Either you don't understand/didn't give any thought to addiction and what it means to help yourself, or you are just a mean sonofabitch.
Any addict that undertakes to do things differently than their addiction demands is helping themselves on a massively heroic scale. That he piled day after day of getting up and doing it again one on top of another is laudable. He definitely helped himself and will help countless more who are taking his death as a wake-up call to deal with their own addictions (regardless of how his death played out).
Right on. This is typical of the privileged and entitled finger pointers, laying blame on the culture that feeds the self obsessed opinions, cannibalizing on the greed and consumption that fuels the addiction of western trauma. Appalling but not surprising from the centre of the universe bloggers.
Carrie Tom’s comments above are apt. I am a bottom end of the baby boomer so have some personal insight into the early generation x economic challenges and don’t believe they were unique. I am employed in mental health with a background in journalism. In rebuttal to this article:
1. addiction has both neurological and psychological components that can lead to tragic outcomes despite access to help and intention to take personal responsibility. Your discussion of this seems both uninformed and mean spirited.
2. Check your facts. Perry had major dental surgery from which he was still recovering during the filming of the Reunion.
3. Friends was a fun escape for many in a laughter as medicine way. You may have wanted it to be more profound but that’s not what it was meant to be
4. While I agree that the Keanu Reeves digs were dreadful I have always wondered how they got past his editing team. Someone let him down there.
5. Perry did know he would be mostly remembered for Friends. He hoped to be remembered more for helping.
I loved Friends. I still laugh at the occasional rerun when I come across one. I am a mid to younger Gen-X. NYC aside, the Friends lived how I was living at the time - roommates, friends coming and going without knocking, trying to find myself. Not everything has to make a statement; some things are relatable just because they are.
The sentiment behind this article presents as pretty mean-spirited. From listening to stories of addiction, I understand sobriety to be a game of odds with the most successful programs of treatment being largely unsuccessful by majority. Still, every addict who makes the commendable effort to help others with their sobriety can only increase those overall odds. So ya, I think the pity and borderline condescension at the end of this piece is unnecessary.
One wonders how much healthier the economy, our finances and society would be if the boomer generation wasn't so abnormally large. Perhaps then we wouldn't have had a TV show about an underachieving generation, which in many ways is still the case.
I'm one of those convinced that Canada, the culture and the economy will be in a much better spot once the boomers, and their generational bloat, move onto the next world. We are already seeing the positive impacts with Gen Z actually being able to find good jobs with big companies and the civil service, which was only a dream for most Gen X. Perhaps when folks aren't so entitled to their entitlements Canada will actually be able to achieve to it's potential again.
I was part of the target demographic for Friends when it came out. The entertainment industry was anxious to produce something that "spoke" to Gen X, although it usually felt like pandering and was received that way. Friends *totally* felt like pandering, with lip service paid to Gen X concerns ("you're broke, your job's a joke, your love life's DOA") through a typical sitcom lens where the life of the characters was at least an order of magnitude better than the real world. Somehow, Gen X decided to embrace it this time. I think the reason was the economic and social tide was turning for Gen X. The economy had improved markedly, Gen X was finally moving into some decent jobs and making progress. My graduating engineering class of 1995 had stories of papering the living rooms of their shared apartments with rejection letters from all the jobs they'd applied for (we called them P.F.O.s); 2 years later, the graduating class was discussing whether they wanted to take an offer right upon graduating or maybe spend a year traveling first.
Sounds familiar. I lived with 6 other recent university grads in a basement, 4 bedroom townhouse in Edmonton and between us, we collected over 700 PFOs. Fortunately my share of the rent was only $150/month. Campus recruiting was almost non-existent and the default assumption on graduation was that you would work the same jobs as recent high school grads for a few years. My one roommate had degrees in Nursing, Education and English Literature and worked as a cleaner at a nursing home. My other roommate had a Commerce Degree and worked at a stationary store.
The Canadian Gen X experience differed significantly from that of Americans. Friends seemed hopelessly aspirational. The early 80s to mid 90s saw repeated recessions and high unemployment in Canada, while the US benefited from the booms unleashed by telecom and financial reregulation and the explosion of globalization. It wasn't until politicians like Ralph Klein, Mike Harris and Paul Martin implemented austerity and privatization that the economy finally recovered. For this reason, I will always be a staunch fiscal conservative and oppose most forms of expanded government programs, industrial policy and protectionism. The Trudeau years have been a massive regression.
