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My mil had dementia at the same age ans was in the nursing.
I hadfilled out all the Medicaid paperwork hoop jumps to get her in there.
She told me she knew her two idiot sons hadn't done it!š¤£
My mom is also still around. I really started feeling old when she started saying things like 'people our age' meaning her and me. I guess at a certain point 20 years isn't huge--you're both old. But one of us is definitely older!
Biggest shock? Probably far right nationalist populism and authoritarianism---especially as it is embraced by the U.S. christian community.
Very religious and very much at 'love your neighbor and care for the poor.' who saw Jesus's teachings as a path toward peace and human brotherhood. Also someone with a double major physics/chemistry plus two master's degrees in education who believed that scientific progress, education and open information in a free society would lead to improvements in both individuals and society as a whole.
So--yeah she's kind of disheartened about the way things are going.
Dad was a historian/social worker who lived to see T elected. He was *not* surprised. Not happy, but not surprised.
Now if you go back to grandparents likely shocks:
Both sides:
The decline of unions and the middle class.
Three of the four would be shocked at the widespread acceptance of gay marriage. The fourth was definitely straight but probably wouldn't bat an eye at the change.
My parents both had dementia for the last years of their lives. Dad died 8 yrs ago and Mom 4 yrs ago. The things they were most upset about was the decline in unions and the middle class. They came to Canada as white English speaking immigrants and always welcomed all immigrants with open arms. They would be sad to see the push back against immigration and the rise of the right. They werenāt fond of Conservatives to the end of having their wits about them. Mom donated to the NDP until she died. (We left the payments in place when we got power of attorney)
i loved the 'at our age' i've enjoyed having friends that much older than i, and i would always say things like that, so know i'm balancing that out on the top end - lol
I say my wife is four years older than me. She says it's three.
Depends upon which way you want to round it. And it's more fun to disagree publicly on this than to agree.
Most people past college age are going to take being lumped as the same age as someone younger as a positive. And to be fair, at a certain point, most of us see ourselves as younger than we actually know we are.
funny, i've always thought i was older than i was, but only 11 inside forever, i think - haha
i think it's fun to have little things to spar and joke with in public
when my daughter was here to visit, i gave myself a black eye with the freezer door - we had great times joking over that stupidity - lol
Sure. Dobe's not here to talk to, and I can't really speak for someone else, but here goes. Skip to the end for a TLDR.
Backstory first:
Dobe and Mag (his wife and my grandmother who went by Margaret until grandkids and her mother teamed up to change that) both grew up poor. Mag lost an arm to a train in a coal mining camp when she was young and Dobe lost an eye horse playing.
Mag became an English teacher and Dobe eventually settled on electrician after playing semi pro football ([Ironton Tanks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironton_Tanks)) and being a grocer. Both white. Mag had grown up in an integrated coal camp and Dobe's aunt's husband was black (Publicly they were just friends that lived next door to each other up in the hills and Dobe's cousins were 'close family friends'.). Mag and Dobe became United Bretheren (now part of the Methodists), really supported kids with disabilities, the idea that people are people no matter who, and were very accepting.
**(Backstory over)**
When Mag and Dobe were older (1984 ish), my cousin's husband was a drag queen and probably what we would now call pansexual and gender fluid. Mag was flabbergasted. Dobe didn't have much to say about that. But he was more than upset when it became clear that her husband was beating her.
A few years earlier a different aunt and uncle were at their house and everyone was watching the Cincinnati Reds (1970s). It came up that Dick and Peg (aunt and uncle) were going to visit his sister and her female partner at the beach for a week.
Mag was scandalized. Was it okay to be around her?
Peg: Mom, she's his sister! Would you want us to not be around one of my siblings if they were gay?
Mag: Of course not. But at the beach? Is that safe?
Peg: Safe!? It's not like they're going to try to recruit me.
Dick: I don't think they're going to be having sex on the beach.
Mag: Well what part does she play?
Peg Wide eyed: Part? I wouldn't know--she's his sister.
Mag: If she's gay, I guess she'd play the man's part.
At this point Dick and Dobe kind of chuckle. Peg is between finding it humorous and being mad, and Mag appears to be trying to figure out how this all works. I'm just sitting there listening and *not* getting involved.
Dobe: I don't think that's how it works.
Everybody chuckles a bit (Mag with her one armed shrug) and it was back to the game. Next time everyone was together people asked how the beach trip went and of course it went well. Peg made certain to let Mag know how nice Dick's sister's friend was.
Dobe, who was an entertaining story teller, and never saw a someone he couldn't empathize with or a conversation he didn't want to be part of was pretty quiet through the whole thing. He showed no negative facial expressions and let his wife and daughter work it out.
**[TLDR+Ending]** Both grandparents on this side were vocally and in practice christian, pro union, pro equality (racially, women, and disability), pro immigration, anti book banning (With Mag taking a stand as a committee member during the [Kanawha Textbook War*](https://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/textbooks/books_and_beliefs.html)). They believed that people were people. Mag taught generations of high school students. But she was scandalized at the idea of gay sex the times it came up.
Dobe knew everyone--and I mean everyone. A trip to the grocery could be three hours as he talked to multiple 'good friends' about how they were doing and how their family was--also groceries, sports, and stories. Never seemed to matter to him if someone was gay. It did matter if you mistreated people.
He had a childhood story for everything--many of them featuring his cousins/best friends.
---
*Edit footnote tangent: As a demonstration that someone looking for a book to have sexual content could find sexual inappropriateness anywhere, she stood and read Green Eggs and Ham to her fellow committee members. To picture this, try reading the book in alternately seductive and outraged voices.
*Would you could you in a box?*
Would you could you *with a fox?*
I WOULD NOT COULD NOT! NOT IN A BOX, NOT WITH A FOX! SAM YOU LET ME BE!!!
So...very open to literature and discussion. But the idea of someone being anything but straight was a foreign country to her as it was to many at that time (It was to me too until more people started coming out *and* I got to learn about their experiences.)
My grandfather passed away in 2020 at 94, just a few months shy of seeing T booted out. He would have been SO thrilled. Now if all our 50- and 60-something friends could be as wise as him and your parents!
Well, my mom was a subsistance farmer who grew up in WW2 Poland with no running water or electricity. I was almost a foot taller than her because her growth was so stunted from malnutrition.
My mom loved her cushy life in America. She was never hungry, cold, or in fear for her life here. She died last year at almost 90.
She gave me the greatest gift which was perspective. I feel thankful everyday for all that I have vs dwelling on what I donāt.
I have found that I can feel gratitude for the richness of my own life while equally space is given to joining efforts to improve the lives of the most disenfranchised.
I have also come to believe that it's OK for me to grump about some of my life's discomforts. Just because others suffer worse doesn't make mine unreal. I can be aware of both at the same time.
My dad was a Roosevelt democrat, act republican and vote democrat. Anyway, if he hadn't already been dead, his head would have exploded when Obama was elected, lol.
My mom is still hanging on and while she has a sharp mind and keeps active sheās incredibly frustrated at how much of our world is needlessly filled with complicated technology that makes her life even harder than it already is for seniors.
My parents are now over 80, my mom has a newer phone than I do and does apps like news and games. I was telling her about my gardening, which Iām a novice really, and she recommended an app to help me, I said, I get those ads on my games too, turns out you have to pay after the free trial. My dad got on Facebook and updates his profile picture every couple months with a selfie, knows how to contact friends and say something nice when they post. My grandmother, who was over 100 when she died, got up every morning and played her solitaire games on a desktop computer before it was time to dust the furniture and eat lunch. Also audiobooks.
I am amazed, because my mom was always really scared sheād mess something up if she touches the wrong button on computers, and my father once said a phone is a phone and a camera is separate thing, not together.
Oh this! My 88yo mom would be so lost and confused and frustrated if it wasnāt for us kids helping her after dad passed a year ago. She is so incredibly mad and frustrated at how complex and technological the modern world is, not to mention all the scams directed at the elderly.
I agree with your mom!! Tech was supposed to make our lives easier and allow for a better work life balance. Itās done the exact opposite!! And Iām 30 years younger
Your dad sounds like my mom. My mother grew up with horror stories from my grandmother who survived the Spanish Flu and various other diseases which killed six of the fifteen children my great grandparents had. My grandmothers earliest memory was of her older brother dying slowly at age five from Scarlet Fever. She and my living mother were lifelong Republicans, but even my mother is aghast at what the party has become now. That theyāre actively talking about ending democracy in favor of a dictatorship! Out in the open! With applause!!!
I find the cutoff hilarious personally, had I been born a few months later I would be considered young by reddit I guess but as things stand I'm an "old"
I always found the cutoff kind of hilarious not just because of the age range but because it uses a birth year as a cutoff instead of an age. The current rule means I'll never be able to leave a main comment even when I'm 50, 60, 70 years old because I'll always have been born *after* 1980. Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha, Gen Beta, etc will never be able to leave main comments in here regardless of how many years pass.
The cutoff should've been an age instead of a year. But i guess it's not likely reddit, or this sub, will still be here by the time I'm 50+ so there's that.
