Generation X Is the Absolute Best - Can't Change My Mind
Generation X is turning 50 and boy! how this generation has evolved over the years. From the music, movies, and fashion of the 1980s and 1990s to the issues they face today such as health concerns, Gen Xers have seen it all. We here at R-Town are all part of the X and proud of it. From grunge rock to classic films of the '70s and '80s, Gen Xers continue to influence our society in ways that many people don't even realize. In many ways, Gen X is the greatest generation, mostly because we don’t argue with the other generations and let boomers be boomers, and millennials be millennials. Gen Z who? We’re the cool Jan Brady generation stuck between the everything about them sisters (boomers & millennials).
It's no wonder that Generation X has been dubbed "the forgotten generation" - sandwiched between Baby Boomers and Millennials. But, with their unique perspectives on life, going from the “Me Decade”, through the greed decade and into the grunge days, we may have the best grasp on everything. We wore bell bottoms as little kids and then saw them come back around ‘88 in a 60’s resurgence of music and fashion. We learned to disco dance in elementary, then break dance in middle school, then bang our heads in high school, only after to just shoe gaze. In our teenage & early adult years we saw the 80's as a decade of musical exploration, as it saw us going from the groovy beats of disco to the head-banging riffs of hair metal and the spark of New Wave, to the angsty grunge sound. The 80’s was a decade that gave us some of the most iconic songs and artists in music history. More than that, music turned on a dime and what was in vogue quickly became passe and new styles emerged. We needed a dedicated channel for just music videos to keep track of it all.
This ain’t no uphill both ways in the snow, but, as Gen Xers we skateboarded and biked with no helmets; we came home to an empty house from elementary and middle school with keys around our necks to let ourselves in; there were no cell phones to call and check in, and, better yet, track our kids like we do today. We only had D.A.R.E., McGruff and friggin’ Nancy Reagan saying: “Just say no!” to keep us safe. We had to leave the house and pay a quarter for video games, unless we were lucky enough to have a Commodore 64 or Atari 2600. We bussed alone down to University Ave to buy Motorhead records. Please keep in mind that we are the generation that got the internet while still young and learned it from scratch, rather than growing up with it like millennials or saying screw it! like boomers.
We were the first ones to grow up on video games, but also left time for sports and the outdoors. We were the first to get the 24-hour news cycle, so really the first to constantly worry about the world. We watched the Challenger explode and the Berlin Wall come down (thanks Hoff). We also were the first to blog and use social media, so digital astronaut is going on my resume right now. We created hip-hop, the Seattle sound and alternative. We came from hippies and survived Reaganomics (or did we), still learning to balance an actual checkbook and learning to parallel park our parents huge station wagon.
Generation X is now closer to retirement than to their high school, or even college graduations. We’re currently aged 43 to 58 and these days more worried about our kids than what bands are playing this weekend. We number 65 million strong (and dropping!) We’re over here paying for the kids’ stuff and the nursing homes for our parents, while trying to add the max to our 401K’s. We work too hard, save too little and care too much. We’re flexible, resilient, and independent. We can be formal, informal or punk, all at the same time. We’ve been in the workforce for two or three decades now and we know what we’re doing.
Someday we’ll dominate the political landscape. We’re starting to, but not quite there yet. Boomers still outnumber Generation X by about 6 million people. Boomers and millennials have about the same population levels, so we’re a bit trapped right now. But, we’ll keep ruling the world, just don’t expect us to talk about, we just want to be left alone.
