http://www.sfweekly.com/2007-05-02/news/boomtastrophe/full

I just recently got into this bizarre fascination with studying about the current generations living right now and found this article saying how greedy, corrupt, self-centered and hypocritical the baby boomer generation turned out to be and now they're screwing over the younger generations. The "slackers" (Generation X) who used to be teenagers in the 80's and 90's and now the "narcissists" (Millenials/Gen-Y) who are teens and twentysomethings right now (like me  :P) will probably end up in some economical crisis in the future.

This article is loooooooooooooooooong so I suggest you read it when you have a lot of free time....  :-\\

The problem I have found with the article is that there seems to be too man generalizations. It may be some baby boomers have turned out the way the author describes, but not all. What really bothered me most about the article is how he describes parents as either giving too little or too much. I know a lot of boomer parents who are in the middle.

While the boomers did change some of the world (i.e. civil rights, women's rights, environmental issues, the banning of D.D.T., etc. etc.) they are NOT the only ones who SHOULD be trying to change the world. It seems to me that many younger people (noticed I said many-NOT all because I know a lot of young people this does not apply to) think that it is all the boomers fault that the world is the way it is. Instead of helping to change the world, they just want to point fingers and then go back to their video games and ipods. Personally, I think every generation has contributed something to this world (for good or bad) and will continue.


While I disagree with much of what the author had said, it is an interesting argument and an interesting discussion.



Cat

The problem I have found with the article is that there seems to be too man generalizations. It may be some baby boomers have turned out the way the author describes, but not all. What really bothered me most about the article is how he describes parents as either giving too little or too much. I know a lot of boomer parents who are in the middle.


Well the word "generation" says it all. It's meant to generalize a whole group of people, not individuals. The majority of the people born into that certain generation is what creates the image of themselves as a whole.

And I should consider Martin Kuzs' opinion relevant because? ? ? ?  Does it upset him that now women who are raped can actually prosecute, or because southern African Americans can vote?  Maybe he is pissed of because his wife(if he has one), can get birth control without his permission. 

I wonder if he read this:

www.boomers.typepad.com/boomers/media/index.html

And I should consider Martin Kuzs' opinion relevant because? ? ? ?  Does it upset him that now women who are raped can actually prosecute, or because southern African Americans can vote?  Maybe he is pissed of because his wife(if he has one), can get birth control without his permission. 

I wonder if he read this:

www.boomers.typepad.com/boomers/media/index.html


I think the author was more angry at how the boomers fought for all of those things but then completely forgot about it once they started making money.

I think the author was more angry at how the boomers fought for all of those things but then completely forgot about it once they started making money.


Maybe in his world, he should come into mine

Um...when you really think about, it is kind of true. I don't mean you individually but what huge positive changes have your generation made once the 60's and 70's passed? The U.S. government is screwed up right now and the huge corporations owned by boomers are just getting bigger and bigger (which IMHO isn't a good sign...). It's basically all about money now.

No one has anything else to say about this?  :-\\

No one has anything else to say about this?  :-\\



Not really.  Best Ever and worst ever topics usually die a quick death and rightfully so.  General comparisons like this are much to broad and very subjective.  In this case here are too many generations and too many issues to compare.  We could compare boomers to the generation that beat up African Americans for drinking out of a water fountain, or the one that denied women the right to vote, or the one that slavery wasn't so bad, or the one that fostered in the "Gilded Age"(you want to talk about greed!).  Most generations had a lot of good and a lot of bad to really categorize one way or the other.

Not really.  Best Ever and worst ever topics usually die a quick death and rightfully so.  General comparisons like this are much to broad and very subjective.  In this case here are too many generations and too many issues to compare.  We could compare boomers to the generation that beat up African Americans for drinking out of a water fountain, or the one that denied women the right to vote, or the one that slavery wasn't so bad, or the one that fostered in the "Gilded Age"(you want to talk about greed!).  Most generations had a lot of good and a lot of bad to really categorize one way or the other.


I would have still preferred some sort of discussion or debate from both sides. Isn't this forum a little boring with just "what's your favorite..." type of threads?

I would have still preferred some sort of discussion or debate from both sides. Isn't this forum a little boring with just "what's your favorite..." type of threads?


