Major developments are unfolding in Los Angeles as federal forces respond to growing unrest. ICE operations, National Guard deployments, and reports of Marines on standby have raised serious questions about the future of law enforcement and national security policy. In this episode, I break down the facts, public reactions, political responses, and what this may signal for the rest of the country. ? Get the full situational awareness toolkit: GrayMan2 Protocol — Urban survival tactics, digital evasion, and counter-surveillance methods for uncertain times. ? https://blackscoutsurvival.com/gray-man-protocol-volume-2-urban-survival-counter-surveillance-escape-evasion-digital-download-instant-access/ Whether you’re preparing for emergencies or want to understand how to move unnoticed in complex environments, this is critical training. — ? COMMENT: Do you think we’re heading toward increased federal presence in major cities? ? FOLLOW: IG: @blackscoutsurvival Site: blackscoutsurvival.com Join the email list for exclusive briefings. #UrbanPreparedness #SituationalAwareness #GrayManProtocol #EmergencyPreparedness #BlackScoutSurvival #LAUnrest #CrisisResponse #nationalguard Join OUR TRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4YOBmzRey4X3lLCjhw3UaQ/join GAS Mask: https://parcilsafety.com/?rfsn=7244284.e8af67 25% Code: Black_Scout MIRA Safety GAS MASK: https://alnk.to/4BE5unD BLACKSCOUT10 for 10% off Buy OUR GEAR: http://www.blackscoutsurvival.com Brands WE TRUST: Turkesterone (Muscle Builder): (Code BLACKSCOUT 5% OFF) https://blackforestsupplements.com/?sca_ref=2031590.7J8c42Pvb2 MAKE A YOUTUBE STREAM JUST LIKE THIS: https://streamyard.com/pal/c/4521604491771904 BSS Tactical Light: https://amzn.to/4dgQC3x ANTIBIOTICS-Here is the link to Jase Medical: https://www.jasemedical.com/blackscoutsurvival Twitter: @Black_Scout Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Scout-Survival/664083850312780?ref=br_tf Instagram: http://instagram.com/blackscoutsurvival

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UTL COMMENT:- Australian political satire. This guy is always good. He does seem to think that Jews are a victim of Albanese which is concerning - otherwise funny... MERCH HERE!!!: https://dangerdan.com.au/ Support me here: Better value than the ABC. My Patreon / itsdangerdan Shout me a beer https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dangerdan #albanese #ChrisBowen #Australia #dangerdanger

Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) and Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) only have a handful of years between them. But if you ask them, they were raised worlds apart. In an online forum discussing generational differences, a member named @No_Title_615 posed the question: "Why are Gen Z so much different to Millennials?" They went on to share, "So I grew up during the 2000’s and 2010’s and as a society I felt like we were honestly in a really good place culturally. However as we entered the 2020’s I felt a big shift in society." The shift? A noticed change in overall optimism to pessimism. "Suddenly there was so much more doomerism. The optimism of the 2010’s pretty much went away," they wrote. The post prompted many Gen Zers and Millennials to add their thoughts and opinions about their differences growing up--and they did not hold back. From societal norms to technology and more, here are the most interesting responses from Gen Z and Millennials."Millennials grew up and learned the internet and technology as it was happening whereas GenZ will utter phrases like “wtf do you mean, no internet?” at some point in their lives." —@Quiet-Donut2192"I feel like the optimism of the 2010s was more an Obama 2nd term thing than an all of the 2010s thing." —@Someperson727"Millennials had dial up internet. And a life before that internet was created." —@grom513 Dial Up The Struggle GIF Giphy "The way that I see it, is that the 2010’s were right after the housing crash, and ppl became more optimistic, going to clubs more and such. However, post-COVID, I feel after that crisis, music I particular seems to be getting better. After a social crisis, the music seems to reflect the feelings that everyone is feeling. Then afterwards, a couple of years or so, the music becomes more uplifting and even reflective. This is the period that we’re in, imo. Hope this makes sense." —@Maxi-Lux"9/11 and COVID were large reasons that separate Gen Z and Millennials. Millennials had an understanding of what life was like before 9/11, not Gen Z. Millennials had a taste of the workforce before