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Episode 24 – Gen Z Dating Habits & The Woke Wealthy
21 Plays10 days ago
…Oh hey, guys! Long time no pod. This week we seem to have a generational theme and don’t you worry, we do plenty of yelling about it. Discussions include: relationships vs situationships, guilty gazillionaires, and whether love is a concept created by the media. Thanks for listening, Shallow Frenz!
Articles:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/ar-AA1yGDJy
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/03/teen-dating-milestone-decline/681971/
Recommended
Transcript
Season Three Premiere & Podcast Cliffhangers
00:00:13
Speaker
Well, hello, Rebecca. Well, hey, Dad. And, oh, I didn't see you guys there. yeah fellow friends. There's a reason you didn't see them there. There's only one who's hiding behind a pillar.
00:00:26
Speaker
Well, welcome to episode 24 of The Shallow End. Did you know, i always like to put things in context, Rebecca. Oh, okay. If we were a Netflix netflix series, yeah this would be the season three premiere.
00:00:41
Speaker
Welcome to season three. We hope to resolve all those cliffhangers from season two. And we made them wait. And we sure did. Just like a season premiere was. Just like we were between seasons. Sorry, you guys. You know, hey, life's
Rebecca's PhD Journey in Organic Chemistry
00:00:56
Speaker
been happening.
00:00:56
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Did you want to talk about any of your life updates?
00:01:03
Speaker
I'll talk about one of them. um I have decided to pursue a PhD, like a crazy person. In... Organic chemistry. Oh, I thought you could say creative writing.
00:01:16
Speaker
Actually, it's gender studies.
00:01:19
Speaker
Let's get right into those generational divides. Cool. No, it's in organic chemistry, which even when I say it sounds insane. Why would I do that?
00:01:32
Speaker
I don't know. you you But I'm sure doing it. You would do that because you've been doing it you fell in love with it. I've been doing it and fell in love with it is yeah the true reason. And because I had to do organic chemistry to be able to do synthetic chemistry, which is what I want to do, and to be able to do it with the group that I want to do it with.
00:01:49
Speaker
Yes. Well, we're very excited. But it's been a lot of work and we've been busy. But thanks for hanging in there with us, you guys.
00:02:00
Speaker
Yeah. And coming back. Thanks for hanging in there. um Yeah, it's probably like once a month is probably what the expectation should be at this point. I agree. I think probably we'll be moving to about once a month. Yeah. um But yeah. So here we are, the beginning of season three.
Losing Sponsors & Unconventional Sponsorship Requests
00:02:19
Speaker
um I do have bad news for you. Oh, no. But there's a little like silver lining in the cloud. Are sponsors pulled out? We have no ads today. Damn. But do you remember um the scene in Pitch Perfect? Of course. Where Bumper comes into the frat house.
00:02:37
Speaker
Yes. And everybody's in the hot tub. Yeah. And he says, i' het I'm out. I'm goingnna going to go sing for John Legend. Because he was hand plucked from a waiting list and da-da-da-da-da-da-da.
00:02:49
Speaker
you know Basically, he's just bugging out on them. Yeah. um So the silver lining with us not having any ads is we have been selected by a prominent sponsor.
00:03:02
Speaker
Wow. We are currently in negotiations. Wow. Okay. So what I mean by all that is I sent an unsolicited email to Breeze and said, hey, want to sponsor us? Haven't heard back. Oh, well, they probably are just really considering what contract they'll draw up for us. no, know. They're putting of thought on It's definitely stuck with the lawyers. But they'll, yeah, they'll let us know.
00:03:22
Speaker
um But so yeah, I'm hoping that... That's really exciting. I mean, hey, even a no is an answer. That's true. Even a no means they had to ah notice you. Yeah, right. And that's all we want is attention. And I would just say, obviously we're not in this for the money, right?
00:03:38
Speaker
We've never been in this for the money. Of course. But the nature of the proposal that I made to them is mutually beneficial. And I'll leave it at that.
00:03:50
Speaker
Okay. Get us high and we'll talk about you on our show. Yep. Yep. Done. Done. Now, a little birdie told me you've got a bit today. Yeah. Guys, season three, ah whole new me. Yeah.
00:04:04
Speaker
There's your theme. I came up with a bit. It is, courage as of now, unnamed. Okay. I haven't been able to come with a clever name. Well, i have a I have a bit as well, and it's not the same bit that I've ever done before, and I do have a name for it. So do you want do you want to... We should split these up.
00:04:21
Speaker
Yes, I agree. One up front and then one between articles. I want to do mine second. Oh, you do? Yeah. Oh, okay. Well, then I'll go with my bit, and then you'll bring us back to comedy. Wonderful. With your bit.
00:04:35
Speaker
Yeah.
Introduction to 'Marco Polo' Game
00:04:37
Speaker
um All right, so here's my my my premise here. We live in the shallow end here, you know, Of course, yeah. So I decided that we should try to play an old game from childhood when we would splash around the swimming pool, the disgusting public swimming pool.
00:04:55
Speaker
Find the Band-Aid. No, not find the Band-Aid. ok I'm calling this bit Marco Polo. Oh, yeah, okay. The only thing you have to do is tell me where I am when I give you a clue.
00:05:08
Speaker
right all Right? It's easy, right? um Yeah. Sure. Okay. Now, there are five of these. Is this a geography thing? Because that I'm just so bad at that. Just go with this, okay? Okay.
00:05:19
Speaker
So, ah now, this does come with a little bit of ah call response. Okay. Ready? Marco! Polo. Okay, good. I'm desperately trying to avoid catching measles because 159 of my neighbors have been diagnosed with it recently.
00:05:35
Speaker
Where am I? Texas? Yes! Yes! One for one. Good job. Okay. Marco. Polo. My name is Blue Ghost. I'm a little wobbly and very cold after completing a long journey, but my pictures are amazing.
00:05:52
Speaker
Where am I? Blue Ghost.
00:05:57
Speaker
I don't know. I'm on the moon. Blue ghost is the little lunar lander. Oh, that's drilling now, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. So it's pretty cool.
00:06:09
Speaker
Little blue ghost took a photo of of sunrise on the moon. That was like freaking incredible. It was really cool. All right, here we go. Marco. Polo. I'm 12.
00:06:22
Speaker
And I'm desperately trying to install TikTok on my new iPhone that one of my moms gave me for my birthday. But the app store won't let me because I'm not 14. Where am i eddie Anywhere in America. No. California?
00:06:34
Speaker
No. No. Close. Well, California just released a hip bunch of... There's a hint in the question. Say it again. I'm 12 and I'm desperately trying to install TikTok on the new iPhone that one of my moms gave me for my birthday.
00:06:53
Speaker
And it's not lesbians.
00:06:57
Speaker
Oh, is it Elon's kid? No. It's a good guess, though. I love that. What is it? Utah. I did a little... ah Oh, many, many wives. Yeah, yeah, You know, even though that's not legal in the Utah anymore. I know that California recently passed a bunch of like child working laws. So a bunch of like mommy vloggers that used to live in California and exploit their kids are all moving out of California to keep exploiting their kids.