On that level, I sorta see what you mean, and I've felt the same myself. There probably isn't as much discussions on here as there was, say a year ago (it's still around, but the threads seem to die quicker). I'm a pretty big "pop cultural discussion" kind of guy so I try and keep that stuff alive a bit. ;)

Anyway, I haven't read the article yet, but I think it makes some sense (although it depends on the person, of course). The Boomers are still pretty much "the establishment" now, and most are retiring later. They'll probably start turning more late-boomer/early Xer c. 2015, when the 1945ers are 70 and the oldest Xers are in their early 50s.

That'll be a big shift because I know many Xers tended to resent Boomers for having all the better paying jobs, especially during the economic recession of the early '90s.

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That'll be a big shift because I know many Xers tended to resent Boomers for having all the better paying jobs, especially during the economic recession of the early '90s.



Huh?  Xers resent Boomers for having better paying jobs during the 90s.  I would say anyone who had worked at whatever job they were doing for a longer time were compensated for their expertise?  Seems to me that is the way it should be. 

To quote the Boomer in Mike and the Mechanics- "Every generation blames the one before".  In 1990 another Boomer Billy Joel (49r) tried to explain his generation in "We didn't start the fire".




Spot on

To quote the Boomer in Mike and the Mechanics- "Every generation blames the one before".  In 1990 another Boomer Billy Joel (49r) tried to explain his generation in "We didn't start the fire".




I think it's also the other way around. The boomers were criticizing the Gen-Xers as being "slackers" and having no direction in life. Now a Gen-Xer wrote a book recently saying how we (Millennials or Gen-Y or whatever...) are a bunch of "narcissists" who are too full of ourselves. I think the author also blamed the parenting and teaching style from the 80's and 90's where we were always told we were special and won trophies for just being part of the team.

Now with that said, I still believe the boomer government is totally f*cked. This isn't just a "blaming the earlier generation" type of thing either. If Bush's idiotic decisions doesn't cause some disaster in the future then I would definitely be surprised.

Now with that said, I still believe the boomer government is totally f*cked. This isn't just a "blaming the earlier generation" type of thing either. If Bush's idiotic decisions doesn't cause some disaster in the future then I would definitely be surprised.



Yes, and the boomers blamed the generation before for the Cold War, and Viet Nam, and the generation before that blamed the generation before them for the depression, ad infitatum.  That is why this thing about "the worst ever" is a bit of a valley girl argument.  Perhaps if you wanted to compare an aspect of the boomer generation to anaspect of another generation, then there would be room for credible arguments. 

Yes, and the boomers blamed the generation before for the Cold War, and Viet Nam, and the generation before that blamed the generation before them for the depression, ad infitatum.  That is why this thing about "the worst ever" is a bit of a valley girl argument.  Perhaps if you wanted to compare an aspect of the boomer generation to anaspect of another generation, then there would be room for credible arguments. 


Can you please stop saying the same thing over and over and over? It's pretty much a known fact that Bush has been the worst U.S. president in a long while.

I don't even know why you're getting so defensive here. All I said was that the boomer government hasn't done anything impressive so far during this decade. Clinton was alright but I think he's famous for his personal life more than his presidency now...  :-\\

And I should consider Martin Kuzs' opinion relevant because? ? ? ?  Does it upset him that now women who are raped can actually prosecute, or because southern African Americans can vote?  Maybe he is pissed of because his wife(if he has one), can get birth control without his permission. 


Actually, Martin Kuz's article holds the view that it was the generations that preceded the baby boomers who deserve most of the credit for the social advances of the 1960s:

'The tendency of Boomers to claim the moral high ground as their private domain explains the popular perception that they alone agitated for civil rights. In fact, their parents and grandparents, the Silent and G.I. generations maligned by Boomers as social conformists, supplied the movement with brigades of foot soldiers and its most visible leaders — Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Stokley Carmichael, and Rosa Parks, among others. "Boomers take the credit, but the Silent Generation should get it for civil rights," says social historian and author William Strauss, an expert in generational studies. "What the Boomers were doing was starting riots." '

Actually, Martin Kuz's article holds the view that it was the generations that preceded the baby boomers who deserve most of the credit for the social advances of the 1960s:

