http://thefederalist.com/2018/03/01/take...roturfing/

Magic kids in FL are not really all that magical?

Discuss.

Never thought they were, scripted from day one. Shows how quickly the left will move to capitalize on tragedy.

Being used by the left. These kids will be chewed up and spit out before Spring Break is over with nothing to show for. They will magically re-appear about September, stumping for the Democrat nominees and lecturing everybody else about we're all going to hell because we support the NRA. After the mid-terms they will once again be cast aside, having had their 15-30 minutes of fame.

Those kids are going to suffer from being used by the left and the media for a long, long time.

Two weeks? I called it the next day whenever I saw everytown and mom's demand tents in the background of one of their photo ops.

women's march, moveon dot org, and planned parenthood are also involved.

Planned Parenthood? Don't they kill babies? They should ban scalpels, they kill more people than guns.

Any thoughts from the left leaning on this board?

(03-04-2018 11:09 AM)NIUAlum90 Wrote:  Any thoughts from the left leaning on this board?

Doubtful. It's the weekend and there's no late night comedians for them to get their talking points from.

My response is that I'm guessing most of you (at least the ones commenting a lot on this board from the right side of the political spectrum) don't have teen-aged kids.

I have two. Prove me wrong and let me know how many teenagers you have.

None of this surprises me. My kids are so connected into social media, it's scary how much information they can find out in a short time. The problem with most (but not all teenagers) is that they are woefully under-prepared to actually talk to people as they 'talk' to their phones only and not actual people (and when they do talk to friends, it's in code or pretty short phrases, and not particularly well-constructed sentences).

But in Parkland, you have an affluent population and obviously there are some kids who know how to talk in front of a camera and lots of people. Just because they have a few spokeskids who are camera hogs doesn't mean that in general, a great deal of the 18-and-under population is disgusted with some of society's political issues (including gun control and probably some other issues like drugs and/or abortion).

Keep convincing yourself there isn't a movement afoot and the younger generation isn't going to vote out all the conservatives. I think otherwise.

I scanned thru the article and without fully thinking it thru, my gut reaction is so what? Much a do about nothing. I always assumed their were at least adults behind much of the organizing, it would be impossible for teens around the country to coalesce that fast. So I'm not surprised that there were organizers and I don't find it objectionable. People with a cause or a dog in the fight are organized. Nothing wrong with that left or right.
What is unusual though is the fact the right leaning media did not bring it up sooner. Apparently they either didn't see it or did not think it worthy of ink.
The writer seemed pretty balanced to me. It's all about hard work, nothing magical about it. Someone said the kids were going to suffer. That seems a stretch to me, not sure how they are going to suffer.

Basically, another example of making a mountain out of a mole hill. The opposition was organized, had money and took advantage of a situation. Seems to me that's the way it works for both sides.

(03-04-2018 11:27 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  My response is that I'm guessing most of you (at least the ones commenting a lot on this board from the right side of the political spectrum) don't have teen-aged kids.

I have two. Prove me wrong and let me know how many teenagers you have.

None of this surprises me. My kids are so connected into social media, it's scary how much information they can find out in a short time. The problem with most (but not all teenagers) is that they are woefully under-prepared to actually talk to people as they 'talk' to their phones only and not actual people (and when they do talk to friends, it's in code or pretty short phrases, and not particularly well-constructed sentences).

But in Parkland, you have an affluent population and obviously there are some kids who know how to talk in front of a camera and lots of people. Just because they have a few spokeskids who are camera hogs doesn't mean that in general, a great deal of the 18-and-under population is disgusted with some of society's political issues (including gun control and probably some other issues like drugs and/or abortion).

Keep convincing yourself there isn't a movement afoot and the younger generation isn't going to vote out all the conservatives. I think otherwise.

Yeah...about that.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl...b85df67878

Quote:There has been much talk about the Millennial generation being entitled, lazy, and narcissistic. And while Millennials like myself were busy fending off the harsh criticisms and stereotypes constantly flung at our generation, a whole new demographic was slowly emerging from the shadows. Hello, Generation Z! The fiscally responsible, tattoo hating, Republican leaning group, touted by conservatives as their best hope for the future, and as the antithesis of Millennials.

Quote:According to research, Gen Z is more individualistic, more conservative both socially and fiscally, and they’re already making waves of impact on our political system. Gen Z, those born in 1995 or later, is possibly the most conservative generation since World War II, and it is worrying that their impact has been completely overlooked during this election. While our fears might be preemptive, we should not make the mistake of disregarding the intriguing yet also possibly worrying world views of Generation Z.

