Why so much Boomer hate among the young these days?
January 10, 2023
Most bloggers my age have received random blog comments from strangers that express hatred and resentment toward the Baby Boomer generation. Usually the complaint (ok, the whine) is that we took everything and left nothing for them.
What?
How ridiculous.
My response to Boomer hate goes something like this:
I laugh to myself at how stupid it makes the commenter appear.
I’m curious about the warped lens through which they view history. Their ignorance of historical fact.
I wonder how this commenter became so whiny and entitled.
And then, I usually delete the message from the moderation panel.
But not always.
Sometimes I allow Boomer hate to go up, and then I comment on the comment.
So. In my wildest dreams I wouldn’t think of insulting my parents’ generation, The Greatest Generation. It would never occur to me. I see the many contributions they made to society and to America. And yet, many of these younger people target that generation, too, for the sins of that era.
And I certainly have nothing critical to say about my illiterate grandparents, who left Sicily for a better life.
What is wrong with these young people?
If they spent their time making a better life for themselves instead of complaining, they might not feel quite so resentful. Or, do they want everything handed to them? Is that the source of Boomer hate?
Of course, those of us who know anything understand that Boomers have worked hard their entire lives. Just as the Greatest Generation did. They really did want a better world and they worked toward one, too. It wasn’t just lip service. They engaged. Who do they think pushed forward the best ideas of the 20th century? Boomers did that.
In fact, we thought we’d made permanent societal changes in the areas of civil rights, women’s rights and peace.
We were wrong. And we are heartbroken about it. But it wasn’t for lack of engagement in those issues.
We didn’t realize how deeply embedded evil is in our political system and government. That the military-industrial complex President Eisenhower warned against really WAS out to destroy a reasonable way of life. Yes, Ike was a Republican, back when it actually meant something. When it was an ideology and not a party of crackpots.
These young people resent that we are now drawing retirement … from a system we contributed to for decades! As if we have no right to it. It’s crazy thinking.
What they don’t thank about is that one day it will be their turn. They can’t look that far ahead.
So, if you are a millenial or other young person who wants to comment here, feel free. I moderate comments and if it’s uncivilized I will delete it instantly. But if you want to add to the discussion? You are very welcome.
It just makes me so sad. I think the problem is that they have never wanted for anything. They haven’t had to work. And when you’re not scrambling to find your next meal, you can complain about how it gets to you. Sadly too late for us, they will realize just what they’ve been given!
I hope (in a way) that you do get civil comments from millennials because I would love to see their opinions on these questions. I think some of this behavior comes from the ability they’ve had all their conscious lives to be as snarky as they wanted to be under the cloak of Internet invisibility. They can bully with impunity and without consequences. But – I think this way, too: they may feel Social Security won’t be there for them. They know their college educated parents (if they had college educated parents) probably got that education without going into debt for life. They have to deal with home and rent prices that are out of sight. They resent this. We can all agree this does NOT justify bad behavior. But there is an increasing undercurrent of anger in our society that frightens me.
My great grandfather died in 1941 leaving my great grandmother with two young children. He had only paid into SS for a few years and wages were so low, I always guesstimated he probably paid in less than $100. My great grandmother who never worked a paid job, raised her kids by doing ironing, laundry and cleaning. She collected SS (something like $25/mo) until she died in 1983. My grandparents, likewise, paid in a pittance compared to the monthly checks they received, until 2004. Was the system broken from the beginning? I say yes. I remember paying huge chunks of my pay, from age 16 btw, while listening to my grandfather complain they should be getting more money. As a youngin’, it made me angry, so to a certain point, I understand some of the anger. Did previous generations work hard? Absolutely! Did Boomers work hard? Absolutely! I think the breakdown is often in how Boomers have been portrayed in the media as the “chosen” generation who were worshipped and could do no wrong. And Boomers were so busy trying to be cool and stay young, we never demanded the respect from younger generations that we deserve.
Unlike European countries where there are often programs to help people who are struggling or need help, the U.S. provides minimal help. Just think about how long-term care is paid for in this country. The U.S. has a “pull yourself up by bootstraps” philosophy, which is difficult for some people to achieve. Think college tuition. Then, add to that how corporations decided in the 1980s that shareholder profits were their most important goal so retail workers, such as those working at Starbucks, were required to work 30-35 hours a week with no benefits. Also sending manufacturing overseas because labor is cheaper there. These policies make it difficult for younger generations to get ahead. Of course, boomers shouldn’t be blamed. While some boomers participated in these decisions, the blame should be placed, in my opinion, on corporate and government institutions. We can, and should, do better.
Interesting take. The problem is that someone has to pay. Businesses or taxpayers. Free college tuition sounds great but in reality it is a pathway to even more debt. However, the cost of education today is ridiculous, just like the cost of hospital and medical care and even a cup of Starbucks. We are used to paying a certain amount for laptops and phones based on the cost of overseas labor. Because we have labor protection, manufacturing here would mean raising the price on these even more. I have no answers, but I see the dilemma.
As the mom of two millennials, many I’ve met are impressive. There are always a few who spoil the pot. But given the bad behavior of certain leaders and their followers on social media it’s no wonder trolls feel emboldened to spout off irrationally.
As a millennial, I can maybe give some insight here.
When the boomers were young, a college education was affordable by working summers. I know this, because both of my parents did just that.
This is not and has never been an option for my generation. For us, you either have parents wealthy enough to drop the 10s of thousands of dollars a bachelors costs, or you go into debt for it. Debt that is not ever ever going away either, since our lovely boomer politicians made sure we would be on the hook for every red cent.
When Boomers were young, housing was plentiful and affordable. You could use your cheap educations to get nice stable jobs with retirements and pensions, buy a little starter home, and get things going.
My generation is waiting on waitlists for the chance to spend half to two thirds of their monthly incomes to rent from boomer slumlords.
Your generation will be the last to enjoy social security. It’s been insolvent since the 70s, but the boomer generation just decided to keep kicking that can until we arrive at today. The program is now being swelled to levels it has never seen before or is prepared to accommodate by a legion of boomers who will kick around to enjoy 30 more years of sucking every penny out of entitlements before they belly up.
And lastly, the boomer generation has never found a war they didn’t want to fight. They same people that marched against Vietnam were happy to send kids my age to die in Iraq and Afghanistan for 20 years, only to come home and find that the same boomers who sent them to lose a war and ruined the economy several times over are still just happy as clams, telling us that our expensive toast is the reason we will be poor forever, and not the systematic looting of the US by human history’s most entitled generation.
That is a very facile interpretation of history that is not entirely accurate. Like, defined pension plans did not exist for Boomers. That was the generation before. Also those who wanted a better life did not settle for a factory job with a nice pension. I don’t know ANYONE in my generation who did that, although I do know some in my graduating class did. But most had greater ambitions and worked to make them happen.
I won’t take it point by point, which I could. But I will only say this: Those who want a different or better world need to do what many Boomers did and that is work to make it a reality. We can argue how well we succeeded, that’s totally a mixed bag, but no one spent any time whining about the situation. They tried to change it in positive ways. You can look at it any way you like, but that doesn’t mean it’s factual. NO generation had it easy and for different reasons. Some just worked to get what they wanted. You won’t find a sympathetic ear, here, and my life did not go anywhere near how you describe. I made it far better than that. But that’s key: I made it. I didn’t expect it to be handed to me by my parents’ generation.