COVID, not Gen Z. Gen Z grew up and faced adulthood in the midst of crisises, Millennials had the taste of the normal life before it got taken away." —@XConejoMaloX Add Hasan Minhaj GIF by MOODMAN Giphy "Smartphones changed everything. My upbringing was largely the same as millenials, but when smartphones started getting popular, everyone I knew got busy, cold, and distant. I'd try having conversations with people and they'd just stare at their phones the whole time. I think constant internet access has left people fragmented, with our heads in the clouds. You could live right next to each other but have nothing in common, because everything is online now." —@OnTheRadio3"I say this all the time and frequently get a lot of flack for it but the doomerism is a byproduct of inexperience. People who spend most of their time online or in videogames or otherwise rotting away alone at home aren’t gaining much in the way of life experience but they don’t want to come off to others (or themselves) as naive, sheltered, etc. so they adopt this kind of idiotic cynicism to stand in for the wisdom of experience. Others see this and basically copy it because if you don’t know better then it sounds very worldly and jaded. Gen Z exhibits this due to the isolation and terminally online nature of their upbringing." —@Woodit dance party everyday im shufflin GIF Giphy "Gen Z refused to Party Rock." —@One_Huckleberry_"Millennials had access to the world’s information without it being algorithmically weaponized against them during their formative years." —@Messiah_Thomas"We know what it’s like to not have the internet or phones on us 24/7. Also we know what it’s like to play outside and be bored to our core." —User Unknown Play Go GIF Giphy "I mean bruh, 2020 literally started off with a pandemic, it’s not the best reference point to go off of plus we are only halfway through our current decade. I think nostalgia for happier/youthful times is playing a part in warping your perspective. There’s a lot of factors though, Gen Z as a whole has been disenfranchised by a feeling of lack of purpose and bad financial prospects. It’s not something I’d arbitrarily chalk down to our generation as a whole, but rather the material conditions of our modern day environment and things happening beyond our control. For most of us, we were hit by the Covid lockdowns right after or during high school so key years of our youth got utterly fucked and what came after was bitter sweet. Things got a hell of a lot more expensive in the last few years and wages aren’t sufficiently rising to keep up with inflation. so that plays a huge part. More youth are realizing the contradictions and flaws within our economic system and yearn for change. Tough times can create a lot of animosity and frustration in people." —@Triscuitsandbiscuits"I wonder if the fact that there was a global pandemic had anything to do with decreasing levels of optimism." —@AdMurky3039 Jimmy Fallon Dancing GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Giphy "Internet, YouTube, Tik Tok. Constantly exposed to what we would have considered bad influences before." —@Electrical-Lead-3792"We had an incredible upbringing. Music was great, the state of the world was great (besides 9/11). Pop culture was great. Everything was just getting better and better. Movies, games, phones, internet, cars getting cooler and cooler, buildings getting cooler and cooler. People getting cooler. And we learned almost everything through experiences, socializing, mentorships, taking advice, listening to our elders, asking questions, experimenting, arguing, challenging ourselves, breaking ourselves down, lifting ourselves up, and figuring what this world means to us. While the new generation, the minute they’re unsure about something they run to ChatGPT. They don’t take risks. They don’t argue anything, the right opinion is the most popular or upvoted. They’re not insightful. They don’t value perspective. And everything is as good as it gets for them. Different times. We were like the roaring twenties before 1929 happened." —@SasukesFriend321