00:07:27
Speaker
Well, this one, Utah just passed a law that said that yeah you were the the App Store has to age verify. the app like That's good. They had taken extra steps.
00:07:39
Speaker
Wow. I'm one for three right now. ah Yeah. I'm sorry. It's a good thing I'm not getting my PhD in general knowledge. Yeah. Okay. Marco.
00:07:51
Speaker
Marco. and Polo. Oh, very good. I'm the leader of a center-right Democratic Party that just won a plurality of the vote, and I don't like that President Trump thinks my country should be annexed by the U.S. Is it Canada?
00:08:05
Speaker
See, this was a trick question. It is not Canada. Wait, no, wait, say it again. I'm the leader of a center-right Democratic Party that just won a plurality of the vote, and I don't like that President Trump thinks my country should be annexed by the U.S. Oh, it's Mexico, isn't it? No.
00:08:20
Speaker
Well, the Mexican president came out and gave him Yeah, but he didn't he didn't threaten to annex Mexico. He doesn't want Mexico. That's true. What is it? Greenland. He wants Greenland? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:08:31
Speaker
He's got a little c chub for Greenland, for sure. Ew. Okay, this is the last one. Okay. I'm sorry you're one for four right now. know, I'm doing so badly.
00:08:42
Speaker
Let's do this with flair. Marco. Polo. Excellent plea. People around here ain't baby making so much anymore. So my government pays me $770 a month if I have a baby.
00:08:55
Speaker
One company even pays $75,000 to every employee who has a baby. Where am I? China. Good guess. Where?
00:09:06
Speaker
South Korea. South Korea. South Korea. Wow. You $770 a month for the first year and then like $375 for the for like se two set year year two and three.
00:09:21
Speaker
I think they also said that their maternity leave is three years. Wow. Wow. Anyway, congratulations, Rebecca. You survived. I got two out of five. mean, you didn't completely drown.
00:09:33
Speaker
did not pass. But the the lifeguard was looking nervously. I only doggie for a So, yeah, that's... That was fun. That's Marco Polo. I enjoyed Marco Polo. Okay. I think we'll enjoy your a bit better, but so do you. I have to come up with a good name for it, though, which I don't have quite yet.
00:09:51
Speaker
um Because we started with your bit, I think we should start with my article. Okay.
Teens' Changing Dating Habits & Gen Z Analysis
00:09:57
Speaker
So there. um Yeah, no, I'm good with that. Do you have any accoutrement to sprinkle in before? Can we jump in into the article?
00:10:03
Speaker
No, I think we should just jump into the article. Let's jump right in to the shallow end.
00:10:09
Speaker
And get ready, strap in for... Strap in for some generational discussion. For generation a generational divides. Yeah. You want to introduce who we're reading? do want to introduce who we're reading. So this is an article from The Atlantic.
00:10:24
Speaker
It's called Teens Are Forgoing a Classic Rite of Passage. And it was written by Faith Hill. Not the singer. Not the singer. um I do want to say, we seem to really enjoy Atlantic articles. I agree. And I don't have an account with them.
00:10:43
Speaker
Or I. how are you How are you sending them to me? I have sources. You know that of. I know how to do a little bit of HTML coding.
00:10:55
Speaker
Oh. you You're just ripping them. Okay. Yep. I know that this show is not big enough that it will ever get back to anybody who will get me in trouble. right Dad?
00:11:07
Speaker
Huh? What? didn't hear what you said. Okay. So this article... Hey, I've got lawyers. Anyway, actually just lawyer. I've got lawyer. So this article is about how teenagers are reporting that they're dating less or in fewer relationships as compared to like millennials and adults.
00:11:31
Speaker
You don't say. Well, i read this and I was like, oh, wow, I'd be interested to like know more about that, how they're classifying dating like a relationship now versus then.
00:11:44
Speaker
But they take a while to get there. First, there's kind of a lot of... um
00:11:54
Speaker
Go ahead, say it. I don't know really how how to phrase what I'm trying to say. It's... My problem with a lot of articles about generational differences, especially when it's centered around Gen Z, is that frequently the author seems to be writing with a lot of disdain.
00:12:10
Speaker
okay. And it rubs me the wrong way. Yep. yep Even if the observations they're making are accurate, it's like the tood that they throw on top of it. I'm like, eee. But I feel like this article did a good job of balancing. Yeah, I was going to say, I didn't get that from this. Yeah, I didn't either. I think there's a little bit of just letting some of the ridiculousness speak for itself.
00:12:34
Speaker
I just want to point out, like the it we didn't even get through the first paragraph before this little nugget gets dropped, that Gen Z believes that love is a concept created by the media.
00:12:45
Speaker
And I'm like...
00:12:49
Speaker
How long has the human species been talking about love? It's so stupid. How long has it been muse for creativity and and war and like, give me frickin' break. it was a it's ah It's a concept created by the media to get us to buy things.
00:13:07
Speaker
no No, that's not love. That's Valentine's Day. Yeah, the general theme that she starts this off with is Gen Z kids are cynical and skeptical and
00:13:23
Speaker
too scared to be vulnerable. Yeah. Seems to be like the theme. So I went through this and I put a phrase on it. This is how I would characterize Gen Z. Naive cynicism.
00:13:35
Speaker
Yeah. It's like you you don't know shit, but you you immediately distrust everything anyway. Yeah. like That's totally unproductive, and it's part of the reason why I'm old man yelling a cloud. I know, but I feel like I have a ah ah different perspective of Gen Z because technically I kind of fall into Gen Z, but I'm like an old Z. Yeah, right on the edge. Yeah. so and
00:14:05
Speaker
With like social media, I feel like generations are flipping much quicker. So like even me and somebody four years younger than me, we have completely different outlooks on life because they grew up in a completely different world, basically.
00:14:18
Speaker
Yeah. I want to point out that after we go through this chronologically, but I i put down at the end some of my like bigger thoughts about reading this article. And um the basis of that was a lot of what this article is about seems to be describing symptoms and not really discussing the causes of this difference. That's what I was going to say is...
00:14:43
Speaker
So I feel like I can look at Gen Z in the way that they behave with a little bit more empathy, sure where I'm like, okay, naive cynicism is a perfect way to describe it, but let's look at why. right They have this naivete because their parents were helicopter parenting them and babying them. It's not all their fault, and they're cynical because every adult in their life is telling them that the world is ending and everything is horrible.
00:15:06
Speaker
Yeah, like of and they've also and they've also gone through COVID. Yes, and a lot of unprecedented times have happened in their lives. Like whether it's COVID or the political world. or Yeah, so I have a little bit like, okay, I can see why you would have such a weird, shitty outlook on life. yeah I don't agree with your weird, shitty outlook, but I have a little bit more patience for them, I suppose.
00:15:31
Speaker
Yeah. Well, okay. So, so let's go through in more, a little more detail. So, so I, I would be curious to know what the first thing that you highlighted is. Um, outside the, the love is a concept created by the media.
