Knowing history well is sort of a superpower. When you’re well-educated and skeptical, you’re less likely to fall prey to misinformation, weird gossip, and blatant propaganda. However, it’s a bit of a shock when somebody from a younger generation starts lecturing about historical events that you lived through.
Inspired by a post on X (formerly Twitter), some members of Generation X took to the eponymous r/GenX subreddit to share the times that younger people told them inaccurate things about historical events. Just because someone’s convinced that something’s true doesn’t make it so! Scroll down to see why overconfidence isn’t a good look when you’ve got your basic facts wrong.
#1
I had someone tell me that AIDS wasn’t a big deal because well “they had d***s for that” ? I literally said to them I need you to shut up right now because you’re looking like the most stupid person in the planet right now. Pulled out old Google and showed them how many people died, why, and how horrid it was. Like I had friends who died. Complete A** Clown ?.
Image credits: anon
#2
My son came home from High School one year and pulled out his phone so I could hear this great new Band.
Aerosmith....
Image credits: Outrageous_Brick7472
#3
Yup. My favorite is when they are like: "What's your source? You have no proof!" and it's like: "I didn't read about this, I lived it.".
Image credits: squirtloaf
Generation X refers to Americans who were born between 1965 and 1980. They’re the kids of the Silent Generation (who were born from 1928 to 1945) and Baby Boomers (born from 1946 to 1964).
Gen X precedes Generation Y (aka millennials, born from 1981 to 1996), Generation Z (aka Zoomers, born from 1997 to 2012), and Generation Alpha (born in the early 2010s to the mid-2020s).
Different researchers might suggest slightly different birth year ranges for each generation, so there’s a bit of disagreement here and there. For example, the moderators of the r/GenX subreddit argue that Generation X includes anyone born between 1961 and 1981, which is the broadest perspective on who might fit the bill.
#4
For me the most jarring thing is hearing people refer to records as "vinyls".
THEY'RE NOT CALLED VINYLS. THEY WERE NEVER CALLED VINYLS. CALLING RECORDS VINYLS IS LIKE CALLING CDS "PLASTICS". FFS, STOP THE MADNESS!!!
Records. They're called records. 12" records are also called LPs, short for Long Playing Records. 10" records are EPs, short for Extended Play Records, or 78s (if they are 78RPM). 7" records are 45s (because 45RPM) or singles.
GET OFF MY LAWN.
Image credits: fkyourcanoes
#5
Or, being told you’re not an ally because you aren’t up to speed on pronouns, or what all the letters after LGBT mean, but you used to literally beat up a******s who messed with my gay friends.
Image credits: Instimatic
#6
I admit to getting tired about hearing how easy it was for me to get through college and such 25ish years ago. I also remember the 70s and 80s, and amazingly, my parents could not afford a giant house with one person working as a coffee shop attendant.
Every generation has some hardships, and today's young people have been screwed over in some ways, but they go way overboard with how easy it was for everyone before them.
I was there. I literally have social security tax records since I was 12, because I had to work. It was not some magical paradise.
Image credits: SlyFrog
According to Statista, there were around 66 million members of Generation X living in the United States.
In 2021, their numbers dropped slightly to around 65.8 million Americans. It’s estimated that there will be around 63.9 million Gen Xers living in the US by 2028.
While it’s easy to assume that older generations ‘had it easy’ when it came to employment and buying property, it’s not all rosy for Generation X.
#7
LOL my oldest kid told me how OJ Simpson may have not k*lled his ex wife and the matching DNA was likely his son Jasons. Listen here, I didn’t watch court TV for 6 weeks and read 20 books on the case to have you lecture me about a 10 second Tik Tok clip that “solved” the crime of the century!! You don’t even know who Kato is !!!
#8
Missy Elliott at the Super Bowl and the young people posting about how she was trying to be Cardi B or some other current rapper. Lol, when I read those tweets I laughed so hard.
