Gen Z will change the world I have no doubt. I am sure it will be for the worse. But that is just a reflection of human nature, not a knock on Gen Z per se. Just like the Boomers were revolutionaries in the 60s and now they are just, well, you know their state of affairs. Basically we are all well-intentioned idiots, solving problems by creating new ones.
127
I’m 55, don’t text me looking for money. That is all, thank you.
Signed,
Boomer
65
Boomers:
Calls Gen Z stupid
Calls Gen Z sensitive
Calls Gen Z incompetent
Gen Z:
“Ok Boomer”
Boomers: *uproar*
209
Ok Millennials, put your money where your mouth is -
VOTE !
229
The comments positing that there is some sort of cleavage between regressive boomers and enlightened boomers is self-serving and doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
Boomers who fashion themselves as “enlightened” or “progressive” still cling to their upper-level jobs, drive high-powered luxury vehicles, take lavish vacations to environmentally sensitive regions, and otherwise spend their wealth on a self-absorbed lifestyle of high consumption and carbon footprint.
If anything, they are worse than the “regressive” members of their generation, since they talk a good game about the environment, economic justice and the like, but have made little meaningful effort as aging citizens to accommodate the needs and concerns of younger generations. When challenged, they often get defensive and justify their sense of entitlement with trivial references to the “sacrifice” of shopping at Whole Foods, how much they recycle, etc.
That said, Gen-Z shouldn’t expect the entrenched Boomer generation to just hand over what they believe is their life’s bounty based on a clever catch-phrase you have come up with, and some fotos of you and your friends posturing on social media.
42
Until everyone realizes that buying and selling junky crap online and getting little plastic bags of stuff in the mail every day has a significantly negative effect on the environment, the earth is going to continue to be degraded by all humans of any age wielding a credit card. Online shopping, driving your personal vehicle everywhere, storing thousands of stupid pictures of yourself in giant server farms - you'll be called out for these destructive habits soon enough, youngsters. Who ya gonna blame for those bad feelings?
186
As a "boomer" I'm often just as puzzled by members of my generation who sound like they grew up in the 1920's rather than the 60's. They read the same books I read growing up; listened to the same music I listened too; saw the same things I saw; we all went through or participated in the same social movements, experienced the same national tragedies.
I meet died-in-the-wool Trump boosters my age all the time and it just puzzles me to no end how they got there. The fact of the matter is that it has nothing to do with being a "boomer" and it's not even peculiar to boomers. Half the people I pass on the road with Trump buyer stickers are young people.
It is a strain of right-wing anti-intellectualism and paranoia in American politics documented by historians that has always been there and erupts from time to time. Young folks should realize most boomers are probably not like their MAGA-hat wearing uncle. And as much as boomers get blamed for a lot of things we also did some pretty neat stuff too, i.e., going to the moon, the Internet, civil rights, women's rights, etc.
If we tend to be skeptical about some things young folks are unreservedly enthusiastic about it's because, to quote the insurance guy on TV, "We know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two.".
188
Boomers 'pushing back' against millenial/gen z politics forget that they won't live to see the world they've created. They're openly resisting young peoples' attempts to change the world to suit, well, the people who will inhabit it.
Our anger against folks who don't believe in climate change and would rather gargle fake news is justified - as is our frustration with an entirely inequitable, hateful world.
Why won't they let us change it, if they'll only be inhabiting it for another 20 or so years (of pampered, government subsidized luxury which we will never be able to expect)?
25
@ok neat Golly, I felt that way at your age too. Does the word "VietNam" mean anything to you? Try demonstrating against the war and being beaten up by hardhats. Learn history; it will definitely help you in the future. P.S. I assume you and your friends all voted in 2016? P.P.S. "Pampered government subsidized luxury?" What town do you live in? Get out and talk to real people.
105
@ok neat Sorry you are so angry. Most of us believe in climate change and only a few of us are in the rich elite.