00:15:44
Speaker
Um,
00:15:47
Speaker
uh, this line, which I think is a, you know, an attempt by a, a professor, ah teaching in a college at the college level um in a course called Love and Heartbreak.
00:16:01
Speaker
ah She's trying to describe love to the kids in her class. And she says, the sensation is big. It's overwhelming. It can feel utterly transcendent. They're They're skeptical.
00:16:16
Speaker
I was like, this is why we can't have nice things. That was the first thing I highlighted. Because it's like, they they just, what, you don't even want to talk about it? You don't even want to, like, you just want to dismiss thousands of years? Like, as the McElroys would say, play with me. Yes.
00:16:34
Speaker
Play with me this space. Yeah, just go move along. Come on. Yes, and. Just give a little room. And maybe, Yeah. I also, i highlighted their skeptical. I didn't highlight the whole line, but I highlighted their skeptical because that seemed... It's a meta message. They are skeptical of everything. Yeah, the the general message.
00:16:56
Speaker
but I do have a problem in that I read all of this and I think coldly. Oh, ah oh yeah. And so part of me is like... Colby colby is my brother.
00:17:10
Speaker
Colby's been on the pod. Yeah, but if somebody hasn't. Colby is 21. And Colby's great. Colby's a wonderful, smart, well adjuststed funny young man, but also the poster child for naive cynicism. Yes.
00:17:28
Speaker
um But very informed. Oh, yeah. So there's that. So anyway, I don't want throw under the bus. I'm just saying that that's the archetype that I have in my mind for Gen Z. Yeah, that's interesting. I was not thinking of that. I was thinking younger.
00:17:46
Speaker
Okay. I was thinking like some old-ass little 18-year-old. Yeah, mid-to-18s. Yeah, thinks they know what they're talking about. But... um I highlighted also, she's talking about a whole lot of American adults are withdrawing from romance, not just young people. But the trend seems to be especially pronounced for Gen Z. And then some research even suggests you might be better off having never had a romantic relationship.
00:18:13
Speaker
In the aggregate, though, the shift could be concerning a sign researchers told me of a generation struggling with vulnerability. Yeah. Now, I... But again, no discussion of why.
00:18:24
Speaker
no no, no, no discussion of, okay. When I was first reading this through and she dropped some research even suggesting you might be better off that way, I highlighted that and said, and we're not going to examine that any further, but she does. still She does actually a little bit, but she never examines the generation struggling with vulnerability claim.
00:18:43
Speaker
She never even addresses it as if it is an opinion. She says it as if it's fact. Oh, yeah. And personally disagree with that. I don't think our generation is struggling with vulnerability.
00:18:55
Speaker
I think we're... Like... i don't I don't see how this generation can be dinged for being struggling with vulnerability and be dinged for being oversharing about their mental health on the internet.
00:19:06
Speaker
Like, I think people are being... overly vulnerable and overly sensitive sure and overly, it's all about me. Well, so i would argue, and this is where i was going at the end, is I think that the that ah the first generation to sort of grow up as social media natives is replacing ah faceless social media vulnerability with that actual learning about myself by being one-on-one and vulnerable. So it's a displacement, and I do think it's an unhealthy displacement. agree, I
00:19:42
Speaker
So, but... I think it it is both... more exposing and also less beneficial. Yeah, right. I agree. I agree.
00:19:53
Speaker
and And when you get shut down on social media for something, it's such a public, like crushing public thing. You're supposed to go through that one-on-one and learn how to work through emotions about being crushed and And people are way more likely to be way meaner yes if that you're not looking at them.
00:20:16
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I do think that one of the elements that is interesting to bring up here, though, is that, like, from my perspective, I think it's totally reasonable that each generation should be allowed to work through what it means to be vulnerable or intimate or...
00:20:35
Speaker
ah In a relationship for themselves. So if they have different terms when this they go into this like situationships or we're talking or we're hanging out and I think we actually have we talked about that in a different episode. Yeah, I'm pretty sure yeah the different like labeling right and I'm glad that they talked about that because when I was reading the beginning of this that was the first thing my mind went to was well the label of relationship is different now like
00:21:03
Speaker
Even from when I was in high school to people in high school now, there wasn't situationship talking stage, really, when I was in high school. Yeah, and and she does bring that up. like She says at one point it could be the label, not the emotional reality that's changing. so i Okay, that's good.
00:21:21
Speaker
i Yeah, and and she says um earlier she drops this percentage. She says... In 2021, 54% of participants ages 18 to 34 reported not having a steady partner.
00:21:36
Speaker
And in 2004, only 33% said that. But then she says later on in a different poll, about 50% of respondents aged 18 to 34 said they'd been in a situation. Yeah, right. So... They're still hanging out. They're still doing it. They're just calling it something else. Yeah.
00:21:54
Speaker
Yeah. But she also, she says... It could still help young people with what researchers told me are some core rewards of early romantic exploration. Gaining autonomy from parents, developing a sense of identity, what Phillips called an existential benefit.
00:22:09
Speaker
The sometimes painful, sometimes amazing trial and error process of seeking closeness. Yep. Bars. This is, yeah, this is, um, like,
00:22:21
Speaker
Mama Robin pushes baby out of the nest and says... going to hurt. Good luck. Ouch. Don't hit that first branch. Yeah. Like, get your wings under you. But sometimes they go... It takes a couple branches for them to realize.
00:22:35
Speaker
Yeah. but Okay, but that... The paragraph following that quote, though... Yeah. I think is where she, and I don't think she talks about this afterward, but she says, what young people need the most is often just a cheerleader, a peer, a grandparent, a coach, or someone else making them feel valued.
00:22:54
Speaker
Like the benefit of the relationship in your early teens isn't so much the romantic aspect of it, but more this person is on my side. This is my person yeah who's going to support me.
00:23:06
Speaker
And like, that's what they need at that age. And I thought that was interesting. Yeah, I i highlighted that entire paragraph and I said, well, I agree with all of this. It's crazy. But yeah, I mean, at the very end of that that paragraph, teens can learn social skills, how to make small talk, resolve arguments, and empathize across differences in all kinds of platonic relationships, which is very true.
00:23:30
Speaker
And, you know, there is a danger to being in romantic relationships too early Yeah, she talks about that too. Or as a default, like I have to have a romantic relationship. like that So that's wisdom there. Hey, you don't need to chase romantic relationships.
00:23:47
Speaker
You need to chase social development relationships. Yes, just a any type of relationship. Don't hide in your room and just bang away on Reddit. Anyway. In your Reddit echo chamber, oh boy. Yeah, but then she talks about how that research from earlier that says that it might be a benefit to avoid romantic activity in that like teen area.
00:24:11
Speaker
um And then she she says... that a study found that compared with their dating peers, students who dated very infrequently or not at all were seen by their teachers as having better leadership and social skills and reported fewer symptoms of depression.
00:24:25
Speaker
And I said, here, this one might be a chicken and egg situation. I agree. This one might just be, You're confusing cause and effect here. Yeah, this one might be because they are a little bit more mature than their peers and seem to be doing generally better. They're focused on like real life stuff.
