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IndiBrony@lemmy.world 3 weeks agoI hate I have a birthday in the same millennium. All these <26 year olds with their youth, and a 2 at the start of their birth year!
They’ll never know the glory of the 90s!
They’ll never know what it was like to grow up in a pre-digital world!
They’ll never know what it was like in an airport before 9/11!
I never knew what it was like in an airport before 9/11 because I only flew for the first time last week but my point still stands!
And as for the rest of you millennials! Remember Dexter? This is him now! Feel old yet?
gdog05@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You say all that on jest but I’m old enough to have seen the change. Old enough and from a remote enough area that the change happened late for me.
I’d say it was about 1994-1995 when I noticed it. The police became more militarized and the standards of law enforcement were changed to be a revolving door where if they fucked up, they just got moved far enough away from the fuck up that no one knew about it there. Basically following the Catholic church system.
So law enforcement went from being socially embedded in the community to being outside of it a bit. And then over time, above it. And mind you, this is very rural. Towns smaller than 10k people were considered our cities. Cops have always been class traitors but looking back, this all felt like a calculated sea change.
And then of course 9/11 happened and police started getting the militarized hardware to go along with the attitude. And then Fox news started to warp what were pretty decent people into being xenophobic hate worshippers.
But right before all that, if you were caught causing trouble, underage drinking or even drinking and driving, the cops would bring you to your house to face your parents. Not to a jail cell.
We had a decent amount of freedom. Actual freedom. Capitalism was reigning supreme at larger scales, but it hadn’t been applied to every single thing in life quite yet. It didn’t have its act together enough to suck the fun out of just existing. Even state government (in a low-population state) felt pretty community driven. Legislators would come by and visit even my tiny village.
You didn’t see no trespassing signs on every piece of fence because frivolous lawsuits hadn’t been made popular yet. My mom, a single mother, she did struggle financially but she still was capable of raising my brother and I in safety on a waitress’ wage. And again, this is a tiny ass town she was waitressing in. Fewer than 500 people.
The 80’s and 90’s were far from perfect but it does allow me to know we can do better. We can have it better. And it’s one of the few things that keep me working and fighting. The younger generations deserve better and they can have a better life than has been provided to them.