We are helping our kids and other young people and volunteering as much as we can. Do you think we like it that the 1% control so much of society? This is more about the 1% than it is about generations. It is time to step out of the hatred and take action. For the people who do not believe in climate change, there are some in your own generation, so convince those folks, since they will be your peers. Labeling and rejecting people for the group they belong to has led to horrors in many civilizations. We are not pushing against your beliefs; we are pushing back against your hatred, since we have seen what happens to societies when people lead with hatred.
85
@ok neat
Everything will be OK, because I’m sure the 1% of your generation will be donating all of their fortunes toward the greater good of the GenZ (and beyond) universe.
Guaranteed, there will no more corporate greed when you and yours are at the helm.
Have you started saving for your PV system yet? Didn’t think so.
Although, hopefully it won’t be the case, the new boss will be just like the old boss...only worse.
25
Okay Gen Z-er:
Here’s what I know about boomers:
Most of my friends are working well into their 60s and 70s to pay their bills--forget retirement.
Boomers worked hard to give their kids financial and unconditional emotional support, and many are now caring for their parents.
For those of us who went to college, we didn't go back home after--we had to be on our own and support ourselves. And it wasn’t easy or cheap then either, but we were satisfied with less (no “amenities”). We expected to take a step down when we were starting out.
Boomers had to learn how to navigate technology in order to get and keep jobs.
And many of us are open to new ideas.
Many boomers lost their lives in war.
How exactly did we become responsible for the crisis in healthcare, and every other problem on the planet? The state of the environment is on all of us.
The world today is a way more complicated place than it was when we grew up.
I don’t think we are all that bad.
217
@Kaylee
Scapegoat.
41
@Kayla
In this day and age when critical thought is in short supply “Boomer” is up there with “white, male, straight, american, christian”. It’s an epithet and insult, an escape goat for a segment of the population.
43
“Everybody in Gen Z is affected by the choices of the boomers, that they made and are still making,” she said.”
Just change “Gen Z” to “Baby Boomer Generation” and “boomers” to the ‘Greatest Generation” and you have a statement that could’ve been uttered fifty years ago by those same Baby Boomers. It is unfortunate that many members of Gen Z lack the historical understanding of the conflicts between generations in American society. Gen Z wants the Baby Boomers to simply step aside and let them run the show. In due time, young people, in due. Boomer demise is inevitable. Just not yet. OK Z’er.
135
So we've come to the point at which the NYT writes about what complaining teenagers wear on their hoodies. Of course they're complaining--they're teenagers. If those lower lips get stuck out any farther, they're going to have to have to wear corrective braces on their teeth.
55
Honest to goodness. I went to Notre Dame 35 years ago. My roommate was from Tulsa. The proper response to this is: Sooner.
This is a perfect example of how folk etymology gets things totally wrong.
I guess Kansas St loss meant there were a ton of these that had to be unloaded.
This is not a real thing!
8
A lot of "Ok Boomer"/Millenial/Gen Z commenters should find and watch the movie Logan's Run - and hopefully be scared into realizing what they're advocating.
Otherwise, here's a thought: move out of your parents' home, pay for your own life, and then, maybe then, the rest of us will listen to you what you have to say. And if you think it's so much harder now than for previous generations, then shut up, listen, and show some respect for the stories your elders tell you about the sacrifices they made and the experiences they lived. I guarantee you that no ordinary person, whatever the generation, has had it easy.
As someone whose parents were born between the major generational experiences - after the Great Depression, but before the WWII baby boom - I have no patience for people who need to define themselves by group culture.
110
Ha ha ha, all the Boomers in denial in the comments despite the mountain of historical evidence that they've pillaged and plundered our country over the last 40 years for their own gain. Here's the good news gen Z: gen X and millennials also loathe the Boomers and our combined three generations now dwarf their numbers, not to mention mother nature will be kicking in soon for them.
25
@Bryan Yes, we all die eventually ha ha ha.
27
@Pete there's really no way to look good in this pig-wrestling arena.
16
Gen X gets no respect
82
Kind of funny that the article quickly focuses on who is making how much money from which merch. Self own.
79
Designing a sweatshirt and profiting off of Gen-Z's anti-boomer trend seems to me to be, well, a very boomer-esque thing to do.
