[bleepblopboop]

I’m 29 and commenting for the first time despite having been a reader for almost 6 years. I was raised by my grandparents, who were children during the great depression, in an environment that was (culturally) stereotypically Canadian. And by that I mean that backwoods, outdoorsy, plaid-flannel wearing stereotype. I am very very grateful for the continuity of knowledge that has been passed down to me from them. I would have a much harder time making ends meet without them.

My friends are all very aware of what is going on. We also are all gamers to a greater or lesser extent. We’d probably get along pretty well with Edgar G’s grandson and friends as this is a good summary of our feelings on the matter:

… my Bard College trained oldest son plays games constantly board and video. He is aware as his very smart college friends are aware too but My God so jaded so dismissive the system has alienated them. Some hardly feel that any safety net will be there for them.

It’s also not the totality of our opinions, but it’s a good summary. It’s very hard to feel like you can trust any system that is in place when your attempts to engage or voice an opinion is met incredulity, dismissal, hostility, or stories about how things were 50 years ago. To be a millennial talking about the financial problems that millennials face with someone who has not shared our experience is largely an exercise in becoming informed as to exactly what society considers your worth to be. Which is very little, so you might as well figure out how to look after you and your own.

So I don’t talk about what’s going on that often with people outside of my group of friends. And my friends don’t either. We talk among ourselves, seek solutions among ourselves, and we game. When asked by others what we’re talking about, sometimes we say it’s gamer talk (usually when it is) and sometimes we say things like “We’re planning a live-action roleplay game of a zombie apocalypse survival scenario.”

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