It’s a little tricky to determine how many Americans live paycheck to paycheck because the term is vague. Some people, who have plenty of money in savings, say they live paycheck to paycheck because they spend all of their money before their next check arrives. However, they make ample contributions to their savings accounts and are in good financial shape. Others genuinely spend every dime they make and have very little savings to deal with an emergency.How many Americans live paycheck to paycheck?The Federal Reserve found that 54% of Americans have emergency savings to cover three months of expenses, and Bankrate found that, while 59% of Americans are uncomfortable with their level of emergency savings, 34% are living paycheck to paycheck. According to CNN, the paycheck-to-paycheck problem isn’t getting any better. The drastic increase in the cost of living since the pandemic has a growing number of people living paycheck to paycheck. A Reddit user recently tried to understand why so many people in the wealthiest country on Earth are financially stretched thin. A couple who needs financial help. via Canva/PhotosWhy are Americans living paycheck to paycheck?“At first glance, it seems obvious: people just don’t make enough money, right? But the more I read and the more conversations I had, the more I realized that income is only one piece of a much bigger puzzle,” they wrote. “For a lot of Americans, the real issue is a mix of rising living costs, debt, and—most importantly—a lack of financial education. Most of us aren’t taught how to manage money. We don’t learn how to budget, save, plan for emergencies, or even think long term. Schools rarely touch on it, and if our families didn’t model strong financial habits, we’re basically thrown into adulthood without a map. So people just figure it out as they go — often by trial and error. And when that ‘error’ is maxing out a credit card or missing rent, the consequences are heavy.”Over 1,100 people shared why they’ve lived paycheck to paycheck. It’s sad to see so many people struggling, but it paints a clear picture of a complex problem. We collected 13 of the best responses to the question: “What is the main cause of Americans living paycheck to paycheck?”13 reasons why Americans are living paycheck to paycheck1. One emergency to the next"Bills. Lord help you if you don’t have dental insurance and need root canals. Which will always be followed by car repairs or home maintenance. There goes the emergency savings account.""THIS !!! I was just starting to feel good! Caught up on bills, saving for emergencies, finally contributing to my retirement then a random light flashes on my Car dashboard. There goes all the emergency money I built up ………sigh it’s just always something."2. Scarcity mindset"For me it is largely scarcity mindset from a childhood of poverty. I learned that money doesn't stick around. If you have $100 then you need to spend it on what it needs to go to or something else will 'eat it.' Some fee, or unexpected cost will always be around the corner, and there is never enough money to do everything, so spending us constantly triage.""This is 100% the difference in the mindset of poor people and rich people. Poor people think of money as just something to spend. Rich people think of it as something to accumulate and put to work for themselves." A couple looking at bills/via Canva/Photos3. The system sets people up"The overall system sets people up for becoming interest and profit generators for wealth holders of all kinds. The power is completely lopsided, and the rules are set up to deliberately turn customers into cash machines. Regular folks aren't equipped to protect themselves from it, thanks to taboos around talking openly about money and finances as well as the finance industry's slick bait, hook, and land tactics."4. Car payments"Sooo many people buying waaaaay too much car. Everyone needs a huge luxury SUV for their three-person family, apparently. Or a giant truck because they're towing once a year. What makes it even worse is that those more expensive cars have more expensive maintenance and repairs and tires and gas bills. You also see people do this with houses. So many posts from people trying to justify buying a much larger house than they need and trying to make the financials with. 'How much house can I afford?' instead of 'how much house do it really need?'"5. The rent is too high"Rent has gone thru the roof and in order to get approved to live anywhere or buy your own home, you need to make 3x the rent. The grocery list that would cost you $50 5 years ago now costs you $100. God forbid you have a medical problem.""I was going to say it's primarily rent and groceries for a lot of folks. Rent is really high a lot of places for pretty basic dwellings." A woman who has run out of money.via Canva/Photos6. Paycheck to paycheck is a broad term"Because there is no standard definition of paycheck to paycheck. A lot of people who live 'paycheck to paycheck' have a ton of deductions for things like 401k and IRA along with