Guilt-capital.

by Alex Steed

Published November 06, 2008 @ 01:04PM PT

There is no more-readily renewable resource than the guilt of the older generations, so easily leveraged into action by the Millennials.

Mindful victories celebrated mindlessly.

by Alex Steed

Published November 06, 2008 @ 09:51AM PT

The bar scene on election night was, as I had predicted it would be, substantially epic.

I got there at somewhere between 11 and 11:30, and to be fair about this entire assessment, I had already enjoyed my fair share of local, "handcrafted" brews. I took a cab to a bar called Horse Head and finally settled upon talking with a young, hard-edged, waif-ish gutter-punk. Her eyebrows were shaved and in their place were dotted tattoos. We talked about the success of Proposition 8, and how she felt that gay marriage would have to be put on the ballot next year.

The bar was mostly inhabited by college students. The majority of them looked like clean-cut liberals, and they exploded every time Obama came on television and hooted and hollered and cheered. I stood in line next to two guys who had been a part of the larger, cheering collective. One of the two ended up getting irritable by the bartender's put-off response to his insistence on touching pint glasses until he found the ones he wanted to use, called her "a fucking bitch" under his breath, laughed to his bro, and drunkenly sauntered away with a look on his face that indicated an internalization of the delusion that perhaps the "bitch" had won the battle, but she sure wouldn't win the war. Apparently this "change" isn't going to go into full, transformative effect until Inauguration Day.

There were also a handful of anarchisty-looking 20-somethings, and one girl who wore a shirt that explained to those she stood before that she was, in fact, is what a feminist looks like. Nearly everyone was under the age of 25, or appeared that way, with the exception of the woman I shot the shit with (and would eventually be privy to some off-handed statement she made about her aging vagina - though was certainly not intended to be an advance in any way), and a man in a suit who would would eventually be escorted out by a bouncer for being a creepy-weirdo with some young ladies at the bar.

At one point, the liberal college-student screamers exclaimed, "Obama! Beautiful black president." And then someone knocked over a stack of pint glasses. And the bitch/bros finally left the bar.

Towards the end of the evening, I would drink a little too much and get into a fight with young man and woman, both in their late 20s, who sat at the bar and flaunted not having voted. We argued about militarism, Israel v. Palestine, apathy, and conspiracy theories before the roundish, goateed man started yelling "no politics!" proposed a toast, and declared a truce. Together, we had another beer or two and made polite small talk. He moved to Eugene from Philadelphia in 1999 to blow glass. His girlfriend has moved here in the same year. They met. They've been here since.

I called and waited for a cab. My new friend was surprised that I wasn't driving, then commended me for he perceived to be levelheadedness. The cab-driver picked me up and explained that most of the people from the area he drives around possess at least one D.U.I. I kept quiet and thought about a fall-down drunk who sucked down lemon drops while he hit on me, and then fell over, grasping for my waist to keep himself up.

Millennials can't be mindful all of the time, I guess.

"The first time I'm proud..."

by Alex Steed

Published November 05, 2008 @ 12:20PM PT

A lot of heat was thrown in Michelle Obama's direction for saying that the candidacy of her husband for President marked the first time that she was really proud to be an American (the perversion of the phrase came, of course, when commentators removed "really" from her statement). Something should be said, though, that between Facebook, via IM, and at the bar last night, I've seen/heard a similar expression come from 15 or so young people. This speaks volumes. We're a generation that has been raised under a leadership in decline - We're the first, as I've heard Bernie Sanders say in disgusted awe, that is collectively nervous about its national identity and sometimes goes as far to hide it when traveling overseas. This is such an important moment in our generational history - "Yes we can" is not, in fact, rhetoric. It is now a declaration of truth.

Where do I begin?

by Alex Steed

Published November 05, 2008 @ 11:53AM PT

Here and there:

• As I mentioned yesterday, Luke Russert, as a part of his election coverage on CNN, made reference to the Millennial Generation. He explained that a friend of his had texted him a message that read "It's our turn," referring to Barack Obama's presidency as one that reflects the values of the generation.
• Until going back and forth with my mother in the past months of this election, it hadn't really struck me how strong the impact of growing up without the influence Cold War media really has been. Using "socialism" and "redistribution of wealth" as political trash talk is more-or-less meaningless to the people I've met along the way (except for, no joke, the 80-something Aryan Brotherhood sympathizer we met in North Dakota). In addition to running with a woman who generally insults urban areas, intellect, and young people, this is a great way to ostracize the youth even further.
• I talked with the staff of Focus the Nation while we were in Portland. While their name makes them sound sort of like a pro-white-power watchdog group, but they're actually a super-awesome climate action league (of sorts). They were, hands down, some of the smartest, most driven, most inspiring young people I have met yet. They sat with me for over an hour, talked about the organization, and then went on to discuss where they feel as though we're all coming from as a generation. I'll be posting about them on NetSquared this afternoon.

Luke Russert...

by Alex Steed

Published November 04, 2008 @ 09:47PM PT

Luke Russert, Tim Russet's son, just mentioned getting a text message that reads "It's our turn now," referring to, as he mentioned, the Millennial Generation.

Millennials Changing America blog digest: Weeks 2 and 3

by Alex Steed

Published November 04, 2008 @ 09:38AM PT

Millennials Changing America blog digest: Weeks 2 and 3:

• Tricksters, voters, and the undead band. (11.02.08)
• 60% (11.02.08)
• The desire to purge and [more] authenticity. (11.02.08)
• The Millennial's Big Day [Guest Post] (11.01.08)
• Authenticity meets Garbology. (10.31.08)
• Who is victimized by hyper-surveillance governance? [Guest Post] (10.31.08)
• In Spokane... (10.30.08)
• In Missoula, offering ponderings, and admiring Freecycle from afar. (10.30.08)
• Notes on Anima LaVoy and Swing Semester. (10.29.08)
• Observations from Minneapolis, Minnesota. (10.26.08)
• "Millennials in the Mist... My Letter to the Wall Street Journal" from [the website] If We Ran It. (10.26.08)
• Riding shotgun with the Bang Gang. (10.22.08)

Back to:

• Millennials Changing America dot com
• Millennials Changing America blog on Change.org

Vote.

by Alex Steed

Published November 04, 2008 @ 08:39AM PT

For real.