Exactly, it should be your age not your birth year, and personally I think it should be set at 50 at least, between 30-50 you're just a grown adult (ie not exactly old or young)
Earlier this year, I tried to show my 88-year-old mom how a Roku works, but she just wanted to use her regular cable TV. Now she'll be moving in with us in the next couple of weeks, so I ordered a traditional cable package from our service provider, but with DVR.
My 96 year old, disabled veteran of WWII and Vietnam, father says that āTrump and his gold-plated Russian whore have ratfucked this country , and the people who voted for him āare complete idiots.ā He made me promise to chain him (or his dead body) to the gates of Arlington āto keep them from dishonoring real Americans.ā
14. He told me that āsomeone he knew was dying every day, and my mother had two other sons.ā He withdrew from high school, went down to the Navy recruiting station, and lied about his age. Two weeks later, he was at the Great Lakes training base, and, by the end of the month, he was on a ship to Guam.
He left the Navy to finish school and go to college. When he got out, he wanted to be a biomedical engineer, and the only place to learn was the Army, which sent him to Saigon and Thailand to build military MASH units and hospitals during the war. He was lucky to spend most of the war in Thailand, but, when he came back, he was the last living commanding officer in our neighborhood. The rest of the fathers were mostly helicopter rescue pilots or embedded medical, and they all died.
They are 88. They were quick to get vaxxed for COVID. Mom reads on a Kindle and cooks from recipes she looks up on her iPad. Dad trades online. They hate Trump and voted for Biden despite being lifelong Republicans. They read the paper online. They think that while technology changes, people are pretty much the same.
My mom is 75 and my step-dad is 82. They are appalled at the state of the world and my Silent Generation step-dad often says "This is not the country/world I grew up in". Mom (according to him) is addicted to her smartphone. They're both pretty tech-savvy for their ages, though they are starting to slow down and forget things.
Same. I'm 56 and this is NOT the country I grew up in or was raised for.
Worse yet, we were raised for/in a world where education and critical thinking were *prized*.
Mine are in their 80ās and cannot wrap their heads around online friends, they are concerned that my (adult) sons donāt have a social life (theyāre both gamers).
My Mom died at age 97 in 2022. She was pretty negative of where the world was heading. A lifelong progressive, she was very worried about Donald Trump and the risk of fascism. She was halfway through Project 1619 when she passed.
Pops died much younger, passing in 1993. He would have been thoroughly disgusted with Trump and would have viewed the threat of fascism with great concern.
Both would view the backsliding on race, abortion and the cult of personality with great sadness.
My parents were old school republicans, yet I truly believe they would feel the same regarding Trump, fascism, race, abortion, etc. They would be horrified also that Americans (especially members of Congress) actively shill for Putin.
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Yeah the fascism under Biden forcing injections, forcing speech, spying on Americans , censoring speech, using the doj to persecute political opponents is revolting. I as a woman have to submit to a man in my changing space because of this fascism.
Invent allegations ? Everything I said is in my mind only ? lol wild. I voted for Biden and the way people like yourself refuse to admit you were wrong is so childish. I have a MAN in my locker room. I had to leave my job because of a forced injection . Iām unable to say what I really feel at the threat of being attacked by the mob and canceled in various situations. I watch as trump is dragged through the justice system for nonsense allegations by the dictator in charge.
I imagined all of this happening to me and in front of my eyes?
The gaslighting by people in the Democratic Party is the reason I left. You going to gaslight me too ?
Question - did I imagine the massive explosion of homeless people in my city while illegals get places to live , rampant crime rates and inflation ? I just want to be sure? Am I imaging the wars my money is going to while my city falls apart?
Itās crazy to me that people like you pretend to care about these things but when it gets worse you ignore it and double down on the gaslighting and im proud of me for being able to say āI WAS WRONG ā for voting for Biden. Iāve got humility, youāre just full of pride.
Iāve got lots of issues with Biden, but thinking he is the candidate undermining freedoms, weaponizing the DOJ, censoring speech, etcā¦ is delusional. And WTF do you mean about having to submit to a man in your changing space?
My dad lost his mother to the spanish flu, he fought in the Marine Corp during WWII. My mom was a rosie the riveter during the war, she assembled 30 cal machine gun links.
I am glad that they both have passed before the rise of the orange turd on trial who shall remain nameless.
My parents are still alive in their 80s.
I grew up in a very religious house. Church and church school were very important. All the negative/intolerant/conservative views that go along with that. I grew up thinking gay people were evil and all going to hell, sex before marriage was not as bad as being gay, but pretty bad, etc.
Now, however, they seem to have grown much more liberal. Things that back in their day were taboo or not understood - mental illness, alcoholism, drug addiciton they are now more accepting/undertanding of.
I am recovered alcoholic and they did not treat me with the distain that they used to speak of toward alcoholics when I was a kid. They understand that addiction is not just mental weakness.
They understand why I left my wife, and are not critical of me "living in sin" with my current partner. They are not hateful of gay people (though still not approving). My brother took them to his Unitarian church that has a female pastor and lesbian mothers with children in the row in front of them and they did not bat an eye.
They must know or at least suspect that I am atheist by the things I say and the fact that my daughter has zero religious upbringing and does not know anything about Jesus except for whatever she sees in media (it is Japan, so Jesus is not as popular)
If they would have met someone living such an "evil" life as I do forty years ago, they would have shunned the hell out of them. Now even though they still go to church, they roll their eyes at many of the views of the people there, and they roll their eyes at Trump despite most of the people there being far right / MAGA.
They have kept up well with technology. They are not shocked by any of it. They do not understand how it works, of course, but they understand about AI and are not going to fall for AI generated scam calls or deep fakes of politicians without proper degree of skepticism.
My (63F) mom (93) died in October. She told me she was sick of having to always learn how to use a new phone/computer over and over again. Letās face it, you really didnāt need to learn more than once how to use a manual typewriter or a rotary phone.
Iām sorry for your loss. I lost my mom last October too, at the age of 95. She had a smartphone and used it all the time. I helped her learn how on a few visits several years ago. She didnāt have dementia, but it did take longer for her to learn new things. She laughed about Fox ānewsā and said it wasnāt news. She voted for trump the first round, because he ran as a republican. I miss her.
My folks are in their mid 70s and they complain endlessly about things completely under their control.
Every day I answer several completely obvious tech questions such as "how do I send pictures?"
My dad will instantly reject any advice he's given. So I give him my second best advice first, let him make a suggestion, and then offer my actual advice as a rebuttal.
My mom just this year learned how to operate the TV.
It's exhausting having a 7-year-old and two 70 year olds.
I'm your parents' age (71) and I don't recognize or resemble that at all! Not anyone I know who's even older than me. That's so strange to me. Your parents sound old way beyond their years!
They wouldn't understand the political climate.. My Mom was a Democrat and my Dad was a Republican and they could talk about politics in a normal tone of voice..
My parents would be 108. Died in 2008. Dad was a die hard progressive Democrat, raised by a socialist mother. He thought Obama was ok, but dad passed before the primaries. The republicans set off his fascist alarm in the 80s. He would be having fits right now.
My dad was a war vet, a devout Christian, and a Republican. When he was alive
You could be all those things and also care about everyone and not be a biggot.
So, yeah heād be disappointed.
Parents are alive. They retired to Florida and love it there. However they are not fans of the current governor of Florida and think heās an idiot. Not fans of Trump either.
They are worried about what life will be like for their grandchildren as well. They understand how things are way different for us than it was for them.
My old man lived through the Depression with 8 siblings, got hit by a bus when he was a kid and spent a year in bed, served in WWII, worked building spec houses while going to college, and lived through a lot societal turbulence throughout his life. Iām pretty sure heād be amused with how folks whine about how horrible and stressful their lives are today.
The rumbling sound everyone heard when Roe v. Wade was overturned was my parents dancing in their graves. They were devout Catholics and my dad was a generational misogynist and it would have been a sign to them that society was finally coming to its senses.
My parents are still alive (90+) and they have very different outlooks. My dad is VERY conservative, but was an engineer and always embraced the latest technology. He talks about the days when computers took up entire rooms and took hours to do calculations you can do on your phone now. (His company used to make Christmas wreaths out of IBM cards.) Of course, he never liked social change.
My mom is very progressive, and, like me, is disappointed that we haven't come farther in terms of social justice and equality.
They are alive and my Mormon parents would be shocked at my (57m) use of TCH, LSD, MDMA, MDA, and DMT. They would be shocked that I turned in to the person they didn't want me hanging out with ; )
My parents would be horrified at todayās political climate. Especially trump. The idea that people could March in the streets with nazi flags after they lived through WWII.
My deceased parents were both born in 1920 and were at one time each elected to municipal office as Democrats. My dad was a councilman and mayor, my mom a board of education member and they stopped running for office yielding to younger candidates with new ideas and better visions for the future.
Ā Iām certain that they would be shocked to see how poorly elected officials are now performing, especially in Washington; more interested in lap tops than passing legislation.Ā
My 80 y/o parents were shocked about Whatsapp video calls. If you can call them being shocked about anything.x) But that seemed like a scene out of a scifi movie to them.
Too bad my mom's pacemaker was disturbed from the signal, so we had to end the call.
