I don’t know how old you were during 9/11 but it was an awful time to grow up. Out of nowhere you were being bombarded with messages of hate towards of nebulous group of “others”. The country overnight decided that unabashed Islamophobia was in vogue (previously there was still hate but not as outright). Think the Asian hate during covid but ramped up to 11. Your country was changing (at least from a young persons perspective) and all the sudden our allies were not to be trusted (remember freedom fries?). The US became embroiled in what was ostensibly a forever war for no reason.
It wasn’t the worst thing, but people were going to war again and that was very clear and very scary. The financial crashes probably take the spotlight since they affected a lot more Americans directly and it’s possible that everyone knew someone who lost or had to leave their home, but 9/11 changed the country in unmistakable ways and it was scary to watch and then have to witness the fallout without really having much understanding and certainty no agency. I don’t think the meme is saying all of these things are equally bad. Just pointing out that these were major events and possible inflection points in history that didn’t break in favor of justice.
I was in prime conscription age. My father was called up for Vietnam but refused conscription and only the end of the conflict kept him out of jail. I had already applied with selective service as required when I turned 18 and when I saw the second tower get hit, followed by the pentagon, I was certain we were going to be in another conscripted war. Anyone who blows off the impact of 9/11 wasn’t there for it. Anyone who thinks it is history doesn’t realize how many rights we lost on that day that we will never get back doesn’t understand.
I couldn’t agree more. Things might have turned out similarly regardless, but there’s a non-zero chance that without it the patriot act, the second bush term, and the following collapse of civil liberties would not have occurred, or at least would have taken more time or a different path. Sometimes you see people say al-Qaeda won that day and though I don’t think anyone really won, sine it and the aftermath were devastating worldwide, they certainly had some of their aims accomplished.
you do realise you’re on the World Wide Web, right?
Please stop acting like there’s only one country in the world, and that’s the omnipotent, wonderful USA. That’s what the message you’re replying to refers to: 9/11 was important for the USA, but the world is much bigger.
You ever been through an airport before and after? That shit alone was so different between, say, 1999 and 2003. The othering certainly took place across a fairly broad swathe of the Western world, and the post-millennium paranoia never let up. 1999 was an amazing year to be alive. There really did seem to be a boundless optimism that, God, if you could’ve bottle it it’d sell like hotcakes
I’m not acting like there’s only one country in the world and nothing in my comment would suggest I think the US was omnipotent and wonderful, unless you think racism and Islamophobia and turning against other countries is somehow wonderful.
If I see a post that talks about how too many parents are giving their kids tablets, my first thought is not “there are so many places where no one even owns a tablet, stop generalizing”. This is a random meme, not a manifesto on global issues. The term millennial isn’t even used globally and often different countries will have different ideas of what a generation is and what to call it. In South Africa some “millennials” would be part of the “born-free generation”, in Northern Ireland you might call them “Peace Babies”, in china “Post 90s”. Terms from the US might make their way abroad, but “baby boomers” certainly was not a phenomenon in every country. Getting upset that someone is using a US made term in a meme in English on a site where the plurality of the traffic is from the US is a weird choice. I don’t know if Ukrainians consider themselves millennials but it seems like people who did at least some sociology have made the following divisions:
the Soviet generation (age 60 years and older), who were 30 years old when the Soviet Union collapsed; second, the transition generation (45–59 years old), who were educated and launched in the Soviet Union; third, the post-Soviet generation (30–44 years old), who were educated in independent Ukraine and have little memory of the USSR; and fourth, the young generation (18–29 years old), who have no memory or experience of the USSR.
Again, I don’t know what is the most popular term in Ukraine, but it’s clear that generations mean different things to different people and using millennials in a US centric way is pretty standard. It’s not our place to act like we can use our sociology names for social cohorts globally and have that be reasonable. So if anything the use of the term to describe US sentiments (or other countries that feel like their experience aligns closely enough) is a good way to honor other countries and cultures agency and autonomy.
Oh yeah, 9/11. The biggest issue of this generation. I imagine millennials in Ukraine be like “war is tough, but thank God 9/11 is over”
This is very obviously a US-centric meme, as evidenced by the first word in the header, “milennials.”
