Harger: Once again, Gen X is left out of current political landscape
Jul 30, 2024, 7:14 AM
Left: Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican Vice Presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). Right: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo: Win McNamee, Kenny Holston-Pool, Getty Images)
(Photo: Win McNamee, Kenny Holston-Pool, Getty Images)
Alright, let’s dive into the latest episode of “Gen X Gets Ghosted Again.” In the soap opera of American politics, Boomers and Millennials take center stage, while Generation X is once again relegated to the background, like the sensible middle child nobody remembers to invite to dinner.
As your friendly news guy who wants to keep you informed about the world around you, I try to avoid heavy political topics in my commentary. My goal is to provide you with objective facts, perhaps with a little snark, so you can be the most informed person at the construction site, office, school or wherever you spend your day.
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So, I’m going to wade into this one carefully. It’s about the presidential race, and the most Gen-X thing ever is happening right now. Yes, our generation — the latchkey kids who came home to watch actual videos on MTV after school — is getting forgotten again, and it is so on-brand for us.
Here’s where it gets political, or at least political-adjacent: President Biden is actually older than a Boomer. Demographers call him a member of the Silent Generation. Former President Trump is a Boomer — born in 1946. Boomers are generally defined by demographers as Americans born between 1946 and 1964. That means Vice President Harris, who was born on October 20, 1964, is technically a Boomer, not Generation X.
Gen X stretches from 1965 to 1980. Now let me look at my calendar — oh yeah, there’s Senator J.D. Vance, the Republican nominee for Vice President. Born August 2, 1984. I’ll say that again. 1984. Vance isn’t a Gen Xer, he’s a Millennial.
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So, once again, Gen X is left out, even in the national election. If Vance becomes vice president, our generation could be skipped in the White House lineup. By this point, we’re used to being the overlooked middle child of generations.
But here’s the thing about Generation X — we might find this interesting, but we’re probably not going to get too worked up over it. After all, we’re the generation that perfected the art of watching “Saved By The Bell” while microwaving a Hot Pocket and wondering why the video store never had our favorite movie in stock. Getting overlooked? Just another day in the life of Gen X.
Charlie Harger is the News Director for MyNorthwest.com and KIRO Newsradio
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