OT (serious topic): In these trying times, we REALLY need to listen to the voices of the youth (<35). They are the future, after all.
Tight.
GREAT name!?
We are in the wild west on this board now.
MadHatter?
Username doesn’t check out
This is what happens when the fear of constant bed sores from the inevitable stay at a state funded assisted living facility kicks in.
Yep, this is the mindset we need instead....
As someone about to turn 40 and in between boomers and millennials, I'm pretty fascinated by this war that's broken out between them.
Same. I am surprised by the younger generation's broad-brush generalization of the "Boomer" generation though. My parents and their friends philosophy is much closer to the youth's than the "Boomers" they deride.
Now if you young 'uns take a little time to get involved instead of playing video games and taking selfies, maybe you'd change some shit. LOL
There are no generations anymore! We're in this together!
We live in a post-generational society.
And I'm surprised of the older generation's broad-brush generalization of the "Millennial" generation though. Millennials at the moment comprise of people aged 24-39. They are young professionals and people with young families now. The media wants to depict them as the young generation ignoring social distancing, yet they are clearly talking mostly about GenZ'ers (or college age young adults). Heck, even the OP here completely skipped the 35-39 year olds.
The general idea that people aged 24 to 39 act similarly is totally ridiculous. I'm now 40 and have much much much more in common with a 39 year old than that "same generation" person does with a person two years out of college.
It's pure intellectual laziness.
These conversations tend to lack any intellectual rigor whatsoever. But as an older person I do have an observation that, I think, holds true: The hippy generation,* which I was on the far cusp of, really did start out rebelling, become very consumed in self-gratification, and end up embracing most of the most unsustainable aspects of consumer culture.
We really were pretty selfish, and the world slipped into great peril on our watch. Preventing that would have meant a degree of social engagement and unselfishness that we were not prepared or willing to take on. IMO the boomers really did let the world down--and because of that we lack a certain authority when we lecture young people now.
*I came out of the Res College in the late 70s as someone who embraced the punk movement, a lot of whose members THEN thought that the hippies were self-indulgent sellouts. Punk is all but invisible in the public memory--a cultural sidenote, while hippy values reached deep into middle class culture--but it's interesting to note that this view of what really became a dominant strain in American life existed even then.
I think the bigger problem is that a majority of Boomers bought into the advertising about what their generation was about based on how the hippies were perceived. The issue is that the overwhelming majority of Boomers never believed or acted as hippies did. They were always the way we see them now, but they just got to lie to themselves for 30 years that they were a force for progressivism and equality.
You're investing the hippy idea with a virtue it never had, was more my point--what flowered briefly in response to the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements quickly spiraled into self-indulgence, fantasies of off-grid living and apartness rather than engagement. But I agree with your last sentence.
This is the most anecdotal comment ever. Boomers overall are not progressive, do not have politics similar to millenials. Your parents being progressive means nothing. Boomer is a mindset like OP here.
I am not surprised by the broad-brush generalization of boomers; it’s a direct response to all the clueless-millenials-who-can’t-drive-a-stick-shift-and-got-participation-trophies-and-complain-about-their-student-loan-payments posts that older people had been making.
I’m not even a millenial (mid-fifties) and that shit got tiresome real quick.
Wait until millennials/Gen Z start calling you "boomer" just because you're over 40.
They don't know the meaning of the word... they just use it as a slur.
Ok, Tweener!
It's almost as if the older generation talks down on the younger generation, while said younger generation is offended at being labeled as such when it's really the even younger generation that should be the subject of their ire.
It's been that way for generations and will be for generations to come. It's what happens when you get old(er). I was one of those damn lazy gen x'ers, but now I get to hurl those same pejoratives at the millennials, who get to do the same to the gen z'ers.
Millennials are old now.
Balki does not approve
This is just hilarious.
Listen to two yoots.
Aww youth is wasted on young people
Early leader for stupidest thread of the week.
And that's saying quite a bit considering the threads around here lately (even before Corona, BTW).
I've been thinking that we should really start listening to our stupidest threads of the week. After all, they are the future....
As a member of the class of 2020 entering a job market that is the worst since who knows when (Great Depression?), I recommend you stop pretending like kids these days have it so easy.
Stop complaining kid. At least your first home is affordable and you have tons of job prospects...
And don't forget the ever-increasing quality of life and life expectancy.
Job prospects? At Meijer?
I'm an accounting major, so I'm not terribly worried for myself, but for some of my friends this is terrifying.
You should be worried about your inability to detect sarcasm.
Wow sorry about that. Your first point was somewhat valid though, so I caved. My bad.
I understand you being concerned for your friends, but they will have to figure it out. We all do. That's kind of what being an adult is about.
I’m sure your fears are justified but I don’t understand why someone would VOLUNTARILY take on a large debt load and pursue a course of studies that would result in an extremely limited choice of career paths.
Hopefully your friends majoring in gender studies and left handed puppetry can find meaningful work at meijer
So field of major is related to job availability? Go figure.
One of my favorite things is seeing Boomers who were able to pay for their college with a minimum wage job, easily get a nice house on average income, and who didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for basic health benefits in their 20s bitch about how easy millennials and Gen Z's have it.
And have a cushy pension either from a public sector job (that is now constraining the ability of the govt to finance general services that would improve quality of life for young families), or private sector (which is blowing up corporate overheads and constraining rate of new college hires)
And purchase a vacation home by picking up some overtime shifts on the line.
and to be clear, I’m not knocking those who had that opportunity and put in the grind. It’s just those opportunities are simply not there like they were before.
Not to mention that the value of today's Masters degree is practically equivalent to a four year degree from 20 years ago.
Yeah, but that isn’t going to stop you from partying on the beaches, is it.
You should check into that Affordable Care Act insurance, because it is so affordable now days.
That is entirely a GenZ problem so as a Millennial I don't identify with that group, but also college kids are going to be college kids if you allow them to. Florida's governor could've easily solved the problem by closing the beaches, but he didn't.
Florida's governor could've easily solved the problem by closing the beaches, but he didn't.
Ha. It's the government's fault.
Do you really think for a second turds like this would have respected a beach closed sign with all that water and sand in front of them?
First I do not mean to downplay your situation. I have kids your age.
I graduated in 1980 inflation was over 13%, Unemployment was around 8%. My first job offer out of M's Business School was KMart. Oil prices skyrocketed. It took 6 months to get a decent job.
This too will pass, keep grinding.
This is fair, and I'm not a "woe is me" type of person, I just heavily disagree when older generations talk about how easy things are for us. But, just for reference, my dad is a high school teacher and coach, and my mom is a 30 hour per week graphic designer. We grew up in a very nice house on two acres of land. My dad went to Hope College with no help from his parents and paid off his student debts by 25. I also went to a private college with no help from my parents, am a high school teacher and coach, and my girlfriend is a full-time wildlife rehabilitator, and there's no way in hell we could afford the house and land my parents bought when they were our age. I love my job and the life I have, but things are nowhere near as affordable as they used to be.
That idealistic life is much tougher to afford, for sure.
If I were advising a HS grad financially, I would say live at home and go to CC for core or specialized classes. If you want to go to a university make sure you're done in 4 total. Never live on-campus.
When you get a job, rent still for a few years, keep expenses low, and invest in stocks. Then buy the house, then have kids.
Man, you must really like Bob Dylan