159
Hey, man. I like really dig your words - you’ve like got this whole Aquarian thing going and I really really dig that. So, you, know, peace out brothers and sisters. Peace out.
26
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.
No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
36
LOL - this comment section is just fantastic. The best imaginable response to the top fifteen trending comments is “ok Boomer.” It’s the perfect reply. I love it!
48
“Gen Z is going to be the first generation to have a lower quality of life than the generation before them,” said Joshua Citarella, 32"
That may or may not be true, but what I can state unequivocally is that the post-WWII creation of the American Middle-Class is an aberration in American Society and NOT the norm.
Programs like the New Deal, The GI Bill, FHA and the like helped to build a class of Americans the like of which was not possible here on such a large scale before.
The Ruling Class thought FDR to be a traitor to his class for these programs, and have been working feverishly ever since to roll back the programs that created the middle-class.
What people are seeing now is a return to the normal state of things for regular people in the U.S. where people did not necessarily outdo their parents and ancestors, rather than maintain a minimal existence.
Baby Boomers by happenstance were born into that unprecedented era of growth; that is something that was beyond their control.
So the expectations of Millennials and Z-ers should be tempered with the knowledge of things that (gasp!) happened before they were born; that Americans did not normally outstrip their parents' success. If people told this was the norm, they were wrong.
120
I find it ironic that Ms. Kasman states there's not much she can personally do to restore the environment. Au contraire. She can avoid using unnecessary products (hair dye, fingernail polish, etc.), use her cellphone model/other tech products for more than two years, recycle, compost food scraps, take public transportation, reduce plastic use, and much more. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Be part of the solution, not the problem.
73
Change it to:
"OK CONSERVATIVE BOOMER"
They're more likely to have been supportive of the following:
- Reagan's 1980s idea that the role of government should be no role except to rig tax and spending decisions to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a few. Resulting in the "money-take-all" corruption we suffer today. With all its policy and unfairness ramifications. 40 years of it!
- The intrusion on personal decisions like lifestyle, religious beliefs (or non belief), when to have kids(!) and even how one can live with their sexual preference and desire.
- Willful, calculated schemes to subvert democracy by ginning up voter fraud panic, an unsupported excuse for restricting participation among minorities and youth. Don't forget the flood of money in politics and illegal rigging of congressional districts.
- Rejection of emperical science and research if it impedes brute power and profit interests. Rejecting the very essence of life on earth and it's survival. (the US military says climate change is our number one security issue because of the political instability it will bring - search that)
This "Boomer" (I'd rather be seen as a concerned, conscious person without the label) has advice for young and old:
See the problem, embrace your allies, understand your adversaries.
Respect everyone, especially adversaries.
Show grace as you struggle.
Read Martin Luther King.
American guru.
"The loving community" is the goal.
Our shared humanity.
105
I teach have been teaching at a university since 2013 and so I've seen many of the recent young generation come through. Some as traditional college-age students, some as young families with a mom going back to school, some veterans, and some whom life has just been hard and they want to change their life's course through education.
I do see the worries about home, debt, lack of upward mobility and opportunity. I have had a lot of opportunity given to me. What I am impressed with in my students is their RESOLVE. They learn to understand that they can only work according to circumstances in life that are given them. They stop blaming and complaining and humbly seek an alliance with me their professor. I can't change their circumstances either. I can only help them make the best choices for their lives where they are. I grieve with them when they suffer and celebrate with them when they triumph.
And the character and quiet strength they are building by seeking the help of an older generation and not, " Hey old person watch me change the world," is doing great good for them and good for those their lives touch. More important than "changing the world" (whatever that means) is working with your own life's circumstances to see yourself changed into a person of compassion, grit, and joy.
72
It seems almost natural that the Gen Z population is up in arms about the changes that have occurred since the Boomers were their age. Yet the most insidious aspect of these "generation wars" is that it exacerbates the divisiveness now infecting the American population as a whole.
Many Boomers benefited from the excellent economic situation when growing up, yet they also had to face a military draft into an unjust war, and protested it. They saw the inherent injustice in social issues, and supported the civil rights movement, spawned the women's liberation, environmental, and LGBTQ movements, and led the way to ensuring women's reproductive rights.