I am gen X and my parents are boomers. My dad worked very hard to build a business and due to stress (or the culture of the day or whatever), spent no time with us. He was also verbally abusive and unfaithful to my mom. Mom resented him massively but wanted to enjoy her nice standard of living without building a career of her own. She likes to say that she toughed out 36 unhappy years of marriage “for the kids.” When my dad lost everything during the recession, she finally divorced him and quickly married another man with money (who isn’t all that great, either). I moved out at age 18 to avoid a toxic home and have busted my butt ever since to earn a pretty good life for myself. Both of my parents still own 2 homes (actually more than that if you count my dad’s wife’s house), spend money like it’s going out of style, and have most likely don’t have enough saved for all the years they still have left to live. My siblings and I expect nothing from them when they pass. We have maintained a good relationship with them despite their snarky comments about whose side we’re all on. I always just kind of took this stuff for granted and lived my own life, but after hearing a lot of similar stories from people with boomer parents, I can see why they get a bad reputation. To be honest, my parents seem clueless and feel that they can do no wrong, and act totally offended if any criticisms are brought against them.
Well, here is the fact. Your experience is not unique to any generation. We all have very similar stories of previous generations. I have a version of the same story as you and my parents were from the Greatest Generation. This is just humanity. And also, your experience is important to you but it doesn’t reflect the majority experience. This is always hard for us to realize because it is our experience. So that’s what we notice around us. It’s called confirmation bias: the tendency of people to favor information that confirms or strengthens their beliefs or values and is difficult to dislodge once affirmed. Look past that. There are plenty of people whose family experience was much different than yours. So the Boomers don’t own familial dysfunction and there is plenty of evidence of that.
Actually, I agree with you Carol about this not being unique to the boomers. It is more of a problem with the upper-middle class. I have had a long career in adult education (I’m a GED teacher) and found most poor and working class boomers to be wonderful people. Money is what allows people to own 2 homes and travel when they could be more family-oriented and help with their grandchildren. If you don’t have money, you stay local and care for your grandkids while the parents work. However, statistics confirm that boomers do have the highest divorce rate and own far more property per capita than any other generation.
I appreciate your willingness to engage in a civilized conversation about this. Yes, I think it is definitely different for poor and working class people of any generation. I just don’t think Boomers are that different. When I was growing up divorce was a horrible thing to my parents generation and rare. A big part of the higher divorce rate for Boomers is that it is more acceptable than it was for the GG.Also more women work outside the home and have more opportunities than the GG to support themselves, something that concerned GG women. Frankly, my fervent wish was for my parents to get a divorce, but it was unheard of and my mother didn’t feel she could support herself. So I think there are more macro-societal factors involved than are given credit. The other thing is that when women stayed home, it was easy for them to care for grandkids. Fewer outside childcare options than today. That was what my maternal grandmother did for us. But when women work or or otherwise engaged outside the home, that is not as possible. Also we began to see that it was okay for grandparents to have lives and interests of their own in addition to the family. There is no obligation to be a built in babysitter any more.Why shouldn’t they travel and pursue their own interests? Take advantage of the opportunities they have created for themselves before they die? Make their own dreams come true? Because most parents who raise families put aside their own dreams and desires until retirement. Should they continue to do that? Would you do that? Having said that, most of my Boomer friends actively care for their grandkids several days a week minimum and enjoy it. But they also report that it can be exhausting to their older bodies and energies.. Likely One reason why biology determined on menopause — as an end to women’s childbearing years.
You might also consider that owning property is actually something foisted upon us when banks and real estate firms started marketing the idea of “the American Dream” of home ownership in the 1930w. There is no magic to home ownership and in many cases it makes no sense. But people bankrupt themselves just to own something. And having said that, we do own two homes. But the fact is we paid for our own college educations, both of us went beyond undergraduate school. We prepared for and then pursued careers, were compensated accordingly and as a childless couple, have saved and invested accordingly. None of this was easy as I just made it sound. There were necessary sacrifices in focussing on those careers. And by the time I was ready to have a child my circumstances did not allow it as I was married then to a man who had one already and did not want more.
My three young family memebers are professionals in their mid 30s. They also prepared for good careers and are successful by any standards. They didn’t necessarily come from happy little nuclear families or well-off ones. I am not sure any of them will have children; one has already said they have no interest in marriage or family.
What I am saying is that it IS absolutely difficult to take our own inherent biases and feelings out of it and take a clear-eyed view of what is really going on–and the totality of societal factors that have influenced where we are today. God knows I have had that trouble, too! Because we ARE all about our own biases and we see through that filter. It’s hard to remove it. But it’s possible. Thank you again for engaging in this dialogue.
Boomer here. College back in the day was less expensive than now, but wages were far lower too. So I put myself through college by working a full-time day job, going to college at night and cleaning offices (including toilets and urinals) on the weekends. I graduated with honors though sometimes I studied at stop lights. As for plentiful housing — I afforded my apartment by sharing it with a roommate who reminded me of Glenn Close’s character in Fatal Attraction. Heaven help any guy who broke up with her! I sometimes wondered if I should hide the kitchen knives at night, but felt that being a female, I was probably safe. I worked mind-numbing civil service jobs then branched out to private industry only to be met with the high-tech downturn when outsourcing jobs overseas ripped my retirement out from under my feet. My retirement has been funded from loved ones dying and my inheriting. While I’m grateful, I’m also sad. Life has been hard, but I never dreamed of blaming the generations before me. Life simply is hard. Either you are up for the challenges or you are not. Clearly you are not.
Boomers and boomer politicians as the largest voting block are to be blamed for sure cause they had a party and we got handed the bill. Of course there will be boomers who never benefitted from the policies and must be doing worse now but vast majority got way better returns for whatever they contributed. Asking people to go aggressively at jobs and thinking that generations after them are lazy are just laughable. I don’t hate boomers cause some of things they enacted were too big for an individual to fathom in entirety. But after reading all the literature you have on it now, if they still fail to see their generations role (sadly from these comments), you prove whatever resentments against your generation. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/boomers-are-blame-aging-america/592336/
You can blame anything you want but those people who believe in self-determinism usually do succeed. Right off the top of my head I can give you a list a dozen young people I know in their 20s and 30s who are doing great at jobs they love and had no trouble getting. And most were not privileged in any way. They simply prepared themselves for what they wanted to do then went after it. At least 3 of them in their very early 30s are bringing down 6 figure salaries already and not minimal 6 figs.
Perception is reality–what you think you get. If you think you are victim of forces larger than you, you will be that victim your whole life. Resent away–it doesn’t affect us in the least. Nor does it affect the young people who disprove your point every day.
BTW, the Atlantic writer is reporting on “research” he did for AEI, a right wing think tank known for its conservative and neo con orientation that was founded by big corporate titans like the CEO of Bristol Squibbs, GM, Paine Webber. So I don’t put much stock in this “research”
Thank you, and Carol, and those who agree with her while not even bothering to consider where millennials are coming from, don’t realize their dismissive attitudes ironically justifies the resentment towards them.
Sometimes, it’s better to stop hearing and start ACTUALLY listening. But sadly, that won’t happen because most of the boomers in this thread are in “defend first, listen last” mode.
Thank you for taking time to comment. I have heard from several millenials about where they come from. I know more of them and very well. My view of the reasons those have commneted on is clear. Feel free to provide me more info about your own position via email or right here. Thanks again.
I think the resentment towards baby boomers comes from resentment of the short-sighted policies that do not focus on infrastructure that will benefit future generations but entitlements that will benefit the current generation that the younger generation will be paying into– knowing they will not receive the same benefits. Social security being underfunded has been known for years, yet the House and Senate with average ages being 57 and 65– do not see these as pressing or relevant problems and will cater to the weight of who got them elected.
Similarly, from Bill Keller in 2012: “In 1962, we were laying down the foundations of prosperity. About 32 cents of every federal dollar, excluding interest payments, was spent on investments, only 14 percent on entitlements. In the mid-70s the lines crossed. Today we spend less than 15 cents on investment and 46 cents on entitlements. And it gets worse. By 2030, when the last of us boomers have surged onto the Social Security rolls, entitlements will consume 61 cents of every federal dollar, starving our already neglected investment and leaving us, in the words of the study, with “a less-skilled work force, lower rates of job creation, and an infrastructure unfit for a 21st-century economy.””
