Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)
@nathankalmoe.bsky.social
PoliSci/Comm @ UW-Madison via UMich. Views mine, ~90% right. US politics, votes, violence, history, psych. 3📚+1 in progress: How WE Make US Democracy. Dad w/ jokes. 🧙🏻. 🥏⛳🏆. Avid 🧗. Congress said I have "tremendous sway over SM platforms"😂 nathankalmoe.com
Yep! I should've taken more time to show a more representative photo while rushing to work. Turns out posting isn't my job!
November 25, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Yep! I should've taken more time to show a more representative photo while rushing to work. Turns out posting isn't my job!
And the actions were limited to visibility -- that's def important to show strength in numbers, but that's not where you'll predominantly find young people. Young ppl aren't headcount ppl.
I'm overgeneralizing throughout to push back on the frames set in the NYT article, which has many good pts.
I'm overgeneralizing throughout to push back on the frames set in the NYT article, which has many good pts.
November 25, 2025 at 3:30 PM
And the actions were limited to visibility -- that's def important to show strength in numbers, but that's not where you'll predominantly find young people. Young ppl aren't headcount ppl.
I'm overgeneralizing throughout to push back on the frames set in the NYT article, which has many good pts.
I'm overgeneralizing throughout to push back on the frames set in the NYT article, which has many good pts.
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November 25, 2025 at 3:28 PM
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Could be! But the messaging was all "stop regressing," not "we need new systems" or even "here are some modest improvements."
November 25, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Could be! But the messaging was all "stop regressing," not "we need new systems" or even "here are some modest improvements."
"Substantially improve" is the metric. No full fixes for anything. And system-changing action succeeds far more than you'd think:
US Rev, end prop reqs to vote, abolish slavery, 14th Amdt, women's votes, legal unions, New Deal, 1965 imm reform, end Jim Crow, abortion, disability rights, gay rights.
US Rev, end prop reqs to vote, abolish slavery, 14th Amdt, women's votes, legal unions, New Deal, 1965 imm reform, end Jim Crow, abortion, disability rights, gay rights.
November 25, 2025 at 3:22 PM
"Substantially improve" is the metric. No full fixes for anything. And system-changing action succeeds far more than you'd think:
US Rev, end prop reqs to vote, abolish slavery, 14th Amdt, women's votes, legal unions, New Deal, 1965 imm reform, end Jim Crow, abortion, disability rights, gay rights.
US Rev, end prop reqs to vote, abolish slavery, 14th Amdt, women's votes, legal unions, New Deal, 1965 imm reform, end Jim Crow, abortion, disability rights, gay rights.
My main point is that the demographics of protest (incl. age) depend primarily on subjective cost/benefit. Older people w/ $ are more likely to hold signs on a street corner & wave to preserve the status quo. A much smaller cadre of mostly young people takes personal risks for systemic change.
November 25, 2025 at 3:17 PM
My main point is that the demographics of protest (incl. age) depend primarily on subjective cost/benefit. Older people w/ $ are more likely to hold signs on a street corner & wave to preserve the status quo. A much smaller cadre of mostly young people takes personal risks for systemic change.
No, I don't mean numerical among young people across events. I mean the Gaza protests were vastly more Gen Z than Boomer. Their aims were more radical (by sad US standards) & actions riskier. It's about the kind of protest that young people do, and the system-changing aims they're mobilized by.
November 25, 2025 at 3:14 PM
No, I don't mean numerical among young people across events. I mean the Gaza protests were vastly more Gen Z than Boomer. Their aims were more radical (by sad US standards) & actions riskier. It's about the kind of protest that young people do, and the system-changing aims they're mobilized by.
Yeah, not the ideal illustration I guess. I grabbed a Broadview pic quick while heading into work & didn't notice the gray hair. It's still safe to say most people at Broadview, Portland, etc. are not Boomers.
November 25, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Yeah, not the ideal illustration I guess. I grabbed a Broadview pic quick while heading into work & didn't notice the gray hair. It's still safe to say most people at Broadview, Portland, etc. are not Boomers.
Yep! Older folks are more likely to knock on doors, encourage small donations, persuade normie friends, etc.
November 25, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Yep! Older folks are more likely to knock on doors, encourage small donations, persuade normie friends, etc.
A gen Z grad student made these posters and hung them around campus. Does that count?
November 25, 2025 at 3:06 PM
A gen Z grad student made these posters and hung them around campus. Does that count?
No Kings is ultimately “maintain the status quo.” That happens to be very important amidst an authoritarian free-fall. But “preserve broken systems” won’t galvanize young people.
November 25, 2025 at 2:53 PM
No Kings is ultimately “maintain the status quo.” That happens to be very important amidst an authoritarian free-fall. But “preserve broken systems” won’t galvanize young people.
Do they disclose their AI holdings? Did they raise alarm in 2007-08?
November 25, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Do they disclose their AI holdings? Did they raise alarm in 2007-08?
Reposted by Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)
Also, Gen Z is getting gassed, beaten and shot by ice & cops at ice facilities. Where are the boomers?