Many of these progressive movements have been attacked over the years, but it was not the Boomer generation that was solely responsible. The decline in these legal and political beliefs began with Reagan and has hit its current zenith due to the apathy of the majority (of ALL "generations") who did not bother to vote in 2016, and the persistence of reactionary political funding by an oligarchy of corporations now deemed "people."
The obvious downside of one generation blaming another is that this divisiveness only amplifies the ability of the well-funded and vocal minority (the "base" of about 35% of the population) to deconstruct the institutions on which our democracy relies.
Only by coalescing into a positive inter-generational progressive voting electorate can these anti-liberal policies be overcome. Unite and conquer!
71
@wysiwyg Those using the term "ok boomer" ARE coalescing in opposition to about 25% of the population (what percentage the boomers are around now).
Don't forget about the super crime 90s, Satanic Panic, giving out participation trophies (and then giving millenials a hard time about receiving them), treating those kids coming home from the atrocities of war they never signed up for like garbage, blowing up the debt, the entire Clinton impeachment tomfoolery, helicopter parenting, single use plastics, etc, etc, etc.
14
What goes around, comes around. There were too many empty-headed digs at millenials, now it's a unified shade. I identify as GenX, but empathize with anyone, of any age, trying to live a meaningful life in the 21st century.
63
We boomers are the beneficiaries of a golden moment in US economic history. Great access to higher education for the equivalent of bus money. My mid 70's tuition at a fabulous state university was around $800.00 a semester. That was premium pricing - I was an out of state student. We paid cash on the spot. Some families spent more on orthodontics than education.
When we graduated, there were good jobs waiting. Outsourcing and privatization hadn't begun, and there was a social contract of sorts to employ and nurture the next generation. They needed us; companies were growing, there was scant automation, and people with established careers back then didn't work into their elder years as boomers do now.
An inhabitable house was under 20K. More importantly, I could have gone anywhere in the late 70's, gotten almost any job, paid my bills and remained debt free.
Those of us who were at Woodstock eventually discovered that earning a good living was...not a terminal disease. Former social activist Jerry Rubin became an entrepreneur and declared that "wealth creation is the real American revolution".
Then we began inheriting our Greatest Generation parents' hard earned assets. We were gaining a serious stake in the game. People who hated Nixon in '68 voted for Reagan in '80. And thus began the dissolution that has brought us to the present generational discontent, which I fully acknowledge and completely agree with.
142
Ms. Kasman is quoted: "There’s not much I can personally do to restore the environment, which was harmed due to corporate greed of older generations."
Correction, Ms. Kasman: the environment was harmed by corporate greed -- a corporate greed that changes little from one generation to the next, although its manifestations may indeed vary over the years. But corporate greed will be alive and well when you, Ms. Kasman, and your peers, are in your 50s, 60s and 70s.
47
Why are corporations greedy? Because people are greedy and selfish. If you can build an organization on the self-sacrifice of people instead of anyone having more stuff (quite nearly for its own sake) then that organization would be different from those that people currently rail against.
The problem? Where do you find people that aren't greedy and self-centered?
11
I am somewhat amazed that so many Gen Z-ers and Millennials, who would be quick to recognize and call out over-generalizations of any other group. can so casually and cavalierly engage in it themselves when it comes to Boomers. Never mind that Boomers are a large group that is comprised of individuals of vastly different backgrounds economic status, and political and social views, these Gen Z-ers and Millennials speak of us as if we all voted for Reagan, heartily endorsed the gutting of the social safety net and have all led lives of unlimited opportunity that have been without financial struggle.
They also speak of Boomers as if Boomers, and Boomers alone, were responsible for all of the mistakes, oversights and bad judgments of the past. I would remind them that at no point in history have Boomers alone been in control of things. Although it is dying off pretty rapidly now, for most of Boomer's lives, the so-called "greatest generation" was around and active, and they, too (or at least many of them) participated in things like the election of Ronald Reagan and in other decisions and directions the country took.