00:24:46
Speaker
And not the nonsense of dating. Yeah. Yeah. yeah yeah But she talks, I mean, she puts it in a parenthetical, but she does mention it, that young love can be damaging and in the worst cases abusive and adolescent girls specifically experience intimate partner violence at a particularly high rate.
00:25:09
Speaker
Which it's... especially dangerous in teen girls, i think, because, like you said, the idea that you have to be in a relationship is so much more emphasized in, I think, like, young girl friendship groups.
00:25:28
Speaker
Yeah. Like, you want to be the odd one out that doesn't have a boyfriend, so you'll settle for any dumb 15-year-old, you know? Yeah. And I think that's... Yeah, but that means that if the if the overall um like cultural evolution for that generation is to minimize the importance of relationships in that time frame, it's like, okay, maybe this is a little bit of like the female hive mind saying, we're going to protect ourselves here. yeah And maybe you know start to evolve away from having to have that.
00:26:05
Speaker
Yes. I actually... I said that down here. I said that
Feminism's Influence on Relationships
00:26:10
Speaker
down here. Oh, I wrote this... Hang on
00:26:16
Speaker
on. Oh, okay. When we're discussing this, like, decrease in relationship at young people, and... also decrease, they they they trend they talk about the transition to adulthood yeah and steps such as financial independence, buying a home, and notably getting married or being pushed later and later or sometimes indefinitely. Right.
00:26:39
Speaker
And i I think that we should be examining the rise in feminism and the ability for a woman to have her own life outside of just getting married and having kids in the same... I think they're related and I think we shouldn't pretend that, oh my gosh, this generation is not having kids and nobody's getting married and everybody, nobody's getting in relationships.
00:27:06
Speaker
They don't believe in love. What's going on? It's like, well... When a young girl is told that all she has to do is get in a relationship, find a husband, get married and have babies, that's all she's going to do and she's probably going to do it pretty early.
00:27:19
Speaker
But once women are being told you don't have to do that, yeah you can go to college and you can go and do your own thing. Yeah, a lot of them are gonna do that instead. So I think that that- I think, yeah, you're right. I think there's there's a lot of societal evolution that that's going into this kind of stuff happening.
00:27:39
Speaker
And I think it's even beyond, I think the percentage of of young girls that get that sort of traditional, you know, you're your primary ah objective should be to find a nice man and be married and crank out crotch fruit and blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:27:59
Speaker
Yeah, you're welcome. um I think that that's a very small percentage at this point of of young girls growing up like that. I think so too. They generally wear denim skirts.
00:28:10
Speaker
And live in Utah. And live in Utah or Southern Ohio. um But that that change, you know having the the idea that all human beings in our society have agency,
00:28:29
Speaker
is going to have some ramifications through the system, right? And
Concerns About Young Men's Development
00:28:34
Speaker
that's okay. It's sort of back to what what I was saying, like, I think it's totally legitimate for people to redefine some of these things for their own purposes based on, yeah, it's taken longer to mature these days.
00:28:45
Speaker
Why? well lots of different Lots of reasons. Maybe maybe it's partly because we we live so damn long now. oh Oh. Life isn't forcing you to be productive at age 13. True.
00:29:00
Speaker
um Maybe it's because parents are overthinking every damn thing. ah I don't know. But yeah yes, there are changes happening. Let's just make sure that we're not losing people along the side of the road. Well, I think we've pretty much covered the content here. I mean, they they talk more about being nervous to try because you have gotten shut down so many times.
00:29:26
Speaker
But I don't know if that's...
00:29:29
Speaker
um unique to Gen Z. Yeah. I think that's just the nature it. I agree. Yep, that is. Yeah. It's the nature of, like, if if you, you know, open yourself up to another person, sometimes it goes bad. You might get burned, but, I mean...
00:29:45
Speaker
Yeah, and and you know there's a passing ah reference to, like you were saying, like, oh yeah, it's taking longer to grow up these days. um this This tendency to um keep things sort of ambiguous in relationships.
00:30:02
Speaker
i um there Some recounted how they ended up feeling invested in a fling, Yeah, is...
00:30:14
Speaker
they said that they got caught as if red handed caught feelings like an illness or succumbed to dumb bitch hour when late at night defenses down they texted a crush and let themselves feel close to yeah that is Okay, I'm going to give a little give a little ground here.
00:30:34
Speaker
I guess that is that is something that I see a lot in like the younger side of Gen Z is it's like it's embarrassing to like someone. like It's embarrassing to ah to be found out. that you actually Especially, i think, because all of those quotes, yeah that sounds like a boy.
00:30:54
Speaker
Oh. girls don't really say that to each other. Girls don't say dumb bitch hour? No. Oh, well, dumb bitch hour, actually. Yeah. Dumb bitch hour. Yeah. but Caught feelings definitely sounds like a boy. That's like dude stuff.
00:31:06
Speaker
Yeah, i like this is back to my, this is generational researchers. like who are who' Name them.
00:31:16
Speaker
yeah I want to talk to them. That's that's all they say. they They describe Gen Z as a cohort particularly concerned with security, averse to risk, and slow to trust. And again, I'm like, okay, let's talk about why.
00:31:27
Speaker
Where did that come from? Concerned with security? yeah want and i don't know. What's happened? yeah what What giant thing could they have lived through? that would be Yeah. Averse to risk, slow to trust.
00:31:42
Speaker
The whole world is telling them to trust no one. I don't know. yeah that I also enjoyed that we're quoting Hinge surveys. Isn't Hinge a dating site or a hookup Oh, it's a dating app.
00:31:53
Speaker
Hookup app? Yeah. Yeah, Hinge is is one of the dating apps that's actually seen as like the more one of the more respectable ones. Oh, okay. Like you can actually get in a relationship. Like not a hookup app. It's not a Tinder. Not a Tinder, okay.
00:32:06
Speaker
It's closer to like a Bumble. Okay. But it doesn't have the... Women go first. The restriction. Yeah. Well, I just thought it was an interesting discussion...
00:32:18
Speaker
but Yeah, I think that the way that she finishes the discussion has a very, very dark connotation. think so, too. So at the very end of this article, she starts to talk about the difference between men and women in this whole situation. Mm-hmm.
00:32:36
Speaker
that there are In my mind, in my interpretation, there are very disturbing trends among young men. I agree. And, you know, we can talk about describing it all we want and, you know, pat yourself on the back for describing it perfectly. But what the hell are we going to do about What are we going to do about it? We're raising a bunch of really scary boys. Yeah, it's and I think a lot of the reason that it's happening is because of this idea that boys are easier to raise than girls, which is not true. Not true at But it gives parents like a pass to just ignore their son for a lot of years, and then they don't know what the kid is looking at and consuming. Yeah.
00:33:20
Speaker
yeah yeah Well, I think that there's also, i mean, there's a natural push. There has been a natural push towards... um male behavior and masculinity in culture in general, which happens when you you know more and more voice is being given to the the female um side and female agency like we were talking about.