Image credits: FormerChange
#9
I most recently remember this in 2020, after the election, when Trump was still challenging the results. Even after Biden was declared the winner, I remember seeing posts on Twitter from Trump supporters saying things like *"Don't give up! Back in 2000 the liberal media spent a month calling Gore the winner and referring to him as President-Elect, until the Supreme Court declared Bush the rightful winner!"* And I was sitting there going, no, that's not what happened at all. How you are lying about something that was 20 years ago? This isn't ancient history?
Image credits: chace_thibodeaux
There’s a risk that a large number of Americans from Gen X might run out of money in retirement. More so than members of the younger generations. Older Gen Xers are within a decade of retirement, while younger Baby Boomers are already in their early 60s.
How well someone will fare in retirement depends not just on their lifestyle, budgeting, and personal approach to savings and investments but also on the company they work at, along with any relevant pension plans.
#10
Imagine being a person who grew up in former soviet union listening to young people talk about the benefits of communism.
Image credits: daperdingus
#11
My dad got laid off twice in the early '80s, when I was a kid. It was a rough period for a lot of my relatives also. You never hear about that early-'80s recession anymore, people just go, 'Oh, everyone could buy a big house with just a high school degree.' There were a ton of homeless people in the '80s where I grew up also.
Image credits: WhoDatNinjaToo
#12
I've had people tell me I'm making up the nuclear bomb drills we did in elementary school in the 80s.
Image credits: PsychoWyrm
CNN reports that 45% of American households risk falling short financially if they retire at 65 years old. The number rises to 54% for people who would retire at 62.
“The shift from defined-benefit pensions to defined-contribution plans left Baby Boomers and Gen X with less time to accumulate savings,” researchers from Morningstar’s Center for Retirement and Policy Studies pointed out that there is a retirement crisis.
#13
The most common one I see is from younger writers proclaiming that "The entire country was up in arms about [insert major event]"...
I was there, the reality is that most of the country didn't really care either way, but a few hundred protestors made a lot of noise.
Image credits: Bashirshair
#14
I heard a younger coworker complain that NIN ruined Johnny Cash’s 'Hurt.'
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#15
I had a dude argue with me that there was absolutely no way the National Guard ever shot American college students… pft pft pft.
Image credits: Necron9x11
#16
A younger Millennial once insisted to me that we dial 911 for emergencies in honor of the victims of 9/11.
Image credits: sabat
#17
“In 1986 you could work part time at a yogurt shop in LaJolla, CA and afford a 3 bedroom home on the ocean”
No. Parts of this country have always been super expensive to live in.
Image credits: MikeinAustin
#18
Just the other day some young person tried to passionately tell me that “shout” by tears for fears was actually written and performed by depeche mode. I was so embarrassed for them. They were so sure they were right. Bless their heart.
Image credits: cuppyturkey
#19
Close, close friend of mine was killed in Iraq (w me there). At the funeral, his son accepted the flag the military presents to the next of kin. The photo became really famous. Had a Gen Zer tell the picture was staged by the military as military propaganda (without realizing how dumb the thought of the military spreading pictures of crying 7-year-olds in an attempt to improve their image, is). I tried showing them pictures, etc to show the family is real. She responded by saying I was one of "those".
Image credits: Darth-Newbi
#20
Slenderman is the one that really baffles me. Kids are all "It's real" or treat it like it's as old as Bloody Mary or something, meanwhile I'm like "I helped invent Slenderman on the Something Awful forums when I was in my 30s."
My own children were terrified of Slenderman when they were younger, and I told them "You know why he has really long fingers? Because a forum Goon called WIIWW suggested it. I know that cause WIIWW is me.".
