The Generation Gap on DU is real

[hlthe2b]

266. Brenda, while you have seemingly left your own thread rather than respond to the many comments...

and while I've had some difficulty ignoring your ugly comments suggesting the oldest here are merely senile or solely worried about their own personal issues while you simultaneously proclaim that "people need to stop being so judgmental and narcissistic" and that "we are all in this together," I'm actually going to respond on this post in keeping with the latter sentiment. (I likewise will apologize for that very long run-on sentence).

But to the assumptions/accusations that this board is overwhelmingly not concerned with climate change or the environment, or are just "keyboard warriors in pajamas" or any of the other implied (or specific claims in the thread), let me just say this. You seem singularly unaware of the history of environmental activism and the efforts of boomers (and others) to address it over the past 50 years, including the creation of EPA under intense lobbying of (believe it or not) the Nixon administration. Thus to suggest the older here are not concerned with the environment and climate change--have never been activists on the issue is so ludicrous that I don't know where to start. Ever heard of acid rain? The fact that environmental interventions have been implemented such that that is no longer the biggest environmental threat we face speaks to the decades of activism--as does the regulation of nuclear power plants, air and water pollution, and yes the efforts we are trying to preserve and extend around CO2 emissions and reverse global warming. Past activism has laid the groundwork that the youngest among us will have to adopt/change/reprioritize to go into the future. That is your calling. But, you have not been left with nothing--no place to start.

As to what you perceive on DU, every one of us has long-term priority concerns. But we also have emergent concerns--whether it be health or job or family or other that sometimes take priority over a given day's global issues. That does not mean we care any less with respect to the latter. The abysmal comment made in the OP that suggested the presence of comments posted in the many many small focused subgroups about physical health, mental health, cooking, DIY home repair, pets, or anything else validates an opinion that DU is full of old people who don't care about climate change OR education or the most important issues facing the youngest among us, is just wrong. Those subforums were created to serve the interests and needs of a very wide population of posters here as well as to create areas where issues like the environment, global warming, CO2 emissions, new technology to avoid further ocean pollution, etc., etc can be discussed in detail, if only among a singularly committed audience. By contrast, GD is the main forum where the ongoing, critical issues with major updates are posted-- (albeit there is competition for continued attention given all the other ongoing critical issues, like gun control, abortion, civil rights, voting rights, and the concerted efforts on the RW to dismantle democracy in favor of autocracy, fascism, or theocracy).

But to suggest that even the oldest generations on DU or elsewhere have not been active in environment and climate change, but rather this is a "new issue" that only the youngest among us herald or fight for is so demonstrably wrong that I can only assume there is a low level of understanding and education on the issue, or some here are intentionally trying to divide us. The fact is that while you may resent the suspicions some have raised, as the 2024 election approaches, there will be more reason for many on DU to be cautious about the latter. DU has been the recipient of such divisive campaigns in the past--even a post-election cyber attack that took down the entire website. TRUTH. Many of us were here then and we remember.

So, perhaps you will return to this thread, read the comments, and reflect. The one thing I do agree with you on is that "we are all in this together." Indeed we are.