I finished my B.Comm in 1995 and our profs were genuinely shocked that most of us didn't have jobs lined up. Which shows (a) how shitty things were, and (b) how removed from reality most academics were.
Agreed. The narrative at the time was that government austerity would hurt the economy. The reality was that it would hurt Boomers, particularly those employed by the government. Austerity turned out to be exactly what the economy needed.
The history of Canada Post WW2 is intertwined with the wants of the boomers. First it was K-12 schools and rec facilities. Then colleges and universities. Then a huge growth of the state to facilitate that. Guaranteed jobs and pensions included.. Then low interest rates and home building during their buying years. Now high interest rates and free health care for even wealthy boomers in their retirement and living off savings years.
It’s not uncommon to look at GenX through its television proclivities. That’s fine as far as if goes, but I think it’s music - from hard hitting Metallica to rhythmic alternative Depeche Mode to mainstream Police - are a much better filter through which to view those of us they came of age in the 80s.
That music was revolutionary compared to what preceded it, and superior in every way to what followed it.
Weird. I always thought Friends' main audience was the Millennials? sure the actors were GenX age, but don't we also watch tv aspirationally? (as in looking forward to what we'll do next). Or nostalgically? (like my forever favorite: My So-Called Life)
In fact, your article reminded me that I did get sick of Friends and their treading water: I got married, I got a house, I had kids, and there they were - doing nothing. Or doing things I did 3 years ago. Been there done that, and not long ago enough to count towards nostalgia. I didn't even bother watching the reunion. And again, I thought it was the Millennials that swooned when that reunion aired.
Either you don't understand/didn't give any thought to addiction and what it means to help yourself, or you are just a mean sonofabitch.
Any addict that undertakes to do things differently than their addiction demands is helping themselves on a massively heroic scale. That he piled day after day of getting up and doing it again one on top of another is laudable. He definitely helped himself and will help countless more who are taking his death as a wake-up call to deal with their own addictions (regardless of how his death played out).
Right on. This is typical of the privileged and entitled finger pointers, laying blame on the culture that feeds the self obsessed opinions, cannibalizing on the greed and consumption that fuels the addiction of western trauma. Appalling but not surprising from the centre of the universe bloggers.
Carrie Tom’s comments above are apt. I am a bottom end of the baby boomer so have some personal insight into the early generation x economic challenges and don’t believe they were unique. I am employed in mental health with a background in journalism. In rebuttal to this article:
1. addiction has both neurological and psychological components that can lead to tragic outcomes despite access to help and intention to take personal responsibility. Your discussion of this seems both uninformed and mean spirited.
2. Check your facts. Perry had major dental surgery from which he was still recovering during the filming of the Reunion.
3. Friends was a fun escape for many in a laughter as medicine way. You may have wanted it to be more profound but that’s not what it was meant to be
4. While I agree that the Keanu Reeves digs were dreadful I have always wondered how they got past his editing team. Someone let him down there.
5. Perry did know he would be mostly remembered for Friends. He hoped to be remembered more for helping.
Sometimes hope is what we have.
I loved Friends. I still laugh at the occasional rerun when I come across one. I am a mid to younger Gen-X. NYC aside, the Friends lived how I was living at the time - roommates, friends coming and going without knocking, trying to find myself. Not everything has to make a statement; some things are relatable just because they are.
Goodbye, Chandler Bing
The sentiment behind this article presents as pretty mean-spirited. From listening to stories of addiction, I understand sobriety to be a game of odds with the most successful programs of treatment being largely unsuccessful by majority. Still, every addict who makes the commendable effort to help others with their sobriety can only increase those overall odds. So ya, I think the pity and borderline condescension at the end of this piece is unnecessary.
One wonders how much healthier the economy, our finances and society would be if the boomer generation wasn't so abnormally large. Perhaps then we wouldn't have had a TV show about an underachieving generation, which in many ways is still the case.
I'm one of those convinced that Canada, the culture and the economy will be in a much better spot once the boomers, and their generational bloat, move onto the next world. We are already seeing the positive impacts with Gen Z actually being able to find good jobs with big companies and the civil service, which was only a dream for most Gen X. Perhaps when folks aren't so entitled to their entitlements Canada will actually be able to achieve to it's potential again.
