Juggling With EggsMar 8

I remember reading John Lanchester’s Whoops! in 2010 and thinking this guy actually gets what the financial crash was really about.

Reading his piece today about inter generational conflict, I find him a slightly defensive boomer (mostly around gender) but otherwise he’s spot on again.

He skewers:

- house prices
- pensions
- quantitative easing
- Brexit

https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2026/mar/08/did-baby-boomers-eat-all-pies-john-lanchester-truth-generation-gap

Did baby boomers eat all the pies? John Lanchester on the truth about the generation gap

It’s a grim time to be in your 20s, no doubt, but don’t blame it all on older people: being chopped up into ever smaller rivalries only serves the market

The Guardian
Show threadJennifer Moore 😷

@JugglingWithEggs

I don't like this bit: "And then we had Covid, which saw the young, who were not significantly at risk, making sacrifices of their own needs for socialisation and education to protect the old."

"Not significantly at risk"? Tell that to the kids derailed by Long Covid.

Yeah it's obviously true that older people died at much higher rates, and "protect your gran" was a compelling argument in favour of taking some precautions. But the idea that only old people were at risk was (and is) a form of denial. It was a roll of the dice for young people too, and some lost in a big way.

Cumulative effects also remain to be seen, and nobody knows the price the young generation will be paying in 30, 40, 50 years for their (likely many by then) covid infections.

#covid #stats #LongCovid

Mar 8 at 9:34amWeb
Show threadnikinkMar 8

@unchartedworlds @JugglingWithEggs It's a phrasing designed to build complicity, guilt, and rationalisation.

"I don't need to take protections because I'm young and strong."

Followed by "Fuck I have covid, but I don't need to worry *cough*"

Followed by "Fuck i gave covid to my parents/grandparents."

Followed by "Fuck my parent(s) just died."

Followed by "Well it wasn't MY fault they were WEAK, NOTHING could be done!"

Followed by "You'll never make me admit I killed 'em!, and no I'll never take precautions because I'm NOT WEAK."