Oh man... I'm turning 60 in about a week and so I've had a ringside seat at the "arena of the decline." I still remember when manners, courtesy and kindness actually mattered. We were never allowed to leave the house looking like a scumbag. "Everyday" clothes were for wearing at home and doing chores, not going out in public. We always (…
Oh man... I'm turning 60 in about a week and so I've had a ringside seat at the "arena of the decline." I still remember when manners, courtesy and kindness actually mattered. We were never allowed to leave the house looking like a scumbag. "Everyday" clothes were for wearing at home and doing chores, not going out in public. We always (and I still do) dressed decently to fly or take the train somewhere. Getting tattoos was for cons and fat bikers and was *not* acceptable (and as far as I'm concerned, still isn't... if someone can't show who they are by the way they live their lives, I sure as hell don't want to read about who they are on the outside of their bodies depicted as so-called "art") Pierced ears were for women, not little girls and certainly not men. Being 300 pounds overweight was not considered brave and stunning, it was a sign of someone who couldn't control themselves and was not eating properly. I mean... I could go on and on. But I'm called one of those pesky "boomers" even though I've been screaming about liberty my whole life. Something else that people just don't get (and as a "libertarian" leaning person get resistance for) is that a society cannot and will not ever have liberty and freedom if they cannot live by any kind of standards for a successful society. It just doesn't work. If "anything goes" in a society, eventually "everything goes" because a society that cannot control themselves sets themselves up to be controlled. It's just a fact. Great post. Oh, and my Dad was "black pilled" long before that was a thing. He always told people (as do I), "I'm not negative... I'm a *realist*." Thanks for letting us freeloaders read the post. :)
"We were never allowed to leave the house looking like a scumbag." Haha. Ahh the days when mom would stop you at the door and make you tuck your shirt in or button your collar. It's fascinating to watch the cultural cycle come full circle. The whole thing might be a product of liberty. Maximum liberty (in a consumer society) births hyper individualism and "counter cultures" which must manifest through greater and greater grotesque extremes until simple, clean, respectable attire and presentation becomes the new counter culture. The cycle from the 1960s to the present though, at least last century bounced within a spectrum (mod to rock to punk to preppy to grunge etc) until recently when it may have all collapsed into one indistinguishable mess of nothingness where we arrive at your brilliant point (that I might steal one day): "A society that cannot control themselves sets themselves up to be controlled."
This is one of the best posts I've ever read on Substack. Thanks for allowing us all to read this magnificent story. It really touched me because I long for the Golden Era of America when I was fortunate enough to grow up as a youngster, child, teenager and adult. Those were the best of times because people cared for things they don't care for at all now. It's all due to the decline of civilization which will ultimately be the demise of the American Empire. It's so sad to see America in the condition it is today. But it was all by design by those who control all the power, wealth and knowledge. The glory days are long behind us. 😥
I give this Stack a 1st Place prize for epic storytelling. 🥇👏
Thanks James. Having been in the states for a few months this spring and summer, the longest spell since 2006, I sensed this ominous feeling in people I'd met. More so in Arizona than Portland, of course.
I came right after you. I'm part of the first year of Gen X, born in '65, so I'll be 59 in April. I can't agree enough with what you're saying. I was brought up that was as well. Probably "boomer" vs "gen x" is not really a good measure as what values were in the family. My parents were born in the 40s.
I lived the best years of my life during the "Stabilization Period" described in the article. I feel not just lucky but even blessed compared to the absolute shit that people call their lives these days.
It was so wonderful but even still, I long for the era of the 40's. I am fascinated by it. By the music, by the class, by the much better in character people that were common. If I could go back in time, I would turn 18 on VE day, so that I could have lived my heyday starting in 1945 on the very close of WW2.
I look at all of this insanity and feel as though most people have lost their minds. Tattoos... yes, just as you have said but what people do these days looks like skin disease. It's disgusting. I'm not the most fit but I will never surrender to the degree that most people have already done. I might not be the classiest dressing person but you will never find me wearing pajamas in public, etc.
It sad that it has gone so far but, since it has, it has to break and it has to end. It's utterly digusting and I'll never be OK with what all of this has become.