In regards to housing, millennials face 31 % higher home price to income ratio than boomers did in their 30’s. In regards to wealth concentration when boomers were in their 30’s they held more than 20% of national wealth while similarly aged millennials only have about 3.5 % of national wealth.
Baby boomers are not to blame, but the policies put in place during their time period and government’s reckless use of debt to fund the present at the cost of the future has created resentment among future generations as millennials will be the first generation to experience lower living standards than that of their parents– which is a first in American history. Pulling yourself up from your bootstraps is important, but macroeconomic factors have a huge impact on how far that gets you.
I don’t disagree that macroeconomics play a role. At the same time, I see many young people in my area (Silicon Valley) who prepared themselves then went after high paying jobs and are actually making cash purchases of Calif-expensive homes. I get that this situation isn’t for everyone but it shows what can be done. I really do believe the key is 1. prepare with whatever training or education is needed 2. aggressively go after. positions that will get you where you want to go. 3. expect that it’s a ladder to climb. I don’t believe this option is closed off today due to any factors– including macroeconomics. Oh and the other thing is do not believe in the myth of home ownership being a necessary part of the American dream. This was a marketing ploy started in the 1930s by banks and realtors. Renting is absolutely the right answer for many people. But there’s a societal stigma agaisnt it because that marketing ploy worked.
People who make comments like this make me glad I never had children. No next generation means no younger generation to hate you. Maybe the Baby Boomers biggest mistake was raising children. No more people equals no more global warming or pollution. That’s what the young people want. Maybe they should never have been born. Goodbye sense of entitlement.
The one concession I do have to give boomers is that they had major social pressure to get married: be it young, be it a bad match, whatever have you, the ultimate final answer had to be marriage. People judged them if they cohabitated without being married, even with all of the counter-cultural trends happening around them, society largely maintained a level of orthodoxy and had strict expectations. Boomers really didn’t have the social freedoms people take for granted today, especially boomers from marginalized groups like LGBT. I think that’s part of why we’ve seen “gray divorce” on the rise since the 2010s. Expectations like getting married as the ultimate goal are just gone, so is the social stigma of divorce.
That said, many boomers I encounter are still really judgmental about that topic which is crazy to me.
Social pressures for marriage were easing during the Boomer generation and by the time we were in our late 20s those expectations were nowhere near as common. AlthoughI think it was something our generation took for granted would happen. Ours was the generation that moved toward ‘free love’–the pill changed a lot of things. Our generation also was at the forefront of change in how LGBTQ were viewed, although the closet was very much there. I am now sure what topic you are seeing Boomer judgment on but in my Boomer cohort, I just don’t see it. I am quite interested in what you are seeing and thank you for your comment.
I can see that you seem to discredit every comment from millennials, though you say you’re open to hearing our views. I think the “you just have to work hard” mindset is oversimplified at best. You can’t work your way out of a “gamed” system. And the system has perpetuated this growing income inequality between generations. Every generation has to work hard and has its own challenges. However when despite a college degree many of my friends have been stuck in jobs with wages that have not kept pace with inflation, have record student debt they can’t hope to repay even with 2 full time jobs or 1 really good one, because rent takes up 60% of their income, when it shouldn’t exceed 30%, and can’t even contemplate having children because it now takes 2 full time incomes to pay $1500-$2000 a month for daycare, thousands of dollars for a 500 square foot lodging and skyrocketing food costs, who would like to save for retirement but can’t because food and shelter cost so much there’s nothing left at the end of month – and that government policies set by the Boomer generation have created this mess, how can you blame Millennials for their frustration? Rightly so, it isn’t your average Boomer that has caused this. But it is the political class of your generation that has and those of your generation who vote for policies that largely favor the wealthy, or homeowners, over say working class renters – which disproportionately affects the young who are mostly working class renters, we can’t help but feel like Boomers climbed up the ladder and then shut the door after them, locking proceeding generations out of the chance to build their own wealth via property investments. The thing is you seem to think that the rules still apply. The myth of the meritocracy. Truth is, you can work hard as a young person and do everything they tell you is a smart move and can still end up behind the 8 ball. That’s the anger Millennials feel. We were sold this dream of the middle class which we now realize your generation will be the last to enjoy. It’s just getting too expensive to get an education, a house, a family – and why should we accept renting if we want a house? That’s the problem. You think we all want avocado toast and rented houses and no kids. We want these things and are willing to work hard for them. But what’s the point when in my city, you need 6 figure incomes to even rent a small apartment. It’s a bit bleak right now and instead of actually listening to us, Boomers often dismiss us as just whining. It’s not whining. It’s generational depression. It’s a mental health crisis among the young. We see no hope for the future, no matter how hard we try.
Thank you for taking the time to respond so fully. Let me just say this, in response: Just because I see a different path for your generation, it doesn’t mean I discredit your position. I just see the path that you don’t accept. I’ll also say that there are marginalized groups who have faced far worse obstacles than yours and managed to achieve.
The way I see it, you have two choices. You can continue to blame and point fingers to no avail- or you can work a dual path: make life decisions that will promote the dreams you have and work toward change. Don’t vote for corrupt morons like Trump who only care about making themselves and their cronies richer. Don’t vote for third party candidates, either, as they’ll bleed votes from the very candidates who want to provide the help you seek. Be politically active in a strategic way that can lead to what you want and not just to protest. It’s obvious that means a blue vote.
Because if all you do is bemoan the situation and blame , you are going to be stuck the rest of your life. No one is going to hand you your life. Work toward a different life. That’s reality, whether you believe it or not.
I can respect your antipathy towards poorly directed insults and trolling, but not all criticism of boomers is equally baseless. Entire books have been written about this, one of the best probably is “A Generation of Sociopaths” by Bruce Gibney. Obviously not all boomers are personally responsible, but the generation has collectively been in power for a long time and thus deserves some scrutiny for the way they’ve amassed power and pulled up the metaphorical ladder so to speak, thus harming the prospects for generations that come after them, doing things like cancelling affordable college after they no longer needed it, driving up the cost of housing.
While I respect your attempt at dialogue, I also have to respectfully take issue with your claim that boomers “Never blamed their elders.” I find this utterly baseless. Perhaps you personally are innocent of this, but it’s pretty common knowledge that boomers eagerly took up the saying “Never trust anyone over thirty!” and created an entire culture, and identity, around rebelling against their elders. Also, it’s a common boomer response to claim that critics are “sitting around, refusing to make a better life for themselves,” but this is similarly baseless. You don’t know anything about these critics, perhaps they are working to make the world a better place while also harboring their criticism of this generation.
I appreciate your willingness to discuss. A lot has been published on this topic but little of it objective. You might want to look at this: https://www.vox.com/2014/10/27/7072505/college-costs-baby-boom. Politicians have always amasssed power and I just don’t give the entire generation responsibility for doing what corrupt politicians have done since time immemorial. The whole idea of never trusting anyone over 30 is quite different from BLAMING them. Also, while it was a ‘fun’ catchphrase, I never knew a single person who actually believed this. And finally I do know the people whose posts I see or who comment–it seems to me that ifyou really were doing something you’d point that out along with your criticism of my opinion as a way to rebut my thoughts. That does not happen. Appreciate this discourse.
Carol – your article and responses to the comments are exactly why other generations respond to you as they do. Try not to be a know it all and instead take a position of “let me put myself in your shoes” (aka empathy) to be more thoughtful and helpful! I challenge you to take a few steps back to critically think how your generation has missed the difficulties of the younger generations, this nation, the earth, etc. Take responsibility and be a partner in making it a better place for everyone instead of using the same old tropes and political/religious boxes. You’ll be surprised when you take the guard down and challenge your own prejudices and pre- conceived notions just as much as you ask of the other generations.