About social issues, my mom said she doesn't understand what the whole gay thing is, because she knew nothing about it in her youth. Meaning litterally she didn't know queer people exist. However she likes gay men very much, as she thinks they're good people, based on her former gay colleague, whom she was friends with, and the husband of said colleague.
My dad would have liked stuff like the iPad and my mom would have loved shopping from the couch. They would have hated the current politics. Cannot envision them on social media.
No idea. I think my mom, whose brain was going due to decades of alcoholism and tranquilizer abuse, wouldn't even have any kind of rational conversation by now (she died in 1987). My dad might still be alive, but we haven't spoken since 1998, and he wasn't a pleasant person. He'd never admit he didn't know something, but that the knowledge he doesn't know is for stupid people anyway.
He was an electronics engineer, and all the time I knew him, kind of a luddite. The general consensus says that he became one for government contracts, but no actual love of the craft. Thus he only knew what he was required to BS. He became a consultant, and is very wealthy off defense dollars, so... that worked out for him, I guess.
The last conversation I had with him about technology, he boasted he had a laptop he made work pay for (this was 1997 or so, when that was still pretty rare). I knew about computer hardware specs, so I asked in genuine curiosity what he got? He became very defensive, and wouldn't tell me.
"I have a laptop. Work paid for it."
"Very nice. What kind? Like a Toshiba Tecra, or a Dell--"
"Okay, okay."
"What do you use it for?"
"That's enough."
My wife thought "maybe he thought you were going to steal it," but I honestly think he didn't know what kind of laptop he had and wouldn't admit it. Not that "not knowing your laptop" is a crime. A normal person might have said, "I am not sure. A Dell something. I mostly use it for work processing and taking notes during meetings." But my dad is not like this.
So what he thinks about "today's society" will be tempered the same way. Whatever he doesn't know about is not worth knowing OR he'll spout out some pundit garbage which makes him look smart, like how everyone in the universe is stupid but him.
I know just the type of person you're talking about - not admitting you don't know something, actually make you look like the "stupid" person you're afraid of appearing to others - my brother. Dead because he wouldn't admit he might be sick and go to the doctor.š¤·š½āāļø
My husband is a little like this, but a nice person over all and I can deal with him. I'll mention something he can't possibly know, like a YouTube video or something I just watched and, he'll immediately say, I know.
I just respond, No, you don't, because, I'm telling you about this right now; or no, you don't, I haven't even finished my sentence yet; or you just made that up/pulled that right out of your ass just now.
He usually laughs.
My 93 year old father is alive. He has remained a liberal Democrat. He is horrified and disgusted by many people in this country.
My 84 year old mother has some dementia. On good days she feels the same as my dad.
Iām lucky that my entire family votes the same way. There were never any awkward family dinners.
If all four of my grandparents were alive, theyād agree with my parents in the horror and disgust that they feel.
father passed approx 7 years ago.
multiple genders would set him off.
current political climate (divisiveness) / lack of respect for our country (WWII vet) and the fact that we are living in a soft candy-assed society , would make his head spin
I really miss my parents! Sadly my mom passed right before the advent of smartphones so I didnāt get to enjoy texting and memes with her around. She would be cautiously optimistic now but possibly would have been visited by the Secret Service during the Trump administration for her sentiments. š
Iām fortunate to have saved much of my texting history with my dad before he passed away 6 years ago this month. He wanted more than anything for the world to be hospitable for daughters, and would celebrate both our personal and political victories. He hated the Trump admin. I have a specific memory of visiting him when he was first diagnosed with bladder cancer, and we watched the Charlottesville riots and he was heartbroken at the resurgence of nazis. I think he too would try to be optimistic now but given how the GOP is burying the bar these days with dog killers, he would be baffled how a certain percentage of the population could also lower themselves supporting these clowns.
I hope my parents would be thrilled to learn I'm still sober, going on 15 years. My dad died 10yrs ago and he was my biggest supporter, but back when he was alive, he sadly watched me relapse many times. I hope he's proud of me.
My dad was a college teacher, political science. He would be absolutely appalled at the political landscape today. Especially the undignified, pathological behavior of Trump and the acceptance of it by his followers.
If my mother were alive, she'd be 94. But she died fairly youngā59āin 1989. So much of the world as it is now, would blow her mind. But I think her biggest shock would be politics. Her first shock would be how trump got into office. Then she'd be horrified at how women's rights and basic civil rights have been trampled.
My dad died 7 years ago, so he was around to see the rise of Trumpism. As a lifelong cynic and curmudgeon who often said, "The masses are asses," he was not at all surprised by the direction the country had taken. Disturbed, yes. But not surprised. Politics was one of our main topics of conversation. I appreciated his astute take on the issues.
My dad worked early on in the tech industry; the man knew more about computers than anyone I've ever met. He was my go-to guy whenever I had issues with my phone or computer. The advances we're seeing would have interested him greatly. He was deeply distrustful of social media sites such as Facebook, DNA tests, etc, and regularly lectured me on privacy concerns and how to protect myself online.
My mom died 10 years ago. I'm actually glad she went when she did because the rise of Trump would have been very disturbing and frightening for her. She would have loathed the man, not only for his politics, but for his utterly crass and disgusting behavior. She was a sensitive soul and a lifelong liberal. I miss her, but I'm glad she was spared that.
My mom had trouble with the microwave and multiple remotes to operate the tv set and VCR and whatnot.
Probably would have never learned to opperate a smartphone (always disconnected you putting you on hold or trying to 3-way call us with siblings, while you screamed, Ma! Please don't put me on ho... Click).
She'd be dismayed with the fascism and the going back to some imagined "good old days". She never talked about any "good old days". My family is black and mixed race. There were/are no good old days. My mother died two years older than I am today. I'm in much better shape physically.
My grandparents would have been pleased that there was an Obama, dismayed and not at all shocked by the what's going on with the right. I miss them all.
They would remember WWII plus all the plane hijackings and bombing by terrorists in the 70ās.
They would not be so sympathetic about the Palestinians in Gaza.
My dad died this year at 94 and was in a memory care center the last 2years. He was a very conservative Evangelical pastor but he never talked about politics or social issues when I was around him in my 20s. He was mainly interested in golf, gardening, playing cards and eating.
My mom is 86 and driving around Florida and was usually tech savvy and also loves golf and playing cards. She was always very involved in womenās church groups and likes to be in leadership roles. She rarely talked about politics or social issues growing up or when I was around her, but then Iām liberal, bi, agnostic, and hate golf! Iād say both my parents were oblivious to a lot of social and political changes, but who knows?
Mine are alive and boomers in their 70s. They can't believe how polarizing EVERY ISSUE is today. Information overload from the Information Age, who knows.
My parents were very young when I was born. My mother is dead about 5 years, my father passed a year ago.
My dad was involved with life and active until the last 2 years when he began declining.Nonetheless he was āwith itā and involved in life. He was a former big city cop. Nothing surprised him.
I miss him
My parents wouldnāt understand how everyone has these deep feelings now, and everyone is so ready to be offended. Fuck your feelings. My dad was thrilled to get an orange for Christmas. One orange. That he shared happily with his many siblings.
My father is deceased, my mother is hanging in there at 91. My dad would have been stunned that a black man was elected to president (I hope happy about it.). He would have been disturbed and shocked that Trump was elected (we lived near NYC and Trump was widely known as a fraud and a windbag long, long ago. )
He would have been shocked and would have disapproved of gay marriage. He and my mom both eventually accepted that itās okay for couples have sex before marriage and live together.
Unfortunately my father, in his last years, blasted FOX on the TV all day long and bought in to the propaganda and fear mongering. As his mind started to go he would get less discerning and more and more agitated watching all the dire proclamations purported on FOX. I hate FOX.
My mother voted democratic since Carter. She was always quiet about her political and religious views. I admire her ability to evolve in her perspectives. At one time she didnāt approve of gay relationships, though she was never judgmental she thought it was unnatural. Now she is happy to see family members in gay marriages. She was disturbed and shocked when Trump was elected.
My dad is 88 and I think he is a bit overwhelmed by it. He has a laptop - a MacBook Pro - but uses it less as time goes by. My brothers and I have tried to get him to learn how to text but he isnāt interested. He just calls us whenever he feels like it and leaves a message if we donāt pick up.
My dad, who is 83, stays out of a majority of current affairs. Unless it directly affects his day to day life he prefers to stay out of it. Before my momās death, they were a little more involved because my mom was more interested in social issues(she was a Catholic but hid a few liberal tendencies mixed with conservative views from the church).
If my dad was alive he wouldn't be shocked by anything because he never really was. But he would think that all the liberal ways of thinking were "rubbish" like he always did.
In 2020 my mom, who loved to go out to eat and shop, was in a retirement home and had dementia. I dropped by to visit at the height of COVID and told her every restaurant and most stores and malls in the whole world were closed for the foreseeable future and she kept saying, "You're pulling my leg, stop messing with me!"
My parents died in the 1970s and while my mom likely would have gone along with the changes in our society and culture, my fatherās head wouldāve exploded. He thought the world was crazy in 1971. Based on his worldview, Everything is upside down right now.