'The tendency of Boomers to claim the moral high ground as their private domain explains the popular perception that they alone agitated for civil rights. In fact, their parents and grandparents, the Silent and G.I. generations maligned by Boomers as social conformists, supplied the movement with brigades of foot soldiers and its most visible leaders — Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Stokley Carmichael, and Rosa Parks, among others. "Boomers take the credit, but the Silent Generation should get it for civil rights," says social historian and author William Strauss, an expert in generational studies. "What the Boomers were doing was starting riots." '


The problem is the tag of "worst ever". It is a generalization.  Yes, the silent Generation agitated for civil rights, as did the abolitionists before them.  But that is one aspect.  One could make a generalization about the post reconstruction generation as the worst because they developed the black codes, opposed suffrage, opposed womens rights, allowed lynching to go unchecked throughout the South, built concentration camps and filled them with Asian American citizens.   I was born in '51 and I can say without a doubt there were Silents who made it a point to do there best to make sure that I didn't get my civil rights. I do not vilify the whole generation because of it, that generalization would be just as wrong because there were many on the other end of the spectrum. There have also been some real bad presidents, that would be a whole other issue.  Personally I do agree that bushie is a complete disaster, but bushie doesn't speak for a generation. Millions of his generation voted against him, just as millions of younger voters voted for him.  If Kuz did his homework he would find that actual boomer activists do give alot of credit for the social activists that preceded them, it was from the preceding generations that they learned their tactics, and I don't see Boomers claiming some sort of moral highground.  Taking pride at what went on in the sixties, well why not?  The piece he wrote was just stroking his readership, a Limbaugh move, and it seems to have worked.

The problem is the tag of "worst ever". It is a generalization.  Yes, the silent Generation agitated for civil rights, as did the abolitionists before them.  But that is one aspect.  One could make a generalization about the post reconstruction generation as the worst because they developed the black codes, opposed suffrage, opposed womens rights, allowed lynching to go unchecked throughout the South, built concentration camps and filled them with Asian American citizens.  I was born in '51 and I can say without a doubt there were Silents who made it a point to do there best to make sure that I didn't get my civil rights. I do not vilify the whole generation because of it, that generalization would be just as wrong because there were many on the other end of the spectrum. There have also been some real bad presidents, that would be a whole other issue.  Personally I do agree that bushie is a complete disaster, but bushie doesn't speak for a generation. Millions of his generation voted against him, just as millions of younger voters voted for him.  If Kuz did his homework he would find that actual boomer activists do give alot of credit for the social activists that preceded them, it was from the preceding generations that they learned their tactics, and I don't see Boomers claiming some sort of moral highground.  Taking pride at what went on in the sixties, well why not?  The piece he wrote was just stroking his readership, a Limbaugh move, and it seems to have worked.


The problem here is that you're saying stuff like "boomers don't do that because I know blahblahblah who doesn't....". That's not really the best way to look at this subject. I think I already said this in an earlier post but when people look at a generations behavior (like a sociologist or something), they don't look at what every individual does. They look at what the majority of the generation does from surveys, statistics, etc. Just because you're not some annoying soccer mom who spoils their kids doesn't mean there aren't a whole lot more of those type of people in your age group. You might have never protested or became a hippie but that's still what the boomer generation best known for. That's why it's kind of pointless to be complaining about "generalizations". That's the whole reason why people came up with the idea to group people from certain age groups. To study their general behavior.

The problem here is that you're saying stuff like "boomers don't do that because I know blahblahblah who doesn't....". That's not really the best way to look at this subject.


No, what I am saying is you cannot put the tag worst ever on any generation, just as you can't tag any generation as the best.  You titled the thread, not me.  There are too many things good, and too many things bad, that have been done by every generation to hit one with either label. 

No, what I am saying is you cannot put the tag worst ever on any generation, just as you can't tag any generation as the best.  You titled the thread, not me.  There are too many things good, and too many things bad, that have been done by every generation to hit one with either label. 


So you're just hung up about the thread title? What about the actual topic or the article for that matter? You're getting all defensive yet you're not showing any proof that the things the author wrote is wrong. Maybe show some statistics you found on the internet that proves that most boomers don't actually have as much money as the article says or something?