spending on non essentials like expensive car payments, private schools, etc.""This is a good point. I considered myself 'paycheck to paycheck' because (and I'm working on changing this) I literally get my account to 0 before each paycheck. Yes, that's after 401k, savings, paying off debt, and other luxuries like getting my nails done and steaming services. But you make a good point that if I locked in and cut all "extra" I would not be paycheck to paycheck in the slightest. Compared to growing up where when my mom paid most of the bills, we would have like $3 left for anything else. That's paycheck to paycheck."7. Constant emergencies"If emergency items stopped happening, I could actually save something. Medical bills, dental bills, car repairs, home repairs, just when we get a bit saved it goes to something else.""Every. Single. Time. And it’s always the exact amount that I have in my savings." A woman who has no money.via Canva/Photos8. Healthcare costs"For me it’s healthcare that makes me live paycheck to paycheck. I have had two random emergency surgeries in the last 3 years. With a 10k deductible on my health insurance I’m 20k in debt and having to make $400 payments per month on it on top of my $490 a month premium. Before that first surgery I was debt free and doing ok. I have now accumulated about $5000 on a card too just trying to keep up with bills.""I paid 20% of my take home pay for insurance. Then I pay another 10 to 20% for medical expenses to keep my disabled husband alive. So 1/3 of my income goes towards medical expenses. That's the problem and I can't do anything about it. I have super premium insurance at my job which pays terribly. If I got another job, it might not cover some of the things my husband needs or I might have to work so much that I would have to pay a caregiver."9. Cost of living is too high"Never being in a position where you are ahead of all the bills. A person makes $30 an hour, works 20-30 hours of overtime, had a $600-1000 car payment, rent is probably $1500-2000 per mo., electricity bill $140 per mo. month, car insurance $120 per mo. Gas $140 per mo. Phone bill $150 per mo. Food $500-1000 per mo."10. Living high on the hog"I’ll take a differing take here then a lot of comments and agree with OP that financial habits are often very poor. I work in a field that has a lot of pretty high income earners in a MCOL city (>80k starting)."I see a ton of people who complain about being broke that do a lot of the followingOrder out, especially with apps like DoorDash becoming ubiquitous, they are a massive cost and are well hidden enough that people miss it. Like upping the price of the menu items, most people don’t know the price of the food if you ordered in the restaurant.Cars, both too much car, but also frequently trading vehicles in. Cars have gotten a lot better in the past decade but there is no way I’m trading in my vehicle when it’s paid off, as long as it’s reliable. Safety features would be nice, but not at that significant of a net worth hit.Not putting away money for retirement, even with company matches. Company matches are a huge free return on your investments. Paying more now means paying much less later.General luxuries, I had a coworker state she didn’t match her 401k because she couldn’t afford it, but later said she had very very expensive kitchenware. Lifestyle creep is real, and we are all susceptible to it.There is a large element to the economy that is completely out of one’s control, but to take all personal responsibility out of the equation misses a big chunk of why we are in such a massive boom and bust with personal debt." A couple arguing over money.via Canva/Photos11. Starbucks"I know you’re being half-hyperbolic, but I had a coworker who spent well over $100 on Starbucks in the morning and takeout/delivery for lunch every week. She was always complaining about money being tight. I’m not a cheapskate by any means, but I’m sure as hell not spending nearly $20 for some shitty meal from Panera delivered by DoorDash when I can pack my own lunch for like $3."12. Consumerism"My opinion as an outsider who moved here two years ago from the UK. Seems like money and work work work seems to be the focal point and consumerism is HUGE out here with a lot of waste. Maybe it's the social circle I'm in but it seems like people also spend silly throwing more than what they can afford on loans and cars etc."13. Daycare"For me, it is a daycare costs. We have to pay $720 a week for 2 kids in a standard daycare. We did not live paycheck to paycheck before having kids."