00:33:45
Speaker
And that's okay. like That pressure needs to happen. But... You also run the danger of having young men raised in an environment where all they hear about is how awful they are. And they're like, well, fuck it. Then I guess i but I'll be awful. yeah And that's not productive either. no It's like you got to teach them that there is a good way to be a man. Yes. We're not saying that being a man on its own is inherently bad.
00:34:11
Speaker
It's, yeah. Right. I think a lot of also the danger is, and she talks about this, is that so many young men are so isolated from each other, like from other men. Oh, yeah. Even male friendships are not close. Right. They're not They're not like... don't want to say they're not real friendships because they are.
00:34:31
Speaker
they're not what I have yeah as as a male and my male friends. Yeah, like but... I think that's like the first thing that I notice about a man is If I, if they strike me as a man that I can immediately trust, like one of the good ones, quote unquote, it is almost always true that their close male friendships are like actually close.
00:34:54
Speaker
Like they really have, oh, that's my best friend. And they don't mind saying best friend. You know, when like dudes are like, oh, that's my bro. It's like, you can admit that you like him and he's your friend. It's okay.
00:35:05
Speaker
I have a bunch of friends that we we tell each other we love. Yeah. you guys Love you, brother. Love you, brother. But yeah, I think I don't have a solution for it.
00:35:17
Speaker
I don't know what the solution i think you just described what the solution should look like. it's It's the opportunity for young men to learn that platonic intimacy among their male friends and support for each other is a good thing.
00:35:32
Speaker
yeah Like help help each other to be... like good young men. Yeah. And you'll have the support to be good people throughout yeah whatever life throws at you. I also do think that this is a problem, like i an issue that women won't be able to help solve. No. I think that men, i agree older men, need to start policing younger men, and it has to be a within-the-gender Yep, I agree. Because these young kids aren't going to be listening to anything women say to them.
00:36:05
Speaker
Well, and they also, I mean, right now and they're not listening to anybody. That isolation. Well, they're list they that's why so such a huge percentage of young white men voted for Trump was because they felt like okay, the entire country's telling me I, as a young white man, are like I'm the enemy. yeah And he's telling me that I'm not.
00:36:30
Speaker
And it seems that if I go with him, I go into community, a built-in community, and that's what they want. Sort of, yeah. I mean, they they go online and they share awful opinions. in you know So they have they have some degree of a clubhouse already. Yes. But it's not, like you were saying, it's not true there's no true friendship there. There's no true relationship at all there. And there's no relationship with Donald Trump either. Sorry, buddy. Guys, he doesn't like you. He doesn't give a shit but He doesn't think about you.
00:37:01
Speaker
doesn't. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, but yeah, so we finish on the lovely lovely topic of incels and awful young men. And like sexual assault and such. Yeah, yeah.
00:37:15
Speaker
But no um i i I did, I want to give the author credit because at the very end she she brings this back to this professor um who brings...
00:37:27
Speaker
like still doing the hard work of trying to convince her students that love is real. um And she this this excerpt of Plato's Symposium, was like, this is really cool. yeah like This ancient story of...
00:37:43
Speaker
of how like why it is that we seek out a partner. Like where are the idea of like a soulmate? Yeah, it's really cool. yeah um And you know, it's fine. i think that, you know, if they're doing it in the end, you know, she tells the story about how Zeus splits people in two to foil their plan to overthrow the gods.
00:38:03
Speaker
And then people that mean that's why people wander around looking for their other half. And that that that's the purpose that's how that's why we fall in love and all this kind of stuff. And the students, of course, are like, we hate the idea of having just one soulmate. And like being half of a person without them. And they're like, okay, well, you're missing the point. like, okay, okay. Okay, like, yeah. Sure. None of us actually believe that we were originally humans with four arms and four legs, and then we got split in half. It's literal, guys. No, we're not being literal, Jesus Christ.
00:38:34
Speaker
Yeah. It's a metaphor. But, yeah. So, yeah, at the end, i was like, so my ideas behind the causes of these cultural changes...
00:38:48
Speaker
These people are the first to really grow up with a ubiquitous internet and social media. Social media raises expectations oh yeah um about behavior and relationships.
00:38:59
Speaker
um A lot of sexual discovery is happening on screens now instead of in person. And then there was a huge chunk of time, very critical developmental time, that COVID disrupted. yeah There wasn't a lot of in-person for a year. Like a lot of kids just lost half of their high school yeah experience. Yeah, right.
00:39:18
Speaker
So I think those things are all part of the cause here. Absolutely. Plus some just natural societal evolution. yeah And also probably... like some genuine damaging stuff going on. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's not horrible, but I just, I hate when it's like the discussion of it turns into let's all make fun of these dumb kids on their phones who don't know how to have relationships.
00:39:44
Speaker
It's like, well, I have a little bit of empathy for these poor dumb kids on phones. Well, you have empathy. I'll make fun of them. Okay, that's fair. That's a good balance. Yeah, good balance.
00:39:57
Speaker
Guess what time it is, Rebecca? What? Time for your bit. It's bit time. Bit time. Bit time, bit time. Okay. Okay, I'm so nervous. Welcome, everybody, the first ever Rebecca's Bit.
00:40:08
Speaker
Is that what we're going to call it? Rebecca's Bit? you No. yeah She spit the bit. Oh, no. Okay. this is This bit takes some context, just a little bit of context.
00:40:20
Speaker
So for the listeners who don't know me in person, i have been i have a document in my phone notes app that I call my quote note.
00:40:32
Speaker
And I've been keeping this document since 2017. twenty seventeen Maybe, maybe earlier, but at least 2017. And it's full of just random quotes that people around me say that I think are ridiculous or funny or interesting or insightful.
00:40:49
Speaker
And this bit. can Can we call it like quote note, quote not? That's fantastic. Quote note, quote not. Here we go. We'll workshop that. It's not fantastic. It's good enough. I think it's fantastic. I think it's Travis Lovell. Oh, wow. Fantastic.
00:41:09
Speaker
So here's the idea. I have collected comments that I've found on Instagram or TikTok that are ridiculous. Hmm. There are... I didn't know they had those.
00:41:21
Speaker
Six comments altogether. And one of them is a quote from my quote note. Oh. And you have to guess which one. Okay. Are you ready? How many rounds of this are there?
00:41:33
Speaker
There are just one. It's just a six six quotes. Six quotes. And I i have to pick the one that... One odd one out. Okay. Can I ask a clarifying question? Yes. Is the one from your quote note...
00:41:48
Speaker
From someone that I know. Yes. Okay, I'm ready. You might even be married to her. Ooh, that doesn't really narrow it down much. Here's the first one. I used to think people from Wisconsin only ate cheese.
00:42:06
Speaker
Here's the second one. I need a beer of sadness and despair right now. Okay. Here's the third one. There's a lot I can do in this world with a knife and some information.
00:42:18
Speaker
Here's the fourth one. It's going to be 52 degrees and I'm about ready to break out my swimsuit. Arctic blast these nuts.
00:42:28
Speaker
Here's the fifth one. My cramps are bad enough to bring the Hulk to his green knees. And here's the last one. Sometimes the way a blankie and a white noise machine whispers to you isn't your fault.