PS: Notice the question mark after the word "Ever"? That's supposed to mean "come up with your own conclusion". I didn't say the boomers actually were the worst generation ever so you can stop getting heated up over the thread title already.

Baby Boomer - Worst Generation Ever?

"Notice the question mark after the word "Ever"? That's supposed to mean "come up with your own conclusion".

Okay !  NO.  ;)

Baby Boomer - Worst Generation Ever?

"Notice the question mark after the word "Ever"? That's supposed to mean "come up with your own conclusion".

Okay !  NO.  ;)


Ditto  8)

Baby Boomer - Worst Generation Ever?

"Notice the question mark after the word "Ever"? That's supposed to mean "come up with your own conclusion".

Okay !  NO.  ;)


Um ok that's fine with me. I just wanted people to read the article.  ???

Btw why isn't anyone talking about the article? There's only one person in here who's been posting alot but she was completely off the main topic most of the time...

Um ok that's fine with me. I just wanted people to read the article.  ???

Btw why isn't anyone talking about the article? There's only one person in here who's been posting alot but she was completely off the main topic most of the time...


Well, I read the back and forths, I tend to support what Danoota is saying, in the main.  Best/worst is terribly subjective.  My answer above to the question your thread title posed (which is a yes) is in the most part based on my observations of the other 'generations' around me.

I am a baby boomer, as far as I am concerned.  Interestingly, in some definitions of the generations, I am Gen X.  That makes me laugh, I am so un-Gen X it's not funny.  Many people I know who are Gen X, I wouldn't associate the 'supposed' traits with them either.

I personally think way too much is made of this arbitrary classification system anyway, and the lengths between changing from one description to the next are too long and only muddy the waters even further.

I think, naturally, most people would side with whatever generation they fall into, because that's where their comfort zone is.

BTW, Yes, I read (skimmed) the article.

For too long, Boomers have lived trapped inside their own hallucination.  If that makes the author feel comfortable, sure, why not.  Might help to deny some of their own faults along the way as well if they are lucky  ::) :P

if the last three decades portend the next three, his brethren will find their inner altruist around the time Eminem covers "Kumbaya."  Now that made me laugh  :)


And that's about as 'navel-gazing' (to use the Author's description of me) as I will get on the subject :)

Well, I read the back and forths, I tend to support what Danoota is saying, in the main.  Best/worst is terribly subjective.  My answer above to the question your thread title posed (which is a yes) is in the most part based on my observations of the other 'generations' around me.

I am a baby boomer, as far as I am concerned.  Interestingly, in some definitions of the generations, I am Gen X.  That makes me laugh, I am so un-Gen X it's not funny.  Many people I know who are Gen X, I wouldn't associate the 'supposed' traits with them either.

I personally think way too much is made of this arbitrary classification system anyway, and the lengths between changing from one description to the next are too long and only muddy the waters even further.

I think, naturally, most people would side with whatever generation they fall into, because that's where their comfort zone is.

BTW, Yes, I read (skimmed) the article.

For too long, Boomers have lived trapped inside their own hallucination.  If that makes the author feel comfortable, sure, why not.  Might help to deny some of their own faults along the way as well if they are lucky  ::) :P

if the last three decades portend the next three, his brethren will find their inner altruist around the time Eminem covers "Kumbaya."  Now that made me laugh  :)


And that's about as 'navel-gazing' (to use the Author's description of me) as I will get on the subject :)


Ok let's try something here. Ignore the thread title (seriously I don't know why you're still talking about it) and don't look at individuals around you for the generation traits. Just look at the whole generation for the traits. Of course not everyone is going to be the stereotypical hippie boomer. There were some who just lived a normal life at home during the 60's and 70's but they probably weren't the ones making the media coverage about the "Revolution" and whatever else. If there are (official) statistics that show most of the people within your age range are or aren't doing something then that might end up on the "Baby Boomer" description. It might not be what you are but it's what classifies most of the people in your generation.
EDIT: Just noticed this is the third time I wrote the same paragraph above lol

I do think the author was a little too negative but still some of the things he says are true. This decade has been all about money and getting the latest gadgets. I doubt many of the boomer establishments had nothing to do about this. The boomers that ARE causing these problems should probably figure out a way to correct it instead of staying in denial (every boomer I've seen make comments about a negative article about their generation has been on the defensive side...I don't think ALL of those articles about them are completely false...)

