Violence in general was out of control in the 1980s & 90s where I live, if you look at crime charts you can see a sharp drop since I was growing up here. It used to be ROUGH.
America’s decline really started with Richard Nixon. I’m not an expert though.
In the Netherlands, the 90’s were pretty good. I’m sure there were downsides,but there always are.
The economy was good. We had a firm social safety net, maybe even too firm. That is now only a shell of its former self.
The general acceptance of the gay community was on the uprise. The media was becoming gay positive, because of some key public figures. Trans not so much, only in the form of “drag queens” and such.
Some things that are bad today, were bad than. Environmental issues, animal rights, gender equality, institutionalized racism.
Most things are getting better now, but the economy is shit. That is fully to blame on capitalism. There are voices in power for change, but not enough.
A long time ago, I heard someone say that a Swedish drunk laying in a gutter knows more about American politics than the average American college graduate - it is true.
The extreme urban decay of the 90s is to the extreme urban decay of the 20s just as Office Spaces hell of office cubes and meaningless work is to the deeper, darker hell of gig work and poverty.
Shit was shit, its just that shit wasn’t as shit as it is now.
I brought up how Office Space is supposed to be about a hellish environment… I’ve never had a cubical to myself, or a computer I can leave at work at 5pm. Its 2026 and I find myself wishing for the hell that Peter finds himself in, as its far, far more comfortable than the hell we have now.
I would drag my balls over broken glass at the moment for a secure job where I did something mundane. Ideally one that doesn’t actively worsen the world. I’ve already done too much of that.
Most of us were like “holy shit, Nintendo 64. Whoa, PlayStation. Dude, you got a Dell! It’s got a SoundBlaster! Check out this new Internet thing! It’s got the World Wide Web! I’m gonna gel my hair and skateboard listening to Korn on my Discman with antiskip while eating 3d Doritos”
And if you asked us about world events we would have been like “gulf war was lame”
We were too young to really have known about how bad shit was getting, and the internet was just taking off and info did not travel like it does today. Video on a computer was an novelty (lots of windows loyalists called Apple’s QuickTime a gimmick and that it’d never last; until they got a video player themselves) and it took hours to download a few MB. There was no YouTube or TikTok, no live streams, barely any “feeds”, nothing was pushed to you, no WiFi even. Going on the computer was a purposeful activity you spent a slice of your day doing, like reading a book or gaming.
We did not have the window to the world we have now. We all like to pretend that it’s getting worse; and it IS, but also we’re just now waking up to the lie we were told our whole lives and just how deep that lie goes.
I’m obviously not saying the past was perfect, I’m saying we remember a world where a lot of families got on pretty well with 1 parent working paying for a home, cars, vacation, hobbies, etc.
I also took a pretty US centric view of your comment. If you’re from a country in which the 90s were indeed The Good Times, just ignore me.
In the US, there were probably more people living stable middle class lives than there are today but there was still a very large and mostly ignored underclass, and there always has been.
I was born in 88 and I remember my parents doing ok, but by the time I hit the workforce I saw no good old days. The 2008 crash happened right as I was priming up for adult life and I’ve watched any prosperity for my generation fade out of existence for as long as I can remember. I’ve only ever known decay of the “American dream” and have seen time and again corporations and capitalists robbing us of our future.
Not all of us. I was born in the late 80s, and grew up pulling food out of garbage cans because my family didn’t make enough money to feed all five of us.
I mean I put it in quotes for a reason, but it’s pretty obviously the case that a lot more people’s material conditions were better 40 years ago than today.
Yeah fair, apparently not. I dunno man, it’s just annoying being on the internet. Why do I have to caveat some dumb comment with a bunch of antecedents so you don’t assume I thought 1998 was a classless utopia.
It’s pretty obvious what’s meant by the comment. We got to see a world that mostly functioned as anticipated where average folks with a bit of graft could earn a decent living and take care of their family. That doesn’t mean every one of us experienced it. We still know what the world looked like then, and we know what it looks like now.
And I’m also pretty sure you knew what I meant too
The problem is that there do exist people who think '98 was some kind of utopia. They unironically say they were actually good old days. I’ve had multiple people tell me, IRL, without a hint of sarcasm, that everybody had it good in the '90s unless they were lazy.
On the internet, nobody can see how you walk, so if it talks like a duck, you assume it’s a duck. I only know what you write, I cannot read your mind.
Millennials are anticapitalist for the opposite reason. We DO remember the good old days.
Certainly the 90s were more stable and prosperous for more people than today, but to say those were the good old days means you would have to ignore:
There were never good old days.
EDIT: also, isn’t that when school shootings really took off?
Violence in general was out of control in the 1980s & 90s where I live, if you look at crime charts you can see a sharp drop since I was growing up here. It used to be ROUGH.
America’s decline really started with Richard Nixon. I’m not an expert though.
In the Netherlands, the 90’s were pretty good. I’m sure there were downsides,but there always are.
The economy was good. We had a firm social safety net, maybe even too firm. That is now only a shell of its former self.