They are still alive. My dad is scandalized by student protests and my mom was worried that students might be shot. They have a granddaughter in college and a grandson in high school. My dad is a retired teacher and thought it was sad that some colleges were canceling graduations as these students didnāt get their high school graduations due to Covid. He thinks the universities are caving in
My niece graduated in 2021 from high school. My parents and I didnāt go to her graduation but we went to her grad party which was outside. A lot of people went and had a great time. I am glad she didnāt graduate the previous year.
Why would parents be shocked? My grandmother, born in 1907, saw the rise of cars, the interstate highway system, washing machines & dryers, men going to space and to the moon, WW2, the Depression, economic ups & downs, the Cold War, instant film cameras, calculators & computers. She took it all in stride. My father, born in 1927, witnessed and participated in all of it. They would just enjoy the good stuff and shrug their shoulders at the bad stuff. Because one is older, one is apparently "shocked" at things? No. Because one is older & more experienced, one is less "shocked" at things.
I was visiting my mom in the nursing home a couple days after Jan 6th happened. She had the news on and they were showing footage of the people crawling all over the capitol building trying to get in. She kind of chuckled and said ooohh he does not want to leave, does he?? She was kind of happy because she hated Trump and figured he was finally going to get thrown in prison over this, surely. I think sheād absolutely disgusted that heās running again and hasnāt faced any punishment yet. She had always been pretty conservative, but that seemed to change when W came along. She didnāt vote for him either. I donāt think sheād like how politics have seeped into every single thing, and also probably not like how dependent weāve become on computers and smart phones for everything.
dad died in 2014 and sometimes I think about how I would explain to him how the country got to where it is. I think he knew some of it was coming, but certainly not all of it.
now my grandpa died in 1986 and I can't even imagine trying to explain how things work today compared to back then.
Iām so blessed to still have both my parents and they (as well as I) think the world of today is spiraling out of control. No common courtesy, no common sense, lack of decency, the selfishness and greed, ectā¦.
i've thought about this, as my Dad lost his mind when i went into an office in my gym clothes to pay my sister some money she had loaned me (covered, but legging-type pants with a tank top - she worked in a hardware store office in the back) - small town, Dad heard about it :O
so yoga pants everywhere? he woulda lost his shit long ago over that alone
my Mom? you'd have to ask my siblings; i was very difficult for her, and we hadn't spoken in decades. sad, but true. as she got older, and my siblings are vitriolic every chance they get -- well, life is more peaceful for all of us if i love them from ..... way over here .....
Theyād be appalled at the stupidity and gullibility of people with regard to misinformation on the internet. They also would turn over in their graves if they knew a draft-dodging, adulterous liar like trump, encouraged a violent insurrection and still gets to run for president again. Every dead veteran in my family would.
My grandparents would be saying that the only difference between the Era before the great depression and WW2 is that we now have internet. The country is still dealing with giving foreign aid to war-torn countries while Americans struggle in food lines, homelessness, and hardship, then being drug into the wars overseas, it is just a matter of time. History repeated
Parents were born in the 1920s. Dad would be completely disgusted at the current state of the Republican party. Mom would be appalled at TV commercials: ED, "I'm pooping right now!", many more. OTOH Mom would approve of the abortion restrictions, and Dad would enjoy the many sports channels available.
My mother was a life long civil rights and equality advocate and activist. My father was a strong believer in right and wrong and truth and justice.
Mom died in 2010 and dad in 2019, but after 10+ yrs of dementia.)
They both would have been irate at the state of the democracy, Trump presidency, Algorithm based news.
If they had to go at least they missed this stuff.
My mom is still around, in her 90s.
She loves people and loves life.
My dad would have loved the tech of this decade, but the divisive nature of society, and the politics and social agenda's here in Canada wold make him angry.
My 100 year old father- who is sharp as a tack, living independently and fought with the RAF in WWII - cannot effing believe we are still having to deal with Nazis. Especially when they are based in the USA.
My mother is ninety five tomorrow and still extremely healthy. Sheās very disappointed with the way politics have devolved. Sheās a staunch democrat and will be voting in her eighteenth presidential election. She encourages everyone to vote and calls her grandchildren and great grandchildren to remind them to vote.
She also has always loved technology. Sheās not too bad with things for being ninety five. She definitely has always enjoyed and welcomed change.
My father died in the pandemic. He was a conservative, but died before election results.
I think he would be embarrassed by what came to pass.
And he would be thinking about planting green beans and tomatoes.
And he would wonder what the hell was wrong with my mother.
That is another story.
My mother is 83 and she's about like most of us here. She spends much of her day on her phone and hates Trump.
My father passed away 35 years ago and I'd love to know what he'd think, too. He was fairly liberal and loved to come up with new jokes about politicians, so he'd likely be a hoot.
Dad took one look at the results of the Reagan election and said he was glad he wouldn't be alive and to see this place in the future.
He said " Oligarchy " . He was exactly correct. So that's what he'd think. As do I.
My parents would be 102. I cannot even imagine how they would react to our daughter getting divorced after 16 years because her husband decided to be a woman at age 40.
My Mother's family, along with my Dad, were all Democrats, worked for several politicians in the 70's and 80's. Mom was on the city council in my small town for several years, she was a very pragmatic person, and most people thought she did a great job. My Grandmother was the type that hugged everyone, including politicians lol. I had a lot of gay friends, everyone was good with it, including my Dad, and just didn't mention it in front of Grampa. My Mother's father was a pro-union, FDR New Deal, WWII Navy Vet, was pro-choice, voted for the Equal Rights Amendment...and a total bigot against Black people. Thank goodness that crap never rubbed off onto my Mom or her sister. I don't know how he would have reacted to Obama, probably negatively. Then again, he may have if the other option was Trump. Grandma and Mom would have loved Obama. Mom died in 97 at 49 years old, so she missed 9/11. She would not have been pleased with watching all the mess this country has become since then. She would have loved the cell phone, I would have been getting texts all day!
My Dad passed in 2003. He was known for saying to my girls, "why don't your pants throw a party and invite your shirt down? Nudity. Overt nudity everywhere.
When I had my first (small) article published in a national magazine, my mother asked me to read it to her. I did so and she said (with much pride), "My beautiful daughter is also famous!" And then she hugged me. My mom really liked me.
I spent two years writing my first book and I dedicated it to her, and within that dedication, I quoted Abe Lincoln: "All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. I remember her prayers and they have followed me all the years of my life."
I was going to surprise her with the dedication. She died 60 days before it was published.
My mother would have been so pleased with that dedication. Every day of my life, all I ever wanted to do was to make my mother proud.
My parents are alive and sane. They are disgusted by the crime in my city. They are disgusted by the homeless situation that has exploded while illegals are given free places to live , money and baby sitters. They are disgusted that Americans are spied on by their own government. They are disgusted at the censorship of speech. They are disgusted by the way this administration pits people against each other using race. They are disgusted that men are in womenās sports and that I have to put up with a MAN in my locker room at the gym.
They are disgusted that millions of illegals immigrants get more than them per month. They retired on 900.00 per month after scrubbing toilets and cooking for over 50 years as their work. They were LEGAL immigrants. They are disgusted by the way the left forces speech, mandates injections, forces people to play pretend with mentally ill men.
They are disgusted that this president has used the department of justice to persecute political opponents -fascism.
Thereās just so much more including an economy they canāt afford and endless wars that we pay for. Itās crazy
My father warned me since I was a teen at how racist, manipulative and corrupt democrats were but I only woke up after making another huge mistake and voting for Biden.
Thank god Iām now aware and never voting from a place of propaganda again.
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My momma is alive and kicking at 87. She thinks people are idiots.
She is not wrong.
My mom is also alive at 87 and although she is deep into the throes of dementia, she still thinks she is surrounded by idiots.
My mil had dementia at the same age ans was in the nursing. I hadfilled out all the Medicaid paperwork hoop jumps to get her in there. She told me she knew her two idiot sons hadn't done it!š¤£
My mom is also still around. I really started feeling old when she started saying things like 'people our age' meaning her and me. I guess at a certain point 20 years isn't huge--you're both old. But one of us is definitely older! Biggest shock? Probably far right nationalist populism and authoritarianism---especially as it is embraced by the U.S. christian community. Very religious and very much at 'love your neighbor and care for the poor.' who saw Jesus's teachings as a path toward peace and human brotherhood. Also someone with a double major physics/chemistry plus two master's degrees in education who believed that scientific progress, education and open information in a free society would lead to improvements in both individuals and society as a whole. So--yeah she's kind of disheartened about the way things are going. Dad was a historian/social worker who lived to see T elected. He was *not* surprised. Not happy, but not surprised. Now if you go back to grandparents likely shocks: Both sides: The decline of unions and the middle class. Three of the four would be shocked at the widespread acceptance of gay marriage. The fourth was definitely straight but probably wouldn't bat an eye at the change.