Most of us understand the concept of measuring intelligence through testing like IQ exams. What are our cognitive abilities? How well do we retain information? But the idea of measuring emotional intelligence—now that's a different story.On their website, Yale University says motional intelligence (EQ or EI) is "what gives us the ability to read our instinctive feelings and those of others. It also allows us to understand and label emotions as well as express and regulate them," according to Marc Brackett, Ph.D., founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.The term "emotional intelligence" has become a bit of a buzzword in the last three decades. This is because, even though the idea has been around for a while, it was made quite popular in the mid-90s by psychologist Daniel Goleman in a book called Emotional Intelligence – Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.So the question is: how can we learn to implement the traits of highly emotionally intelligent people? Goleman himself shares the tips and tricks that any of us can learn on YouTube's Big Think channel. - YouTube www.youtube.com, BigThink Channel He explains that one's EQ is "a combination of self-awareness, managing your emotions well, empathy, tuning into other people, and putting that all together to have harmonious or effective relationships."Broken down into four domains—"self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management,"—Goleman begins with the broader strokes:1. Self-AwarenessJust the concept of self-awareness alone, he notes, has been around for centuries. He specifically quotes the famous Socrates notion of "Know thyself," which truly is the crux of the idea. "Self-awareness means you know what you're feeling, you know how it shapes your perceptions and your thoughts and impulses to act," says Goleman.2. Self-ManagementGoleman asks, "When you're upset, when you're angry, when you're anxious, can you manage your emotions? Can you keep them from disrupting your focus on what you have to do right now?"3. Social AwarenessHow empathetic are you? "You not only know how a person thinks and how they feel–you care about them. This is what you want in your parents. This is what you want in your spouse." (He goes on to list "lover, friend, teacher, doctor, leaders of any kind.")4. Relationship ManagementThis refers to how well you can handle conflicts with others. He asks, "Are you being an effective communicator?" The good news, Goleman tells us, is that EQ is "learned and learnable at any point in life." A woman leans in to listen. Giphy, Interested Go On, Schitt's Creek 1) Learn to listenWe so often, Goleman explains, "think about what we want to say and don't really listen to the other person. We cut them off. We interrupt." But if you want to increase your EQ points, "this is the basis of empathy–listening well.""So if you want to learn to be better at empathy, you might say, 'My habit is cutting people off and interrupting. I'm gonna make the effort to do it differently. I'm gonna listen to the person out. Say what I think they mean and THEN say what I think.'"Someone may ask how that could be done? Goleman tells us our brains can actually change in terms of neuroplasticity, after repeated behaviors. Change the behavior, change the mind."That’s what it’s like to change a habit. So with listening, you have to, at first make an intentional effort. It might feel uncomfortable. But as you persist, it gets more and more comfortable until finally, it’s an automatic habit that will stay with you for years."2) Look to leaders you admire and mimic themAn interesting question Goleman likes asking his readers and audiences is, "Tell me about a leader you've loved and a leader you hate, and tell me one quality that makes a leader so good or so bad." He goes on to explain the leader you love most likely is high in emotional intelligence. "Research at the Yale School of Management has found that emotions are contagious, and they’re most contagious from the leader outward. The leader is most often the center of strong emotions, either negative or positive."Part of what makes a great leader is the regulation of those emotions. Once you start regulating your emotions and reactivity, you can emulate the leaders you find inspiring.On the @riseandconquer Instagram page, they note that having emotional intelligence isn't akin to "being Zen" all the time. "It's how you respond." See on Instagram 3) Reach out to people with kindness. It will be contagious. Make People feel loved written on a wall Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash Goleman tells an inspiring story about a bus ride he once took in Manhattan wherein the bus driver was above and beyond friendly. People, he said, would arrive grumpily "in their own bubble" and seemingly leave in a better mood."Years later, I saw an article in The New York Times about that bus driver. His name, it turned out, was Govan Brown. He had fans. People would wait for his bus. He got three thousand letters saying what a great bus driver he was, not one complaint....He had a purpose that was far greater than that of the New York Transit Authority, which is something like getting as many people to where they want to go on time as we can. He had a splendid sense of what he was doing. It gave a greater meaning to what he did, and he did it superbly."Any of us can choose to do this at any time. Again, the more we change our behavior, the more our thoughts will change leading to, you guessed it, a higher EQ.Goleman reiterates, "I’ve always felt that the more emotional intelligence in society, the better. I think we would have parents who are more effective in raising kids, who are kinder. We’d have more compassion for each other in our interactions with friends and loved ones as well as with strangers. I think we would care more about the environment, which is why I’ve been happy to be a kind of evangelist for emotional intelligence, if you will. I’m not the originator of the phrase. I think I made it more famous.I just think it would make a better world."