One thing we can all be certain of, however, is that there will be generations that follow the Millennials and Gen Z-ers -- generations that will be quick to point out to the "old people" of the Millennial and Gen Z generations, their many blind spots, shortcomings and other failings just as the Gen Z-ers and Millennials are doing now.
69
What of the many thousands of boomers who fought in Vietnam, marched in the streets protesting inequality, demanding rights for women, people of color and the disenfranchised and drove Nixon from office? I guess none of that counts.
My guess is Gen Z would take offense at being stereotyped yet freely stereotype another; how disappointing that a generation can be so hypocritical. These young people are well educated and have so much promise to make a difference in the world yet choose to denigrate an entire population for the actions of a few. I find that shameful.
75
"OK Boomer" millennials aren't doing themselves any favors. In time, millennials will inherit Boomer shoes, and the proverbial shoe will be on her own foot. What goes around comes around. Kharma kicks back.
43
Why did we just gloss over millennials. The article says gen z is the first generation to have a lower standard of living than the previous one. I think that's millennials. Millennials and gen z have a lot in common. How old is the oldest gen z? They said nobody has health insurance. Again I think that is millennials. Unless something has changed you can be on parental insurance until 26. Unless your parents don't have insurance. Then that makes sense. Anyway I'm a millennial with a biochemistry degree and barely make over minimum wage. I'm trying to change that, but it's slow going. We younger generations need to work together because I'm pretty sure millennials have more in common with gen z than BOOMERS
22
What is a disrespectful hairline?
47
Let's hope they all vote.
52
What I find troubling about the boomer mindset, and this goes for a lot of left leaning boomers as well, is the underlying presumption of access to opportunity vis a vis hard work and "because America". The bedrock of this presumption lies in the work done to promote common good and welfare by the generations that came before them, but this history of struggle for material well being is often ignored. I have seen and heard so many arguments about how they worked and went to college or they protested in Vietnam, but the fact of the matter is that this all happened when the middle class was at its peak and the work had been done to provide plentiful options for economic mobility. These systems were taken for granted and eroded for decades under boomers' watch. Policy after policy in the Democratic Party has moved right since the New Dems came to power in the early 90s (when boomers came to power), and as a result we younger people are "crazy" for revisiting policy positions that might provide a standard of living enjoyed by the Boomers 50 and 60 years ago. I'm sorry, but protesting Vietnam and preaching "free love" until you were 25 doesn't give you a pass on what's transpired the past 30 years.
24
I get the disaffection with an older generation; I felt it toward the so-called greatest generation who raised me. If Gen Z wants to improve lives and the environment in this country, I applaud them. But it doesn't happen selling hoodies with a popular slogan. And hoodies with a slogan do not a movement make no matter how well the slogan expresses a generation's discontent. Individuals rarely make change alone, despite the myths of our individualistic culture. It takes communication, collaboration, courage and risk taking to make change. Many of the boomers tried, and we were successful in some ways, but not as much as we wanted to be. Hope that your generation can accept support from boomers who are still committed to making the world a better place for your generation.
41
@JMC
many of their generational cohorts are content with broad platitudes and virtue signaling versus actual conflict in the trenches (local boards, state legislatures, and federal agencies).
Like every previous young, idealistic generation, they want to run into the first battle they find over and over again, instead of walking with measured pace and winning them all. once middle age rolls around, cynicism and malaise will set in for them too.
18
In my last college class of my career, my students and I had a conversation about this, because it was election time and I wanted their votes to count. I tried to fire them up with statistics about how much is being spent on programs for the old, and how little was being spent on roads, infrastructure, education, and all the issues that would affect them.
Only most had not registered to vote.
They can dis the older generation all they want, but until they are ready to vote, to be on a jury (which is why many of them said they didn't want to register to vote), to buy their books instead of pimping their car (and write an essay about it for their English teacher (!)), their protests fall on (my deaf) ears.
To be fair, many of my students were overburdened with jobs, child care, & family responsibilities as my group were in a community college, not a four-year unversity, but their overwhelming disengagement with the political system depressed me.