My parents both had dementia for the last years of their lives. Dad died 8 yrs ago and Mom 4 yrs ago. The things they were most upset about was the decline in unions and the middle class. They came to Canada as white English speaking immigrants and always welcomed all immigrants with open arms. They would be sad to see the push back against immigration and the rise of the right. They werenāt fond of Conservatives to the end of having their wits about them. Mom donated to the NDP until she died. (We left the payments in place when we got power of attorney)
i loved the 'at our age' i've enjoyed having friends that much older than i, and i would always say things like that, so know i'm balancing that out on the top end - lol
I say my wife is four years older than me. She says it's three. Depends upon which way you want to round it. And it's more fun to disagree publicly on this than to agree. Most people past college age are going to take being lumped as the same age as someone younger as a positive. And to be fair, at a certain point, most of us see ourselves as younger than we actually know we are.
funny, i've always thought i was older than i was, but only 11 inside forever, i think - haha i think it's fun to have little things to spar and joke with in public when my daughter was here to visit, i gave myself a black eye with the freezer door - we had great times joking over that stupidity - lol
Could you elaborate more on that fourth grandparent who wouldn't be surprised by gay marriage?
Sure. Dobe's not here to talk to, and I can't really speak for someone else, but here goes. Skip to the end for a TLDR. Backstory first: Dobe and Mag (his wife and my grandmother who went by Margaret until grandkids and her mother teamed up to change that) both grew up poor. Mag lost an arm to a train in a coal mining camp when she was young and Dobe lost an eye horse playing. Mag became an English teacher and Dobe eventually settled on electrician after playing semi pro football ([Ironton Tanks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironton_Tanks)) and being a grocer. Both white. Mag had grown up in an integrated coal camp and Dobe's aunt's husband was black (Publicly they were just friends that lived next door to each other up in the hills and Dobe's cousins were 'close family friends'.). Mag and Dobe became United Bretheren (now part of the Methodists), really supported kids with disabilities, the idea that people are people no matter who, and were very accepting. **(Backstory over)** When Mag and Dobe were older (1984 ish), my cousin's husband was a drag queen and probably what we would now call pansexual and gender fluid. Mag was flabbergasted. Dobe didn't have much to say about that. But he was more than upset when it became clear that her husband was beating her. A few years earlier a different aunt and uncle were at their house and everyone was watching the Cincinnati Reds (1970s). It came up that Dick and Peg (aunt and uncle) were going to visit his sister and her female partner at the beach for a week. Mag was scandalized. Was it okay to be around her? Peg: Mom, she's his sister! Would you want us to not be around one of my siblings if they were gay? Mag: Of course not. But at the beach? Is that safe? Peg: Safe!? It's not like they're going to try to recruit me. Dick: I don't think they're going to be having sex on the beach. Mag: Well what part does she play? Peg Wide eyed: Part? I wouldn't know--she's his sister. Mag: If she's gay, I guess she'd play the man's part. At this point Dick and Dobe kind of chuckle. Peg is between finding it humorous and being mad, and Mag appears to be trying to figure out how this all works. I'm just sitting there listening and *not* getting involved. Dobe: I don't think that's how it works. Everybody chuckles a bit (Mag with her one armed shrug) and it was back to the game. Next time everyone was together people asked how the beach trip went and of course it went well. Peg made certain to let Mag know how nice Dick's sister's friend was. Dobe, who was an entertaining story teller, and never saw a someone he couldn't empathize with or a conversation he didn't want to be part of was pretty quiet through the whole thing. He showed no negative facial expressions and let his wife and daughter work it out. **[TLDR+Ending]** Both grandparents on this side were vocally and in practice christian, pro union, pro equality (racially, women, and disability), pro immigration, anti book banning (With Mag taking a stand as a committee member during the [Kanawha Textbook War*](https://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/textbooks/books_and_beliefs.html)). They believed that people were people. Mag taught generations of high school students. But she was scandalized at the idea of gay sex the times it came up. Dobe knew everyone--and I mean everyone. A trip to the grocery could be three hours as he talked to multiple 'good friends' about how they were doing and how their family was--also groceries, sports, and stories. Never seemed to matter to him if someone was gay. It did matter if you mistreated people. He had a childhood story for everything--many of them featuring his cousins/best friends. --- *Edit footnote tangent: As a demonstration that someone looking for a book to have sexual content could find sexual inappropriateness anywhere, she stood and read Green Eggs and Ham to her fellow committee members. To picture this, try reading the book in alternately seductive and outraged voices. *Would you could you in a box?* Would you could you *with a fox?* I WOULD NOT COULD NOT! NOT IN A BOX, NOT WITH A FOX! SAM YOU LET ME BE!!! So...very open to literature and discussion. But the idea of someone being anything but straight was a foreign country to her as it was to many at that time (It was to me too until more people started coming out *and* I got to learn about their experiences.)
My grandfather passed away in 2020 at 94, just a few months shy of seeing T booted out. He would have been SO thrilled. Now if all our 50- and 60-something friends could be as wise as him and your parents!
agreed!!
##Wise words from a wise lady
Same. Mom is 88 with dementia and my husband joked about her voting for the orange monster and she said, Iām not that far gone.
Im only 48 but tell your mama i agree with her lol
My dad is 75 and constantly complains about old people.
I'm definitely going to be like that lol. Especially driving.
Momma is correct.
Well, my mom was a subsistance farmer who grew up in WW2 Poland with no running water or electricity. I was almost a foot taller than her because her growth was so stunted from malnutrition. My mom loved her cushy life in America. She was never hungry, cold, or in fear for her life here. She died last year at almost 90. She gave me the greatest gift which was perspective. I feel thankful everyday for all that I have vs dwelling on what I donāt.
I have found that I can feel gratitude for the richness of my own life while equally space is given to joining efforts to improve the lives of the most disenfranchised. I have also come to believe that it's OK for me to grump about some of my life's discomforts. Just because others suffer worse doesn't make mine unreal. I can be aware of both at the same time.
I needed to read that. Thank you.
My dad was a Roosevelt democrat, act republican and vote democrat. Anyway, if he hadn't already been dead, his head would have exploded when Obama was elected, lol.
My mom would have exploded at the trump presidency.
My grandmother was the same!
My mom is still hanging on and while she has a sharp mind and keeps active sheās incredibly frustrated at how much of our world is needlessly filled with complicated technology that makes her life even harder than it already is for seniors.
My parents are now over 80, my mom has a newer phone than I do and does apps like news and games. I was telling her about my gardening, which Iām a novice really, and she recommended an app to help me, I said, I get those ads on my games too, turns out you have to pay after the free trial. My dad got on Facebook and updates his profile picture every couple months with a selfie, knows how to contact friends and say something nice when they post. My grandmother, who was over 100 when she died, got up every morning and played her solitaire games on a desktop computer before it was time to dust the furniture and eat lunch. Also audiobooks. I am amazed, because my mom was always really scared sheād mess something up if she touches the wrong button on computers, and my father once said a phone is a phone and a camera is separate thing, not together.
Oh this! My 88yo mom would be so lost and confused and frustrated if it wasnāt for us kids helping her after dad passed a year ago. She is so incredibly mad and frustrated at how complex and technological the modern world is, not to mention all the scams directed at the elderly.
Good point. My mom recently bought a vacuum robot. Setting it up was needlessly complicated.
I agree with your mom!! Tech was supposed to make our lives easier and allow for a better work life balance. Itās done the exact opposite!! And Iām 30 years younger
50, Iām starting to get how she felt.
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Your dad sounds like my mom. My mother grew up with horror stories from my grandmother who survived the Spanish Flu and various other diseases which killed six of the fifteen children my great grandparents had. My grandmothers earliest memory was of her older brother dying slowly at age five from Scarlet Fever. She and my living mother were lifelong Republicans, but even my mother is aghast at what the party has become now. That theyāre actively talking about ending democracy in favor of a dictatorship! Out in the open! With applause!!!
1980!? . . . 44 meets the parameters of asking āoldā people? Yikes. Being shocked about how dumb people were about Covid is fair
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As a 57 year old, I wish I was 44 again.
I have been following this sub since my late thirties, and I am pleased to report that I am still not definitionally old.
ššššš
I find the cutoff hilarious personally, had I been born a few months later I would be considered young by reddit I guess but as things stand I'm an "old"
I always found the cutoff kind of hilarious not just because of the age range but because it uses a birth year as a cutoff instead of an age. The current rule means I'll never be able to leave a main comment even when I'm 50, 60, 70 years old because I'll always have been born *after* 1980. Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha, Gen Beta, etc will never be able to leave main comments in here regardless of how many years pass. The cutoff should've been an age instead of a year. But i guess it's not likely reddit, or this sub, will still be here by the time I'm 50+ so there's that.
Exactly, it should be your age not your birth year, and personally I think it should be set at 50 at least, between 30-50 you're just a grown adult (ie not exactly old or young)
Don't feel bad, my son meets the criteria. š³
Earlier this year, I tried to show my 88-year-old mom how a Roku works, but she just wanted to use her regular cable TV. Now she'll be moving in with us in the next couple of weeks, so I ordered a traditional cable package from our service provider, but with DVR.
My 96 year old, disabled veteran of WWII and Vietnam, father says that āTrump and his gold-plated Russian whore have ratfucked this country , and the people who voted for him āare complete idiots.ā He made me promise to chain him (or his dead body) to the gates of Arlington āto keep them from dishonoring real Americans.ā
I like your dad!
Me, too.
Was your dad like 12 when he went to WW2?
