Comment by chrisco255
4 years ago
What date rape epidemic in the 90s was there that didn't exist in prior decades?
At any rate, it is broadly true that the 90s was a happier time than present.
Today, people can't let you enjoy reminiscing about a period in time without bringing up everything horrible or sub optimal about that time.
It's a pervasive cynicism that wasn't broadly shared then. I was a kid in the 90s exploring AOL chat rooms, forums, the web, etc. It was a very groovy time. Lots of discussions about politics, but it wasn't toxic like today. There are sharp lines today and if you are right of center you're either being deplatformed or shadow banned or called a neo-Nazi.
I mean, you mention gay rights. AOL, the most mainstream internet app had a prominent Gay & Lesbian section and a chat room for folks to meet or discuss commonalities. Nobody was canceling AOL over it. It was just another interest group next to Sports, Video Games, Politics, Religion, etc. You'd wind up meeting gay people through some discussions on the various chat rooms. And we'd honestly debate about whether homosexuality was a choice or not. And in my naivete I took one side of that issue and a gay boy that posted in that vg forum took the other side. It taught me how to understand them. Today, if someone says something outside of whatever the prevailing dogma is, they are treated like they're terrible people. Experiences like that are how you grow as a person. And we cut that off at the knees today trying to make sure no one's feelings are hurt. But all that does is create resentment and divide.
> it is broadly true that the 90s was a happier time than present.
I do have some great memories from the 90s, but for a few years I lived in a town south of Chicago that was heavy in gangs where I would regularly hear semi-automatic gun fire, see the river getting trolled for bodies and lived next to a professional bike thief. My father's truck was robbed of tools, my bike was stolen, my friends were poor as dirt and I couldn't play in their yards because I am white and they were afraid their neighbors would beat the shit out of me or kill me, and one of those friends was in a gang (learned that 15 years later). I remember lots of good things, but my 90s experience wasn't all that pleasant.
White men. They get the destroying going. They feel that the world is their property, and everything in it. I’m not white, but interested to know where the White man ideology originated. Who told them they have to destroy everything that isn’t them, or at least dominate it.
All human men could be described like that. There are plenty of non-white dictators and war lords.