Your response is EXACTLY why your generation is despised. And no you obviously haven’t otherwise you wouldn’t need to be reminded. Good luck – you won’t change and while your clock clock is ticking down, the future is looking better for the rest of us.
Well, I’m confused. If the future is so bright, why are you taking time to say that a generation ruined it for you. Remember, your clock will tick down, too, one day. It’s the way of things. There is no escaping it.And it’s not something to dread.
Yes that is a common trait for your generation – easily confused and conned (and smugly proud). You have nothing of value to add so you should have just wrote – I got mine and I don’t care.
If you knew me, you’d know that was about as far off the mark as any assessment of my opinion could be. I’m very sorry you feel the way you do. I appreciate your commenting and wish you well.
Without looking at the author I can tell that a boomer wrote this. You all didn’t grow up with the benefits of a common access to psychology so let me lead you in the right direction. Look up projection and then re read what you just wrote.
Hate for boomers is very similar to the hate for Jews from the Nazis. Totally unfounded and yet the idiots with no love or critical thinking skills bought into the rhetoric. Shame and failure to you!
Given the state of politics today and what passes for “news”, the delusion shouldn’t surprise us. You are so right about critical thinking skills. They have no clue what Boomers or any other generation is about–other than their own. The ignorance of facts, of history, is shocking. But not surprising given the societal situation.
Hate for boomers is very similar to how the Nazis spread their hate for Jews and Gays. Totally unfounded and yet the idiots with no love or critical thinking skills bought into the rhetoric. Shame on you for the inability to learn. That is why failure to thrive!
I’m a young Millennial from the UK, early 30’s. Also queer and a trans woman.
My entire country’s political and economic systems have been organised around the Boomer generation for the last 45/50 years, for obvious demographic reasons. My country is also struggling with a crippling housing crisis, exacerbated by restrictive planning laws that homeowning Boomers have exploited to prop up their inflated house prices. On the other hand, the state pension has been ‘triple-locked’ with significant increases year on year, whilst other forms of welfare for vulnerable people have faced massive cuts.
In addition, whilst it would be remiss of me to ignore the abuse I’ve received from those my age, the overwhelming majority of people I’ve received abuse from because of my transgender and non-straight identities have been from the Boomer generation or early Gen-X.
Now, it’d be one thing if the Boomer generation were otherwise pleasant to interact with. However, as someone who’s worked in retail before I transitioned, the overwhelming majority of abusive customers I’ve dealt with have been from the elderly, and specifically the Boomer generation. Multiply this sentiment across the board for millions of younger people, and you end up with a widespread sentiment of Boomers being perceived as ‘entitled, abusive, selfish, greedy, and bigoted’.
Obviously things in the US are going to be demographically different, but here in the UK, this is how the general sentiment is. A generation of thoroughly unpleasant and unlikeable people, who wield their political power and personal behaviours in a way that directly harms everyone else.
Thank you for your fulsome description of what life has been like for you in the UK. I am very sorry for any absue you have faced after your transition. I can’t even imagine anyone in my greater friends circle treating a TG person in that way. i can only speak for myself and my circle and not for the US in general. No one in my greater circle fits your description of Boomers in the least. I really don’t think Boomers are the root of all of the evils of society–historically, it owuld not be accurate. Also, this is the same generaiton responsible for Stonehenge, who worked tirelessly as volunteers during the AIDS epidemic and were responsible for antiwar and civil rights efforts. So…I think you might broaden your view. I am sitting here with two Millenial gay men and read your comment to them. They do not see their world the same way you do. Nonetheless, I’m glad to see your opinion and factor your thoughts into my further thinking on the issue.
I’m not sure what generation I’m in (Gen X? millennial?) I was born in 1980.
I always found the criticisms towards Boomers to reveal how weak and entitled the later generations (mine included) actually are.
No generation is perfect, but to blame all of our problems on our elders just feels weak and disgusting to me in a way I find really hard to articulate.
We blame boomers for being racist, sexist and financially irresponsible. Meanwhile, the last 20 years has seen a rise in overt racism perpetuated by millennials. The last I checked, Ben Shapiro and Proud Boys weren’t boomers.
We also wear $300 sneakers and insist on carrying around $1,000 smartphones in our pockets that we can pull out whenever we want to complain. But we’re dumb enough to buy these things? If you keep buying, someone’s going to keep selling.
We also seem to be ignoring the fact that college is not something we are entitled to. Our education is our responsibility once we become legal adults. Boomers had lower college tuition costs, but everything was cheaper then. They also had lower attendance as well. Nobody seems to acknowledge that part.
These people did the best with what they had and what the world was in their prime. The world has moved on and it’s our turn to play our hand now.
If they made a mistake, fix it or shut up. Boomers aren’t the first generation to have misinformation. I wish we would stop blaming elders we could be learning from. This is our oldest living generation and it scares me to think of young people treating me the same as I get older.
You seriously are comparing this to antisemitism and homophobia??
No one is rounding up everyone born between 1946 and 1964 and leading them to the gas chambers, nor have I heard of a constant mass threat of violence being something that plagues their everyday lives.
You are comparing lightening to lightening bugs, and it’s irresponsible and incredibly offensive.
Not a boomer hater, but if this is the level of victimhood and injustice they think they are facing, I could sort of see the legitimacy behind the anti-boomer movement.
I will admit it is annoying when boomers start with their “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” judgements and attitude when giving commentary on the struggles later generations are having to deal with due to THEIR propensity to at their votes without a single thought to the effects they would clearly have on their children and grandchildren’s generations’ abilities to attend college without taking on insurmountable debt, have a wide access to jobs paying decent wages, to not have to worry about food/housing insecurity, and to have home ownership be as attainable now as it was for the their generation.
They also seem to forget that it is our hard work and exploited labor value that is currently funding their SS, a benefit my generation won’t be able to access until well into our 70s by which time it will be so riddled with budget cuts, that boomers are often in support of, that Congress might as well just do away with the system entirely (so our future Congresspersons will be arguing in favor of).
First, it’s not a contest. It’s entirely possible for there to be many different kinds of bigotry and yes, even to bring them up in the same sentence. As someone who has delved deeply into and traveled to Holocaust sites, I am well aware of the level of depravity in antiSemitism. And having worked closely with the gay community for decades, I am also well acquainted with homophobia. Having said that, that was not my comparison it all–it belonged to a reader. Not me.
No one is exploiting you. Your labor is not funding my social security. I contributed to this system my entire working life. What’s funding is a combination of that and current workers. As it will be for you, if things continue. It would only be funded by the trust fund if politicians would simply removed the cap and allow employees to continue to contribute without a cap.And stopped using SS for other things never contemplated, like disability. That should be a separate budget item.
Also I hate to tell you but I know many millenials who have funded their college educations and have done well in the early parts of of their careers without resentment Reality has always bitten and it’s a different kind of bite for every generation. NO ONE gets a free ride. But this young generations feels particularly put upon and entitled..
They hoard the world’s wealth and won’t give up their positions of authority despite the fact that they are the most out of touch from modern society of any current generation alive.
They have ALWAYS manipulated laws to benefit their generation only, and their manipulations have led to all following generations struggling to achieve personal wealth and fix the damaged planet.
They think nothing of future generations, and are leaving a mess of a world to Gen X and beyond to clean, but still haven’t handed the reigns over (despite most being geriatric) so future generations can even start. All other living generations can see this. Only a boomer would disagree; that is their nature.
When confronted with this information they usually get unusually defensive and respond with anger and insults, and are virtually guaranteed to blame it all on someone else. The best thing you can just do in response is smile and tell them “ok” and wait 10–15 more years.
I find it interesting (and a little sad) how much this generation lives rent-free in your heard, when you could be actually out there focusing energy on making something of yourselves, rather than blaming others for your lack of progress. Thankfully, you are in a minority. I know many very successful younger people.
