Member-only story
Are Your Opinions Your Own?
Becoming aware of the influence of your fishbowl
[The following paragraphs are not meant to describe all senior citizens, all Floridians, all snowbirds, or all “55 and over” communities.]
Something happened to my parents when they retired and moved to Florida over 35 years ago. They became Fox-news-watching, old people.
Generally tolerant in their earlier years, solid Democrats from the more liberal Northeast, I watched as they morphed into folks who ranted about crime, drugs, “lazy” teenagers, and immigrants.
My parents’ new friends were all “55 and over”, mostly “snowbirds”, and mostly politically conservative. The community was “gated”, a security guard stopping both cars and pedestrians for ID. Children and teenagers would come to visit grandparents, but they were no longer a part of their daily lives.
The conversations around the pool were generally in praise of politicians who were “cracking down on crime and drugs.” Or rants about teenagers who wore their pants “hanging down around their asses”, had crazy hair colors and multiple body piercings, and were too lazy to look for jobs.
Fox News was always streaming on the TV in the clubhouse.