#21
A few years back, in an open office, I was quietly listening to music and singing along (my desk was far away from all others so I wasn't being rude), when a much younger coworker came up and asked how I knew the words to 'the song' already, since it just released two days ago by a popular young artist. I said that I had been singing the original for decades. They laughed and said, "No, really?". I repeated the answer and they said I was wrong because that was a new song by 'popular young artist'. I said "No, the song was written and performed by 'washed up, once popular old artist'. They reiterated that I was wrong. I looked it up online and showed them. Their response: " 'Washed up, once popular old artist' must have covered it from 'popular young artist'. She wouldn't even admit that that was a problem, unless one of them was a time traveller, because she refused to admit that she was wrong or that she liked an "OLD" song.
Edit: Sorry guys, I can remember the conversation clearly but I can't dredge up whatever song it was from the depths of my swiss cheese memory.
#22
I'm the daughter of WW2 Vets. (My parents born 1922,had me at 45yrs) Australian. My uncle also KIA over Germany 1942.
I grew up knowing many WW2 vets. Some had been POWs of Japanese. Tortured by them. I always took a keen interest and asked lots of questions and learned heaps off my parents & these people.
My parents taught us a LOT about how it was in those years. What they knew when, the states of minds of people at that time, details about living during that period and the politics of the time.
Both my parents well educated, intelligent people. Not prone to "flights of fancy" or stretching truth etc etc etc.
And as a result of my parents I have studied, read and learned about WW2 era extensively. I believe I am somewhat of minor "expert" of sorts. I know a LOT more then the average punter, from books but also from 1st hand accounts.
So when 25 year olds try to tell me "how it was during WW2"!! I get very freakin annoyed. They will argue about things they know nothing about. It's infuriating.
Image credits: Gracie1994
#23
One thing I’ve found interesting from younger generations recently was the idea that Boomers have always been old and have always been in power politically. Like I’ve heard people talk about events in the 70s and 80s under the assumption that it was the Boomers who controlled everything (or even back to the 60s). Even something like Watergate was supposedly with Boomers in charge. When in reality it was the World War II Greatest Generation like Reagan (and Silents) who dominated politically from the 60s until the 90s (and there were a ton of politicians from those generations that stuck around forever).
Bill Clinton’s win in 1992 was the start of Boomer political power really and it wasn’t until the 00s that they began to truly dominate the Senate. However in the 70s and 80s, Boomers were mostly in their twenties and thirties (or even teens in the 70s). But younger Millenials and Gen Z, barely know about the long dominance of the World War II Generation…they controlled the presidency from JFK to the first Bush, that’s 32 years of the presidency. Younger people today seem to think Baby Boomers were always old and probably never even really knew their great grandparents from the Greatest Gen. Hell, I remember relatives from the Lost Generation born in the 19th century that were still alive when I was a kid in the 80s who remembered World War I. But today all old people have been grouped as “Boomers”.
Image credits: anon
#24
I was chaperoning my daughter’s trip to Washington DC. The Millennial tour guide said he was going to take the kids to see the Challenger Space Shuttle.
Image credits: Ineedzthetube
#25
Can confirm. I was very young but can still clearly remember watching the touchdown on the moon, the first steps, the placing of the American flag…. the whole thing. Even at that young age it was emotional for me. My deep southern home town got to watch some of the truly enormous parts be transported verrrrry slowly on huge trucks right past our house. My dad took photos. They had been manufactured at a nearby site. Before the launch we drove all the way to the launch site and those enormous pieces of equipment we’d seen were now in place. He showed the photos to a NASA guide, the guide recognized the giant parts immediately and enthusiastically pointed them out to us. It was an incredibly cool moment.
Another historic moment was the horrific Challenger disaster. Everyone in the country was so excited and proud for the teacher, Christa McAuliffe, from Concord, New Hampshire, who was selected for and had trained to become a payload specialist on the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-51-L. On the day of the launch the whole world ….. including her husband, children, family, friends, her school, and all her students…. were excitedly watching the broadcast live as the Space Shuttle went up….. and exploded just 1 minute 13 seconds after launch. Unbelievably, they didn’t cut the live feed immediately. It was horrible watching the shuttle disintegrate and fall, knowing there was no possibility of survivors. Just…. horrible.
