Fears in the 1990s versus fears in the Age of Corona

by philg

Happy Halloween! Let’s consider how our fears have evolved.

In the 1990s, we were afraid of the following:

  • The government would invade our privacy via CCTV cameras when we were out walking around.
  • Microsoft would crush upstart competitors by bundling software with similar capabilities into their monopoly operating system. This could cost each of us $100 or more.
  • Everyone will be killed by HIV/AIDS
  • What else?

Fears today:

  • We don’t have to worry about CCTV cameras on the sidewalk since (a) it might be illegal to be out on the sidewalk to begin with, (b) if it were legal, we’d have to wear a mask.
  • Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, et al. will deplatform anyone who disagrees with what they deem to be RightThink on a wide range of issues.
  • Everyone will be killed by COVID-19
  • What else?

A friend’s minivan, decorated by a recent high school graduate…

10 thoughts on “Fears in the 1990s versus fears in the Age of Corona”

  1. We had the great Y2K hysteria predicting computers would explode, power grid would collapse, and planes would fall from the sky.

  2. 1990s: “we’ve only got 12 years until global warming kills us!”

    2020s: “we’ve only got 12 years until climate change kills us!”

  3. > What else?

    In the ’90s, downsizing! See e.g. Donald E. Westlake’s brilliant novel The Ax.

    Today…

    > Everyone will be killed by COVID-19

    Hmm… no, that’s pretty much it.

  4. I try not to dabble in fearmongering but I can tell you that I don’t need to see Madonna in a rose-petal-infused bathtub or Naomi Campbell in a hazmat suit ever again. I also don’t need to see any more mall ninjas with AR-15s standing around like idiots in the Michigan state capitol building, looking like jerkoffs. I would also like to see a lot less portrayal of good people as the incarnation of Satan. But what I’d really like to see is anyone, anywhere admit they’re all just full of shit, which might inspire some fear, but at least it would be honest.

    • We’re almost at Max Q:

      ““There will be no metrics. There will be one rule that applies across the country,” he added.

      Anyone who refuses to be tested must quarantine for 14 days.”

  6. It’s not COVID-19 that I fear in the age of COVID, it is our government which is how it is transforming us into a Communist Society but no one seems to object. Even worse, we are accepting it, with open arms.

    Think about it. This is not just about wearing a mask, isolating, et. al. that are COVID-19 related. We are now forced to accept — even worse, feel guilty — if we disagree with anything our government tells us. You cannot say “All lives matters”, you cannot say “I don’t like gays or lesbians”, you cannot say “I love guns”, or “I hate Islam”, etc. etc. Even if you are not extrema, you will be labeled as one for simply not agreeing.

    • Well said sir. Seems like boomer generation grew up their kids as an imbeciles who totally luck critical thinking.

    • The millenial failures are on the boomers. But the worst thing the boomers did was say ‘you have to pick your battles’ as an excuse to not fight any battles. Hence we are where we are now and it will be an epic battle between good and evil. The wolf might even slip its leash and swallow the sun.

Comments are closed.