They prefer safe action with the most modest aims. Young people are galvanized by calls for replacing irredeemable systems. And they take risks the olds aren’t willing to take.
We need both.
They prefer safe action with the most modest aims. Young people are galvanized by calls for replacing irredeemable systems. And they take risks the olds aren’t willing to take.
We need both.
November 25, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Also, Gen Z is getting gassed, beaten and shot by ice & cops at ice facilities. Where are the boomers?
They prefer safe action with the most modest aims. Young people are galvanized by calls for replacing irredeemable systems. And they take risks the olds aren’t willing to take.
We need both.
They prefer safe action with the most modest aims. Young people are galvanized by calls for replacing irredeemable systems. And they take risks the olds aren’t willing to take.
We need both.
There’s lots to like from @brendannyhan.bsky.social here. I agree on demoralization. Also, normie Dem activism is always dominated by well-off retirees. They have more time comfort, & small aims.
Gaza protests against genocide were Gen Z’s antifascist action. (BLM too.) Where were boomers then?
Gaza protests against genocide were Gen Z’s antifascist action. (BLM too.) Where were boomers then?
November 25, 2025 at 2:46 PM
There’s lots to like from @brendannyhan.bsky.social here. I agree on demoralization. Also, normie Dem activism is always dominated by well-off retirees. They have more time comfort, & small aims.
Gaza protests against genocide were Gen Z’s antifascist action. (BLM too.) Where were boomers then?
Gaza protests against genocide were Gen Z’s antifascist action. (BLM too.) Where were boomers then?
Reposted by Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)
"Black women are disproportionately working-class. So if it was really about class, explain to me why Black women understood exactly what he [Trump] was going to do, which is make life harder for working-class people," says Kimberlé Crenshaw. newrepublic.com/article/2036...
November 25, 2025 at 1:33 PM
"Black women are disproportionately working-class. So if it was really about class, explain to me why Black women understood exactly what he [Trump] was going to do, which is make life harder for working-class people," says Kimberlé Crenshaw. newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Loving Perry’s interview series. Insightful guests & good conversation. Crenshaw is one of the best as an innovator on intersectionality and other essential frameworks for understanding & action.👇🏻
"My mentor always tells me, 'Kim, dogs don’t bark at parked cars." They’re coming after critical race theory, 1619, intersectionality because these ideas mobilized people. They gave them the language to actually articulate what they were seeing with their own eyes," says Kimberlé Crenshaw.
November 25, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Loving Perry’s interview series. Insightful guests & good conversation. Crenshaw is one of the best as an innovator on intersectionality and other essential frameworks for understanding & action.👇🏻
Reposted by Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)
"My mentor always tells me, 'Kim, dogs don’t bark at parked cars." They’re coming after critical race theory, 1619, intersectionality because these ideas mobilized people. They gave them the language to actually articulate what they were seeing with their own eyes," says Kimberlé Crenshaw.
November 25, 2025 at 1:26 PM
"My mentor always tells me, 'Kim, dogs don’t bark at parked cars." They’re coming after critical race theory, 1619, intersectionality because these ideas mobilized people. They gave them the language to actually articulate what they were seeing with their own eyes," says Kimberlé Crenshaw.
Reposted by Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)
we're going to win
Page One in Cincinnati:
“.. I need to be able to look my grandkids in the eye and say I did not remain silent.”
#ICE
“.. I need to be able to look my grandkids in the eye and say I did not remain silent.”
#ICE
November 25, 2025 at 1:02 PM
we're going to win
Reposted by Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)
The statements in question include "gas chamber jokes" which I don't get generally as a human being, much less in the construction of a "joke." Here's an article with more detail.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
November 25, 2025 at 1:24 PM
The statements in question include "gas chamber jokes" which I don't get generally as a human being, much less in the construction of a "joke." Here's an article with more detail.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)
"A new study shows that cutting social media use for just one week can reduce mental health symptoms, like anxiety and depression, in young adults."
Just one week off social media can improve young adults' mental health, study finds
A new study shows that cutting social media use for just one week can reduce mental health symptoms, like anxiety and depression, in young adults.
www.npr.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:58 PM
"A new study shows that cutting social media use for just one week can reduce mental health symptoms, like anxiety and depression, in young adults."
It’s already happening.
November 25, 2025 at 12:58 PM
It’s already happening.
Reposted by Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)
A harbinger of what’s to come for K-12 schools if it is infiltrated by AI. Fake teachers grading fake work and accusing student work of being fake while faking their work— all in service of billionaires and their profit and political goals.
"Potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are—a Russian nesting doll of bullshit." www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk’s Worthless, Poisoned Hall of Mirrors
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:00 PM
A harbinger of what’s to come for K-12 schools if it is infiltrated by AI. Fake teachers grading fake work and accusing student work of being fake while faking their work— all in service of billionaires and their profit and political goals.
Reposted by Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)
I hate Orwell comparisons as much as the next guy, but they're really hard to avoid these days.
November 25, 2025 at 10:57 AM
I hate Orwell comparisons as much as the next guy, but they're really hard to avoid these days.
Reposted by Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)
Opinion | The Boomers Are Protesting Trump. Where Is Gen Z?
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:51 PM