Btw if you're classified as a gen-xer and boomer then you're probably on the cusp according to William Strauss and Neil Howe (They wrote the book called  "Generations" which I heard was pretty good). They considered boomers to be 1946 to 1964 but the cusp starts at the late 1950's to '64 or something.

Oh, stop it, stop it, you're killin' me with this thread  :P


Of course not everyone is going to be the stereotypical hippie boomer. There were some who just lived a normal life at home during the 60's and 70's but they probably weren't the ones making the media coverage about the "Revolution" and whatever else. If there are (official) statistics that show most of the people within your age range are or aren't doing something then that might end up on the "Baby Boomer" description. It might not be what you are but it's what classifies most of the people in your generation.

Fair enough, but it doesn't make me 'responsible' per se. 

I do think the author was a little too negative but still some of the things he says are true.

A little ?  I must look up the dictionary to check the meaning of the word.  Someone must have changed it and not told me  ;) :P

Sure, some are true.

This decade has been all about money and getting the latest gadgets. I doubt many of the boomer establishments had nothing to do about this. The boomers that ARE causing these problems should probably figure out a way to correct it instead of staying in denial (every boomer I've seen make comments about a negative article about their generation has been on the defensive side...I don't think ALL of those articles about them are completely false...)

Seriously, do you think the majority of ANY generation really has an effective say in the way the world turns from one day to the next ?  It's very easy to criticise in hindsight, but faults in social policy, government direction etc etc blah blah often don't become apparent until years later.  That's the way it is.

Most of us (in any generation) are simply swept along with the current.  Yes, it's very idealistic to say "if you don't like the Government, vote them out", but often there are things that are good as well, so you have to make a balanced choice.  At least where I live, you DO have to make a choice  ;)

I have the (dubious) benefit of having been on this earth somewhat longer than you.  Let's get it straight, I am NOT saying that makes me any better, or any more right (it has made me more tired  ;)).  What I am saying is that is has given me the opportunity to observe other generations around me, both older and younger, and to form my opinions on what impact they have had/are having.

In another 30 years or so, I would be interested to know whether you still feel the same way.  As you age a few things start to become a lot clearer.  You realise that there are not only always 2 sides to every story, there are invariably many others.  It's perfectly feasible that all of the stories are right in their own way.  You realise that there is not only right and wrong, not only black and white, but all the varying shades in between.  It's a constant juggling act, sometime you drop all the balls.  Maybe that's what the Baby Boomers did.  Who knows ?

The one thing that aging has taught me more than anything is that 'raging against the machine' is all very attractive in one's youth, but as you get older, you obtain a much clearer perspective on when you are wasting your own time.

The boomers that ARE causing these problems should probably figure out a way to correct it instead of staying in denial (every boomer I've seen make comments about a negative article about their generation has been on the defensive side...I don't think ALL of those articles about them are completely false...)

The above text perfectly illustrates my point.  Most Boomers (and every other generation) are along for the ride, we are not all activist and movers and shakers.  We get defensive because articles such as the one you linked point out the negatives and little else.  That tends to make people defensive, in my experience.  It's not denial from my perspective, it's reality.

Fair enough, but it doesn't make me 'responsible' per se. 

I never said you were responsible for anything.

I also have been saying in most of this thread that there IS more than just black and white. There are boomers who cause problems most of the time and there are those who haven't done anything wrong and those who are "going with the flow" like you said. It's the ones who ARE causing the problems that should be checked on. There are several of those "wrongdoers" who are in power right now (i don't think i need to list names  :-X) and if they don't realize the mistakes they're doing (or don't care) then it could end up causing problems for all of us. Not only that but they're also one of the reasons why the boomers as a whole are getting such a bad rep in the media and in the articles like the one I posted.

The above text perfectly illustrates my point.  Most Boomers (and every other generation) are along for the ride, we are not all activist and movers and shakers.  We get defensive because articles such as the one you linked point out the negatives and little else.  That tends to make people defensive, in my experience.  It's not denial from my perspective, it's reality.