I’m sorry to disagree, but boomers have always been a drain on society. Only now, when the consequences are passed down, do we see the full extent of the damage that they did. And of course, boomers tended to vote for Trump, an orange, somewhat sentient fascist hemorrhoid.
You show your ignorance of the cohort. In my circle, NO ONE supports Trump. The vote for Trump is influenced by socio-economic factors. Those with less education and who feel they are suffering economically are his voters. They are most gullible and fall for the lies. Maybe when you grow up you’ll have a better handle on the world around you.
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Most bloggers my age have received random blog comments from strangers that express hatred and resentment toward the Baby Boomer generation. Usually the complaint (ok, the whine) is that we took everything and left nothing for them.
I’ve had a few of those rants come out of the blue. Very strange. I want to urge them to spend their energy on love, not hate.
yes.I don’t know how they find us.
It just makes me so sad. I think the problem is that they have never wanted for anything. They haven’t had to work. And when you’re not scrambling to find your next meal, you can complain about how it gets to you. Sadly too late for us, they will realize just what they’ve been given!
I really worry for the future.
I hope (in a way) that you do get civil comments from millennials because I would love to see their opinions on these questions. I think some of this behavior comes from the ability they’ve had all their conscious lives to be as snarky as they wanted to be under the cloak of Internet invisibility. They can bully with impunity and without consequences. But – I think this way, too: they may feel Social Security won’t be there for them. They know their college educated parents (if they had college educated parents) probably got that education without going into debt for life. They have to deal with home and rent prices that are out of sight. They resent this. We can all agree this does NOT justify bad behavior. But there is an increasing undercurrent of anger in our society that frightens me.
Yes, I also see that undercurrent, alana.
I fear for our future. Very angry and entitled. And now I sound like MY parents. LOL.
Boy do I hear you !
My great grandfather died in 1941 leaving my great grandmother with two young children. He had only paid into SS for a few years and wages were so low, I always guesstimated he probably paid in less than $100. My great grandmother who never worked a paid job, raised her kids by doing ironing, laundry and cleaning. She collected SS (something like $25/mo) until she died in 1983. My grandparents, likewise, paid in a pittance compared to the monthly checks they received, until 2004. Was the system broken from the beginning? I say yes. I remember paying huge chunks of my pay, from age 16 btw, while listening to my grandfather complain they should be getting more money. As a youngin’, it made me angry, so to a certain point, I understand some of the anger. Did previous generations work hard? Absolutely! Did Boomers work hard? Absolutely! I think the breakdown is often in how Boomers have been portrayed in the media as the “chosen” generation who were worshipped and could do no wrong. And Boomers were so busy trying to be cool and stay young, we never demanded the respect from younger generations that we deserve.
Thanks for this point of view. I need to spend some time with it as there’s a lot there!
Unlike European countries where there are often programs to help people who are struggling or need help, the U.S. provides minimal help. Just think about how long-term care is paid for in this country. The U.S. has a “pull yourself up by bootstraps” philosophy, which is difficult for some people to achieve. Think college tuition. Then, add to that how corporations decided in the 1980s that shareholder profits were their most important goal so retail workers, such as those working at Starbucks, were required to work 30-35 hours a week with no benefits. Also sending manufacturing overseas because labor is cheaper there. These policies make it difficult for younger generations to get ahead. Of course, boomers shouldn’t be blamed. While some boomers participated in these decisions, the blame should be placed, in my opinion, on corporate and government institutions. We can, and should, do better.
Interesting take. The problem is that someone has to pay. Businesses or taxpayers. Free college tuition sounds great but in reality it is a pathway to even more debt. However, the cost of education today is ridiculous, just like the cost of hospital and medical care and even a cup of Starbucks. We are used to paying a certain amount for laptops and phones based on the cost of overseas labor. Because we have labor protection, manufacturing here would mean raising the price on these even more. I have no answers, but I see the dilemma.
As the mom of two millennials, many I’ve met are impressive. There are always a few who spoil the pot. But given the bad behavior of certain leaders and their followers on social media it’s no wonder trolls feel emboldened to spout off irrationally.
Yes, I know some awesome millenials, too. But some of the others… I guess it’s just life. Some people are irrational.
I’ve seen those comments in my queue, and I spam them because it appears as if it’s a bot, using the same words over and over again.
Yeah, I think you’re right, Jen.
I had no idea about those comments on blogs, but I’ve seen plenty of insults on social media though!
Insults seem the way of the world, these days.
As a millennial, I can maybe give some insight here.
When the boomers were young, a college education was affordable by working summers. I know this, because both of my parents did just that.
This is not and has never been an option for my generation. For us, you either have parents wealthy enough to drop the 10s of thousands of dollars a bachelors costs, or you go into debt for it. Debt that is not ever ever going away either, since our lovely boomer politicians made sure we would be on the hook for every red cent.
When Boomers were young, housing was plentiful and affordable. You could use your cheap educations to get nice stable jobs with retirements and pensions, buy a little starter home, and get things going.
My generation is waiting on waitlists for the chance to spend half to two thirds of their monthly incomes to rent from boomer slumlords.
Your generation will be the last to enjoy social security. It’s been insolvent since the 70s, but the boomer generation just decided to keep kicking that can until we arrive at today. The program is now being swelled to levels it has never seen before or is prepared to accommodate by a legion of boomers who will kick around to enjoy 30 more years of sucking every penny out of entitlements before they belly up.
And lastly, the boomer generation has never found a war they didn’t want to fight. They same people that marched against Vietnam were happy to send kids my age to die in Iraq and Afghanistan for 20 years, only to come home and find that the same boomers who sent them to lose a war and ruined the economy several times over are still just happy as clams, telling us that our expensive toast is the reason we will be poor forever, and not the systematic looting of the US by human history’s most entitled generation.
That is a very facile interpretation of history that is not entirely accurate. Like, defined pension plans did not exist for Boomers. That was the generation before. Also those who wanted a better life did not settle for a factory job with a nice pension. I don’t know ANYONE in my generation who did that, although I do know some in my graduating class did. But most had greater ambitions and worked to make them happen.
I won’t take it point by point, which I could. But I will only say this: Those who want a different or better world need to do what many Boomers did and that is work to make it a reality. We can argue how well we succeeded, that’s totally a mixed bag, but no one spent any time whining about the situation. They tried to change it in positive ways. You can look at it any way you like, but that doesn’t mean it’s factual. NO generation had it easy and for different reasons. Some just worked to get what they wanted. You won’t find a sympathetic ear, here, and my life did not go anywhere near how you describe. I made it far better than that. But that’s key: I made it. I didn’t expect it to be handed to me by my parents’ generation.
I am gen X and my parents are boomers. My dad worked very hard to build a business and due to stress (or the culture of the day or whatever), spent no time with us. He was also verbally abusive and unfaithful to my mom. Mom resented him massively but wanted to enjoy her nice standard of living without building a career of her own. She likes to say that she toughed out 36 unhappy years of marriage “for the kids.” When my dad lost everything during the recession, she finally divorced him and quickly married another man with money (who isn’t all that great, either). I moved out at age 18 to avoid a toxic home and have busted my butt ever since to earn a pretty good life for myself. Both of my parents still own 2 homes (actually more than that if you count my dad’s wife’s house), spend money like it’s going out of style, and have most likely don’t have enough saved for all the years they still have left to live. My siblings and I expect nothing from them when they pass. We have maintained a good relationship with them despite their snarky comments about whose side we’re all on. I always just kind of took this stuff for granted and lived my own life, but after hearing a lot of similar stories from people with boomer parents, I can see why they get a bad reputation. To be honest, my parents seem clueless and feel that they can do no wrong, and act totally offended if any criticisms are brought against them.
