Comments on: Directions for Generation X

By: Shiraz

Shiraz — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:53:42 +0000

One problem I can see with this as an Xer (born late 1969). Is that our generation is very very unused to having power or influence. This is reflected in our culture (Tarantino, South Park, etc.) which takes the view that its OK to be outrageous because no one is paying attention or taking us seriously.

I know it was a bit of a culture shock for me when I started teaching college intro courses and had to deal with being the center of attention and having people actually listen to me.

By: SteveSadlov

SteveSadlov — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:30:22 +0000

Boomers currently dominate the corporate world, the courts, legislative bodies and those surrounding the executive branch. They have mainstreamed 1960s utopianism – big government, apologia for past US foreign policy, environmental extremism, women's / gay / fill-in-grievance group rights, etc. They do nothing to prepare for real war – in that respect they repeat what those in power during the 1930s did wrong. The unraveling will, IMO, feature world war. The war will not be "started" by the West – the West will invite it via weakness, and will incur surprise attack, just as was the case at the end of the 1930s.

By: Tech Demo Guy » 6 Keys to Selling to Generation X

Tech Demo Guy » 6 Keys to Selling to Generation X — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:40:35 +0000

[...] Generation X in midlife are the survivors who have the skills required to handle the crisis. But they also are very individualistic and tend to only want to protect their “tribe” (their immediate family, in most cases). They can act quickly and decisively and posess both the competence and pragmatism to get stuff done. They don’t go in for ideology (unlike their elders, the Boomers) and often get frustrated by bureaucracy. They prefer to deal with people one to one rather than with faceless organizations, and they will hold individuals accountable for their promises and actions. Many Gen X’ers are comfortable with technology but prefer face-to-face interactions. [...]

By: Ray

Ray — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:25:06 +0000

I really enjoyed reading your articles. Hope to get back here again and read some more.

By: Dave Sohigian

Dave Sohigian — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:35:58 +0000

@Susan*5 – That is an interesting observation – will our society become more migratory or less in the coming years? What will the re-formed society (after the crisis) look like? Will it be more local or more global? More transient geographically or more stable? I think we need to look to the values of the rising generation (the Millennials, born 1982-200?) to determine what it will look like. But I also think it is too early to tell whether which X’er or Boomer values they will adopt.

By: Susan*5

Susan*5 — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:56:56 +0000

I was thinking about the X identity as “Nomad”, and also about a couple of books that I’ve read on indigenous peoples and their environmental impact. Frequently, indigenous peoples are nomads, they migrate to where the weather/economic opportunities are most advantageous. In our society, being “homeless” or “rootless” is often seen as bad or dangerous or at the very least reckless. Maybe one role of Gen X is to institutionalize and approve of mass societal migrations – maybe this is the only real way that we can deal with the coming energy crunch – retired people already do this, but there must be some way to do this to accomodate work, while preserving personal space. Just a thought.

By: JessieX

JessieX — Thu, 07 May 2009 01:18:37 +0000

Ditto on the sentiment. Love this bit from Strauss & Howe.

By: jenx67

jenx67 — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:53:13 +0000

fantasitico, dave! loved it. how is the list of famous gen xers going? did i miss it? i remembered another – the intellect Jonathon Turley – top 100 public opinion makers in the U.S. Born in 1961. He was #38 on the list.