00:42:45
Speaker
Okay. What do you think? so So what do I think about which one came from your quote note? Yes. And I can read them through once more it's the one about beer. I need a beer of sadness and despair right now? Yes.
00:42:57
Speaker
Wrong. Oh, wow. It's not. Gosh. that was so I was so confident. You were so confident. It is not. It's not the Hulk cramps. It's not. Um, it's not the Wisconsin eating cheese. Cause she would know that. She would know that she was in Wisconsin for a while.
00:43:15
Speaker
Okay. So we're down to which, which ones? Here are the ones that you have left. There's a lot I can do in this world with a knife and some information. It's going to be 52 degrees and I'm about ready to break out my swimsuit. That's not her. last these not That's not her.
00:43:28
Speaker
Sometimes the way a blankie and a white noise machine whispers to you isn't your fault. Is it a knife and some information? It is a knife and some information. Congratulations. False confidence, too. So this is Emily Brew, my mother. There's a lot I can do in this world with a knife and some information.
00:43:45
Speaker
That sounds very threatening. Yeah, it was. Like an address. Give me an address and a knife and I'll take care of the situation. I'm pretty sure it was in the context of like um doing a recipe without even looking at the recipe. But she was like holding a big knife as she said it.
00:44:05
Speaker
And it was pretty terrifying. Okay. Wow. So that's that's quote note, quote not. Okay. And I love that. And I think that there are there is a treasure trove of opportunity in your quote note. Yes, there is. Honestly, the hardest part of putting this together was finding funny enough comments that were comparable. yeah Yeah.
00:44:28
Speaker
I also think... um So yeah like I know that we've gone, there have been times where we just like you've sat down and just shared. We just read through the list. You read through them and we'll just wind up laughing our asses off. It's funny.
00:44:43
Speaker
So yeah, there's there's there's a lot to mine there. Yeah. And it's always, it's always exciting when I meet somebody new and they get their first quote in my quote note and I get to introduce them to it and they get very proud of themselves for making it. It's very cute.
00:44:58
Speaker
Awesome. Well, thank you. i I enjoyed that one. I think next time I'll have a couple of rounds, but this one was... No, it's a good test. Yeah. Very good.
00:45:10
Speaker
All right. Hey, we got one more
Wealthy Heirs Rejecting Inheritance & Capitalism Critique
00:45:12
Speaker
article. We do. um And this is a great article for me to get really pissed off and and then move on.
00:45:22
Speaker
um This article is in it's it's it's called, They Inherited Billions from Their Parents. They Don't Want It. um So my immediate take on that is boo-hoo, I'll take it. It's wah.
00:45:36
Speaker
But also the title very misleading. It's an article by by an author named Insider. No, it's ah Kate Lindsay at Insider.com. I don't know.
00:45:50
Speaker
I don't know what Insider.com is, but... um And the idea here is sort of younger people um rejecting ah wealth and specifically inherited wealth because it's icky. and But specifically younger people inheriting like crazy amounts of wealth. So that's an interesting part, Rebecca, because that's what they kind of say, but it's really not. Then they go down and they talk about this person that they're interviewing a lot.
00:46:22
Speaker
they inherited 800,000 and then like 80,000. eighty thousand Right. And that was it. Right. like, that's not like, I mean, good for them. Yes. For deciding to do something good. with it And that's, that, that was Ash, right? Yeah.
00:46:36
Speaker
Yeah. And I actually came away from this article going, okay, I feel like Ash kind of has it, has it together. yeah Yeah. Yeah. I was like, okay, you're doing this for a lot of the right reasons. Yeah.
00:46:47
Speaker
But for a lot of this article, it's sort of like performative guilt. And it made me want to go into the room and smack a bunch of people in the face.
00:47:01
Speaker
i I found when I was first reading about this idea, so so she talks about how these heirs are at this workshop, this wealth workshop thing that they go to to talk about how much shame they've held for having all of this money and how difficult it is to to try to live with irregular people. Poor, poor, poor, poor, and poor folks. And like they're they're normal, like us.
00:47:28
Speaker
um And at first I was like, ugh, imagining a bunch of like white dudes in a room pretending to be guilty. And then they dropped the line. Yeah, yeah. Then they dropped. Most of Most of them, young, white, queer women.
00:47:42
Speaker
And I went... Oh, no. It's even worse. Because I know exactly the flavor of person they're talking about. Well, I'm going to just... I want to read this to give the proper context to the type of event that's being reported on here. Yes. Oh, Okay?
00:47:59
Speaker
Among the fabulously rich heirs in the room, everyone's welt shadow looks different. For some, it takes the form of an X as they hold their forearms across their faces.
00:48:11
Speaker
Others curl up on the floor with their heads in their hands. Some crouch as if to protect themselves from an incoming blast of money, like the ghostly cast of a Pompeii victim. Oh, yeah. As I stand among these 20 or so human statues, still holding the sprigs of rosemary we were given to smell and arrive back in our bodies, I find myself disabused of any remaining expectation that this was going to be a conventional finance workshop.
00:48:42
Speaker
No, it's goofiness. It's mostly bullshit. Yeah. So anyway, this is, i mean, okay. Again, people who are authentically come to the conclusion that they don't desire inherited wealth, more power to you.
00:49:01
Speaker
um This is a four page article
00:49:06
Speaker
dealing with a bunch of people you don't want to spend any time with. no, And um I'm just gonna say at the end, like the whole charade is absolutely exposed.
00:49:20
Speaker
So just hang hang on guys, cause it's gonna get very like almost depressing. All right, so despite the fact that they claim that you know sharing wealth isn't about wokeness, everything about this article is like super woke. It's pretty woke. it's And i I think I'm a pretty liberal person.
00:49:49
Speaker
Even reading this, I had a stink face on the whole time. I was like, oof, this is rough. Okay, so so Sarah, Sarah's a 24-year-old whose family splits their time between homes in California and England, and she felt like she was just a relatively normal person growing up, and then she found out about her inherited wealth.
00:50:12
Speaker
um All right. And and hang on. Then I found out about my inherited wealth, and I was like, oh, actually, I'm in a completely different space. Why? No, you're not. No, you're not. You're still the same person. if If your brain heard that you had money and went, oh, I'm a different person, that's That's you. you And also, Sarah's oblivious.
00:50:32
Speaker
If her family lived in England and California and she didn't realize they were sitting pretty fat, you know, yeah that's pretty stupid. error and then And then it says, we're the bad guys. And I'm like, no, you're not the bad guys unless you choose to be the bad guys. just it What it sounds like to me is
00:50:53
Speaker
White women who realized that they have all of the privilege that they could possibly have as a white woman and decided they wanted something to make them special and tortured.
00:51:09
Speaker
Yeah, there you go. And this was the only thing they could possibly come up with. This is like a ah weird woke version of walking into a room and just declaring to everybody, do you know who I am?
00:51:23
Speaker
Yeah. Like it's so weird. It's so weird. Yeah. All right. So, so they, they, they, they start by, I i mean, not really start, but they, they do drop this little, um, they did a survey of this group that's attending this, this, uh, it's called making money. Make change is the name of the, uh, conference they were at or whatever.
