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I think you did a good job laying out how one thing led to the next in this article, and as I approach 40 I've done a lot of thinking about why some people my age seem change-resistant, cranky old bastards who want 1997 back (the lower-left quadrant dwellers, if you will) and some of us don't.

I think cultural changes in music, slang, etc., are iterative and if you're paying attention to popular culture while the changes are taking place it all connects. However, if you are like some of my friends and stay listening to the same artists, watching the same actors, etc., and you step out of the slipstream of culture once you start settling down, then when you finally reconnect to that stuff (when your kid is like a young teen), it all seems weird and dumb.

I know every generation is the one that thinks "nah man, we're never gonna be out of touch" but I really believed the internet would change that and instead half of my FB feed (already marking my age) is my friends making fun of current popular rappers and posting memes about JNCO jeans from 1998.

I know all that is only tangentially connected to your post, but it sent me on a mental journey

tl;dr version is we should all try to remain in the "don't overthink it", "it's fun" quadrant if at all possible.

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Reminding me that JNCO jeans exist is violence, Matt

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> There have also been brief adventures in reclaiming ‘bitches’ and ‘sluts’, although these profane microtrends typically die faster and don’t reach mainstream status.

This one still hangs on in the names of breakfast restaurants for some reason.

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