mahiwaga

While the label of “Millenial” is ill-defined and overgeneralizes a demographic with a wide age range, the defining moments of this generation are definitely 9/11, the Global Financial Crisis, and the Great Recession.

For many, these events point to the frailty of neoliberalism, and without faith in the neoliberal institutions that dominate the world, it’s very difficult to have faith in the future.

But it’s not necessarily an abstract mindset, either. We live in a system where it’s normal to be let go from your employer after a few years or even after a few months. Where it’s impossible to buy a house where the jobs are unless you’re a trust fund kid.

If steady employment and home ownership—the promises of the American Dream—are totally out of reach unless you already have money, why would they engage in the Sisyphean task of trying to attain those goals?

The Bernie Sanders Moment: Brought to you by the generation that has no future • 2016 Mar 29 • Corey Robin • Crooked Timber

FOX 40 in Sacramento posted about the changes in the price of gas over the decades.

In 1976, gas was 53¢/gallon. In 2016 dollars, this is equal to $2.21/gallon. Which isn’t that far from the cheapest gas in So Cal today.

We really have short memories. The idea that somehow the tone and vitriol in the arguments between Clinton and and their respective supporters is horrifically divisive and likely to cost the Democrats defeat in the general election requires totally forgetting the very-thinly-veiled racism of the 2008 Democratic primaries where leading Democratic establishment figures were blowing barely-concealed dog-whistles about Obama.¹

(crossposted on Facebook){: .metadata }

2016 Mar 29 • Chris Cillizza • Washington Post

Also, I love the hashtag #ToneDownForWhat

• Playing the Racist Card • 2008 Mar 14 • Ta-Nehisi Coates • Slate
• 2008 May 19 • Ta-Nehisi Coates • The Atlantic

On one hand, yeah, privileged people with lots of resources can probably survive a Trump presidency (assuming he doesn’t declare martial law and line up all his critics against walls, constitutional or not.) It’s not going to hurt them as much if Trump and collaborators in Congress and the SCOTUS start dismantling the social welfare safety net, continue weakening civil rights, send soldiers off on futile wars, start destroying the environment at an even faster rate, etc., etc.

On the other hand, I can see why some people would be attracted to the idea of letting Trump win in order to galvanize the rebel alliance. Sure, lots of people are gonna die, and this country will probably be shattered beyond recognition, never again to regain its status of sole world superpower/hegemon. But if you have no faith in the institutions of democracy, rule of law, neoliberalism, and/or market solutions, and you don’t really have much to lose, I can see why someone would argue this.

Susan Sarandon Says She May Not Vote For Clinton If Sanders Loses Dem Race • 2016 Mar 29 • Caitlin Cruz • Talking Points Memo