Well, here is the fact. Your experience is not unique to any generation. We all have very similar stories of previous generations. I have a version of the same story as you and my parents were from the Greatest Generation. This is just humanity. And also, your experience is important to you but it doesn’t reflect the majority experience. This is always hard for us to realize because it is our experience. So that’s what we notice around us. It’s called confirmation bias: the tendency of people to favor information that confirms or strengthens their beliefs or values and is difficult to dislodge once affirmed. Look past that. There are plenty of people whose family experience was much different than yours. So the Boomers don’t own familial dysfunction and there is plenty of evidence of that.
Actually, I agree with you Carol about this not being unique to the boomers. It is more of a problem with the upper-middle class. I have had a long career in adult education (I’m a GED teacher) and found most poor and working class boomers to be wonderful people. Money is what allows people to own 2 homes and travel when they could be more family-oriented and help with their grandchildren. If you don’t have money, you stay local and care for your grandkids while the parents work. However, statistics confirm that boomers do have the highest divorce rate and own far more property per capita than any other generation.
I appreciate your willingness to engage in a civilized conversation about this. Yes, I think it is definitely different for poor and working class people of any generation. I just don’t think Boomers are that different. When I was growing up divorce was a horrible thing to my parents generation and rare. A big part of the higher divorce rate for Boomers is that it is more acceptable than it was for the GG.Also more women work outside the home and have more opportunities than the GG to support themselves, something that concerned GG women. Frankly, my fervent wish was for my parents to get a divorce, but it was unheard of and my mother didn’t feel she could support herself. So I think there are more macro-societal factors involved than are given credit. The other thing is that when women stayed home, it was easy for them to care for grandkids. Fewer outside childcare options than today. That was what my maternal grandmother did for us. But when women work or or otherwise engaged outside the home, that is not as possible. Also we began to see that it was okay for grandparents to have lives and interests of their own in addition to the family. There is no obligation to be a built in babysitter any more.Why shouldn’t they travel and pursue their own interests? Take advantage of the opportunities they have created for themselves before they die? Make their own dreams come true? Because most parents who raise families put aside their own dreams and desires until retirement. Should they continue to do that? Would you do that? Having said that, most of my Boomer friends actively care for their grandkids several days a week minimum and enjoy it. But they also report that it can be exhausting to their older bodies and energies.. Likely One reason why biology determined on menopause — as an end to women’s childbearing years.
You might also consider that owning property is actually something foisted upon us when banks and real estate firms started marketing the idea of “the American Dream” of home ownership in the 1930w. There is no magic to home ownership and in many cases it makes no sense. But people bankrupt themselves just to own something. And having said that, we do own two homes. But the fact is we paid for our own college educations, both of us went beyond undergraduate school. We prepared for and then pursued careers, were compensated accordingly and as a childless couple, have saved and invested accordingly. None of this was easy as I just made it sound. There were necessary sacrifices in focussing on those careers. And by the time I was ready to have a child my circumstances did not allow it as I was married then to a man who had one already and did not want more.
My three young family memebers are professionals in their mid 30s. They also prepared for good careers and are successful by any standards. They didn’t necessarily come from happy little nuclear families or well-off ones. I am not sure any of them will have children; one has already said they have no interest in marriage or family.
What I am saying is that it IS absolutely difficult to take our own inherent biases and feelings out of it and take a clear-eyed view of what is really going on–and the totality of societal factors that have influenced where we are today. God knows I have had that trouble, too! Because we ARE all about our own biases and we see through that filter. It’s hard to remove it. But it’s possible. Thank you again for engaging in this dialogue.
Boomer here. College back in the day was less expensive than now, but wages were far lower too. So I put myself through college by working a full-time day job, going to college at night and cleaning offices (including toilets and urinals) on the weekends. I graduated with honors though sometimes I studied at stop lights. As for plentiful housing — I afforded my apartment by sharing it with a roommate who reminded me of Glenn Close’s character in Fatal Attraction. Heaven help any guy who broke up with her! I sometimes wondered if I should hide the kitchen knives at night, but felt that being a female, I was probably safe. I worked mind-numbing civil service jobs then branched out to private industry only to be met with the high-tech downturn when outsourcing jobs overseas ripped my retirement out from under my feet. My retirement has been funded from loved ones dying and my inheriting. While I’m grateful, I’m also sad. Life has been hard, but I never dreamed of blaming the generations before me. Life simply is hard. Either you are up for the challenges or you are not. Clearly you are not.
Thank you for presenting the actual reality of our generation.
Boomers and boomer politicians as the largest voting block are to be blamed for sure cause they had a party and we got handed the bill. Of course there will be boomers who never benefitted from the policies and must be doing worse now but vast majority got way better returns for whatever they contributed. Asking people to go aggressively at jobs and thinking that generations after them are lazy are just laughable. I don’t hate boomers cause some of things they enacted were too big for an individual to fathom in entirety. But after reading all the literature you have on it now, if they still fail to see their generations role (sadly from these comments), you prove whatever resentments against your generation.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/boomers-are-blame-aging-america/592336/
You can blame anything you want but those people who believe in self-determinism usually do succeed. Right off the top of my head I can give you a list a dozen young people I know in their 20s and 30s who are doing great at jobs they love and had no trouble getting. And most were not privileged in any way. They simply prepared themselves for what they wanted to do then went after it. At least 3 of them in their very early 30s are bringing down 6 figure salaries already and not minimal 6 figs.
Perception is reality–what you think you get. If you think you are victim of forces larger than you, you will be that victim your whole life. Resent away–it doesn’t affect us in the least. Nor does it affect the young people who disprove your point every day.
BTW, the Atlantic writer is reporting on “research” he did for AEI, a right wing think tank known for its conservative and neo con orientation that was founded by big corporate titans like the CEO of Bristol Squibbs, GM, Paine Webber. So I don’t put much stock in this “research”
Thank you, and Carol, and those who agree with her while not even bothering to consider where millennials are coming from, don’t realize their dismissive attitudes ironically justifies the resentment towards them.
Sometimes, it’s better to stop hearing and start ACTUALLY listening. But sadly, that won’t happen because most of the boomers in this thread are in “defend first, listen last” mode.
Thank you for taking time to comment. I have heard from several millenials about where they come from. I know more of them and very well. My view of the reasons those have commneted on is clear. Feel free to provide me more info about your own position via email or right here. Thanks again.
I think the resentment towards baby boomers comes from resentment of the short-sighted policies that do not focus on infrastructure that will benefit future generations but entitlements that will benefit the current generation that the younger generation will be paying into– knowing they will not receive the same benefits. Social security being underfunded has been known for years, yet the House and Senate with average ages being 57 and 65– do not see these as pressing or relevant problems and will cater to the weight of who got them elected.
Similarly, from Bill Keller in 2012: “In 1962, we were laying down the foundations of prosperity. About 32 cents of every federal dollar, excluding interest payments, was spent on investments, only 14 percent on entitlements. In the mid-70s the lines crossed. Today we spend less than 15 cents on investment and 46 cents on entitlements. And it gets worse. By 2030, when the last of us boomers have surged onto the Social Security rolls, entitlements will consume 61 cents of every federal dollar, starving our already neglected investment and leaving us, in the words of the study, with “a less-skilled work force, lower rates of job creation, and an infrastructure unfit for a 21st-century economy.””
In regards to housing, millennials face 31 % higher home price to income ratio than boomers did in their 30’s. In regards to wealth concentration when boomers were in their 30’s they held more than 20% of national wealth while similarly aged millennials only have about 3.5 % of national wealth.
Baby boomers are not to blame, but the policies put in place during their time period and government’s reckless use of debt to fund the present at the cost of the future has created resentment among future generations as millennials will be the first generation to experience lower living standards than that of their parents– which is a first in American history. Pulling yourself up from your bootstraps is important, but macroeconomic factors have a huge impact on how far that gets you.