The general acceptance of the gay community was on the uprise. The media was becoming gay positive, because of some key public figures. Trans not so much, only in the form of “drag queens” and such.
Some things that are bad today, were bad than. Environmental issues, animal rights, gender equality, institutionalized racism.
Most things are getting better now, but the economy is shit. That is fully to blame on capitalism. There are voices in power for change, but not enough.
My comment was very US-centered. I apologize for that.
A long time ago, I heard someone say that a Swedish drunk laying in a gutter knows more about American politics than the average American college graduate - it is true.
The extreme urban decay of the 90s is to the extreme urban decay of the 20s just as Office Spaces hell of office cubes and meaningless work is to the deeper, darker hell of gig work and poverty.
Shit was shit, its just that shit wasn’t as shit as it is now.
I brought up how Office Space is supposed to be about a hellish environment… I’ve never had a cubical to myself, or a computer I can leave at work at 5pm. Its 2026 and I find myself wishing for the hell that Peter finds himself in, as its far, far more comfortable than the hell we have now.
I hated that movie the first time I watched it. Found it terrifying.
The work and environment wasn’t the scary part, but how much people were willing to do something they felt hatred towards without protest.
I would drag my balls over broken glass at the moment for a secure job where I did something mundane. Ideally one that doesn’t actively worsen the world. I’ve already done too much of that.
Most of us were like “holy shit, Nintendo 64. Whoa, PlayStation. Dude, you got a Dell! It’s got a SoundBlaster! Check out this new Internet thing! It’s got the World Wide Web! I’m gonna gel my hair and skateboard listening to Korn on my Discman with antiskip while eating 3d Doritos”
And if you asked us about world events we would have been like “gulf war was lame”
We were too young to really have known about how bad shit was getting, and the internet was just taking off and info did not travel like it does today. Video on a computer was an novelty (lots of windows loyalists called Apple’s QuickTime a gimmick and that it’d never last; until they got a video player themselves) and it took hours to download a few MB. There was no YouTube or TikTok, no live streams, barely any “feeds”, nothing was pushed to you, no WiFi even. Going on the computer was a purposeful activity you spent a slice of your day doing, like reading a book or gaming.
We did not have the window to the world we have now. We all like to pretend that it’s getting worse; and it IS, but also we’re just now waking up to the lie we were told our whole lives and just how deep that lie goes.
I’m obviously not saying the past was perfect, I’m saying we remember a world where a lot of families got on pretty well with 1 parent working paying for a home, cars, vacation, hobbies, etc.
I also took a pretty US centric view of your comment. If you’re from a country in which the 90s were indeed The Good Times, just ignore me.
In the US, there were probably more people living stable middle class lives than there are today but there was still a very large and mostly ignored underclass, and there always has been.
Yeah I really don’t see how my comment would lead anyone to believe that I thought that wasn’t the case? Obviously
What I mean is that it wasn’t the good times for the millions of people.
Yes, correct
Not everyone is American
Nor am I?
I think you were just too young to see the flaws. As was I. I didnt hear about Rodney King until I was 13. But it happened when I was 2 years old.
(And it still happens)
I didn’t say or imply that it was a flawless time
I certainly don’t.
The 90s were a happy accident in which technological breakthrough could actually sate the endless hunger of capitalism
I was born in 88 and I remember my parents doing ok, but by the time I hit the workforce I saw no good old days. The 2008 crash happened right as I was priming up for adult life and I’ve watched any prosperity for my generation fade out of existence for as long as I can remember. I’ve only ever known decay of the “American dream” and have seen time and again corporations and capitalists robbing us of our future.
Yes, same. I still remember the 90s though
Not all of us. I was born in the late 80s, and grew up pulling food out of garbage cans because my family didn’t make enough money to feed all five of us.
Did you some how think that I meant poverty didn’t exist?
In my experience, people who refer to any era as ‘the good old days’ are ignoring large amounts of inequality that existed in that time period.
I mean I put it in quotes for a reason, but it’s pretty obviously the case that a lot more people’s material conditions were better 40 years ago than today.
If you put it in quotes, it’s not showing up on my end.
Yeah fair, apparently not. I dunno man, it’s just annoying being on the internet. Why do I have to caveat some dumb comment with a bunch of antecedents so you don’t assume I thought 1998 was a classless utopia.
It’s pretty obvious what’s meant by the comment. We got to see a world that mostly functioned as anticipated where average folks with a bit of graft could earn a decent living and take care of their family. That doesn’t mean every one of us experienced it. We still know what the world looked like then, and we know what it looks like now.
And I’m also pretty sure you knew what I meant too
The problem is that there do exist people who think '98 was some kind of utopia. They unironically say they were actually good old days. I’ve had multiple people tell me, IRL, without a hint of sarcasm, that everybody had it good in the '90s unless they were lazy.
On the internet, nobody can see how you walk, so if it talks like a duck, you assume it’s a duck. I only know what you write, I cannot read your mind.