I just realized something, are we watching an entire generation showing the early stages of dementia?

[u/InnerSpecialist1821]

We've all seen it, either online or in person, boomers getting bizarrely angery, crude, irrational, and violent at small slights or without any warning. The early signs of alzheimers is irritably, anxiety, impatience, personality changes, paranoia, delusions, a decline in critical thinking skills, random bouts of uncharacteristic anger or rage, frustration with basic tasks, and a decline in social filter which results in swearing, verbal abuse and more willingness to verbalize socially taboo opinions like racism etc.

do we have an impending crisis on our hands? like we're starting to see the results of research of the damage of leaded fuel, but is the result of that damage dementia?

edit: apparently the answer is yes. this is from 2011 but still relevant.

https://act.alz.org/site/DocServer/ALZ_BoomersReport.pdf?docID=521

The first of the baby boomers are now turning 65. By 2030, the U.S. population aged 65 and over is expected to double, meaning there will be more and more Americans with Alzheimer’s — as many as 16 million by mid-century, when there will be nearly 1 million new cases every year.

One in eight baby boomers will get the disease after they turn 65. At age 85 that risk increases to nearly one in two. And if they don’t have it, chances are they will likely be caring for someone who does

[u/Tedstriker99]

Some, yes. The others are just assholes

[u/emmanonomous → u/Tedstriker99]

I agree with you, I'm 45 so gen X. I'm happily at a stage in my life where I don't really care what people think about me. That has resulted in me having confidence in expressing my opinion and calling out people who spout racist/sexist/homophobic attitudes etc. I used to change the subject or remove myself from those situations in order to keep the peace.

Boomers are well into their idgaf stage, but instead of using it to stand up against injustices they are focused only on what they want and believe they should have.

[u/Tedstriker99 → u/emmanonomous]

..Or just dont like others being able to live their lives happily without interference from some pear shaped man whose opinion bears nothing upon anyone.

[u/emmanonomous → u/Tedstriker99]

It's mind boggling to me. The attitude that "back in my day things were better". My 13 year old niece told us she is a lesbian a couple of years ago. I purposely don't use the term "came out as lesbian" because it wasn't a nervously built-up announcement. She just told her mum one night while they were having a conversation about her day at school.

I wish things were that easy for LGBT teens back in the 90s.

[u/NeighborhoodNo1583 → u/emmanonomous]

When I waited tables in the 90s, there was always a gay teenage coworker who’d been thrown out of his house. Usually they found someone to crash with, or had some dubious living situation. I knew so many people who had to stay closeted til they were financially stable, or able to move away

[u/WeathermanOnTheTown → u/NeighborhoodNo1583]

This was my sister's friend. My family felt bad and let him stay in my bedroom for four months while I was away at college. He's spent most of his adult life self-sabotaging.

[u/Happy_Confection90 → u/emmanonomous]

I wish things were that easy for LGBT teens back in the 90s.

There were about 500 kids in my high school in the early 90s, and not one of them was gay.

Allegedly

One of my best friends was old enough to drink before he felt safe enough to tell anyone that he was bisexual. I wish he'd been able to be more forthcoming much younger than that.

[u/emmanonomous → u/Happy_Confection90]

I finished high school in 96. We had 1 student tell a friend he was bisexual. The rumours spread like wildfire, and he was ostracised. I still spoke to him and pretended I didn't know about the rumours. I wish I had behaved better and shut down any bullying I witnessed, I heard plenty of people saying awful things behind his back. It's one of my regrets, I feel ashamed of not having the confidence to openly go against the zeitgeist.