I don’t disagree that macroeconomics play a role. At the same time, I see many young people in my area (Silicon Valley) who prepared themselves then went after high paying jobs and are actually making cash purchases of Calif-expensive homes. I get that this situation isn’t for everyone but it shows what can be done. I really do believe the key is 1. prepare with whatever training or education is needed 2. aggressively go after. positions that will get you where you want to go. 3. expect that it’s a ladder to climb. I don’t believe this option is closed off today due to any factors– including macroeconomics. Oh and the other thing is do not believe in the myth of home ownership being a necessary part of the American dream. This was a marketing ploy started in the 1930s by banks and realtors. Renting is absolutely the right answer for many people. But there’s a societal stigma agaisnt it because that marketing ploy worked.
People who make comments like this make me glad I never had children. No next generation means no younger generation to hate you. Maybe the Baby Boomers biggest mistake was raising children. No more people equals no more global warming or pollution. That’s what the young people want. Maybe they should never have been born. Goodbye sense of entitlement.
Things certainly ARE messed up.
Well, Robin, you certainly are bitter. Thank god it won’t matter in another 10-15 years lol. Rest in peace!
The one concession I do have to give boomers is that they had major social pressure to get married: be it young, be it a bad match, whatever have you, the ultimate final answer had to be marriage. People judged them if they cohabitated without being married, even with all of the counter-cultural trends happening around them, society largely maintained a level of orthodoxy and had strict expectations. Boomers really didn’t have the social freedoms people take for granted today, especially boomers from marginalized groups like LGBT. I think that’s part of why we’ve seen “gray divorce” on the rise since the 2010s. Expectations like getting married as the ultimate goal are just gone, so is the social stigma of divorce.
That said, many boomers I encounter are still really judgmental about that topic which is crazy to me.
Social pressures for marriage were easing during the Boomer generation and by the time we were in our late 20s those expectations were nowhere near as common. AlthoughI think it was something our generation took for granted would happen. Ours was the generation that moved toward ‘free love’–the pill changed a lot of things. Our generation also was at the forefront of change in how LGBTQ were viewed, although the closet was very much there. I am now sure what topic you are seeing Boomer judgment on but in my Boomer cohort, I just don’t see it. I am quite interested in what you are seeing and thank you for your comment.
I can see that you seem to discredit every comment from millennials, though you say you’re open to hearing our views. I think the “you just have to work hard” mindset is oversimplified at best. You can’t work your way out of a “gamed” system. And the system has perpetuated this growing income inequality between generations. Every generation has to work hard and has its own challenges. However when despite a college degree many of my friends have been stuck in jobs with wages that have not kept pace with inflation, have record student debt they can’t hope to repay even with 2 full time jobs or 1 really good one, because rent takes up 60% of their income, when it shouldn’t exceed 30%, and can’t even contemplate having children because it now takes 2 full time incomes to pay $1500-$2000 a month for daycare, thousands of dollars for a 500 square foot lodging and skyrocketing food costs, who would like to save for retirement but can’t because food and shelter cost so much there’s nothing left at the end of month – and that government policies set by the Boomer generation have created this mess, how can you blame Millennials for their frustration? Rightly so, it isn’t your average Boomer that has caused this. But it is the political class of your generation that has and those of your generation who vote for policies that largely favor the wealthy, or homeowners, over say working class renters – which disproportionately affects the young who are mostly working class renters, we can’t help but feel like Boomers climbed up the ladder and then shut the door after them, locking proceeding generations out of the chance to build their own wealth via property investments. The thing is you seem to think that the rules still apply. The myth of the meritocracy. Truth is, you can work hard as a young person and do everything they tell you is a smart move and can still end up behind the 8 ball. That’s the anger Millennials feel. We were sold this dream of the middle class which we now realize your generation will be the last to enjoy. It’s just getting too expensive to get an education, a house, a family – and why should we accept renting if we want a house? That’s the problem. You think we all want avocado toast and rented houses and no kids. We want these things and are willing to work hard for them. But what’s the point when in my city, you need 6 figure incomes to even rent a small apartment. It’s a bit bleak right now and instead of actually listening to us, Boomers often dismiss us as just whining. It’s not whining. It’s generational depression. It’s a mental health crisis among the young. We see no hope for the future, no matter how hard we try.
Thank you for taking the time to respond so fully. Let me just say this, in response: Just because I see a different path for your generation, it doesn’t mean I discredit your position. I just see the path that you don’t accept. I’ll also say that there are marginalized groups who have faced far worse obstacles than yours and managed to achieve.
The way I see it, you have two choices. You can continue to blame and point fingers to no avail- or you can work a dual path: make life decisions that will promote the dreams you have and work toward change. Don’t vote for corrupt morons like Trump who only care about making themselves and their cronies richer. Don’t vote for third party candidates, either, as they’ll bleed votes from the very candidates who want to provide the help you seek. Be politically active in a strategic way that can lead to what you want and not just to protest. It’s obvious that means a blue vote.
Because if all you do is bemoan the situation and blame , you are going to be stuck the rest of your life. No one is going to hand you your life. Work toward a different life. That’s reality, whether you believe it or not.
I can respect your antipathy towards poorly directed insults and trolling, but not all criticism of boomers is equally baseless. Entire books have been written about this, one of the best probably is “A Generation of Sociopaths” by Bruce Gibney. Obviously not all boomers are personally responsible, but the generation has collectively been in power for a long time and thus deserves some scrutiny for the way they’ve amassed power and pulled up the metaphorical ladder so to speak, thus harming the prospects for generations that come after them, doing things like cancelling affordable college after they no longer needed it, driving up the cost of housing.
While I respect your attempt at dialogue, I also have to respectfully take issue with your claim that boomers “Never blamed their elders.” I find this utterly baseless. Perhaps you personally are innocent of this, but it’s pretty common knowledge that boomers eagerly took up the saying “Never trust anyone over thirty!” and created an entire culture, and identity, around rebelling against their elders. Also, it’s a common boomer response to claim that critics are “sitting around, refusing to make a better life for themselves,” but this is similarly baseless. You don’t know anything about these critics, perhaps they are working to make the world a better place while also harboring their criticism of this generation.
I appreciate your willingness to discuss. A lot has been published on this topic but little of it objective. You might want to look at this: https://www.vox.com/2014/10/27/7072505/college-costs-baby-boom. Politicians have always amasssed power and I just don’t give the entire generation responsibility for doing what corrupt politicians have done since time immemorial. The whole idea of never trusting anyone over 30 is quite different from BLAMING them. Also, while it was a ‘fun’ catchphrase, I never knew a single person who actually believed this. And finally I do know the people whose posts I see or who comment–it seems to me that ifyou really were doing something you’d point that out along with your criticism of my opinion as a way to rebut my thoughts. That does not happen. Appreciate this discourse.
Carol – your article and responses to the comments are exactly why other generations respond to you as they do. Try not to be a know it all and instead take a position of “let me put myself in your shoes” (aka empathy) to be more thoughtful and helpful! I challenge you to take a few steps back to critically think how your generation has missed the difficulties of the younger generations, this nation, the earth, etc. Take responsibility and be a partner in making it a better place for everyone instead of using the same old tropes and political/religious boxes. You’ll be surprised when you take the guard down and challenge your own prejudices and pre- conceived notions just as much as you ask of the other generations.
Robbie, I appreciate the thought but…what makes you think I haven’t?
Your response is EXACTLY why your generation is despised. And no you obviously haven’t otherwise you wouldn’t need to be reminded. Good luck – you won’t change and while your clock clock is ticking down, the future is looking better for the rest of us.
Well, I’m confused. If the future is so bright, why are you taking time to say that a generation ruined it for you. Remember, your clock will tick down, too, one day. It’s the way of things. There is no escaping it.And it’s not something to dread.
Yes that is a common trait for your generation – easily confused and conned (and smugly proud). You have nothing of value to add so you should have just wrote – I got mine and I don’t care.