00:51:45
Speaker
And, um, The combined net worth of this group is claimed to be $246 million. So across 20 people, it's about, like twenty call it $20 million each. yeah okay And they seem to be mostly younger people. So that's a significant amount of money, right? um And that doesn't include the wealth they stand to inherit from families, which adds another billion and a half, theoretically.
00:52:10
Speaker
So these are very well-off people. Also, these numbers are completed by all but seven of the attendees. So there are even more. Yeah, the seven that- There's even money floating around in that room that's not being- And this, let's be honest, the seven that didn't complete the surveys are probably even more wealthy. Yeah, that's why they didn't want to. They're probably the ones that like, no, my parents are billionaires. I'm not going to to about this. I'm not going to write,
00:52:33
Speaker
So, um, she goes, she goes, the reading of the survey, i was warned is the heaviest part of the weekend. Get over yourselves. my goodness. Yeah. The heaviest part of my month is always reading financial statements.
00:52:48
Speaker
Um, yeah. Survey is read and every statistic is met with somber silence. Oh, poor thing. so These people try not to think about their money.
00:53:01
Speaker
They throw away their bank statements without opening them because doing so would mean owning their privilege and facing the guilt and shame they feel it. Gosh, that's so annoying. And I highlighted that and wrote, I definitely hate these people. Yes. Oh my gosh.
00:53:18
Speaker
Okay, but I was feeling and thinking the same things going, wow, eat shit the whole time. yeah But then I had to... Crack my heart open a little bit and be like, okay.
00:53:30
Speaker
But even if they're the freaking worst, at least their dirty money is being put to some good use, I suppose. Maybe. Maybe. Or maybe it's not. Maybe not. We actually hear very little about what they're doing with their money. maybe Maybe resource generation and the making money make change group are just charlatans, you know?
00:53:52
Speaker
I don't know. Yeah. I mean, okay. So here's, here's something that is a little silly that I, okay. So this conference is supposed to be, okay, we get it. You guys are rich and you don't like it, but here's what you can do with the money.
00:54:08
Speaker
That's how I interpreted it. Sure. Right. At the conference, the days are filled with workshops and panels on everything from housing justice to reparations. While the nights feature readings of Maya Angelou and demonstrations of how to administer Narcan.
00:54:21
Speaker
Huh? What? Yeah. What? And then right after that, the scene resembles a liberal arts college. And I wrote, that's, yeah, it's probably just as useful as that liberal arts college. Oh my gosh, dad. um Anyway.
00:54:38
Speaker
Yeah. And there, I mean, there are a lot of little snippets of, of specific examples or commentary from some of the participants ah that are all just inane.
00:54:49
Speaker
It's tough to read. Yeah. Um, ah Okay, the real work of the conference takes place at Action Booths. I hate, I just even hate that name, that that title. like It's just all so white yeah um activism. Yeah.
00:55:07
Speaker
so So attendees sit down with certified investment advisors and money coaches to discuss the specifics of their financial situations and pledges, and to and to pledge where to give away their wealth.
00:55:18
Speaker
So... um Cool. Cool. Go give away a bunch of your money. i mean, they also say Sarah is in an action booth when she commits to redistributing a second million dollars from her trust fund.
00:55:31
Speaker
They don't say anything about where it's going. No. They redistributing. um Yeah. And she wants to spend down her assets to $70,000 by the end of 2025 to unburden herself of the money.
00:55:44
Speaker
Dude. That has come to her through capitalism and colonialism. Okay. First of all,
00:55:52
Speaker
I think we can universally agree that colonialism is not a great way to administer any kind of equity or, or you know, it's not good business, et cetera, et ceterat cetera, et cetera.
00:56:05
Speaker
But the idea of just blanket putting capitalism in this bucket of, oh, clearly immoral. I don't want any money from capitalism. that's liberal arts college. I know. White queer women. cause Like, that's like all they do is they yell about stuff.
00:56:22
Speaker
oh yeah it's Yeah, I'm just like, you're just sitting there, which is why I love how Ash deals with things. Oh my gosh. Our best friend, hope they come back soon. Who also didn't seem to really get a ton of money, right? No, no.
00:56:40
Speaker
But, okay, hang on actually. Yeah, can hear yeah i sorry, I'm skipping Yeah, we skipped a little bit, but... Okay, it's this this paragraph, actually, Meg says something that I super agreed with out of nowhere, and that was shocking to me.
00:56:54
Speaker
This paragraph says, those attending the conference say they have found it surprisingly difficult to figure out how to divest themselves of their money. Depending on how their trust funds are set up, accessing their funds might require them to go through family or a trustee, who often have a vested interest in keeping the money locked up for generations to come.
00:57:10
Speaker
This is a quote. The trustees are like, what about your children's children? Meg recalls being asked, and we're like, what about everybody else's children? he I do like that one, yeah. And I was like, yeah, dude, bars.
00:57:22
Speaker
Yeah, no, I think that's true. And and and it's a good it's a good point. um And they go into talking about, like, the the you know the people who hover around to manage money are there to manage growing money. it Here in building, not to give it away. Right. So you have to find the right kind of person who's willing to get on board with, you know, the the job here is to get rid of this.
00:57:48
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. But I do like that one of the people who's there helping people helping these folks, these poor folks in the action booths, is Iris Brilliant, who ironically was originally a gender studies and creative writing major and is now helping people give away all their money. And interestingly, we get to know what her major was.
00:58:16
Speaker
gender studies and creative writing major, but we don't hear anything about any sort of training, not anything that she went through to be telling these people how to use their money. It just says that she worked at this organization for five years.
00:58:27
Speaker
Yeah. Hey, she's an organizer. She's an organizer. Yeah. What are your qualifications? Oh, gender studies and creative writing. Creative.
00:58:37
Speaker
Well, now you get to be creative spending. Um, Oh, man. Giving away your money also comes with another challenge, Rebecca. Having less money. yeah I highlighted that. No shit, Sherlock.
00:58:50
Speaker
Okay, so now we talk about Ash. Yay, Ash! Ash 21, they inherited eight hundred grand From their grandfather. This is a good deal little, this is a cute little thing, right?
00:59:04
Speaker
From their grandfather, seventh generation of a family that made its money by no joke manufacturing the paper for money. I think that's really That's really good. I like it.
00:59:15
Speaker
It's good. Yeah. So they've already redistributed almost their entire inheritance And um including, I don't know, I'm just a presuming to understand what the solidarity economy is.
00:59:31
Speaker
I would assume it's like social justice focused investment. I assume so also. but and i that Cool, good for you. like Yeah. Invest in what you believe in. um but And then they got cancer. Then they got cancer.
00:59:45
Speaker
And, um the you know, the story is told about how it got really tough for Ash. And i loved the heart behind this.
00:59:59
Speaker
Ash took this, like, they clearly truly believe in what they're doing. they're they're doing and And so Ash has and had insurance through their job as an organizer.