The type of comments I've seen on these type of articles weren't any better than the articles themselves. There were some comments that were in complete denial where they act as if everything is fine and dandy and nothing ever went wrong. Then there's people who starts pointing fingers at the younger generations because we listen to i-Pods or something weird like that and finally there's those people who just brags about how great their pop culture and music was because they listened to the Beatles...  :o

In another 30 years or so, I would be interested to know whether you still feel the same way.

You'll probably be dead by then sorry.  :P kidding kidding

I also have been saying in most of this thread that there IS more than just black and white. There are boomers who cause problems most of the time and there are those who haven't done anything wrong and those who are "going with the flow" like you said. It's the ones who ARE causing the problems that should be checked on. There are several of those "wrongdoers" who are in power right now (i don't think i need to list names  :-X) and if they don't realize the mistakes they're doing (or don't care) then it could end up causing problems for all of us. Not only that but they're also one of the reasons why the boomers as a whole are getting such a bad rep in the media and in the articles like the one I posted.




This, again, can be said of every previous generation.  There are several "wrongdoers" in power, there are also several trying to right the wrongs.  Mistakes are being, and have always been, made that have been detrimental to the subsequent generation, on the other hand the Boomers activism has passed on many positive social improvements, especially for women and minorities. This is also true of previous generations.  Boomers are getting a bad rep in certain segments of the media because, for whatever reason, it sells. There are articles, one of which I did offer a link, that puts forth a positive spin.  It comes down to what you are reading and how much credence you are giving to the authors.

I do find it funny that Generation X Is 'Lethargic, useless, no great thinkers' etc.

Could it be that since about 1975, it's just been so obvious that the whole "Great meaning to life' thing is a load of bollocks and we're all far happier getting wasted and just not giving a s**t?  ;D

I wouldn't want to be associated with some great thinker or wonderful poet.. they're probably going to be a wanker.

I wouldn't want to be associated with some great thinker or wonderful poet.. they're probably going to be a wanker.



You're right about that!  When you read about the lives of some of these people you just can't imagine what complete a$$e$ a good many of them were/are. 

Boomers are getting a bad rep in certain segments of the media because, for whatever reason, it sells. There are articles, one of which I did offer a link, that puts forth a positive spin.  It comes down to what you are reading and how much credence you are giving to the authors.


Further, if I believed (and I hold this to be true of ANY generation) that the author in question of said article was writing it from a purely altruistic standpoint, rather than doing it with one eye on feathering their own nest/furthering their own agenda/keeping in the spotlight, I might be a more more receptive to the manifesto that I had read...  ;)

I never said you were responsible for anything.

Hang on then !  That would make me from your generation !  (:P kidding kidding)

Then there's people who starts pointing fingers at the younger generations because we listen to i-Pods or something weird like that and finally there's those people who just brags about how great their pop culture and music was because they listened to the Beatles...  :o

Yeah but ya see, I think Glenn Miller sucks as well.  Had I been brought up with him, I probably wouldn't think so.  It's just the way the pendulum swings.

You'll probably be dead by then sorry.  :P kidding kidding


Preferably.  But by then you'll have Generations Z to AB blaming you for the ills of the world - and "I'll be laughing my head off as I'm burning in hell"  :)

You're right about that!  When you read about the lives of some of these people you just can't imagine what complete a$$e$ a good many of them were/are. 


Right.


To be perfectly honest, I know full well that I and many others epitomize the Beavis and Butthead Generation, we are lethargic, we are apathetic, we don't have any morals or scruples.. no guiding forces or blinding ambition.. no desire.. no passion.. and that's why we'll all live until we're 80 and then die in front of the TV, having never exerted ourselves or given a f**k about anything.. and ya know what, that suits me just fine.

This, again, can be said of every previous generation.  There are several "wrongdoers" in power, there are also several trying to right the wrongs.  Mistakes are being, and have always been, made that have been detrimental to the subsequent generation, on the other hand the Boomers activism has passed on many positive social improvements, especially for women and minorities. This is also true of previous generations.  Boomers are getting a bad rep in certain segments of the media because, for whatever reason, it sells. There are articles, one of which I did offer a link, that puts forth a positive spin.  It comes down to what you are reading and how much credence you are giving to the authors.