I hope things are changing, as evidenced by this article, but the two young adults across the street from me, stuck in dead-end jobs because they didn't take their schooling seriously, still aren't registered. As the tail-end of the boomer generation, I'll keep trying.
61
Every few years, a generational "challenge" comes along, cleverly marketed, designed to appeal not to the masses of young people, but their middle-aged, or 30's interlocutors at places like the Times. By pitting generations agains each other, the "movement" generalizes, disguises and buries the true conflict. The Boomer generation did not and does not ignore climate change. The Boomer generation did not support Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan or any endless war and oppressive surveillance. Generational conflict portrays a good guy bad guy scenario which can be quickly grasped by lazy reporters on deadline. (assuming the "reporter" in this case is not an algorithm)
68
Sort of reminds me of 'punk' clothing sold at Macy's.
44
“You don’t like change, you don’t understand new things especially related to technology, you don’t understand equality,” ... Who is "you"? Enough already of the stereotypes of older adults! Please don't label us boomers with these attitudes. We are all different individuals like you. Acceptance of these unexamined ideas leads to the devaluation of older people; in other words, ageism. Don't forget, where we are now, you will someday be. And one last thought: your parents are not perfect --get over it and grow up!
142
"Now it’s war: Gen Z has finally snapped over climate change and financial inequality." I was 12 years old in 1962 when Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" was published, and recall reading Frank Graham Jr's "Since Silent Spring" when it was assigned to me as a college junior in 1970 in an early model for the ecology and environmental studies courses that would proliferate during the years following the first Earth Day, in which I participated in 1970 and in the wake of 18 major laws to protect the environment that activist pressure from us Boomers led Congress to enact during the 70s. Income inequality was a major theme of the so-called War on Poverty of the 60s that drew attention to persons and groups who had not benefited from the post-war economic boom that produced such complacency among the more privileged classes. In short, we Boomers "snapped" over environmental destruction and financial inequality in ways that were then unprecedented among the U.S. mainstream society. "You're welcome, Gen Zers" for providing you with such a progressively ambitious model to follow up on. The little closing line at the bottom of my hoodie would read, "Have an inspired day."
92
“You can keep talking, but we’re going to change the future.”
Hey, if you want to do something about “outdated political figures who try to run our lives”, then get out and register and vote. Those 18-29 only voted at half the rate of those 65+ in the past two elections. As is often said (probably by a Boomer), you can’t complain about the outcome if you didn’t vote.
Nixon signed the legislation to allow 18-year-olds to vote the summer after I turned 18. I well remember the rhetoric: if you’re old enough to be drafted, you’re old enough to vote. Haven’t missed a presidential election since, despite living in an unrelentingly red state.
159
@1954Stratocaster - If you're only voting every four years, you're doing it wrong.
22
Fortunately, most of the “youngsters” of many colors, some of whom I taught, and meet while shopping, and run into who work part time jobs, seem extremely pleasant, helpful (with tech etc,), and intelligent, unlike the authors and commenters here. Yes, we did go to school locally while working when we couldn’t afford it, married without much, and no kids for awhile, and turn around now and have a lot more, and our activities and homes reflect that. But we were always positive and happy and made do with less while looking forward to better futures! Be positive and responsible for your own life and those around you, maybe read a few books, cook something, and go outside, rather than swing around and criticize others online in your spare time!
36
An "anthem" is a melody, a text and a message.
Not pointless gutteral sounds to an electronic noise drum machine.
A "movement" is an organized collective effort to effect purposeful change.
Not just using a product designed by people one dislikes, who designed it in order to exploit such dislikes and make money off them.
The way to overcome missteps of an older generation is not by picking up the worst of those missteps and doubling down on them.
34
50-yr-old Gen X-er here who is ashamed of my generation and proud of Gen Z-ers. We were the "slackers," the ones coming out of school and looking not to conform to The Man. And look at us now, pretty much acting like Boomers. I support the future, so I support the younger people. We have basically left them nothing good. I hope, HOPE they all come out and vote in 2020 and don't become apathetic and cynical like we, Gen X-ers were. Please come and make the Boomers (and X-ers who basically behave like boomers now) obsolete, Gen Z-ers. Some of us love you and support you with our means.
