I miss arcades, playgrounds, and going to the mall. Biking around a safe neighborhood without a care in the world. Back in the before times (late 80s) other kids would also be out and about looking for shit to do. Later generations stayed inside or went everywhere with their parents.
Mine was the last generation where 99% of parents would say "go outside, be home before dark". It was easier to make friends because there were literally roving bands of bored children of all ages out and about looking to pass the time. Playgrounds were full and on the rare occasion a parent was there how embarrassing for that kid, arcades were full, malls were full. We made up all kinds of stupid games, endless tag and running around. There was hope still.
I miss wandering around the local mom & pop video store on a Friday night arguing with the family on what to rent. I miss VHS tapes and those giant vhs camcorders that most families drug along on vacations. I miss bbq'ing in the park, or at a neighborhood block party. Yep, neighbors used to know each other and hang out.
Things weren't so doom and gloom. Politics still had some semblance of compromise, and for the most part didn't affect much of daily life.
I miss nintendo, genesis, SNES, and the burgeoning PC gaming space. I always wanted a NEOGEO but holy fuck were those expensive. I keep meaning to put together an emulation box just for NEOGEO, maybe this summer. Mind blowing how far emulation has come, not everything about the future sux
Water parks and amusement parks back then weren't so insane about safety. They were infinitely more fun because of it. Movies didn't suck and you could see a matinée showing for under $5.
Food was objectively better back then. Food science hadn't yet replaced wholesome ingredients, and inflation pressures hadn't caused a race to the bottom for food quality, and no globohomo international markets meant most ingredients were local. I remember taco bell in the early 80s if you got there too early before lunch you'd see them in the back cutting tomatoes, shredding cheese, frying up the meat and beans, frying the taco shells. Yeah, like actual cooking at a fast food place! Don't get me started on the prices, so cheap!
edit: I completely forgot that I miss everyone being a normal weight. No obesity crisis. Ppl were all basically hotter because fatasses were still pretty rare. Although I do benefit from it now, my peers think I'm ten years younger than I am just because I haven't ballooned out. I'd rather look my age and not be in fat clown world though. /edit
Society as a whole was more respectful to each other. People said faggot and nigger like they were just rude words, not vocab bombs that meant you deserved death for uttering them. People dressed nicer. Society was more white, at least outside of the cities where I grew up. People weren't ashamed of being white, and being proud of western culture was normal.
Even back in the 90s I had a sense the liberals were winning and taking over, but I had no idea how quickly it would fall. Their iron grip on academia, schools becoming blatant indoctrination mills, all levels of government and the bureaucracies, media, banks, and now big tech is fucking breathtaking. We can all feel that things are about to get bad. Real fucking bad. 2nd Amendment is all that's left of our freedoms, and it's crumbling before our eyes with red flag laws.
I hope the late 2020's aren't too violent, and by the 2030's we reverse course and things start to get better again. Or if not at least let death be quick, and let me take a few of those fucks with me on my way out. Most of you were born too late to know what's been stolen from us.