I was part of the target demographic for Friends when it came out. The entertainment industry was anxious to produce something that "spoke" to Gen X, although it usually felt like pandering and was received that way. Friends *totally* felt like pandering, with lip service paid to Gen X concerns ("you're broke, your job's a joke, your love life's DOA") through a typical sitcom lens where the life of the characters was at least an order of magnitude better than the real world. Somehow, Gen X decided to embrace it this time. I think the reason was the economic and social tide was turning for Gen X. The economy had improved markedly, Gen X was finally moving into some decent jobs and making progress. My graduating engineering class of 1995 had stories of papering the living rooms of their shared apartments with rejection letters from all the jobs they'd applied for (we called them P.F.O.s); 2 years later, the graduating class was discussing whether they wanted to take an offer right upon graduating or maybe spend a year traveling first.
Sounds familiar. I lived with 6 other recent university grads in a basement, 4 bedroom townhouse in Edmonton and between us, we collected over 700 PFOs. Fortunately my share of the rent was only $150/month. Campus recruiting was almost non-existent and the default assumption on graduation was that you would work the same jobs as recent high school grads for a few years. My one roommate had degrees in Nursing, Education and English Literature and worked as a cleaner at a nursing home. My other roommate had a Commerce Degree and worked at a stationary store.
The Canadian Gen X experience differed significantly from that of Americans. Friends seemed hopelessly aspirational. The early 80s to mid 90s saw repeated recessions and high unemployment in Canada, while the US benefited from the booms unleashed by telecom and financial reregulation and the explosion of globalization. It wasn't until politicians like Ralph Klein, Mike Harris and Paul Martin implemented austerity and privatization that the economy finally recovered. For this reason, I will always be a staunch fiscal conservative and oppose most forms of expanded government programs, industrial policy and protectionism. The Trudeau years have been a massive regression.
I finished my B.Comm in 1995 and our profs were genuinely shocked that most of us didn't have jobs lined up. Which shows (a) how shitty things were, and (b) how removed from reality most academics were.
The Canadian economy was stunted in the mid 90s partly because of all the expenses of pandering to the boomers. Gen X was collateral damage.
One of the most consistent truisms in Canadian politics is that the me generation wants someone else to pay for their stuff.
Agreed. The narrative at the time was that government austerity would hurt the economy. The reality was that it would hurt Boomers, particularly those employed by the government. Austerity turned out to be exactly what the economy needed.
The history of Canada Post WW2 is intertwined with the wants of the boomers. First it was K-12 schools and rec facilities. Then colleges and universities. Then a huge growth of the state to facilitate that. Guaranteed jobs and pensions included.. Then low interest rates and home building during their buying years. Now high interest rates and free health care for even wealthy boomers in their retirement and living off savings years.
Perhaps the most regressive of Trudeau's policies, and that is saying a lot, was cancelling the already announced delay in OAS eligibility to 67
There is a reason boomers are the strongest supporters of the LPC
Coupland was born in 1961? I didn't realize that he was a Boomer.
Cannot watch Friends. All I see is Capt. Soble of Easy Company. Itch.
It’s not uncommon to look at GenX through its television proclivities. That’s fine as far as if goes, but I think it’s music - from hard hitting Metallica to rhythmic alternative Depeche Mode to mainstream Police - are a much better filter through which to view those of us they came of age in the 80s.
That music was revolutionary compared to what preceded it, and superior in every way to what followed it.
*leans forward to hear more*
Weird. I always thought Friends' main audience was the Millennials? sure the actors were GenX age, but don't we also watch tv aspirationally? (as in looking forward to what we'll do next). Or nostalgically? (like my forever favorite: My So-Called Life)
In fact, your article reminded me that I did get sick of Friends and their treading water: I got married, I got a house, I had kids, and there they were - doing nothing. Or doing things I did 3 years ago. Been there done that, and not long ago enough to count towards nostalgia. I didn't even bother watching the reunion. And again, I thought it was the Millennials that swooned when that reunion aired.
Never watched the show, or TV in general for that matter, but I can appreciate the social effect of vacuous '90s humour and shows "about nothing."