Aside from boomers that are literally regressive and are still actively voting for the worst humans available... I don't think generational hatred is really a thing anymore. All my fellow Millennials joke about the weird shit you do (as did we), but actual judgement and condemnation? Naw, it's just not there, IMO. We're all in this together...
Take comfort in the fact that everyone who hated Elvis didn't change their minds, they just got old and died. No one thinks Elvis is literally the devil anymore.
Eventually people who fawn after and put up with billionaires will eventually get old and die, falling into the minority and become forgotten.
I mean, I know I'm raining on an already pretty despairing post, here, in times that very well do lend themselves to despair, but that sentiment has been around as long as I've been alive and I'd bet good money decades longer. It's probably one of those sentiments that's as old as people.
But no one (or at least, comparatively very few) was rewarded for hating Elvis. He hasn't been a thing in a long time. Same with any other risque entertainer that was also satan, they fall by the wayside after everyone gets bored. People are rewarded very well when they bend over for billionaires. As long as sociopathy is rewarded, there will always be rampant sociopathy.
I'm not saying it's so ingrained that there's no point in fighting it -- forcibly changing the culture is of the utmost importance, especially now. But that sentiment, the battle plan can't just be "wait around and it will work itself out." It's not like billionaires either of the actual or the temporarily embarrassed sort don't have kids. I'm starting to see that's the fatal flaw the more liberal-minded seem to have. It's like we believe so hard that everyone is inherently good and that things will work out in the end that we never bother to make a move. It's the death of us.
Fair. I was also actively wondering whether people found smoke more annoying than vapor or if it's all around the same level of inconvenience. I thought vaping was a bit more polite since the odor doesn't stick around as long.
This sort of thing may be the ultimate fun time for them, and they may have just wanted to give you what they see as the ultimate fun time, but it's not that for you. It's okay that different people like different recreational things, and sometimes people with their hearts in the right place still need to be reminded of that fact. So, you can be gracious about the gift but keep this writeup.
When this is over, you can politely thank your parents for the gift and say no more if you want. But if they press the issue and genuinely want to know how you felt about it, if they really want you to be honest, you could tell them what you've just told us. If in the future they invite you to another cruise and give you any guff about taking no for an answer, tell them what you told us. You can still express gratitude that they gave you the chance to give this a fair shake, and politely decline repeating the experience. "I tried and it's just not for me" is a valid takeaway from this, both for you and for them.
I got told shit like “you’re getting a free vacation” and “how many opportunities like this are you going to get” and “we tried our best to accommodate you.”
"Yes, and it must really not be our thing if we are saying no to all of that."
Sometimes you need to pick a position and dig in your heels. Even when they start pushing and you start doubting yourself you can remember that you already made your choice...but not so easy when something is just suddenly thrown at you and you don't get an opportunity to think on it first.
A lot of the experiences you described sound a lot like stuff I deal with. Have you ever been tested for autism?
One time, I received a message from some mods that I had been permabanned and muted from some random sub where I barely participated. I had been banned because I made a comment in a thread I found in r/all. Apparently the thread was from a differen sub dedicated to some kind of bigotry, and making a single comment calling them bigots was enough to get me auto banned from an unrelated sub.
That was years ago, and I don't think it's gotten any better.
I'm 36 years old and I would buy a new guitar hero with all the instruments in a heart beat if they camw out with a refresh non corporate greed version.
Hey man. I saw your multiple posts. I can't pretend to help you in any way. I'm just a third world shiposter 10,000 km away. But I at least read your posts and I acknowledge you made them. Kia kaha.
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