If you knew me, you’d know that was about as far off the mark as any assessment of my opinion could be. I’m very sorry you feel the way you do. I appreciate your commenting and wish you well.
Without looking at the author I can tell that a boomer wrote this. You all didn’t grow up with the benefits of a common access to psychology so let me lead you in the right direction. Look up projection and then re read what you just wrote.
and yet I am living rent-free in your head. Imagine that!
Hate for boomers is very similar to the hate for Jews from the Nazis. Totally unfounded and yet the idiots with no love or critical thinking skills bought into the rhetoric. Shame and failure to you!
Given the state of politics today and what passes for “news”, the delusion shouldn’t surprise us. You are so right about critical thinking skills. They have no clue what Boomers or any other generation is about–other than their own. The ignorance of facts, of history, is shocking. But not surprising given the societal situation.
Hate for boomers is very similar to how the Nazis spread their hate for Jews and Gays. Totally unfounded and yet the idiots with no love or critical thinking skills bought into the rhetoric. Shame on you for the inability to learn. That is why failure to thrive!
I’m a young Millennial from the UK, early 30’s. Also queer and a trans woman.
My entire country’s political and economic systems have been organised around the Boomer generation for the last 45/50 years, for obvious demographic reasons. My country is also struggling with a crippling housing crisis, exacerbated by restrictive planning laws that homeowning Boomers have exploited to prop up their inflated house prices. On the other hand, the state pension has been ‘triple-locked’ with significant increases year on year, whilst other forms of welfare for vulnerable people have faced massive cuts.
In addition, whilst it would be remiss of me to ignore the abuse I’ve received from those my age, the overwhelming majority of people I’ve received abuse from because of my transgender and non-straight identities have been from the Boomer generation or early Gen-X.
Now, it’d be one thing if the Boomer generation were otherwise pleasant to interact with. However, as someone who’s worked in retail before I transitioned, the overwhelming majority of abusive customers I’ve dealt with have been from the elderly, and specifically the Boomer generation. Multiply this sentiment across the board for millions of younger people, and you end up with a widespread sentiment of Boomers being perceived as ‘entitled, abusive, selfish, greedy, and bigoted’.
Obviously things in the US are going to be demographically different, but here in the UK, this is how the general sentiment is. A generation of thoroughly unpleasant and unlikeable people, who wield their political power and personal behaviours in a way that directly harms everyone else.
Thank you for your fulsome description of what life has been like for you in the UK. I am very sorry for any absue you have faced after your transition. I can’t even imagine anyone in my greater friends circle treating a TG person in that way. i can only speak for myself and my circle and not for the US in general. No one in my greater circle fits your description of Boomers in the least. I really don’t think Boomers are the root of all of the evils of society–historically, it owuld not be accurate. Also, this is the same generaiton responsible for Stonehenge, who worked tirelessly as volunteers during the AIDS epidemic and were responsible for antiwar and civil rights efforts. So…I think you might broaden your view. I am sitting here with two Millenial gay men and read your comment to them. They do not see their world the same way you do. Nonetheless, I’m glad to see your opinion and factor your thoughts into my further thinking on the issue.
I’m not sure what generation I’m in (Gen X? millennial?) I was born in 1980.
I always found the criticisms towards Boomers to reveal how weak and entitled the later generations (mine included) actually are.
No generation is perfect, but to blame all of our problems on our elders just feels weak and disgusting to me in a way I find really hard to articulate.
We blame boomers for being racist, sexist and financially irresponsible. Meanwhile, the last 20 years has seen a rise in overt racism perpetuated by millennials. The last I checked, Ben Shapiro and Proud Boys weren’t boomers.
We also wear $300 sneakers and insist on carrying around $1,000 smartphones in our pockets that we can pull out whenever we want to complain. But we’re dumb enough to buy these things? If you keep buying, someone’s going to keep selling.
We also seem to be ignoring the fact that college is not something we are entitled to. Our education is our responsibility once we become legal adults. Boomers had lower college tuition costs, but everything was cheaper then. They also had lower attendance as well. Nobody seems to acknowledge that part.
These people did the best with what they had and what the world was in their prime. The world has moved on and it’s our turn to play our hand now.
If they made a mistake, fix it or shut up. Boomers aren’t the first generation to have misinformation. I wish we would stop blaming elders we could be learning from. This is our oldest living generation and it scares me to think of young people treating me the same as I get older.
I appreciate this reality-based comment so much.
You seriously are comparing this to antisemitism and homophobia??
No one is rounding up everyone born between 1946 and 1964 and leading them to the gas chambers, nor have I heard of a constant mass threat of violence being something that plagues their everyday lives.
You are comparing lightening to lightening bugs, and it’s irresponsible and incredibly offensive.
Not a boomer hater, but if this is the level of victimhood and injustice they think they are facing, I could sort of see the legitimacy behind the anti-boomer movement.
I will admit it is annoying when boomers start with their “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” judgements and attitude when giving commentary on the struggles later generations are having to deal with due to THEIR propensity to at their votes without a single thought to the effects they would clearly have on their children and grandchildren’s generations’ abilities to attend college without taking on insurmountable debt, have a wide access to jobs paying decent wages, to not have to worry about food/housing insecurity, and to have home ownership be as attainable now as it was for the their generation.
They also seem to forget that it is our hard work and exploited labor value that is currently funding their SS, a benefit my generation won’t be able to access until well into our 70s by which time it will be so riddled with budget cuts, that boomers are often in support of, that Congress might as well just do away with the system entirely (so our future Congresspersons will be arguing in favor of).
First, it’s not a contest. It’s entirely possible for there to be many different kinds of bigotry and yes, even to bring them up in the same sentence. As someone who has delved deeply into and traveled to Holocaust sites, I am well aware of the level of depravity in antiSemitism. And having worked closely with the gay community for decades, I am also well acquainted with homophobia. Having said that, that was not my comparison it all–it belonged to a reader. Not me.
No one is exploiting you. Your labor is not funding my social security. I contributed to this system my entire working life. What’s funding is a combination of that and current workers. As it will be for you, if things continue. It would only be funded by the trust fund if politicians would simply removed the cap and allow employees to continue to contribute without a cap.And stopped using SS for other things never contemplated, like disability. That should be a separate budget item.
Also I hate to tell you but I know many millenials who have funded their college educations and have done well in the early parts of of their careers without resentment Reality has always bitten and it’s a different kind of bite for every generation. NO ONE gets a free ride. But this young generations feels particularly put upon and entitled..
They hoard the world’s wealth and won’t give up their positions of authority despite the fact that they are the most out of touch from modern society of any current generation alive.
They have ALWAYS manipulated laws to benefit their generation only, and their manipulations have led to all following generations struggling to achieve personal wealth and fix the damaged planet.
They think nothing of future generations, and are leaving a mess of a world to Gen X and beyond to clean, but still haven’t handed the reigns over (despite most being geriatric) so future generations can even start. All other living generations can see this. Only a boomer would disagree; that is their nature.
When confronted with this information they usually get unusually defensive and respond with anger and insults, and are virtually guaranteed to blame it all on someone else. The best thing you can just do in response is smile and tell them “ok” and wait 10–15 more years.
I find it interesting (and a little sad) how much this generation lives rent-free in your heard, when you could be actually out there focusing energy on making something of yourselves, rather than blaming others for your lack of progress. Thankfully, you are in a minority. I know many very successful younger people.
I’m sorry to disagree, but boomers have always been a drain on society. Only now, when the consequences are passed down, do we see the full extent of the damage that they did. And of course, boomers tended to vote for Trump, an orange, somewhat sentient fascist hemorrhoid.
You show your ignorance of the cohort. In my circle, NO ONE supports Trump. The vote for Trump is influenced by socio-economic factors. Those with less education and who feel they are suffering economically are his voters. They are most gullible and fall for the lies. Maybe when you grow up you’ll have a better handle on the world around you.