And one more moment: September 11. We had 2 daughters in basic training at the time, right at the point of graduation. My husband and I both watched live feeds as the planes slammed into those 2 towers. We sobbed as we watched the towers collapse, forever burying those still within them. We watched thousands of people out of their minds with grief, desperately wandering the streets, posting photos and notes, searching for their loved ones.
And through it all, we were totally paralyzed with the fear of absolutely knowing that our two barely 18 year old little girls were going to be caught up in whatever this had been.
All this is to say: Look around and know your audience. If they’re a good bit older than you, you might want to hold up on the faux passion about 9/11….. because many of us lived that s**t and will never get it out of our heads.
Image credits: SkootchDown
#26
Someone was explaining how we had to invade Iraq to find the people who did 9/11. It was just too much for me to even try.
#27
In the same vein - I was chaperoning a trip to Disney and one of the teens confidenty told me The Haunted Mansion ride was based on the movie with Eddie Murphy. She was wondering why Eddie Murphy didn’t appear in the ride. The other Gen Xer I was with explained the ride came first, like Pirates of the Carribean.
Image credits: FuzzyScarf
#28
Listening to people say they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for Hillary because of their completely bogus interpretations of events during Bill C’s presidency. Not fun.
#29
This guy told me I must not actually be Gen X because if I was, I would know that straight guys didn’t buy Milli Vanilli. Crazy
Image credits: CreatrixAnima
#30
I keep getting lectured on how awesome socialism is and how the socialist country I grew up in wasn't really socialist.
Image credits: Pile_of_Walthers
#31
YES! Younger people, kids, and most people in general now, have super easy, fast access to information, right or wrong. They usually don't ask people who've actually lived through it, they just swipe and click and choose the information that is more shocking or in line with whatever ideas they already have about the event.
It's a bit disconcerting. Once that feeling passes, I get annoyed.
#32
Young people idealizing the 70s is a real weird one.
Image credits: _nokturnal_
#33
A thirtysomething (?) accused me (48) of being a twentysomething pretending to be Gen X because I said the style of a photo was more 1970s than 1980s. I did not have the words or motivation to argue.
Image credits: disinterested_a-hole
#34
Or how much better athletes are today. have had some turds on /r/nba tell me that Michael Jordan would just be average today. Shaq can't shoot. The 1980s lakers would not be competitive today.
Image credits: gerd50501
#35
OMG yes. I teach middle school and have had this happen. Kids arguing with me and I’m like “See this little crack in the floorboard? I was literally standing on it RIGHT HERE while watching this happen LIVE on TV.”.
#36
Yeah, definitely. It's like "hol-up Junior." I **personally** remember how that went down, and **you're** full of s**t.
#37
Because of the Batman movie that came out - kids were asking ‘what was Nirvana like?’ and ‘Kurt cobain k*lled himself - that was messed up’???
I try to give context that my understanding is that while people focus on d**g problems - Kurt cobain had actual chronic health issues. Living with that and a demanding life can be torture on mental health.
I think I didn’t want these kids to be like ‘he was emo and did d***s so he k*lled himself’.
Image credits: sdmh77
#38
Like how to pronounce “gif.” We pronounced it “jiff” in 1988, or at least within my circle of nerds. Now I’m told reasons why I’m wrong. I don’t actually care how anyone says it, just don’t come at me with your post-2000 logic saying I’m wrong when I have precedence. And let’s be honest, that person trying to correct me is only saying “giff” because that’s how they first heard it and how *their* friends say it, which is totally fine by me.
Image credits: WhateverGreg
#39
- the HIV epidemic
- 9/11
- **the Iraq war** OMG younger people are insufferable with their Iraq war takes
- the 2000 election.
#40
Woodstock '99.