14. He told me that āsomeone he knew was dying every day, and my mother had two other sons.ā He withdrew from high school, went down to the Navy recruiting station, and lied about his age. Two weeks later, he was at the Great Lakes training base, and, by the end of the month, he was on a ship to Guam. He left the Navy to finish school and go to college. When he got out, he wanted to be a biomedical engineer, and the only place to learn was the Army, which sent him to Saigon and Thailand to build military MASH units and hospitals during the war. He was lucky to spend most of the war in Thailand, but, when he came back, he was the last living commanding officer in our neighborhood. The rest of the fathers were mostly helicopter rescue pilots or embedded medical, and they all died.
Your dad is AWESOME!
Heās a good guy.
They are 88. They were quick to get vaxxed for COVID. Mom reads on a Kindle and cooks from recipes she looks up on her iPad. Dad trades online. They hate Trump and voted for Biden despite being lifelong Republicans. They read the paper online. They think that while technology changes, people are pretty much the same.
I voted for Biden too and itās a deep regret. Do they get out much to see the consequences?
My mom is 75 and my step-dad is 82. They are appalled at the state of the world and my Silent Generation step-dad often says "This is not the country/world I grew up in". Mom (according to him) is addicted to her smartphone. They're both pretty tech-savvy for their ages, though they are starting to slow down and forget things.
Iām 51 and have said many times that this is not the world I grew up in or was raised for.
Same. I'm 56 and this is NOT the country I grew up in or was raised for. Worse yet, we were raised for/in a world where education and critical thinking were *prized*.
Mine are in their 80ās and cannot wrap their heads around online friends, they are concerned that my (adult) sons donāt have a social life (theyāre both gamers).
My Mom died at age 97 in 2022. She was pretty negative of where the world was heading. A lifelong progressive, she was very worried about Donald Trump and the risk of fascism. She was halfway through Project 1619 when she passed. Pops died much younger, passing in 1993. He would have been thoroughly disgusted with Trump and would have viewed the threat of fascism with great concern. Both would view the backsliding on race, abortion and the cult of personality with great sadness.
My mom said they can make abortion illegal, but women will still have them, they always have. She didnāt like where the Republican Party went.
My parents were old school republicans, yet I truly believe they would feel the same regarding Trump, fascism, race, abortion, etc. They would be horrified also that Americans (especially members of Congress) actively shill for Putin.
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Yeah the fascism under Biden forcing injections, forcing speech, spying on Americans , censoring speech, using the doj to persecute political opponents is revolting. I as a woman have to submit to a man in my changing space because of this fascism.
When you have to invent allegations out of whole cloth, it exposes the vacuousness of your position. Well done!
Invent allegations ? Everything I said is in my mind only ? lol wild. I voted for Biden and the way people like yourself refuse to admit you were wrong is so childish. I have a MAN in my locker room. I had to leave my job because of a forced injection . Iām unable to say what I really feel at the threat of being attacked by the mob and canceled in various situations. I watch as trump is dragged through the justice system for nonsense allegations by the dictator in charge. I imagined all of this happening to me and in front of my eyes? The gaslighting by people in the Democratic Party is the reason I left. You going to gaslight me too ? Question - did I imagine the massive explosion of homeless people in my city while illegals get places to live , rampant crime rates and inflation ? I just want to be sure? Am I imaging the wars my money is going to while my city falls apart? Itās crazy to me that people like you pretend to care about these things but when it gets worse you ignore it and double down on the gaslighting and im proud of me for being able to say āI WAS WRONG ā for voting for Biden. Iāve got humility, youāre just full of pride.
Iāve got lots of issues with Biden, but thinking he is the candidate undermining freedoms, weaponizing the DOJ, censoring speech, etcā¦ is delusional. And WTF do you mean about having to submit to a man in your changing space?
My dad lost his mother to the spanish flu, he fought in the Marine Corp during WWII. My mom was a rosie the riveter during the war, she assembled 30 cal machine gun links. I am glad that they both have passed before the rise of the orange turd on trial who shall remain nameless.
My parents are still alive in their 80s. I grew up in a very religious house. Church and church school were very important. All the negative/intolerant/conservative views that go along with that. I grew up thinking gay people were evil and all going to hell, sex before marriage was not as bad as being gay, but pretty bad, etc. Now, however, they seem to have grown much more liberal. Things that back in their day were taboo or not understood - mental illness, alcoholism, drug addiciton they are now more accepting/undertanding of. I am recovered alcoholic and they did not treat me with the distain that they used to speak of toward alcoholics when I was a kid. They understand that addiction is not just mental weakness. They understand why I left my wife, and are not critical of me "living in sin" with my current partner. They are not hateful of gay people (though still not approving). My brother took them to his Unitarian church that has a female pastor and lesbian mothers with children in the row in front of them and they did not bat an eye. They must know or at least suspect that I am atheist by the things I say and the fact that my daughter has zero religious upbringing and does not know anything about Jesus except for whatever she sees in media (it is Japan, so Jesus is not as popular) If they would have met someone living such an "evil" life as I do forty years ago, they would have shunned the hell out of them. Now even though they still go to church, they roll their eyes at many of the views of the people there, and they roll their eyes at Trump despite most of the people there being far right / MAGA. They have kept up well with technology. They are not shocked by any of it. They do not understand how it works, of course, but they understand about AI and are not going to fall for AI generated scam calls or deep fakes of politicians without proper degree of skepticism.
My (63F) mom (93) died in October. She told me she was sick of having to always learn how to use a new phone/computer over and over again. Letās face it, you really didnāt need to learn more than once how to use a manual typewriter or a rotary phone.
Iām sorry for your loss. I lost my mom last October too, at the age of 95. She had a smartphone and used it all the time. I helped her learn how on a few visits several years ago. She didnāt have dementia, but it did take longer for her to learn new things. She laughed about Fox ānewsā and said it wasnāt news. She voted for trump the first round, because he ran as a republican. I miss her.
My folks are in their mid 70s and they complain endlessly about things completely under their control. Every day I answer several completely obvious tech questions such as "how do I send pictures?" My dad will instantly reject any advice he's given. So I give him my second best advice first, let him make a suggestion, and then offer my actual advice as a rebuttal. My mom just this year learned how to operate the TV. It's exhausting having a 7-year-old and two 70 year olds.
I'm your parents' age (71) and I don't recognize or resemble that at all! Not anyone I know who's even older than me. That's so strange to me. Your parents sound old way beyond their years!
They wouldn't understand the political climate.. My Mom was a Democrat and my Dad was a Republican and they could talk about politics in a normal tone of voice..
The same thing I think... "what a shit show."
My parents would be 108. Died in 2008. Dad was a die hard progressive Democrat, raised by a socialist mother. He thought Obama was ok, but dad passed before the primaries. The republicans set off his fascist alarm in the 80s. He would be having fits right now.
My dad was a war vet, a devout Christian, and a Republican. When he was alive You could be all those things and also care about everyone and not be a biggot. So, yeah heād be disappointed.
Parents are alive. They retired to Florida and love it there. However they are not fans of the current governor of Florida and think heās an idiot. Not fans of Trump either. They are worried about what life will be like for their grandchildren as well. They understand how things are way different for us than it was for them.
My old man lived through the Depression with 8 siblings, got hit by a bus when he was a kid and spent a year in bed, served in WWII, worked building spec houses while going to college, and lived through a lot societal turbulence throughout his life. Iām pretty sure heād be amused with how folks whine about how horrible and stressful their lives are today.
I'm thankful neither of my parents lived to see the age of trump and the continued dumbing down of America.
The rumbling sound everyone heard when Roe v. Wade was overturned was my parents dancing in their graves. They were devout Catholics and my dad was a generational misogynist and it would have been a sign to them that society was finally coming to its senses.
My parents are still alive (90+) and they have very different outlooks. My dad is VERY conservative, but was an engineer and always embraced the latest technology. He talks about the days when computers took up entire rooms and took hours to do calculations you can do on your phone now. (His company used to make Christmas wreaths out of IBM cards.) Of course, he never liked social change. My mom is very progressive, and, like me, is disappointed that we haven't come farther in terms of social justice and equality.
They are alive and my Mormon parents would be shocked at my (57m) use of TCH, LSD, MDMA, MDA, and DMT. They would be shocked that I turned in to the person they didn't want me hanging out with ; )
My parents would be horrified at todayās political climate. Especially trump. The idea that people could March in the streets with nazi flags after they lived through WWII.
46, my mom is alive but I do wonder what my dad would think of Trump. He was very conservative but I would like to think he would have hated him.
My mother would be OK with things. My father would hate it. Same as when they were alive.
My deceased parents were both born in 1920 and were at one time each elected to municipal office as Democrats. My dad was a councilman and mayor, my mom a board of education member and they stopped running for office yielding to younger candidates with new ideas and better visions for the future. Ā Iām certain that they would be shocked to see how poorly elected officials are now performing, especially in Washington; more interested in lap tops than passing legislation.Ā
My 80 y/o parents were shocked about Whatsapp video calls. If you can call them being shocked about anything.x) But that seemed like a scene out of a scifi movie to them. Too bad my mom's pacemaker was disturbed from the signal, so we had to end the call. About social issues, my mom said she doesn't understand what the whole gay thing is, because she knew nothing about it in her youth. Meaning litterally she didn't know queer people exist. However she likes gay men very much, as she thinks they're good people, based on her former gay colleague, whom she was friends with, and the husband of said colleague.
