Generation X

www.geocities.com/chrysler813/Generations.html ^ | October 23, 2004 | Curtis Ryan Baginski

[Chrysler813]

I'm tired of Liberals trying to move the dates of Generation X. The only reason they push the ending date back into the 70s is to make Bush looke bad.

The smaller Generation X is the harder it will be for us to support the Baby Boomers. And the harder it is the worse a problem George Bush has created.

I've heard many Generation Xers very upset that they get lumped into the "Boomer" Generation (again to make them look bigger & us smaller)

And on the other end, some people try to push the ending date up. I've heard 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 & 1980.

The real dates are 1962 - 1981. Believe me I spent over A YEAR researching this stuff!!!

That makes 70 million Gen Xers & 63 million Baby Boomers (1946 - 1961)

Don't get me wrong, we still got a problem. In 2011 the Baby Boomers will start retiring. When Roosevelt (AKA: America's Socialist King) started Social Security there were 30 working people to 1 retired person. With 70 million to 63 million it's ALMOST 1 to 1

And on top of that we got Generation Y in the workforce (1982 - )

But don't listen to the Liberals: the REAL dates 4 Generation X are 1962 - 1981.

[GOP_1900AD]

Probably the most important thing is who one's parents were. I was born in 1962 but as an eldest child of parents who were Silents. Remarkably, *they* were what I would classify as Boomer wannabes, and had many younger (early Boomer) friends. So in my younger years, I actually was somewhat Y-ish! (e.g. chip off the old hippie block) Of course, after leaving the nest and developing my own adult self, I settled into a more Conservative norm. Thank God!

[Chrysler813]

Well happy 2 have you as a fellow Conservative!!!

[IStillBelieve]

>>>Generation X started when John F. Kennedy was killed on Nov 22, 1963 and ended when Ronald Reagan was sworn into office on Jan 20, 1981.

This is a good analysis.

Regardless of what start and end dates one ascribes to a particular generation, one should be able to associate major events with those dates.

So rather than knowing what the particular dates are, I'd be more interested in knowing what major events Freepers think define a generational boundary, and why those particular events were chosen.

Personally, I see the case for making the Kennedy assassination the start of Gen-X, but I'd also like to toss in the idea that the Kennedy inauguration (Jan. 20, 1961) could be the start. I suggest this date because, as the end of the Eisenhower presidency, it represents the country's final separation from WW II and the war's direct aftermath.

[IStillBelieve]

I was born in 1981

And every so often I think this country might still have a future even after all the left has done to it. :)

[wayne_shrugged]

OK, Siouxz, you're in! I'm one year younger -- proud to be the first year of GenX -- bwahaha!

[qam1]

I agree with you that the government dose stupid things sometimes BUT if they expand it to 1960 that'll leave the Baby Boomers 1946 - 1959 (only 13 years!!!)

I think the Baby boomers should be moved back to 1943

A Generation is Kids, Parents, Grandparents, ect. so unless a 13 year old havin a kid is normal, 1960 CAN'T be Generation X Thats probably why it's 1962

Not exactly, In reality parents are giving birth to two generations ahead (i.e. the WWII generation spawned the Baby Boomers who are two generation ahead with the Silents between them)

[qam1]

Probably the most important thing is who one's parents were.

I agree that's the way it should be, The generations should be decided by what generation the majority of parents are.

i.e.
When the majority of parents were the WWII generation then those years the kids born are the baby boomers,
When the majority of parents were the Silent generation then those years the kids born are Gen-X,
When the majority of parents were the Baby boomers then those years the kids born are Gen-Y, etc.

I don't know the exact years but I would guess under that system Gen-X would be brought back to 1961-1976. Which I think is probably more true in line with the Generation because I think people like me born in 1970 have a more similar (for lack of better words) "outlook on life" with people born in 1963 than those born in 1977.

I think we were the last kids to have the true classic American childhood just before the PC, Nanny state, feminist took over the education system and nuetured the kids and it shows. For example no true Gen-Xer kid EVER wore a helment to ride a freakin' bicycle!!!!!!!!!

[KC_Conspirator]

Yes I am from KC. Lived in both MO and KS.

Oh sure there was a jump in 46' with so many coming home, but the numbers were increasing after being low in the 30s.

[GOP_1900AD]

RE; For example no true Gen-Xer kid EVER wore a helmet to ride a freakin' bicycle!!!!!!!!! LOL! So true.... so true!

