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Generation X and Global Warming + Batman Infographic

Generation X vs. Generation Y | by Lore Vigil-Escalera

Generation X vs. Generation Y | by Lore Vigil-Escalera

Generation X and Global Warming

This week, numerous media outlets including MSNBC, CBS News and USA Today have reported on a University of Michigan report that found Generation X was lukewarm on global warming. I like the school’s ongoing Longitudinal Study of American Youth. Dr. Jon Miller has been leading it for decades, and it has provided a lot of interesting information over the years about Gen Xers.

According to ToB of the blog Histories of Things To Come, “Gen Xers may just be retreating into their private worlds.”

Actually, we’ve been retreating for as long as we could pour a bowl of Lucky Charms and adjust the rabbit ears by ourselves, but that’s another post entirely.


The nuclear disaster at Fukushima has had a disastrous impact on Japan’s economy. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has proposed lowering the retirement age from 60 to 40 in an effort to release more job opportunities for younger generations. It’s called the Frontier Plan, a term that reminds me of other dark, euphemistic language governments have historically used to disguise their goals and agendas. Here’s an excerpt from a commentary on Histories of Things To Come:

“Not only does this weaken the generation of people currently most capable of mounting a substantial critique and effort to deal with Fukushima’s real and political fallout. It also curries favour with a younger Gen Y Japanese – those angry, alienated, anti-nuclear protesting students who are under the age of 35. In short, it will buy them off with full time jobs and social privileges stolen from their middle-aged predecessors. Given Japan’s poor birth rate, is this proposal simply pushing Japan’s resources toward those capable of future child-bearing? One blogger fears that Noda has seen the estimates on post-Fukushima life expectancy, and he is merely moving policy to align with a future Japan whose citizens will die at a much younger age. In other words, Gen Y will see itself supported, but not understand the horrific underlying expectation behind that unfair support: that they are not expected to live past middle age. See another report on this nasty idea here.”

Pretty Generation Illustration

by Erika Lugo via ErikaLugo.com

Gen X Pixels

Recently, I had the privilege of connecting with another blogger, Chloe, a mother and second-wave Xer who writes about Generation X. She recently completed a 52-week blog project, Fireflies at Dusk, which I’ve enjoyed working my way through. It’s a sweet blend of memories, motherhood and making peace with the past. It’s been strangely validating reading her posts. Check out Light From A Pixel: A Blog on the Spiritual and Philosophical Issues of the Gen X Experience.

Here is an excerpt from Week 19:

“Any generation who grows up during a tumultuous time either in their home life or in the world in general finds themselves especially needing tradition and familiarity.  Too much of the lives of Gen Xers has been filled with stress and has gone speeding by.  Too many seasons of my life have passed when I was consumed entirely by work or school or others’ expectations of me.  Now it is time to live more intentionally in the moment – and in the season.  Walking through the cool air on the soft earth, we went back to the car in our muddy rain boots. Pumpkins rolled around in the back seat as we turned the corner to get on the road to take us home. This was the best thing we could have done with this day that was given to us”

From the Pinterest Vault

Batman Infographic

Finally, I thought we should all celebrate the opening of the new Batman movie with a fun infographic. Created by StreetRant.com, this first made the rounds several months ago. It features various generations of Batman costumes. Which one do you like the best?

batman infographic costumes

 

 

Gen X Blog Jennifer Chronicles

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7 Comments

  1. Andi Fisher

    Thought you might find this interesting: I watched a story on the French news last night about companies in Italy, like Nestle asking their older factory workers to work less hours for less money so that younger workers can be hired from the large unemployed work force.

  2. Andi Fisher

    So much good stuff in here. The problem of reports and data is that it seems that it can manipulated or massaged into whatever the people paying for the research want it to be. You used to be able to count on Universities to be somewhat neutral, but I know from experience that this is definitely not the case anymore. Sad. I feel like you are my personal patron saint of Gen X and you keep me up to date on the lastest and greatest and not so greatest. Because I have definitely, definitely retreated myself into a world that I filter what I want to expose myself to in terms of news!

  3. Jennifer

    This news about Aurora is just horrible. Makes me want to zip myself up in my house and never come out. We need peace.

  4. Jennifer

    I’d been hunkered down and I’d heard something about it, but I was avoiding the news b/c it drepresses me so much. I agree — lots of GenXers concerned on all fronts. We just have different ways of expressing it I think. I also think Xers are skeptics and there is so much information out there, nobody knows who to believe. My U.S. Senator, Jim Inhofe, thinks global warming is a fairytale…ugh.

  5. Rose Byrd

    Unfortunately, Jen, this post was published before the horror at the Midnight Premiere in Denver of the latest Batman movie! You surely must see that a LOT of Gen Xers are super-concerned about this insane mass violence in our country! My own Gen X children are extremely involved in all means at their disposal to curtail global warming. And they participate in aid relief to the Japanese victims of last year’s tsunami destruction.

  6. TerritoryMom

    This is powerful. I find myself trying to be a 1950’s woman when everything was happy and turquoise, but the 70’s hippy comes out and I long for patchwork skirts and smocked tops. I’m trying to create my own world but also revert to the old one. One day there will be peace or maybe in the morning. Have a great weekend.

  7. TerritoryMom

    This is powerful. I find myself trying to be a 1950’s woman when everything was happy and turquoise, but the 70’s hippy comes out and I long for patchwork skirts and smocked tops. I’m trying to create my own world but also revert to the old one. One day there will be peace or maybe in the morning. Have a great weekend.

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