Of course the people from earlier generations were blamed before but they're not the ones in control of countries right now (maybe a few people from the Silent generation are still around though). I don't know where you're going with this. Yeah the other generations caused problems but does that mean everyone should ignore it now since pointing out the problems has already been done before? If no one knows about it then no one would care or try to fix it. Even if this article and the rest of the media is overly negative and it gets you angry you should figure out why they're writing all of this in the first place...unless they don't have any facts to back up their accusations.

Of course the people from earlier generations were blamed before but they're not the ones in control of countries right now (maybe a few people from the Silent generation are still around though). I don't know where you're going with this. Yeah the other generations caused problems but does that mean everyone should ignore it now since pointing out the problems has already been done before? If no one knows about it then no one would care or try to fix it. Even if this article and the rest of the media is overly negative and it gets you angry you should figure out why they're writing all of this in the first place...unless they don't have any facts to back up their accusations.


I'm not angry about the article or the sentiment behind it, the most I could muster was a  ???  , then maybe a  ::) .  A lot of people write negative things, a lot of people write positive things, I don't find the media overly negative, there is so much out there to choose from I don't have to fixate on one or the other.  I don't see that anyone here takes a step back on pointing out problems on what is going on today, if you took a trip into the political board you would see that I, and many of us here, are ranting and raving all the time at the mess our country is in. We talk about it, agree, disagree, and we vote. Some of us belong to political groups like The League of Women Voters.  The mess you speak of has been brought about by a faction of people who are in the Boomer age group, for that you seem to be very angry at anyone in that age group, and for whatever reason you think we should all agree with you to the point of self flagellation.

I'm not angry about the article or the sentiment behind it, the most I could muster was a  ???  , then maybe a  ::) .  A lot of people write negative things, a lot of people write positive things, I don't find the media overly negative, there is so much out there to choose from I don't have to fixate on one or the other.  I don't see that anyone here takes a step back on pointing out problems on what is going on today, if you took a trip into the political board you would see that I, and many of us here, are ranting and raving all the time at the mess our country is in. We talk about it, agree, disagree, and we vote. Some of us belong to political groups like The League of Women Voters.  The mess you speak of has been brought about by a faction of people who are in the Boomer age group, for that you seem to be very angry at anyone in that age group, and for whatever reason you think we should all agree with you to the point of self flagellation.


I never said I was angry at ALL of the boomers. Where did I say that? I never said that everyone should agree with me either. The only thing I am angry at are the boomers who are causing problems with the government and economy and whatever else and the ones who don't care that all these things are getting screwed up. There are a whole lot of boomers who are concerned about the way things are going right now and that's fine. I never said they did anything wrong.

You seem to be taking this too personally if you're trying to put words in my mouth.

I never said I was angry at ALL of the boomers. Where did I say that? I never said that everyone should agree with me either. The only thing I am angry at are the boomers who are causing problems with the government and economy and whatever else and the ones who don't care that all these things are getting screwed up. There are a whole lot of boomers who are concerned about the way things are going right now and that's fine. I never said they did anything wrong.



Which is what we (the people who have posted to this thread) have been saying all along.

Which is what we (the people who have posted to this thread) have been saying all along.





Is this still referring to the "worst generation ever" thing? I have been mentioning all along that there are boomers who aren't doing anything wrong but I also said that if you look at the generation as a whole (looking at their current trends, decisions, etc), there aren't too many positive things shown. Does everyone have to follow a trend? Of course not but is the trend still there? Yes it is.

Is this still referring to the "worst generation ever" thing? I have been mentioning all along that there are boomers who aren't doing anything wrong but I also said that if you look at the generation as a whole (looking at their current trends, decisions, etc), there aren't too many positive things shown. Does everyone have to follow a trend? Of course not but is the trend still there? Yes it is.



So what is the trend that has formed this negative opinion?

So what is the trend that has formed this negative opinion?


Wow do you even read what I post? I'm not even going to bother answering that.

Wow do you even read what I post?





ditto

ditto




That says a lot.

Can you explain?

