Generation Wuss

[Azdeus]

I hope I get to keep mine, otherwise I'd have to go for Bill Bailey's do;

 

[Monte Carlo]

I have more hair than Bill, luckily. Same beard. And I'm not a hippy.

[ShadySands]

If I start going bald I'm just going to shave it

 

I read an article somewhere that said while kids today may lack some of the general life skills of yesteryear due to everyonegetsatrophy, modern convenience and whatever else they have more stress in general and things like getting a college education and/or a good job and living wage are harder for them than other recent generations.

 

I'll see if I can't dig up the link 

Edited February 18, 2014 by ShadySands

[Nonek]

When I was a lad we had it hard! We prayed on bended knee for ten hours in hot coals until our legs were burned to useless nubs, went to the workhouse for thirteen hours where we were beaten and tortured by Inquisitor Torquemada while assembling My Little Pony dolls, and finally got home to be crucified in cold blood by our own dear Mater, who sneared at our weakness, laughed and stabbed us in the side with a barbed spear. I'll say this though that childhood made us appreciate lifes little luxuries.

 

Mind you Pater he was a hard man and didn't spare the whip like my mother, he decapitated my brother Bentley with a rusty claymore for chewing too loudly at table,  and made my dear sister Ermintrude swim lengths in a pool of hydrachloric acid for leaving the tap running while she brushed her teeth.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Nonek

[213374U]

If I start going bald I'm just going to shave it

 

I read and article somewhere that said while kids today may lack some of the general life skills of yesteryear due to everyonegetsatrophy, modern convenience and whatever else they have more stress in general and things like getting a college education and/or a good job and living wage are harder for them than other recent generations.

 

I'll see if I can't dig up the link 

 

Why is that a juxtaposition? Maybe one of the results of a lack of general life skills is increased stress. A serious skill I see many people my age lack is the ability to cope with frustration. The actual decrease in purchasing power experienced by everyone except the super-rich sure doesn't help people feel less frustrated, though.

 

Funny. More and more focus and pressure on being successful and productive, and people can afford less and less...

[ManifestedISO]

Vehement envy is a wicked and silent master. 

 

Thanks to the Telegraph's comments, I will now be required to desist video game-playing or risk being swept up by unrecoverable wussification. Yeah, f*** that, and f*** those aged, wrinkly bags of envy. 1972 4 life!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Woldan]

Pansies is what you get when you switch off Darwin's theory of evolution. Well done humanity! 

[LadyCrimson]

The early-mid-80's is when I decided I'd try a perm. On hindsight, that was a mistake. At least I had long, straight hair that didn't hold a perm for long. I'm sure I have some pics somewhere, but I think I'll spare y'all...ok, it wasn't really that terrible, but yeah...

[Enoch]

I had a flat-top myself. More Ivan Drago than Vanilla Ice.

 

 

I did that too, but I had an excuse:  I was 9.

 

 

If I start going bald I'm just going to shave it

 

 

Consistent shaving is high-upkeep.  I would totally rock the "balding guy crew cut" look, were baldness to be my fate.  But my hairline is holding up pretty well a few weeks shy of my 35th birthday, so a buzzcut would basically make me look like the doughy enlistee who everybody knows is going to cry for his mama every night and wash out of basic training within a week.  I appear to have inherited the hair of my maternal grandfather-- I'll have the scalp of a 20-something well into my 40s, after which it will all turn white. 

 

My maternal grandfather, by the way, my not be a wuss (except in successfully dodging the draft during the Korean War), but is a reprehensible character in other respects.  (As my grandmother would happily tell you, were she alive.) 

Edited February 19, 2014 by Enoch

[BruceVC]

 

That's not even mentioning the soldiers who were sent unilaterally into Iraq. Most of them were "generation Y." I don't think any of these old men whinging about how they're a generation of pussies would have the balls to go into a veterans' hospital and tell a 24 year old soldier crippled by an IED that he's a huge **** who needs to man up like the generation that was too young for Vietnam and too old for Iraq, whose great manliness was forged in the fires of Punk, Hair Metal and Reaganomics.

 

 

I like your prose, the angry bit about Reaganomics was good. I think you'll find my gratitude to the kids fighting out in hot, sandy places is in this thread. Mind you, I've three friends my age who've served or are serving in said conflicts. The professional 21st century grunt is digging fox-holes well into his or her forties.

 

But man, you really did miss out on the eighties. I got the tail end of it as a twenty-year old and it really rocked.

 

 

"it was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

 

This quote summarizes basically what I think about our current generation. But I want to also discuss the status of our current era.