[Chrysler813]

I respectfully disagree with sayin 1976 is the end of Generation X

I was born in 1981 & have LOTS more in common with people born in the 60s then people born later in my OWN decade!!!

As far as wearing a helmet I didn't have 1 the 1st AT LEAST a year I rode a bicycle

As far as the feminists doin stuff to the schools I was spanked by my principal (allthought I was the LAST class that got that done 2 me!!!). I was never taught to hate my parents (again I was the LAST class that was not taught that). I was never pressured to vote Democrat in the "Kids" elections (but again I was the LAST class to not have that done 2 me)

I got my cartoons from regular TV cuase cable didn't have a Cartoon network back then

I remember BEFORE there was a FOX network (when it was just the BIG 3)

I was JUST BARELY old enough to remmeber the 80s & love the 80s

I'm a child of the 80s cuase I was an adult for part of the 90s.

I always felt like I was "the last" of people like me

ALL OF THIS (& more stuff I won't bore you with) is why I say Generation X ends in 1981.

[Chrysler813]

I agree with you.

I say 1962 cuase it's 1/2 way between Kennedy's Inaguration & his assassination. Also the scariest part of the cold war ended that year. I have many other reasons listed on my website

http://www.geocities.com/chrysler813/Generations.html

I say 1981 is the ending date cuase I was born in 1981 & I fit in PERFECTLY with Generation Xers. I always felt like I was "the last" of people like me. Also I was an adult in the 90s but people born 1982 didn't become adults till the new millenium. 1981 was the last year before a MASSIVE amount of stuff was invented in the mid 80s (CDs, Apple Computers, Minivans, ect.)

[the OlLine Rebel]

I don't get that either. Traditionally the Baby Boom was 46-64, not '62. Thus the "GenX" should be '65 to whatever.

Not that I approve. I think it's stupid to cover some 18 years as the same generation - or at least, as the same sub-culture. And that goes for '63-'81, too. Far too many years are put into these things.

[the OlLine Rebel]

"When the majority of parents were the Silent generation then those years the kids born are Gen-X,"


Woooo-hooo! Finally some1 recognizes this!

The scary thing is often my gen (whatever it is exactly!) was assumed to be children of the Hippies (i.e., Baby Boom). Sure that happened in some cases, but I believe most of us had "Silent" parents, if people around 30 are having kids.

I am proud to say my parents are most definitely NOT Hippies and not even at all BB.


"For example no true Gen-Xer kid EVER wore a helment to ride a freakin' bicycle!!!!!!!!!"

Ain't it the truth! And thank God for that! Boy did I dodge those bullets! And to think also my parents (and brother) would be arrested for having me in that bare open metal baby chair behind the bike seat when I toddled.

[Chrysler813]

The reason so many years are put in Generations is cuase it takes AT LEAST 16 - 19 years to have another generation.

This is kinda low My parents were 33 & 34 when they had me & I was their 1st child!!!

But not all families will fit perfectly in this cuase every family is different.

[FightforFreedomCA]

FINALLY! I am so tired of being lumped in with the Boomers (no offense to all the FR boomers who obviously were able to move past the 60's). I was born in '64 and my idealogy, beliefs and experiences fall squarely in the X gen. /rant

[Chrysler813]

glad 2 hear you like my site

Join me & other Gen Xers in CRUSHING Kerry November 2

Just in case you were wonderin I was born in 1981

[the OlLine Rebel]

I know, but as long as people keep talking about these "generations" as a whole group w/a single outlook, viewpoint, and formative experiences, they'll be wrong. It may be correct (actually I think 30 is better, since indeed many of us have fully mature parents) physically, but this century pretty much every decade has its own identity. And these "generations" as they are cover several decades.

Thus e.g. the Disco generation (for lack of better phraseology) frets alot cuz they're lumped in w/the Hippie generation. And when people see a "young" baby boomer, say, they think of him as another free-love drugged-up anti-US draft-dodger because the BB has been stamped as the Hippie gen - like it or not, whether it covers all those years (or covers *all* the young population around 1970, FTM) or not.

That's why I don't like these huge eras rather than finer, more divided-up periods.

[iheartusa]

Well, I was born in December of 1963 and I feel closer to Generation-X than the Boomers, the generation to which my parents belong. Since everyone has their own definition of Gen-x, I need to put in my two cents. Generation-x was born during the vietnam era, roughly 1961 - 1975.