I hardly ever watch the news on television, especially not for the weather. It's just so much easier to pick up my phone and check Google or The Weather Channel. I just want to know how warm it's going to be or how likely it is to rain. These days, I can find that out in about 10 seconds and go about my day.But when there's potential danger—hurricanes, storms that might knock out the power of topple over trees, tornado warnings, or threats of ice and snow—my trusty local meteorologist or weatherman is always there. All of that said, I've never once considered that I might not be able to get my weather forecast from either source, at least not accurately. It's 2025—our weather modeling should be better than ever, state of the art, right?John Morales, a meteorologist and hurricane specialist with NBC6 in South Florida, was reporting on an upcoming storm when he suddenly shifted gears, right in the middle of the broadcast. Without good data, we can't accurately predict the paths of hurricanes. Photo by NASA on Unsplash Morales explains that in his 34 years of presenting the weather, he's always been able to confidently tell his viewers when a hurricane might hit, or when it might turn away. He's always been able to stand behind his data, modeling, and forecast in order to help protect the people of South Florida."I am here to tell you that I am not sure I can do that this year."Why? "Because of the cuts, the gutting, the sledgehammer attack on science in general."Morales then pulled up a graphic instead of his usual weather map. It laid out some stark realities about severe understaffing of the National Weather Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Between brutal layoffs, employees accepting the recent DOGE buyout, and straight-up resignations, the agencies responsible for collecting weather data have lost hundreds and hundreds of valuable experts.He also explained that due to federal government budget cuts, there's been a sizeable decrease in weather balloon launches across the country. Weather balloons are instruments that take crucial measurements of the upper atmosphere and send data that helps with forecasting. With less data available, and lower quality data, Morales say that "the quality of forecasts is becoming degraded."That's a pretty scary thought, especially in a place like South Florida. What do you do when your local meteorologist can't predict what a powerful hurricane will do next?"This is a multi-generational impact on science in this country," Morales warns.Watch his passionate plea here: — (@) Almost nine million people viewed the powerful clip on X. It was reshared over 26,000 times. Morales' message is definitely getting the attention it deserves.It's not just the National Weather Service that's bleeding. In the name of efficiency, The White House has slashed budgets at the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and more. Trimming the federal budget sounds well and good until you realize that we won't be making any major cancer breakthroughs any time soon without funding the research. And we won't be able to protect people from hurricanes and tornadoes without complete weather data.(And yes, even the Weather app on your iPhone needs a database to pull from.)Meanwhile, we're spending $1 trillion—yes, trillion— per year on our military. This is the anti-science, anti-expert sentiment Morales is talking about. It's been building for years and is just now coming to a head in the worst way.We still need meteorologists and weather experts like Morales. We still need scientists. We still need human scientists and experts that can compile and read maps like this one. Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash ChatGPT can pull weather data from Google and tell you if there's going to be a thunderstorm, but can it tell you when the data behind that forecast is incomplete or unreliable? That's the reality we're facing right now, and we might not know the forecast isn't reliable until it's too late in some cases.TV weathermen who live in our communities and can put crucial context behind the weather and help keep us safe still matter. Not only that, but they are ambassadors for science, and they still have a big platform in many communities around the country. Morales is making sure he makes the most of his.