 

Firstly I want to say I think we are all very fortunate as we live in a world where mankind is in its greatest era for a number of reasons. But I'll focus primarily on the social improvements that we now all benefit from. We are all part of a generation where we can really be honest about our feelings and aspirations. For example its okay for guys to cry, its okay to admit you go to a psychologist, people can be honest about there sexual orientation, a single women can have a baby without being married, we discuss and debate anything and everything we decide. I can give many more examples but I think you get my point

 

Now some people will say " guys crying on TV...what about keeping your emotions to yourself and being a man". And that's my point, we are able to redefine if its not constructive what certain preconceived definitions are. In other words why can't a man express his emotions? So what if your wife is earning more money than you? I think our ability to discuss and address certain topics and stereotypes is one of the major advantages of living in the era we now live in

 

But this doesn't make us weak, as mentioned there are 18-22 year olds who enlisted to fight in various wars for there countries for years. So we are able to communicate but also toughen up if necessary.

 

What are the disadvantages of our modern world? Of course IMO there are some. Some people don't want to take responsibility for there actions, they blame it on external factors. Also this great interconnected world means that some people are almost addicted to celebrity culture or are more concerned with making some video for nameless people than doing the right thing. But I still think the good  far outweighs the bad of the current era we are all fortunate to be part of

[213374U]

Pansies is what you get when you switch off Darwin's theory of evolution. Well done humanity! 

 

Huh. I wouldn't be so quick to say that natural selection doesn't apply to humans anymore, even though I used to believe that myself not too long ago. There are certainly indications that this is not the case; read up on studies looking at correlations between physical factors (good looks, height) and success and intelligence, for instance. Turns out success is an important factor in mating and being able to provide for one's offspring. While the conditions we live in may not be as harsh and unforgiving as used to be in the wilderness, there may not be as much "genetic mobility" as we may have been led to believe by the feel-good equality propaganda and so certain genetic traits may well be favored over others. Consider also that natural selection is something that works in evolutionary time scales... the welfare state is less than a hundred years old.

 

 

Firstly I want to say I think we are all very fortunate as we live in a world where mankind is in its greatest era for a number of reasons. 

 

"Look, everybody always figures the time they live in is the most epic, most important age to end all ages. But tyrants and heroes rise and fall, and historians sort out the pieces"

 

That's a quote from a Bio game but the idea is not original by any means (can't for the life of me remember where I read it first). Something to think about.

[alanschu]

I do agree with the notion, though, that a lot of our "big issues" are our big issues because a lot of the other, more serious issues, have been mitigated (for now, anyways).

 

When I see a "oh man, another feminism/gay thread" or something like that, it's more a reflection of "Well, that's because we don't have a problem feeding and protecting ourselves now, among other things."

 

Depending on what your perspective of "better" is, though, one is certainly free to feel that the way things are today are or are not better.

 

 

I think there's some pros and some cons. It does seem like we're too protective now (especially physically) and so forth. As someone that lost a brother growing up, I suppose I can understand why some might feel that way. I know my mother was none to thrilled about me picking up a motorcycle and learning how to ride, due to those unpleasant memories. But my Dad was definitely supportive and of the "it's your life to live. Just treat it with respect (presumably the bike, and my life)."

 

But yeah, everyone goes "my time was the best." And agreed on Darwinism not really having too big of an effect yet at this stage (and in the past, Darwin wouldn't have been too kind for someone like Stephen Hawking, for example).

[Mor]

Firstly I want to say I think we are all very fortunate as we live in a world where mankind is in its greatest era for a number of reasons. But I'll focus primarily on the social improvements that we now all benefit from. We are all part of a generation where we can really be honest about our feelings and aspirations. For example its okay for guys to cry, its okay to admit you go to a psychologist, people can be honest about there sexual orientation, a single women can have a baby without being married, we discuss and debate anything and everything we decide. I can give many more examples but I think you get my point

It reminded me part of the great dictator speech by charlie chaplin.

 

Yes we live in a world in which we can be more honest about our feelings, but more close to the harsh truth of life ; we are more connected phones and social media, but somehow more alone even in our homes ; and we are more open about what we want, and yet we can't seem to grasp the only thing that we need, happiness.

 

But this doesn't make us weak, as mentioned there are 18-22 year olds who enlisted to fight in various wars for there countries for years. So we are able to communicate but also toughen up if necessary.

Uhm, I am not certain how to say it right without offending anyone, but I am pretty certain that the majority of people who had it tough in the army would jump on the opportunity to go back to those days. Yes there are some scars that stays with you, but IMHO the real tough job is what comes next, going from structured system, where you had a place/purpose, friends with who you bonded/lived with for months/years and where part of your life in every way, where you work and skill set was appreciated and being regarded as hero by many outside. After the novelty of a returning from war runs out, and the reality of moving from what defined you for several years toward civilian life which in most cases completely opposite to what it used to be, this is hard. Change is hard.

 

The point that I was going for is that while agree that nothing good comes out of "keeping your emotions to yourself" and sharing and dealing is good. It is not the end goal, the purpose of of talking is not create excuses, make other feel sorry for you, or be a drama queen on TV, it is about getting the help you need to move from where you are to where you need to be.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Mor

[BruceVC]

 

Firstly I want to say I think we are all very fortunate as we live in a world where mankind is in its greatest era for a number of reasons. But I'll focus primarily on the social improvements that we now all benefit from. We are all part of a generation where we can really be honest about our feelings and aspirations. For example its okay for guys to cry, its okay to admit you go to a psychologist, people can be honest about there sexual orientation, a single women can have a baby without being married, we discuss and debate anything and everything we decide. I can give many more examples but I think you get my point

It reminded me part of the great dictator speech by charlie chaplin.