01:00:16
Speaker
They required their parents' assistance assistance for only one bill, which was only $250. Yeah. That's pretty cool.
Ash's Wealth Redistribution Journey
01:00:23
Speaker
And and Ash, is a quote, it was beautiful to be in that community safety net and to test the theories of will we really care for each other when we don't have money to take care of us.
01:00:35
Speaker
Great, I love this, this is beautiful. yeah um This is basically how normal people have to live. Good for you for living it. Yeah, like even when it got hard, you didn't just go, oh, I don't want to do it anymore.
01:00:50
Speaker
Yeah. yeah But we also get a little bit of insight into Ash's family's reaction. Because they talk about how, um this is a quote from Ash again, my sister uses her inherited wealth to pay for her housing, and my brother uses it to support his kid's education.
01:01:07
Speaker
There's a quiet coldness when I talk about the work that I do. Yeah. well no One family member joked that Ash would come crawling back in search of financial help if they wound up being unable to pay their rent.
01:01:19
Speaker
I was like, yeah, pretty much. Yeah. And like, well, yeah. Yeah. What else would they do? what else would you want them to do? And guess what? If you want to say no, then you're the asshole. Yeah.
01:01:31
Speaker
Like if you supporting me is predicated on me being rich. Yeah, it's weird. What is, like what's going We're a family. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I just, will it's time to do some math, Rebecca. Hang on though, because we got to talk about this last bit.
01:01:46
Speaker
No, no, I'm going backwards. I'm going I'm going backwards. um I'm going to do a little math for you okay to show you the truly generous hearts associated with this this profound movement. Wow, beautiful.
01:02:01
Speaker
Sweeping. the younger generation of of of wealthy heirs. By the end of the conference, 35 heirs have pledged to redistribute a total of $9.2 million. dollars Wow. Let's recall what they came into with.
01:02:18
Speaker
recall that these people had at least $245 million dollars in net worth between yeah between them if not more, because we don't know, seven of them didn't disclose.
01:02:35
Speaker
So what we're talking about here is that these martyrs to the capitalist society have decided to give away less than 4% of their net worth.
01:02:48
Speaker
Where is the freaking ticker tape parade? so So they, what they really are doing is going to a conference to circle jerk each other about how shameful and guilty they feel. Yeah.
01:03:00
Speaker
And then give away some crumbs from their pocket and then do it all again next year. Yeah. And have $150 vegan meals in the meantime. Yeah. Yep. Um, yes. I like the more I read about this other than Ash, I was like, I'm vibing with Ash. You're a bestie. Yeah.
01:03:15
Speaker
um The rest of these people can all fall off a cliff. Yeah, they suck. They're not good people. yeah but But Ash has a banger of a line at the end that I actually really enjoy. I did too. Yeah, see, this is why Ash is our friend.
01:03:28
Speaker
Ash says... Ash is just happy to have more to give. The money, they say, is the easy part. Once that's gone, it's time to find other things. Skills, food, housing, to redistribute in pursuit of a better world.
01:03:40
Speaker
Everyone, Ash says, has an inheritance to contribute. I don't qualify as done. I don't know if anyone ever is. Ash, you rock. Okay, also, i want to point out that the the premise for this was Ash got the $800,000 and then handled it how they wanted to.
01:04:00
Speaker
And then Grandma gave Ash an additional $80,000 when she passed. Regardless of the siblings who are cold to Ash for how they handled the first inheritance,
01:04:15
Speaker
And I just want to point out, Grandma clearly didn't have a problem with how ash was operating. Grandma was like, here's the Grandma was like, yep. Keep going. so um And I love that line, everyone has an inheritance to contribute.
01:04:28
Speaker
Good for you. Beautiful. So, Ash is the only redeeming feature of this entire group of of people. Performative guilt, yay o um Also, um this is... So, here's my... like
01:04:45
Speaker
This is a group of people... who have the first step of an understanding that there is a responsibility that comes from having yeah in general. Like if you you got the ah you know a great hand in the card game of life Don't waste it.
01:05:10
Speaker
there is a You should have a sense of responsibility about it, all that kind of stuff. The fact that they're twisting it into some kind of a burden yeah and look at me, I'm such a hero for doing it this way, ah you're you're gross. you're you're um It's you's still about you. Yes, you're a gross human being. couldn' contribut Yeah. yeah
01:05:33
Speaker
So we agree on one. We agree on that one, We agreed on um the overall nature of it and that Ash is our hero. That Ash is awesome. Ash seems to have like the actual heart of... Yes, exactly. Like... It's if community building. It is. I was going to say it as, you know, when someone is authentic around um like the ah like a positive idea and authentically representing it,
01:06:04
Speaker
they attract yeah instead of like the rest of these people. you we had stink face. We both did it just now. I know. We got the ick. It's just... Yeah, i feel like greasy now having talked about them.
01:06:19
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, those were our two articles. We got come up with happier articles. I know. It's just not a lot out there right now, guys.
Episode Reflection & Listener Engagement
01:06:30
Speaker
Yeah. Maybe, I don't know. maybe we I wish we could get people to submit interesting things. Yeah, but nobody does. Nobody does. guys I know.
01:06:40
Speaker
We're talking. Well, maybe we were a little more active on social media. oh I know. In all your spare time. In all my spare time, I'll start posing. a air post can you run a social media campaign promoting shallowment, please?
01:06:53
Speaker
I just don't know what to post. I'm like... You know what, if we were ah professionally managed, we would do this and then people would you know do clips and and we would be able to promote with little clips that would draw people in. But we would have a social media manager whose job it was to do that. And it wouldn't be me. No. and But it would need to be somebody that could clip up.
01:07:20
Speaker
you know segments of audio and then write-ups. Maybe we can get Maggie That sounds like Maggie, yeah. She is a marketing girl. Yeah. Anyway, well, wow we hope you enjoyed. This is actually one of our longer ones, Yeah, we kind of dragged this one out, although we both had bits.
01:07:37
Speaker
Yeah, we both had bits, and I think it was fun. I thought it was fun, too. I hope everybody else thought it was fun. And um because we're talking about it, let's just plug that Instagram once more.
01:07:48
Speaker
yeah. It is on Instagram at the shallow end crew. At the shallow end crew. And if you follow, you'll be our 19th follower.
01:08:00
Speaker
We have four posts right now. I didn't talk about the the geography of our of our listenership. Oh, no, we didn't. We did lose Spain. The entire country's gone. He's sick of us? Yeah.
01:08:12
Speaker
Sorry, Inigo. Dang. But is Putin still here? Nope. Dang. That's okay. I don't mind. Vlad doesn't need to be listening. We're too boring. Yeah.
01:08:23
Speaker
He's got a lot going on. He does. He does. All right. We'll see you in probably a month. Yeah. We'll see you in a month if you have any ideas for... Send them our way. The article will be linked in the episode description as always.
01:08:39
Speaker
And... um We love you. Shout at us, guys. Thanks for swimming along in the shallow end with us this week. Splash, splash. We were taking a bath. Bye.
01:08:50
Speaker
Marco. Marco. Bye bye!