I don’t know how old you were during 9/11 but it was an awful time to grow up. Out of nowhere you were being bombarded with messages of hate towards of nebulous group of “others”. The country overnight decided that unabashed Islamophobia was in vogue (previously there was still hate but not as outright). Think the Asian hate during covid but ramped up to 11. Your country was changing (at least from a young persons perspective) and all the sudden our allies were not to be trusted (remember freedom fries?). The US became embroiled in what was ostensibly a forever war for no reason.
It wasn’t the worst thing, but people were going to war again and that was very clear and very scary. The financial crashes probably take the spotlight since they affected a lot more Americans directly and it’s possible that everyone knew someone who lost or had to leave their home, but 9/11 changed the country in unmistakable ways and it was scary to watch and then have to witness the fallout without really having much understanding and certainty no agency. I don’t think the meme is saying all of these things are equally bad. Just pointing out that these were major events and possible inflection points in history that didn’t break in favor of justice.
I was in prime conscription age. My father was called up for Vietnam but refused conscription and only the end of the conflict kept him out of jail. I had already applied with selective service as required when I turned 18 and when I saw the second tower get hit, followed by the pentagon, I was certain we were going to be in another conscripted war. Anyone who blows off the impact of 9/11 wasn’t there for it. Anyone who thinks it is history doesn’t realize how many rights we lost on that day that we will never get back doesn’t understand.
I couldn’t agree more. Things might have turned out similarly regardless, but there’s a non-zero chance that without it the patriot act, the second bush term, and the following collapse of civil liberties would not have occurred, or at least would have taken more time or a different path. Sometimes you see people say al-Qaeda won that day and though I don’t think anyone really won, sine it and the aftermath were devastating worldwide, they certainly had some of their aims accomplished.
you do realise you’re on the World Wide Web, right? Please stop acting like there’s only one country in the world, and that’s the omnipotent, wonderful USA. That’s what the message you’re replying to refers to: 9/11 was important for the USA, but the world is much bigger.
You ever been through an airport before and after? That shit alone was so different between, say, 1999 and 2003. The othering certainly took place across a fairly broad swathe of the Western world, and the post-millennium paranoia never let up. 1999 was an amazing year to be alive. There really did seem to be a boundless optimism that, God, if you could’ve bottle it it’d sell like hotcakes
I’m not acting like there’s only one country in the world and nothing in my comment would suggest I think the US was omnipotent and wonderful, unless you think racism and Islamophobia and turning against other countries is somehow wonderful.
If I see a post that talks about how too many parents are giving their kids tablets, my first thought is not “there are so many places where no one even owns a tablet, stop generalizing”. This is a random meme, not a manifesto on global issues. The term millennial isn’t even used globally and often different countries will have different ideas of what a generation is and what to call it. In South Africa some “millennials” would be part of the “born-free generation”, in Northern Ireland you might call them “Peace Babies”, in china “Post 90s”. Terms from the US might make their way abroad, but “baby boomers” certainly was not a phenomenon in every country. Getting upset that someone is using a US made term in a meme in English on a site where the plurality of the traffic is from the US is a weird choice. I don’t know if Ukrainians consider themselves millennials but it seems like people who did at least some sociology have made the following divisions: the Soviet generation (age 60 years and older), who were 30 years old when the Soviet Union collapsed; second, the transition generation (45–59 years old), who were educated and launched in the Soviet Union; third, the post-Soviet generation (30–44 years old), who were educated in independent Ukraine and have little memory of the USSR; and fourth, the young generation (18–29 years old), who have no memory or experience of the USSR.
Again, I don’t know what is the most popular term in Ukraine, but it’s clear that generations mean different things to different people and using millennials in a US centric way is pretty standard. It’s not our place to act like we can use our sociology names for social cohorts globally and have that be reasonable. So if anything the use of the term to describe US sentiments (or other countries that feel like their experience aligns closely enough) is a good way to honor other countries and cultures agency and autonomy.
‘Thank goodness we don’t have to wear masks anymore’ meanwhile a bomb drops somewhere in the backdrop…