15
Hey Gen Z, please continue to not lump in Gen X with the Boomers. Some (certainly not all of us) changed the workplace and politics in our own way. The Boomers drove us crazy too, and they are the parents of the Millennials, so when I rail on Millennials, it's actually an extension of railing on boomers. We like you Gen Z, because you are basically our kids. Looking forward to you supplanting the Milleniums... they remind us Xers of their Boomer parents a bit too much in terms of assumed privilege.
10
Ok. Then vote
190
Life was not the rosy handout all these kids think it was. I'm at the cusp of boomer/gen x.
I was not able to buy a house until my 30s. I paid over half my income for the mortgage for a very long time. I worked full time and supported myself since my teens and spent years trying to pay off debt living penny to penny.
Many of the older boomers suffered things I never suffered and you will never have to suffer. Life is and always has been tough in different ways for different people and generations.
Keep striving to improve your lot, but don't be such blamers.
Not sure it was worth spending the time writing that, since all that's heard is: "blah blah blah", "You just proved their point", "see, they can't accept blame", "they are clueless monster sucking up resources", etc.
We all need more empathy & coordination of power to make change happen. The best way to do that is by building alliances with like thinking people of ALL ages, not blaming entire generations.
114
@Colleen What many boomers don't understand is that while, especially for the older boomers, it was possible for a person to work their way through college by having a full-time summer job and a part-time job during the school year, that is not possible now. Also, jobs after college were more plentiful then, especially for white males. Times, they have been changing!
21
@Rita Prangle
Yes, times do change as “white males” are one of the only segments of the population with a shorter life expectancy than the previous generation. But no one really cares about them, I guess.
10
@Rita Prangle
A major reason for the expense of college is the growth of the administrative bureaucracy in the academic institutions. There has been proliferation of programs and initiatives in colleges and universities since the 1970s. If you want all the programs for ensuring gender equality, minority recruitment and support, Title IX, equal opportunity, winning sports teams, etc. etc., then offices staffed by deans, vice-presidents, assistant deans, and so on are needed, and they in turn require support staff, physical premises, and equipment. In short, these programs require money and personnel, and that's where a huge chunk of the money for tuition goes, because it surely isn't going to the professors or instructors. And if you want dorms that look like 4-star hotels with Michelin cuisine, those cost money, too. So, of course, these days you aren't going to earn as large a fraction of your college tuition with a summer job.
33
Any comments about anything as sweeping as generational divides are sure to cause offense. Many people do not fit the stereotypes. Personal attacks are counterproductive. The reality is that no matter any individual’s merits or sins one is constrained by the world as it exists during one’s lifetime. To solve today’s problems with the system we have all inherited will require intergenerational cooperation.
81
"Us against them" may not be the most effective way to make progress, Gen Zers. I'm now in my ninth decade. I long ago shelved my bell-bottoms, tank tops and tie-dyes -- our version of "OK Boomers merch." But they still serve to remind me of the struggles we undertook in the 60s and 70s -- civil rights, anti-Vietnam war, more inclusive politics. Sure, we brought along Tricky Dick Nixon, but then wised up and threw him out in disgrace. Your generation is being swallowed into the maw of Gaslighter Trump and his avaricious, destructive mob. And you're selling t-shirts? Please.
My wardrobe may have changed but my brain has not, least of all my interest in progressive politics and a just society. You should be recruiting us, not dissing us. We're from that *other* government and we're here to help you.
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@Mercutio If you're in your "ninth decade" you're technically in the Silent Generation.
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@Trent 36% of voters aged 18-29 voted for Trump. That is a lot of votes. Want to accept the blame for them?
52% of voters over 65 voted for Trump. Love how you are ready to throw the other 48% of a generation away.
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@Mercutio Generation Z were mostly not old enough to vote in the 2016 election. They did not elect Trump in any way. The voting data shows that white Boomers were the biggest voting block for Trump.