Amen, Rob. I'm 63 and have been complaining about this for years, always ending with: " Why would anyone want to make themselves look uglier than they already do"...and one of my friends always answers: "They think they look good and that we look ugly."
I HATE tattoos. They look like a brand on a heifer...and heifer is the operative word here. Weak-minded people follow stupid trends. I've been called "negative" for years, and I always answer the same as your dad.
For about the last five years I have been playing game to deal with the tidium of grocery shopping. I count anyone in the store not wearing black, spandex or denim. I rarely make it to one, and it is invariably a foreigner. What is this thing about wearing black ALL the time? I don't even own any black clothing. An old man standing next to me in line recently made a snide remark about an obese woman, covered in piercings and tattoos in front of me. I told him it often felt to me like everyone was on their way to a funeral. When one watches old movies (fifties, sixties...the only movies I watch) the riot of colorful clothing jumps out at you. Colored clothing used to only be worn by the rich, because dye was so expensive. Now when anyone can afford to wear beautiful colors, people opt for black???
Happy Birthday Rob! I’ll be 60 in October. Did you read my mind?! You are 100%. I was raised the same way. And I had Catholic school for 12 years. Lol!
I'm with you. I turn 62 this week. I have witnessed this country turn to shit... the whole while I am screaming at the top if my lungs to wake up.
I had a graduating highschool class of a whopping 63 people, 2 very nice, sweet, black girls with zero queen attitude.We had one girl slightly overweight and she heard about it often, until the shaming caused her to lose the weight and now she is a very fit 62 year old.
No body had tats or rings anywhere except an ear (and a guy was a faggot if they had one).
Was that era better than today. Yes. A thousand times better and I am sorry that the younger ones missed out and now have to deal with this sickening display we see now.
It is idiotic to call me a "Boomer" when I have fought the fight my entire life, moreso than most of people today.
Boomer should be a compliment. The generational antagonisms are just another mode of fomenting division so nobody ever bands together to cut the head off the snake.
Oh man... I'm turning 60 in about a week and so I've had a ringside seat at the "arena of the decline." I still remember when manners, courtesy and kindness actually mattered. We were never allowed to leave the house looking like a scumbag. "Everyday" clothes were for wearing at home and doing chores, not going out in public. We always (and I still do) dressed decently to fly or take the train somewhere. Getting tattoos was for cons and fat bikers and was *not* acceptable (and as far as I'm concerned, still isn't... if someone can't show who they are by the way they live their lives, I sure as hell don't want to read about who they are on the outside of their bodies depicted as so-called "art") Pierced ears were for women, not little girls and certainly not men. Being 300 pounds overweight was not considered brave and stunning, it was a sign of someone who couldn't control themselves and was not eating properly. I mean... I could go on and on. But I'm called one of those pesky "boomers" even though I've been screaming about liberty my whole life. Something else that people just don't get (and as a "libertarian" leaning person get resistance for) is that a society cannot and will not ever have liberty and freedom if they cannot live by any kind of standards for a successful society. It just doesn't work. If "anything goes" in a society, eventually "everything goes" because a society that cannot control themselves sets themselves up to be controlled. It's just a fact. Great post. Oh, and my Dad was "black pilled" long before that was a thing. He always told people (as do I), "I'm not negative... I'm a *realist*." Thanks for letting us freeloaders read the post. :)
"We were never allowed to leave the house looking like a scumbag." Haha. Ahh the days when mom would stop you at the door and make you tuck your shirt in or button your collar. It's fascinating to watch the cultural cycle come full circle. The whole thing might be a product of liberty. Maximum liberty (in a consumer society) births hyper individualism and "counter cultures" which must manifest through greater and greater grotesque extremes until simple, clean, respectable attire and presentation becomes the new counter culture. The cycle from the 1960s to the present though, at least last century bounced within a spectrum (mod to rock to punk to preppy to grunge etc) until recently when it may have all collapsed into one indistinguishable mess of nothingness where we arrive at your brilliant point (that I might steal one day): "A society that cannot control themselves sets themselves up to be controlled."