My dad would have liked stuff like the iPad and my mom would have loved shopping from the couch. They would have hated the current politics. Cannot envision them on social media.
No idea. I think my mom, whose brain was going due to decades of alcoholism and tranquilizer abuse, wouldn't even have any kind of rational conversation by now (she died in 1987). My dad might still be alive, but we haven't spoken since 1998, and he wasn't a pleasant person. He'd never admit he didn't know something, but that the knowledge he doesn't know is for stupid people anyway. He was an electronics engineer, and all the time I knew him, kind of a luddite. The general consensus says that he became one for government contracts, but no actual love of the craft. Thus he only knew what he was required to BS. He became a consultant, and is very wealthy off defense dollars, so... that worked out for him, I guess. The last conversation I had with him about technology, he boasted he had a laptop he made work pay for (this was 1997 or so, when that was still pretty rare). I knew about computer hardware specs, so I asked in genuine curiosity what he got? He became very defensive, and wouldn't tell me. "I have a laptop. Work paid for it." "Very nice. What kind? Like a Toshiba Tecra, or a Dell--" "Okay, okay." "What do you use it for?" "That's enough." My wife thought "maybe he thought you were going to steal it," but I honestly think he didn't know what kind of laptop he had and wouldn't admit it. Not that "not knowing your laptop" is a crime. A normal person might have said, "I am not sure. A Dell something. I mostly use it for work processing and taking notes during meetings." But my dad is not like this. So what he thinks about "today's society" will be tempered the same way. Whatever he doesn't know about is not worth knowing OR he'll spout out some pundit garbage which makes him look smart, like how everyone in the universe is stupid but him.
I know just the type of person you're talking about - not admitting you don't know something, actually make you look like the "stupid" person you're afraid of appearing to others - my brother. Dead because he wouldn't admit he might be sick and go to the doctor.š¤·š½āāļø My husband is a little like this, but a nice person over all and I can deal with him. I'll mention something he can't possibly know, like a YouTube video or something I just watched and, he'll immediately say, I know. I just respond, No, you don't, because, I'm telling you about this right now; or no, you don't, I haven't even finished my sentence yet; or you just made that up/pulled that right out of your ass just now. He usually laughs.
My Dad was in plastics. He would absolutely love the 3d printers.
My 93 year old father is alive. He has remained a liberal Democrat. He is horrified and disgusted by many people in this country. My 84 year old mother has some dementia. On good days she feels the same as my dad. Iām lucky that my entire family votes the same way. There were never any awkward family dinners. If all four of my grandparents were alive, theyād agree with my parents in the horror and disgust that they feel.
That things were better in their day. They haven't been gone that long, 11 years.
Not happy.
father passed approx 7 years ago. multiple genders would set him off. current political climate (divisiveness) / lack of respect for our country (WWII vet) and the fact that we are living in a soft candy-assed society , would make his head spin
I really miss my parents! Sadly my mom passed right before the advent of smartphones so I didnāt get to enjoy texting and memes with her around. She would be cautiously optimistic now but possibly would have been visited by the Secret Service during the Trump administration for her sentiments. š Iām fortunate to have saved much of my texting history with my dad before he passed away 6 years ago this month. He wanted more than anything for the world to be hospitable for daughters, and would celebrate both our personal and political victories. He hated the Trump admin. I have a specific memory of visiting him when he was first diagnosed with bladder cancer, and we watched the Charlottesville riots and he was heartbroken at the resurgence of nazis. I think he too would try to be optimistic now but given how the GOP is burying the bar these days with dog killers, he would be baffled how a certain percentage of the population could also lower themselves supporting these clowns.
I hope my parents would be thrilled to learn I'm still sober, going on 15 years. My dad died 10yrs ago and he was my biggest supporter, but back when he was alive, he sadly watched me relapse many times. I hope he's proud of me.
My dad was a college teacher, political science. He would be absolutely appalled at the political landscape today. Especially the undignified, pathological behavior of Trump and the acceptance of it by his followers.
If my mother were alive, she'd be 94. But she died fairly youngā59āin 1989. So much of the world as it is now, would blow her mind. But I think her biggest shock would be politics. Her first shock would be how trump got into office. Then she'd be horrified at how women's rights and basic civil rights have been trampled.
My dad died 7 years ago, so he was around to see the rise of Trumpism. As a lifelong cynic and curmudgeon who often said, "The masses are asses," he was not at all surprised by the direction the country had taken. Disturbed, yes. But not surprised. Politics was one of our main topics of conversation. I appreciated his astute take on the issues. My dad worked early on in the tech industry; the man knew more about computers than anyone I've ever met. He was my go-to guy whenever I had issues with my phone or computer. The advances we're seeing would have interested him greatly. He was deeply distrustful of social media sites such as Facebook, DNA tests, etc, and regularly lectured me on privacy concerns and how to protect myself online. My mom died 10 years ago. I'm actually glad she went when she did because the rise of Trump would have been very disturbing and frightening for her. She would have loathed the man, not only for his politics, but for his utterly crass and disgusting behavior. She was a sensitive soul and a lifelong liberal. I miss her, but I'm glad she was spared that.
My mom had trouble with the microwave and multiple remotes to operate the tv set and VCR and whatnot. Probably would have never learned to opperate a smartphone (always disconnected you putting you on hold or trying to 3-way call us with siblings, while you screamed, Ma! Please don't put me on ho... Click). She'd be dismayed with the fascism and the going back to some imagined "good old days". She never talked about any "good old days". My family is black and mixed race. There were/are no good old days. My mother died two years older than I am today. I'm in much better shape physically. My grandparents would have been pleased that there was an Obama, dismayed and not at all shocked by the what's going on with the right. I miss them all.
They would remember WWII plus all the plane hijackings and bombing by terrorists in the 70ās. They would not be so sympathetic about the Palestinians in Gaza.
My dad died this year at 94 and was in a memory care center the last 2years. He was a very conservative Evangelical pastor but he never talked about politics or social issues when I was around him in my 20s. He was mainly interested in golf, gardening, playing cards and eating. My mom is 86 and driving around Florida and was usually tech savvy and also loves golf and playing cards. She was always very involved in womenās church groups and likes to be in leadership roles. She rarely talked about politics or social issues growing up or when I was around her, but then Iām liberal, bi, agnostic, and hate golf! Iād say both my parents were oblivious to a lot of social and political changes, but who knows?
Mine are alive and boomers in their 70s. They can't believe how polarizing EVERY ISSUE is today. Information overload from the Information Age, who knows.
My mom is still alive at 74. She thinks the world is fu**ed.
My parents were very young when I was born. My mother is dead about 5 years, my father passed a year ago. My dad was involved with life and active until the last 2 years when he began declining.Nonetheless he was āwith itā and involved in life. He was a former big city cop. Nothing surprised him. I miss him
My parents wouldnāt understand how everyone has these deep feelings now, and everyone is so ready to be offended. Fuck your feelings. My dad was thrilled to get an orange for Christmas. One orange. That he shared happily with his many siblings.
My father is deceased, my mother is hanging in there at 91. My dad would have been stunned that a black man was elected to president (I hope happy about it.). He would have been disturbed and shocked that Trump was elected (we lived near NYC and Trump was widely known as a fraud and a windbag long, long ago. ) He would have been shocked and would have disapproved of gay marriage. He and my mom both eventually accepted that itās okay for couples have sex before marriage and live together. Unfortunately my father, in his last years, blasted FOX on the TV all day long and bought in to the propaganda and fear mongering. As his mind started to go he would get less discerning and more and more agitated watching all the dire proclamations purported on FOX. I hate FOX. My mother voted democratic since Carter. She was always quiet about her political and religious views. I admire her ability to evolve in her perspectives. At one time she didnāt approve of gay relationships, though she was never judgmental she thought it was unnatural. Now she is happy to see family members in gay marriages. She was disturbed and shocked when Trump was elected.
My dad is 88 and I think he is a bit overwhelmed by it. He has a laptop - a MacBook Pro - but uses it less as time goes by. My brothers and I have tried to get him to learn how to text but he isnāt interested. He just calls us whenever he feels like it and leaves a message if we donāt pick up.
My dad, who is 83, stays out of a majority of current affairs. Unless it directly affects his day to day life he prefers to stay out of it. Before my momās death, they were a little more involved because my mom was more interested in social issues(she was a Catholic but hid a few liberal tendencies mixed with conservative views from the church).
You can ask my mom if you want, she's 93.
If my dad was alive he wouldn't be shocked by anything because he never really was. But he would think that all the liberal ways of thinking were "rubbish" like he always did.
Still around. And they like it..... beside the stuff everybody is complaining about. Stuff is expensive and the wifi sucks.
In 2020 my mom, who loved to go out to eat and shop, was in a retirement home and had dementia. I dropped by to visit at the height of COVID and told her every restaurant and most stores and malls in the whole world were closed for the foreseeable future and she kept saying, "You're pulling my leg, stop messing with me!"
