u/Big_Hippo_4044

I am so fascinated at how different the realities are of everyone alive in 2026. It truly is fascinating. Real life is not the same for everyone, even if we feel we share the same reality.

I'm in NYC and my in-laws are from the south. I grew up in the south too, but never really enjoyed my time there despite my efforts.

Every time I go to their house for the holidays etc. They are still deeply entrenched in the 2017 cultural dynamic. Her dad drinks coffee from a DailyWire mug that says "leftists tears". The mom's mug says "make turning 60 great again" with Donald Trump on it. The coffee table is a clean assortment of deep thinking books by authors like Jordan Person, Charlie Kirk, and JD Vance.

I woke up early to get my coffee and walked into this scene, and I could tell her mom was ready to be provocative like an edgy YouTuber in 2017.

"Hey, what do you think of our mugs? hehe 😉". I

just smile politely. "Yeah that mug is sold by Ben Shapiro, he has a Youtube Channel. The other mug is a play on the president's slogan." I pour some coffee for myself and sit on the couch with them.

They seem bummed out that I'm more neutral and push more. "Yeah we had my sister over and she was so mad by that mug. She almost demanded we throw it out!".

I just sit still. I reply. "She probably doesn't like the president."

They reply "yeah she's one of those liberal wackos!"

I say "Oh okay so that's probably it. Thank y'all for the coffee."

They reply "Oh just so you know it's decaf. But maybe it can identify as caffeinated 😉"

It comes time to exchange Christmas presents and they get me a book from TJ maxx. Something like "The dude's guide to mindfulness, 2017" With corporate Memphis type art with a guy doing meditation thinking "mmmm a burger would be good now" and icons of a beard, steak, and free weights. Which was a very common gimmick in the 2010s, guy marketing.

Anyways just a fascinating thing to still see this and observe. They visited us in NYC and mentioned how they're shocked most people don't live in Staten Island because it's basically the same but better and cheaper.

People are so fucking entitled now it genuinely irritates me.

My friend runs an art space. They are very niche, boutique, kind of have to be in the know to know about it. 90% of the people who come in are chill. People 25-45 in lower manhattan or north bk, living in the city etc. Like art either because they moved to the city for it or maybe their algorithm has been telling them to and they're trying. Either way, they the small anti-corporate element.

Then - someone comes in, spends $800 on their artwork... one week later disputes the charge with their credit card company, saying it was a fraudulent purchase. My friend sends security camera footage of them purchasing it, screenshots of the transaction, everything. Nope. Bank closes it and takes my friend's $800 away. They give the person a call and say "hey, i saw you reported the charge as fraud, but, you bought it... and i need to pay my rent". The lady on the phone was appalled and said "holy shit im so sorry, i didn't know it would take the money from you i thought american express paid it"

Another friend runs a "secret show" in the city. 30 seats and they sell out like a few weeks out consistently. No advertising etc. You buy tickets online and check something that says "i understand all sales are final". Someone buys 24 tickets. My friend emails them a few times ahead of time making sure they're all coming because, well, 85% of the room is them. No response. Show is about to start - only those 6 other people are there. It's 3 minutes after showtime and surprise - 18 of the 24 show up. 6 of their group didn't even arrive. When they were told "just so you know we need to know ahead of time because we have a waitlist and the show requires 30 people..." they reply "I dont need to tell you, i bought them. those are my tickets." Additionally, they complained that there were other people watching the comedy show that night and not just their group. They then ask for a refund for the 6 people that didn't show up. when they're told no, they're bitched at for "not being customer centric". At an experimental comedy art installation. How they found out about it I'll never know - I'm assuming someone posted on TikTok.

Anyways, just a trend. I'm noticing more and more insular suburban long island/new jersey clique greek life country club type people coming into new York city to try to be "edgy and artsy" and then proceeding to ruin those things by treating it all like it is just "quirky branding" on an amazon product.

Fucking lame.