This is one of the best posts I've ever read on Substack. Thanks for allowing us all to read this magnificent story. It really touched me because I long for the Golden Era of America when I was fortunate enough to grow up as a youngster, child, teenager and adult. Those were the best of times because people cared for things they don't care for at all now. It's all due to the decline of civilization which will ultimately be the demise of the American Empire. It's so sad to see America in the condition it is today. But it was all by design by those who control all the power, wealth and knowledge. The glory days are long behind us. 😥
I give this Stack a 1st Place prize for epic storytelling. 🥇👏
Thanks James. Having been in the states for a few months this spring and summer, the longest spell since 2006, I sensed this ominous feeling in people I'd met. More so in Arizona than Portland, of course.
"This is one of the best posts I've ever read on Substack."
By far.
Hi Rob,
I came right after you. I'm part of the first year of Gen X, born in '65, so I'll be 59 in April. I can't agree enough with what you're saying. I was brought up that was as well. Probably "boomer" vs "gen x" is not really a good measure as what values were in the family. My parents were born in the 40s.
I lived the best years of my life during the "Stabilization Period" described in the article. I feel not just lucky but even blessed compared to the absolute shit that people call their lives these days.
It was so wonderful but even still, I long for the era of the 40's. I am fascinated by it. By the music, by the class, by the much better in character people that were common. If I could go back in time, I would turn 18 on VE day, so that I could have lived my heyday starting in 1945 on the very close of WW2.
I look at all of this insanity and feel as though most people have lost their minds. Tattoos... yes, just as you have said but what people do these days looks like skin disease. It's disgusting. I'm not the most fit but I will never surrender to the degree that most people have already done. I might not be the classiest dressing person but you will never find me wearing pajamas in public, etc.
It sad that it has gone so far but, since it has, it has to break and it has to end. It's utterly digusting and I'll never be OK with what all of this has become.
Amen, Rob. I'm 63 and have been complaining about this for years, always ending with: " Why would anyone want to make themselves look uglier than they already do"...and one of my friends always answers: "They think they look good and that we look ugly."
I HATE tattoos. They look like a brand on a heifer...and heifer is the operative word here. Weak-minded people follow stupid trends. I've been called "negative" for years, and I always answer the same as your dad.
For about the last five years I have been playing game to deal with the tidium of grocery shopping. I count anyone in the store not wearing black, spandex or denim. I rarely make it to one, and it is invariably a foreigner. What is this thing about wearing black ALL the time? I don't even own any black clothing. An old man standing next to me in line recently made a snide remark about an obese woman, covered in piercings and tattoos in front of me. I told him it often felt to me like everyone was on their way to a funeral. When one watches old movies (fifties, sixties...the only movies I watch) the riot of colorful clothing jumps out at you. Colored clothing used to only be worn by the rich, because dye was so expensive. Now when anyone can afford to wear beautiful colors, people opt for black???
When one watches oldish scenes with automobiles, the riot of colours jumps out at you as well 🙂🤔
Happy Birthday Rob! I’ll be 60 in October. Did you read my mind?! You are 100%. I was raised the same way. And I had Catholic school for 12 years. Lol!
Fellow libra?
I'm with you. I turn 62 this week. I have witnessed this country turn to shit... the whole while I am screaming at the top if my lungs to wake up.
I had a graduating highschool class of a whopping 63 people, 2 very nice, sweet, black girls with zero queen attitude.We had one girl slightly overweight and she heard about it often, until the shaming caused her to lose the weight and now she is a very fit 62 year old.
No body had tats or rings anywhere except an ear (and a guy was a faggot if they had one).
Was that era better than today. Yes. A thousand times better and I am sorry that the younger ones missed out and now have to deal with this sickening display we see now.
It is idiotic to call me a "Boomer" when I have fought the fight my entire life, moreso than most of people today.
Boomer should be a compliment. The generational antagonisms are just another mode of fomenting division so nobody ever bands together to cut the head off the snake.
While adding to my digital library I stumbled across these wonderful collections that everyone might want to add to their digital library as well.
Archive.org is so wonderful and so well worth contributing to.
https://archive.org/download/CSIWEMBLEY-EBOOK-COLLECTION
https://archive.org/details/TheCampaignerVolume7Number6TheTavistockGrin_201903/The_campaigner_-_December_1978/page/n11/mode/2up
Imagine being 62 and having a kid who just started college.