[redleg13]

I was born in 1961. I definitely consider myself a member of GenX. I've never met a peer who was proud to be a "boomer".

Howe and Strauss define boomer years as 1943 to 1960. I believe 1960 maybe a bit late but Strauss and Howe give strong reasons for their conclusions.

The baby boom as a birth dynamic ended in 1964. That's why so many demographers use 1964 as the end date for the Boomer Generation. I disagree that this is an accurate way to define a generation.

Real scholars and thinkers look at historical data and cultural events as markers for generational time lines, not birth rates. 1961 marked changes in American society with JFK, birth control pills and the Berlin Wall. 1961 presented a definite departure from the Eisenhower years.

Personally I look at members of my birth year as the cutting edge of young people who played Atari 2600, Dungeons and Dragons, listened to punk and New Wave while still in High School. Boomers are Woodstock. I was only 8 at the time of Woodstock. Vietnam was over and done before I reached high School.

I hate being referred to as a boomer. My life history and experiences simply don't qualify me for membership in the Algore/Dubya generation.

[Chrysler813]

These are the reasons why the years that were picked were picked for the Generations...

1st Generation 1776 - 1791 1776 was when our country was founded and all the "1st"s happended. 1st war, 1st government, 1st constitution, 1st Ammendment, ect.

Log Cabin Generation 1792 - 1811 1792 was the 2nd election so the "1st"s were over. Abraham Lincoln, who MOST Americans consider our Greatest President was born in this Generation. He was often called the Log Cabin President so his Generation is the Log Cabin Generation.

Jackson Generation 1812 - 1829 President Jackson dominated history from the War of 1812 till his Presidency

Civil War Generation 1830 - 1847 The Civil War was the bloodiest war in USA History. If you were born before 1830 you would be old enough to fight in the Mexican War (the war before the Civil War). If you were born after 1847 you were too young to fight in the Civil War

Silent Generation 1 1848 - 1864 This Generation is called the Silent Generation becuase they were caught in the middle. They were 2 young 2 fight in the Civil War but were still born in the days of slavery

Emancipation Generation 1865 - 1880 This is the 1st Generation to know freedom 4 ALL Americans

World War 1 Generation 1881 - 1900 World War 1 was the 1st World War and was supposto be the war to end all wars. If you were born before 1881 you were old enough to fight in the Spanish War (the war before World War 1) If you were born after 1900 you were 2 young to fight in World War 1)

World War 2 Generation 1901 - 1927 If you were born before 1901 you were old enough to fight in World War 1. If you were born after 1927 you were 2 young to fight in World War 2

Silent Generation 2 1928 - 1945 Just like the other Silent Generation, they were caught in the middle. They were 2 young 2 fight in World War 2 but 2 old to be Baby Boomers.

Baby Boomers 1946 - 1961 1946 there was the biggest spike in births in USA History (some people say 43 but there was a bust in 44 & 45 so thats why VERY FEW people argue with the 1946 date).

Generation X 1962 - 1981 My Generation. You were right, the World changed greatly in 61, but it also changed greatly in 1962, 1963, 1964 & 1965. 1962 was picked becuase it was a midway point. Also 1962 was the Cuban Missle Crisis, which ended the scariest part of the Cold War. You were right, birth control was invented in 61, but it takes 9 months to have a baby so the 1st babies that people could take pills not to have were born in 1962. 1962 is also the midway point between Kennedy's Innaguration & his Assassination. Also, if you use 1962, all the babies concieved when Eisenhower was president are Baby Boomers and all the babies concieved when Kennedy was president are Generation X.

Generation Y 1982 - 2001 The world changed greatly again around 1982. Apple invented their personal computer, the minivan was invented, the CD was invented, the smily face on the computer was invented. Pepsi became the 1st company 2 use a "New Generation" ad Lots of other things were invented from 1982 through the 80s & into the 90s. People born before 1982 were adults in the old millenium and people born 1982 & later were kids in the old millenium. People born 1982 or later graduated high school in the new millenium. This is why this Generation is sometimes called the "Post Modern Generation" & the "Millenial Generation". Most people who do this stuff accept the 1982 date.

Generation Z 2002 - 9-11 changed our lives forever so thats why it's the Generation line.

Thank you 4 your time,

Kurt