I think just about every demographic abandoned the GOP, but this is a pretty substantial shift.

Did most of them just sit out the election last time?

It’s because AI made gaming more expensive, isn’t it?

  • stalin420 [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    78·
    9 days ago

    I think we underestimate how fucking bad Biden was.

    Imagine your Gen Z. Your late teens or early 20s were spent in lockdowns. You followed the rules while boomers spat at you. You saw Biden support open genocide in Gaza. The economy started sliding and your cohort was the group that got impacted by this. Housing isn’t even a dream you’d be happy if you can afford rent in a share house.

    The Dems ran Kamala and her promise was that “ummm nothing much will really change.”

    The Dems were betting that outrage against Trump would allow them to be pure neolib Zionists who did absolutely fucking nothing for young people, or most people.

    Was it ever really the case that Gen Z was swinging right? Or was it more that the “center left” was offering literally nothing at all.

    I’m not saying economic anxiety made them groypers. I think the groypers are right wing and not simply victims of the economy.

    I think it’s more that politics offered Gen Z absolutely fucking nothing so most of them switched off, and the only ones who were switched on were the groypers.

    Like… most of them simply went neutral. They didn’t see any outcome worth supporting in politics. The only politically engaged Gen Z were the ones who find white supremacy and patriarchy appealing so they were the ones to paint the picture.

    • AntiOutsideAktion [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
      39·
      9 days ago

      The Dems were betting that outrage against Trump would allow them to

      it’s so fucking crazy how long they held onto Jan 6 without actually reacting to it. It’s the sum total of the politiking they did

    • TheModerateTankie [any]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      38·
      9 days ago

      Yeah, you’re right. Having the opportunity to change course only for Kamala to be Biden 2.0 was an such insult, and then making it clear that they were going to continue the genocide…

    • DelgadoSlims [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
      23·
      9 days ago

      Trump also has this weird effect on people where they think “this guy’s so random, maybe he’ll end support for israel or do price caps on groceries or whatever cool thing I want” when he’s never shown any desire to do any of that. I remember reading about this park ranger who voted for Trump in 2024 because she thought Trump would give everyone free IVF. Where the fuck did she get that idea?

      But that’s the thing, wildcard president/manic pixie president looks way better than nothing’s gonna change, suck it up buttercup president. Younger people were less lilely to be plugged in during his first time, and less likely to remember he’s just Biden but louder, more openly racist, and stealing more

    • Hyperion@midwest.socialEnglish
      14·
      9 days ago

      The Dems ran Kamala and her promise was that “ummm nothing much will really change.”

      Going to people who were struggling to pay their bills and being like “actually, under our administration the economy’s been doing great” was probably the biggest single reason she lost. She just couldn’t fathom that the numbers being good didn’t mean that everyday people were doing good.

      The Dems were betting that outrage against Trump would allow them to be pure neolib Zionists who did absolutely fucking nothing for young people, or most people.

      To be fair, this worked in 2020. The country was a dumpster fire and people were pissed. But people have short memories and 4 years can be a long time. Plus Trumps bungled response to covid and the George Floyd protests were a big part of him losing. If the election had come in 2019, I’m skeptical Biden would have won.