 

Yes we live in a world in which we can be more honest about our feelings, but more close to the harsh truth of life ; we are more connected phones and social media, but somehow more alone even in our homes ; and we are more open about what we want, and yet we can't seem to grasp the only thing that we need, happiness.

 

But this doesn't make us weak, as mentioned there are 18-22 year olds who enlisted to fight in various wars for there countries for years. So we are able to communicate but also toughen up if necessary.

Uhm, I am not certain how to say it right without offending anyone, but I am pretty certain that the majority of people who had it tough in the army would jump on the opportunity to go back to those days. Yes there are some scars that stays with you, but IMHO the real tough job is what comes next, going from structured system, where you had a place/purpose, friends with who you bonded/lived with for months/years and where part of your life in every way, where you work and skill set was appreciated and being regarded as hero by many outside. After the novelty of a returning from war runs out, and the reality of moving from what defined you for several years toward civilian life which in most cases completely opposite to what it used to be, it is hard. Change is hard.

 

The point that I was going for is that while nothing good comes out of "keeping your emotions to yourself"and sharing and dealing is good, but the purpose of talking is not create excuses, make other feel sorry for you, or be a drama queen on TV, it is about getting the help you need to move from where you are to where you need to be.

 

 

You've raised some good points and this discussion is very subjective. From my side

• What is the harsh truth of life? I don't really understand this
• Do you really feel more alone, I feel more connected than ever before but I do have strong circle of friends in RL. But I can understand how life may be a little lonely if you only interact with people through the Internet
• I think people need to define there own view of happiness and pursue it. Surly we can't expect modern society to tell us this?
• I agree with you about people  who do there military service , often this military service gives them real purpose and identity that doesn't necessarily exist in RL

Edited February 19, 2014 by BruceVC

[Monte Carlo]

 

 

• What is the harsh truth of life? I don't really understand this

 

Let me help. Taxes. Death. That's it.

 

 

 

Do you really feel more alone?

 

No. I have a bottle of Maker's Mark and a pristine copy of the 1996 Playboy Co-Ed's in Lingerie special edition.

 

 

 

 

I think people need to define there own view of happiness and pursue it.

 

Damn right. See above.

 

 

 

I agree with you about people  who do there military service , often this military service gives them real purpose and identity that doesn't necessarily exist in RL

 

Military service allows you to see all women as sexually acceptable. Before I did military service I was fussy. Afterwards I was not. This special gift is the preserve of those who have pulled on the Cloth of Heroes.

 

Now, because I like all of you so much, enjoy the new Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89q_HH-3ghk#t=154

[Malcador]

When I was a lad we had it hard! We prayed on bended knee for ten hours in hot coals until our legs were burned to useless nubs, went to the workhouse for thirteen hours where we were beaten and tortured by Inquisitor Torquemada while assembling My Little Pony dolls, and finally got home to be crucified in cold blood by our own dear Mater, who sneared at our weakness, laughed and stabbed us in the side with a barbed spear. I'll say this though that childhood made us appreciate lifes little luxuries.

 

Mind you Pater he was a hard man and didn't spare the whip like my mother, he decapitated my brother Bentley with a rusty claymore for chewing too loudly at table,  and made my dear sister Ermintrude swim lengths in a pool of hydrachloric acid for leaving the tap running while she brushed her teeth.

 

Sounds like a Bioware origin story.

[Azdeus]

Pansies is what you get when you switch off Darwin's theory of evolution. Well done humanity! 

 

Well, not really done that, we've just begun to promote intelligence as a trait more needed than the ability to withstand disease and injury. We might se the results of this if we can keep it up for a couple of thousand years. Alpha Nerd is apparantly a thing now. *Shrug*

 

Let me help. Taxes. Death. That's it.

 

You forgot dissapointment.

 

 

Now, because I like all of you so much, enjoy the new Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89q_HH-3ghk#t=154

 

 

Now that looks awesome! Then again, see the lines above.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I'm not sold on GotG. I enjoyed the comic, but I don't know if it will translate well into a movie.

[Monte Carlo]

KP I know nothing much about this franchise, and I don't read comics.

 

I just got a real endorphin-rush nerdgasm watching the trailer. It just looks cool on so many different levels.

 

And it's got Peter Serafinowicz in! http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0784818/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t15

 

qv Spaced etc.

[Orogun01]

I'm not sold on GotG. I enjoyed the comic, but I don't know if it will translate well into a movie.

I agree with you, also i'm not sold on some of the casting choices; Gamora and Drax specifically.

 

Edit: Also I just remembered that this is the Wuss thread and not the Movies.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Orogun01