into how I see my generation, at least locally.  And some statements can be applied to the whole generation, as we are influenced by mass media more than ever before, have many similarities to our parents' generation, are most influenced by 9/11, etc.  You can think what you want.  This is just from the perspective of a Generation Y kid in the suburbs.

[bushforever]

Yes, it is definitely strange how people only about 3 or 4 years apart have seen things differently during their childhoods.

I remember President GHW Bush's upsetting loss to Bill Clinton in 1992.

I remember watching in horror the Oklahoma City bombing and then a whole summer of OJ Simpson.

I remember Hurricane Andrew and the Northridge earthquake.

I remember Waco.

I remember Elian Gonzalez.

I remember every Bulls championship in the 90s.

I do remember and actually was quite in to the grunge scene as a child and at the same time fell in love with Aerosmith in 1993 and Alicia Silverstone appearing in their videos.

I remember staying up until 1 am on Election Night 2000 and becoming very much into politics when I first found out that George W. Bush was running, the son of a hero of mine.

I remember watching in horror the attacks of Sept. 11 on TV, my first year in high school.

I remember the patriotic outpour afterwards and the drive to kill the f'n arabs.

I remember seeing Alladin, Beauty & the Beast, The Lion King, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jurrasic Park, Twister, Titanic, and others in the theaters as a child.

While I was into Barney, I was also into Sesame Street, Shining Time Station, and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.

I remember fads like pogs, baggy pants, Hanson, boy bands, Airwalks, Tickle me Elmo, and others.


I've noticed that a lot of kids who were born in the early 1990s missed out on a lot of the great things from 1987-1995 because they were too young to remember.  To me, the 80s ended in 1995, because really that's when the fashion changed, the entertainment changed, the politics changed, and the whole mood changed.  Kids born in the 90s missed out on all this, and that's why they have a different perspective on the world. 

[bushforever]

Ah, but you also remember a time when you did not have a PC, do you not?  I do not.  My family got our first PC when I was 1-1/2.  I'm sure many kids around my age don't, either

Yes, I do remember a time when we had no PC.  I think we got our first when I was like 3.  And it was some old Apple or something, and the graphics were horrible.  It was good for word processing and that's about it.  We got a Packard Bell with Windows 95 when I was 8, and that was so amazing when we first got it but by the time the 90s ended, it was completeley outdated and it was time for something else.  We got a Dell with XP in 2002 and that's what I'm typing on this very moment.

I also remember no answering machines, no caller ID, no color printers, no CD players, no cell phones, and only regular Nintendo.  I do realize that some people may have had some of these luxuries in the early 90s, but I still remember a time when most people, including my middle class family, didn't.

So, it seems like while we may be born at a certain time, the memorable life doesn't really begin until we are about 3.  I'm guessing memorable life started for you around 1995.  I think it started for me around 1990.  I was born in 1987.

Getting back to the original topic, I think it's still a little early to tell what the politics of our generation will be, as only the first of a very large Gen Y is first starting their adult lives.  I think we will be conservative or 50/50, but only time will tell.

[bushforever]

Hola!

A Gulf War 2 veteran will run for President and be nominated by one of the major parties at least by 2020, more than likely 2024, or 2028.

I will be vice president in 2032 and our policies will include the elmination of all taxes, and the funding of public projects by people themselves, voluntarily.  I'm not a Gulf War 2 veteran, but my running mate (the president) might be.