Oftentimes Millennials have been criticized for being notoriously liberal, but it looks like the generation right behind us has completely rebelled. A U.K. Study at The Gild did a survey of almost 2,000 adults and found that on issues like gay marriage, marijuana legalization, transgender rights, and even tattoos, 59% of Gen Z respondents described their views as ‘conservative’ and ‘moderate’.

This is a radical change from 83% Millennials and 85% of Gen X who state that their views are ‘quite’ or ‘very liberal’ on those same issues. What’s worrying is that given their more conservative leanings, Gen Z was not taken into account during this election, even though for many of them it was their first. Younger generations are famous for being liberal, therefore we mistakenly assumed that Gen Z would vote Democratic. But studies show that Gen Z’s views closely resemble those of Libertarian or Moderate Republicans, and that they related with Donald Trump on issues like national security and job creation.

That's one ladies' opinion. She's entitled to her opinion but I'm sure I can find several examples of other young 'experts' in the field who feel completely the opposite.

But I can tell you without trying to find contrasting opinions quite yet, that my brother is a high school teacher here in Houston for a high school in a neighborhood which is affluent and fairly conservative in nature. He estimates that roughly 90 percent of the high school 'hates' Trump (or at least has a very negative opinion of him). Even though my guess is that Trump got the majority of votes from those kids' parents.

Again, I'd like to hear how many of you have teen-aged children.

(03-04-2018 12:06 PM)smudge12 Wrote:  (in response to Kaplony)^^^ It really depends on the situation. The issues Europe as a whole are having are quite different the problems we're having at home, so I can see why Gen Z members there may lean more conservative.

Business Insider wrote about a recent study on Gen Z in America. They found them as liberal as Millenials, but even less patriotic, less capitalistic, and less optimistic. However, they were more likely to embrace diversity and of course, were much more in-tune with technology.

http://www.businessinsider.com/generatio...ile-2017-9

It's anecdotal, but I've literally yet to meet one conservative Gen Z member (however, I live in a liberal area). But if they're counting themselves as conservative, it's certainly not in the traditional sense.

I'm the opposite. I've yet to meet a Gen Z member who is liberal. With two Gen Z sons I've been around a bunch of them. Even one of my nephews, who lives with his ultra-liberal "Feel the Bern" mother, is pretty dang conservative.

My Gen Z son and all of his friends are very conservative.

It's the only reason I have any hope for the future of this country.

Is FBO ever, not wrong?

(03-04-2018 11:27 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  My response is that I'm guessing most of you (at least the ones commenting a lot on this board from the right side of the political spectrum) don't have teen-aged kids.

I have two. Prove me wrong and let me know how many teenagers you have.

None of this surprises me. My kids are so connected into social media, it's scary how much information they can find out in a short time. The problem with most (but not all teenagers) is that they are woefully under-prepared to actually talk to people as they 'talk' to their phones only and not actual people (and when they do talk to friends, it's in code or pretty short phrases, and not particularly well-constructed sentences).

But in Parkland, you have an affluent population and obviously there are some kids who know how to talk in front of a camera and lots of people. Just because they have a few spokeskids who are camera hogs doesn't mean that in general, a great deal of the 18-and-under population is disgusted with some of society's political issues (including gun control and probably some other issues like drugs and/or abortion).

Keep convincing yourself there isn't a movement afoot and the younger generation isn't going to vote out all the conservatives. I think otherwise.

Got two myself, well one just had the 20th a week+ ago, so I officially only have one now but...

I don’t disagree with you on the socially connected stuff, but both were also very involved in real people interactions, clubs varsity athletics etc., that HAD to learn how to interact well in a REAL sense, with real people, face to face.

As to your last assumption, I’ve got one that is quite tuned into the politics, current events and perhaps going into that field, strong conservative.
One that leans further left and is already very active as such, helping found the young democrat club at school, then being secretary/treasurer... But want to be a writer or creative director for film, print, theater, something. Freshman in College, so still searching a bit.

So, IOW’s, a50/50 split. Where have we seen that before?

My Gen Z daughter is in her last semester of college (liberal Ohio University). She scoffs at the beliefs of the majority of her professors and tolerates their opinions, viewing it as the necessity it is to finish her education and get her degree.

Its been a liberal fantasy for many decades they the younger generation would push out conservatives once and for all. They thought it was a done deal back in the late 60's. Yet Nixon won twice and then the Reagan revolution came in the 1980's.

Never seems to work out for them.

Youth=liberal, old=conservative. Always has been, probably always will be.

(03-04-2018 07:09 PM)Old Dominion Wrote:  Youth=liberal, old=conservative. Always has been, probably always will be.

Except for the fact that today's youth have the ability to see the destructive nature of liberal policies in real time via the internet.