Generation X Rises Up to Become an Army of Sense During Coronavirus — a SiriusXM Radio and PaperCity Moment

To say Courtney Dabney’s PaperCity article on Generation X finally getting some love during the coronavirus pandemic made an impact is putting it lightly. There are sadistic dentists who’ve touched less nerves. Dabney’s column triggered a tidal wave of reaction from Dallas to New Zealand, galvanizing a generation that often found itself completely ignored, dismissively cast aside or ignorantly misunderstood.

“It seems that it has taken a global pandemic for anyone to sing our praises ― to even call us by name,” Dabney writes. “All of the sudden folks are impressed by our remarkable resilience, our ability to entertain ourselves for hours on end and our willingness to shelter in place without whining.”

Yes, Generation X is having a moment — and fellow Gen Xer Julie Mason could not help but notice. Mason, the host of the Press Pool on SiriusXM Radio’s Potus Channel, had Dabney on her popular national radio show to discuss the zany wonders of Generation X and its remarkable ability to actually follow social distancing guidelines.

Mason and Dabney banter about everything from 8-track tape cassette players to the correct favorite Pop-Tart flavor (Mason believes Frosted Strawberry is the only proper choice, while Dabney champions underdog blueberry) to the birth of MTV. With a little acid washed jeans thrown in.

“I’m not an expert, but I lived it,” Dabney quips at one point about her Generation X bonafides.

Still even Dabney admits that she did not anticipate just how many Gen Xers would be mobilized and moved to comment by her column. “Everyone had a really shared experience, which I kind of wasn’t expecting,” she tells Mason.

Mason, a former White House correspondent who worked for the Houston Chronicle for 20 years before becoming a force on satellite radio, counters with many of her own keen Generation X observations.

“All of our movies we’re about Vietnam,” Mason, who calls herself an honorary Texan on her Twitter bio, says. “We knew more about Vietnam than Millennials know about 9-11.”

When a conversation touches on everything from HoneyComb cereal (PaperCity‘s Dabney admits she may have hoarded some) to the scene in Say Anything where John Cusack holds up that giant boombox, you know it’s not just another radio interview.

To hear the full SiriusXM Generation X interview, click on the player above this story.

To read Courtney Dabney’s full Generation X piece, go here.