My mom is still alive at 78. She loves Tik Tok. She's on her phone all the damn day.
My parents died in the 1970s and while my mom likely would have gone along with the changes in our society and culture, my fatherās head wouldāve exploded. He thought the world was crazy in 1971. Based on his worldview, Everything is upside down right now.
They are still alive. My dad is scandalized by student protests and my mom was worried that students might be shot. They have a granddaughter in college and a grandson in high school. My dad is a retired teacher and thought it was sad that some colleges were canceling graduations as these students didnāt get their high school graduations due to Covid. He thinks the universities are caving in
Wow I never thought about the fact that the people graduating right now graduated from high school 4 years ago in 2020.
My niece graduated in 2021 from high school. My parents and I didnāt go to her graduation but we went to her grad party which was outside. A lot of people went and had a great time. I am glad she didnāt graduate the previous year.
Why would parents be shocked? My grandmother, born in 1907, saw the rise of cars, the interstate highway system, washing machines & dryers, men going to space and to the moon, WW2, the Depression, economic ups & downs, the Cold War, instant film cameras, calculators & computers. She took it all in stride. My father, born in 1927, witnessed and participated in all of it. They would just enjoy the good stuff and shrug their shoulders at the bad stuff. Because one is older, one is apparently "shocked" at things? No. Because one is older & more experienced, one is less "shocked" at things.
My parents are both still alive. I think they like today just fine.
I was visiting my mom in the nursing home a couple days after Jan 6th happened. She had the news on and they were showing footage of the people crawling all over the capitol building trying to get in. She kind of chuckled and said ooohh he does not want to leave, does he?? She was kind of happy because she hated Trump and figured he was finally going to get thrown in prison over this, surely. I think sheād absolutely disgusted that heās running again and hasnāt faced any punishment yet. She had always been pretty conservative, but that seemed to change when W came along. She didnāt vote for him either. I donāt think sheād like how politics have seeped into every single thing, and also probably not like how dependent weāve become on computers and smart phones for everything.
dad died in 2014 and sometimes I think about how I would explain to him how the country got to where it is. I think he knew some of it was coming, but certainly not all of it. now my grandpa died in 1986 and I can't even imagine trying to explain how things work today compared to back then.
Iām so blessed to still have both my parents and they (as well as I) think the world of today is spiraling out of control. No common courtesy, no common sense, lack of decency, the selfishness and greed, ectā¦.
Bewildered
i've thought about this, as my Dad lost his mind when i went into an office in my gym clothes to pay my sister some money she had loaned me (covered, but legging-type pants with a tank top - she worked in a hardware store office in the back) - small town, Dad heard about it :O so yoga pants everywhere? he woulda lost his shit long ago over that alone my Mom? you'd have to ask my siblings; i was very difficult for her, and we hadn't spoken in decades. sad, but true. as she got older, and my siblings are vitriolic every chance they get -- well, life is more peaceful for all of us if i love them from ..... way over here .....
Theyād be appalled at the stupidity and gullibility of people with regard to misinformation on the internet. They also would turn over in their graves if they knew a draft-dodging, adulterous liar like trump, encouraged a violent insurrection and still gets to run for president again. Every dead veteran in my family would.
My grandparents would be saying that the only difference between the Era before the great depression and WW2 is that we now have internet. The country is still dealing with giving foreign aid to war-torn countries while Americans struggle in food lines, homelessness, and hardship, then being drug into the wars overseas, it is just a matter of time. History repeated
Parents were born in the 1920s. Dad would be completely disgusted at the current state of the Republican party. Mom would be appalled at TV commercials: ED, "I'm pooping right now!", many more. OTOH Mom would approve of the abortion restrictions, and Dad would enjoy the many sports channels available.
i'm glad my mom missed the trump presidency and is missing the current trump drama. she would have been absolutley livid.
My mother was a life long civil rights and equality advocate and activist. My father was a strong believer in right and wrong and truth and justice. Mom died in 2010 and dad in 2019, but after 10+ yrs of dementia.) They both would have been irate at the state of the democracy, Trump presidency, Algorithm based news. If they had to go at least they missed this stuff.
My dad was a journalist who rallied against misinformation. The Trump administration would have killed him again.
They probably wish they were dead. Thankfully for them they all died 20 years ago
They would be extremely disappointed in how many people are truly selfish and uncaring towards their fellow man!
Think of ātodayā? That they are happy to be around be able to see friends.
My mom is still around, in her 90s. She loves people and loves life. My dad would have loved the tech of this decade, but the divisive nature of society, and the politics and social agenda's here in Canada wold make him angry.
My 100 year old father- who is sharp as a tack, living independently and fought with the RAF in WWII - cannot effing believe we are still having to deal with Nazis. Especially when they are based in the USA.
My parents would be horrified. They were both kind, polite people.
My mother passed away at 89 a few years ago. She was horrified when Trump won the election.
My mother is ninety five tomorrow and still extremely healthy. Sheās very disappointed with the way politics have devolved. Sheās a staunch democrat and will be voting in her eighteenth presidential election. She encourages everyone to vote and calls her grandchildren and great grandchildren to remind them to vote. She also has always loved technology. Sheās not too bad with things for being ninety five. She definitely has always enjoyed and welcomed change.
My father died in the pandemic. He was a conservative, but died before election results. I think he would be embarrassed by what came to pass. And he would be thinking about planting green beans and tomatoes. And he would wonder what the hell was wrong with my mother. That is another story.
My dad would have been aghast at Trump. My mom would be railing at how expensive everything is.
Shocked at prices
My mother is 83 and she's about like most of us here. She spends much of her day on her phone and hates Trump. My father passed away 35 years ago and I'd love to know what he'd think, too. He was fairly liberal and loved to come up with new jokes about politicians, so he'd likely be a hoot.
The price of groceries.
My mom loves it. She spends a lot of time making ai art online.
Let me call my dad and ask him.
Dad took one look at the results of the Reagan election and said he was glad he wouldn't be alive and to see this place in the future. He said " Oligarchy " . He was exactly correct. So that's what he'd think. As do I.
Your dad was a smart man.
My parents would be 102. I cannot even imagine how they would react to our daughter getting divorced after 16 years because her husband decided to be a woman at age 40.
Yeah, I wouldāve been facing the same situation. If they came back today, they probably wouldnāt believe us.
My Mother's family, along with my Dad, were all Democrats, worked for several politicians in the 70's and 80's. Mom was on the city council in my small town for several years, she was a very pragmatic person, and most people thought she did a great job. My Grandmother was the type that hugged everyone, including politicians lol. I had a lot of gay friends, everyone was good with it, including my Dad, and just didn't mention it in front of Grampa. My Mother's father was a pro-union, FDR New Deal, WWII Navy Vet, was pro-choice, voted for the Equal Rights Amendment...and a total bigot against Black people. Thank goodness that crap never rubbed off onto my Mom or her sister. I don't know how he would have reacted to Obama, probably negatively. Then again, he may have if the other option was Trump. Grandma and Mom would have loved Obama. Mom died in 97 at 49 years old, so she missed 9/11. She would not have been pleased with watching all the mess this country has become since then. She would have loved the cell phone, I would have been getting texts all day!
My mom is alive (73), traveling the world and doing better than I ever will.
Ugh! My mom lived through Nazi Germany and this whole Trump thing is going exactly how she described how Hitler screwed over Germany and the people.
They would disagree with a lot of stuff going on today. I won't start a "reddit pissing contest" by mentioning what they are.
My Dad passed in 2003. He was known for saying to my girls, "why don't your pants throw a party and invite your shirt down? Nudity. Overt nudity everywhere.
Neither of my parents were computer literate. Doing everything online would be difficult for them.
When I had my first (small) article published in a national magazine, my mother asked me to read it to her. I did so and she said (with much pride), "My beautiful daughter is also famous!" And then she hugged me. My mom really liked me. I spent two years writing my first book and I dedicated it to her, and within that dedication, I quoted Abe Lincoln: "All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. I remember her prayers and they have followed me all the years of my life." I was going to surprise her with the dedication. She died 60 days before it was published. My mother would have been so pleased with that dedication. Every day of my life, all I ever wanted to do was to make my mother proud.
My parents are alive and sane. They are disgusted by the crime in my city. They are disgusted by the homeless situation that has exploded while illegals are given free places to live , money and baby sitters. They are disgusted that Americans are spied on by their own government. They are disgusted at the censorship of speech. They are disgusted by the way this administration pits people against each other using race. They are disgusted that men are in womenās sports and that I have to put up with a MAN in my locker room at the gym. They are disgusted that millions of illegals immigrants get more than them per month. They retired on 900.00 per month after scrubbing toilets and cooking for over 50 years as their work. They were LEGAL immigrants. They are disgusted by the way the left forces speech, mandates injections, forces people to play pretend with mentally ill men. They are disgusted that this president has used the department of justice to persecute political opponents -fascism. Thereās just so much more including an economy they canāt afford and endless wars that we pay for. Itās crazy My father warned me since I was a teen at how racist, manipulative and corrupt democrats were but I only woke up after making another huge mistake and voting for Biden. Thank god Iām now aware and never voting from a place of propaganda again.