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When we (the boomers) were the age of the Gen Zers and we were (like them) under educated, inexperienced and clueless, but believed we had the answer to the war in Viet Nam, social injustice and racial tension, we went around saying, “Don’t trust anyone over thirty,” and “You just don’t get it.” It was our way of saying, “OK Boomer” or, “No, we don’t have great, well thought out arguments (same as the Gen Zers), so we are just going to put our hands over our ears and chant rather than have rational discussions about the issues.” Some things never change.
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@ok neat
Ok, Google....
"In English, the two syllables are usually combined into one word, "Vietnam." However, "Viet Nam" was once common usage and is still used by the United Nations and by the Vietnamese government."
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@ok neat . This is why everyone should fear your generation.
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In fairness Vietnam is the English spelling. In Vietnamese it is spelled as two words with a letter “e” that I do not have on my iPhone keypad. Those old enough to have served in Vietnam or to remember the news from that time would know that.
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Silly headline. Like so many oldsters throughout history, Boomers have been hypercritical of the generations that follow them. Boomers have poisoned the relationship all along, so I understand why younger generations would finally slap back. (And cleverly.) You go, youngest marketing cohort! Love, a Boomer.
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@Quin
Yes and the generations behind them will hate them as well. And on it goes. This is the U.S. way of lavishing praising people for just being young, not respecting the wisdom of elders and glorify all things youth culture. No wonder we get called shallow and hollow by other countries.
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@Quin
clearly the best "slap back" is to sell polyester clothing for profit.
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I’m a boomer and agree that the leaders of my generation presided over horrific policies that promoted economic inequality and climate catastrophe. And mostly we did little to stop it. And too many of us drank the kool aid and supported those policies. And those are the aging Fox watchers and Trump supporters today. Ironically, it’s the political elders, Sanders and to some degree Warren, who espouse the policies that might benefit current and future generations. That’s where my political work and my votes goes now and I hope young people will continue to be a political force for progressive change.
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"We’re not taking a jab at boomers as a whole" Right. Uh huh. Leave that for the book saying boomers are all sociopaths. Let's see if I've got it: griping when we don't retire and open jobs, griping when we do retire and "sail around in yachts." Turn your ire not on a generation, but on the segment of rent seekers, Wall Streeters, and vulture capitalists who got us here.
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@Aldona well that closes down thought, doesn’t it? Consider this: human life spans thousands of years. Each generation has scorned the one before it and the one after it. Why continue the hate? Let’s work together - against corporate exploitation, corporate led war mongering, lies and all the stuff that enrages every generation.
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if this a movement why are the leading democratic candidates all in their 70s?
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no one paid for my education. Either I ran up a bill or got a job. The later is where I started. Rents? how about needing three room mates...that was in the late 60's. No car either cause who could afford one? It was called take three buses to work, work any and all over time.
Two after school jobs in high school....how about testing and untangling strings of Christmas lights and then on to the next job working as a catalog assembler down in a basement entered thru the sidewalk downtown San Francisco. Dental insurance never existed when I was growing up so I am still paying for bad teeth....was it my daddy and mommie to blame? Sorry someone should have taught you about how credit works....need to make payments for what you take. Go away to school? Maybe should go to school near home, its way cheaper to live there. Oh gosh its my great great grandparents fault that we did not have more than a measly giget of mutton in the pot with one potato to share. My shirt says BOOMERS ARE OK.
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@J Brown "Back in my day we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps and weren't babies about it..." Ok Boomer. You literally just proved the point of this article.
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@Trent It is true that it is really difficult now to "pull the bootstraps". What has happened, is that the population has absolutely exploded. Yes, I paid for my college tuition, and worked my way through school, but that is impossible now. The generation that created Boomers, were a fierce generation and I honor them, but they had had enough of war. and moved into houses with fences, and had a lot of kids. Then birth control became more available, but by then, the earth had exploded with more people. If you could advocate for anything, a start would be population control. If the population keeps growing, it will have more than doubled in my life-time. Don't waste your time with boomers. Go for the top 1% that is from many generations and is hoarding all the resources.
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