There has been a lot said on my subject of Gen X’s childhood on my TikTok algorithm lately. Since I am an expert on Gen X, because I am one, let me explain the phenomenon that is being introduced to our young Gen Y and Z brethren and sisters. In the 80’s, kids were free range cows. And by that I mean we were left to our own devices, and by devices, I mean we had no devices. No phones, Iwatches, trackers, or GPS. Our parents pushed outside and expected us to stay out there entertaining ourselves, only allowed back in the house when it got too dark.

Since we didn’t really have video games at home until the middle of the 80’s, and TV was only allowed for a few hours a day, we had to come up with different hobbies. I did sports, biking, hide and seek, grass mowing, fort building, and going to the mall to play video games in the arcade. One of my hobbies though, was created out of being part of a big family. As an enterprising young man, and by way of my position in the family, I created a new hobby. I was second oldest overall, but oldest son. I had an older sister, just younger brother, then the two youngest were another sister, and another brother, for a total of 5 including me.

Here’s how my hobby worked. My just younger brother was the exact middle child, and he took his role as middle child seriously. Since he perceived that he was the most ignored, he found a way to become the biggest troublemaker, which in turn created the biggest gravity and focus from my parents. My oldest sister was the brilliant, studious, smart, apple of my parent’s eyes. My younger sister was the messy, disorganized mess that my parents that brought another type of focus from my parents. And of course, my youngest brother was the spoiled one by default.

My position became the replacement middle child that actually got the least attention, since the actual middle child garnered so much attention by way of troublemaking. In addition, I was also given the most responsibility by way of my father.

Out of my position in the family, my hobby started happening organically. With the assistance of my middle child brother, I took it upon myself to be a subtle antagonizer of my siblings. My brother and I would annoy my older sister, by causing her more chores (IE keeping the bathroom as messy as possible), invading her room when she was doing homework, and bugging her when she had boyfriends over.

The antagonization of our younger brother and sister, required adapting with other techniques. We would poke, prod, needle and egg them on in a number of ways that would bug them just enough to be annoying, but little enough to be look petty if they “told on mom”. For my sister, we would make fun of her harp playing (pluck, pluck, pluck…), use the vacuum hole in between our rooms to scare her, and make fun of how messy she was. For my younger brother, we would bully him in sports, ditch him when my parents told us to watch him, and tell him to stop following us all the time.

The biggest betrayal was against my just younger brother that I performed with. Whenever we took it a little too far, my parents would get mad at us, but always assume that it was my brother, because he was the troublemaker. I used his troublemaking as a meat shield, and allow him to take the brunt of the blame, because I was the “responsible” older brother. To sum up, I annoyed my older sister, tormented my younger brother and sister, and betrayed my middle brother.

So…what was would you call my hobby?

These days, it’s something that a lot of influencers on Tik Tok, YouTube and Twitch get paid millions of dollars to do as a profession.

Rage Bating.

Little did I know that something that I did for free, as a hobby, and quite frankly I did for fun as a kid, would someday become a lucrative career.

If I’m not at least given credit as a predecessor of current day ragebait phenomenon, I should at least be compensated by way of royalties, at least as much as TV stars get every time their repeats get shown again on TV.

Let’s be real. If I wasn’t building the foundations of Rage Bate way back in the 80’s, the current crop of ragebaters wouldn’t be anywhere near the kind of success they are having today. Besides, if the creators of the internet weren’t so lazy and incompetent in creating it earlier in my life, it would have been me making big money Rage Bating people from my influencer mansion right now.

In addition to royalties, I demand a statue in front of the future Rage Bate University, and in front of Rage Con’s when they become a thing in the future. I also demand the statue have my famous bitter expression and not capture me in a moment that looks like I was smiling.

While you guys work on ways to honor me in the Rage Bate Hall of Fame, here are some Bitter Friday Giftures to give you some inspiration…

Lately my Tik Tok Algorithm…

Talking about how we…

And not allowed…

Since in home video game consoles…

We were expected to…

Fortunately…

Which helped me create a hobby…

Little did I know…

Something that I did…

And to be honest…

Would become a career…

All I ask…

And a statue built in my honor…

ARRRGGGGHHHHHHH

Bitter Rage Bate Ben