Generation X, typically the children of Baby Boomers born between the years of 1965-1980 tend to have a complicated reputation depending on who you ask. Some view them as a feral generation never to be spoken of poorly without consequence, while others view them as innovators pushing us into the future. But in recent years, Gen Xers have been dubbed the "worst grandparents" by social media users.This multi-year conversation started when a video went viral calling Gen X out for being "terrible" grandparents, claiming that they never want to help with grandchildren. It didn't take long before other Millennials piled on to air their own grievances about Gen X grandparents. Most people criticizing the "new grandparents" were genuinely perplexed as to how they did not want to be more involved in the lives of their grandchildren. Family baking fun in the kitchen.Photo credit: CanvaKylie Muse reveals in a video that she felt neglected by her Gen X parents growing up, saying, "It's quite a common theme for Gen X parents to be neglectful in some capacity and it's just crazy to me how more of them haven't learned from the past 20 to 30 years, instead of these grandparents seeing their kids having kids as an opportunity to restore the health in their relationships with their kids by showing up and helping them during the hardest transition of their lives, they would rather double down and compromise their relationship with that next generation. All for the sake of hyper-individualism and pride." @kylies.muse Gen x grandparents and their beloved empty nest ? just say you hate having a family ? #grandparents #grandparentsoftiktok ♬ original sound - Kylie ꩜ The critique coming from the younger generation is not lost on Gen X, and they started coming out in force to respond with such vigor you'd think John Hughes had just announced the re-release of The Breakfast Club. It would seem that some of the people complaining of the lack of involvement have not considered that Gen X could have valid reasons for not immediately jumping in to take on grandparenting in the way some expect. A man by the name of John S. Blake gives a candid look into why Gen X was neglected as children and, in turn, became hype-independent at an early age."As a Gen X who's been on this earth long enough to have some hindsight I can tell you this, being independent at a young age is not a flex, what it actually means is capitalism is so brutal that our parents were forced to neglect their own children to stay alive. My generation was struggling so much that we had to leave our children unattended in order to produce enough so that we could afford to exist," Blake says. @blackfluidpoet Replying to @ellens0061 #foryoupage #homealone #fyp #foryou ♬ Slippin' - Re-Recorded - DMX But perhaps one of the most heart wrenching explanations comes from an elder Millennial who goes by the name Amazing Dea. In response to another Millennial who asks about Gen X being let off the hook, Dea shares, "Being as though you look like you might be a younger Millennial, let me go ahead and enlighten you. Generation X and older Millennials had to live through more than just this pandemic. We had the crack epidemic, we had the AIDS epidemic and let me tell you something, it was scary as f***." Dea went on to explain that there were apartment complexes burned due to high populations of people with AIDS living in them and how they would witness people go from being completely normal to being addicted to crack in a matter of weeks. It seems that depending on socioeconomic status, Gen Xers lived wildly different lives with the common theme being growing up entirely too fast at an extremely young age. Three generations smiling by the sea.Photo credit: CanvaAnother person kindly breaks down the confusion over why Gen X isn't rising to the occasion of being award-winning grandparents. In response to the criticism she replies, "We grew up in a different time, first of all. A lot of us, meaning me, Gen X, I was raised by boomers. A lot of us did not get raised by our grandparents. We were like the feral kids, like by 7 and 9 years old we were actually babysitting our brothers and sisters, alright."The woman explains further in the video that Gen X doesn't want to raise their grandchildren or simply be babysitters, that there's a difference between expecting grandparents to be involved and expecting them to be babysitters. @that1crazy72 Let’s take it a step further. You share DNA with your grandkids they are part of you not everyone gets the privilege of being a grandparent so if you are one take that as a blessing #genxgrandparents ♬ original sound - That1crazy72 In many of the response videos shared by Gen Xers, they certainly seem to love their grandchildren and children alike, but there's a discrepancy in expectation. The consensus of the forgotten generation seems to be that they had adult responsibilities much too early, were exposed to adult life experiences at a young age, and were often left to their own devices for long periods of time while also being told that their voices didn't matter. While the argument seems to be around their lack of involvement as grandparents, they appear to be saying that they want to enjoy the freedom they didn't have as children, while being valued as a person and not a babysitter. In many follow up videos, Gen Xers gushed over their grandchildren and how they loved when they were around. It's just that they draw the line at raising them. Maybe for some, their experiences with their own childhood isn't enough to move Gen X out of the "worst grandparents" category, but for others it provides much needed context.