The Baby Boomers who were "hippies" and "activists" were not by a longshot the majority of people who were born between 1946 and 1963.  Furthermore, it was the intellectuals, beatniks, political activists, and spiritual trendsetters of the Silent Generation and the Beat Generation and earlier that showed the Boomers the way.  The biggest Baby Boomer icon of them all, John Lennon, was not a Boomer, he was born in 1940. 

"We will change the world and make it a better place" sums up the message of the hippies/activists who define the Baby Boomers.  It's a noble goal, but sets one up to fall short! 

My parents were not Boomers, they were late Silent Generation, but identifed more as hippies (Boomers).  The criticism I have of the hippies--as I saw it first hand--is how tragically they overestimated their ability to "become" by "adopting."  You can smoke pot, you can grow a big beard, you can wear Indian garb, you can eat healthfood, move to a commune, dirt firm, meditate, etc. etc. etc.  However, in 1985, the best indicator of what a particular Boomer would be like at 40, 35, or 30 was the culture into which that person was born:  What were his or her parents like?  What were their political and social convictions? What Church did they go to? How did the family relate to one another?  What kind of school and community did he or she mature in? 

Certainly, many idealistic Boomers DID change for the better.

Unfortunately, many were so steeped in self-congratulatory narcissism they failed to see they were still susceptible to the Rat Race.  If they went to Wall Street to strike it rich, an act they condemned ten years earlier, they thought of it in terms of "maximizing human potential."  Many hippies fell in with EST and Scientology.  The corporate world cynically secreted hippie ideals of human relations, equality, and grooviness.  Corporate management spun around and used these ideals as a goad and a lash.  They took the idea the "commune" (the great, equal brotherhood of man) to blind the workers to the interests of labor versus capital.  You see this at play to this day in companies such as Apple, Wholefoods, and Google.  Say, brother, if your salary is crap, it's because you don't work to your full potential, like I do, now don't be ungroovy, baby, and besides you're not really hung up on money are you?
:D

My father (Silent Generation by birth, 1940, but Boomer by identity) remains a hardline Leftist to this day.  The sad thing is he never escaped the Big Catholic Guilt.  I saw a lot of this among the hippies.

Anyway, my thougths are too scrambled to write a cogent essay here!
:-\\

I hoped my Generation, Gen-X, would observe where the Boomers had gone wrong and not make the same mistakes.  Quite the contrary.  They took the WORST of what the Boomers had to offer:  Hedonism, sexual promiscuity, drug abuse, the Grateful Dead, greed and selfishness masked as "doing what's right for me," and "f**k the man" with no clue who "the man" really is, and AMPLIFIED IT ALL!

"I'm not square, you're the one that's square!"
--Travis Bickle

"I'm not square, you're the one that's square!"
--Travis Bickle


IIIIIIIIIIIINSTITUTIONALIZED!

(We Xers just wanted a Pepsi...)

IIIIIIIIIIIINSTITUTIONALIZED!

(We Xers just wanted a Pepsi...)


  HAHAHAH...! And they wouldn't give it to us..!

  Love it..!

  HAHAHAH...! And they wouldn't give it to us..!


Yeah.

I was gonna write a whole parody in an office setting to illustrate the generation gap between GenX "Look, you're paying me, so I'll get the work done, but don't expect me to care about it either way, because sooner or later, we're gonna get bought out and everyone's gonna get laid off" attitudes and the Boomer "What do you mean you don't care?  We want you to be happy!  Would you like us to set up some more teambuilding exercises for you?  Where's your loyalty, son?" human-resources types.

And then I realized that I wouldn't have to change a single word in the first verse, and would only have to change "Mom" for "Boss" in the rest of the song. 

I'm a little out of the loop when it comes to boomer politics and social attitudes, at least as far as direct experience is concerned. My parents are late period Silents who strongly identify with the Protestant work ethic, good manners and apple pie.  :) Definitelty *not* wannabe hippies. 

Coming from a poor, rural upbringing, I believe they both (especially my father) found many of the activist types of the '60s and 70s to be a whiny lot with too much time on their hands. It wasn't so much the message as it was the delivery that bugged them. Besides, they were already trying to support a family and get an education when all this social upheaval was going on. Who has time for anarchy when there are bills to be paid? Perhaps that's a glib statement, but it's the honest truth.

BTW, I just wanted a Pepsi, too.  8)