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It's the 'hippy generation' that gives everyone a bad name. Their 'hell no I won't go", 'free love', 'smoke til you're free' anti-disestablishment attitudes. They raised their kids that way too.
Nope, it wasn't us. Our hippy generation was a bit spoiled because our post Depression era parents wanted to give us the house in the suburbs with a big yard, summer camp. vacations at the beach. We grew up pretty happy and we felt confident so we figured that we could make things even better--we felt so empowered that we actually thought we could make the world an even better place!
Wrong. It went too far to the left, didn't stop when it should have. But most people of that era raised their kids pretty well. I was a teacher back in those days of the late 60s and the 70s. Those kids were not spoiled. We still had discipline in the schools too. Somehow that changed and by the 80s and 90s the kids were nasty, rude, entitled, and you were not allowed to punish them. If the teacher punished the little darling, it was the TEACHER who got in trouble!
So maybe it was the younger boomers (we span a lot of years) who spoiled their kids. I know my youngest sister never said "no" to her kids and they went to Disney every year, had every toy you could imagine, beautiful clothes, themed birthday parties, houses with a separate bathroom for each kid.
Dang, somehow my invitation to that spoiled lifestyle must have got lost in the mail. And having spent the last part of my childhood in the South, I have memories of segregated schools, different water fountains and restrooms for blacks/whites, only whites could sit downstairs at the movie theater, most restaurants were white only, etc. The golden age may not have been for everyone.
And I have memories as trying to make it as a single woman trying to support myself only to have doors slammed in my face when I went for "men's" jobs.
Civil Rights and equal opportunity was moved right along by people of my generation. The younger generation who now reap the rewards are often the biggest whiners around.
Nope, it wasn't us. Our hippy generation was a bit spoiled because our post Depression era parents wanted to give us the house in the suburbs with a big yard, summer camp. vacations at the beach. We grew up pretty happy and we felt confident so we figured that we could make things even better--we felt so empowered that we actually thought we could make the world an even better place!
Wrong. It went too far to the left, didn't stop when it should have. But most people of that era raised their kids pretty well. I was a teacher back in those days of the late 60s and the 70s. Those kids were not spoiled. We still had discipline in the schools too. Somehow that changed and by the 80s and 90s the kids were nasty, rude, entitled, and you were not allowed to punish them. If the teacher punished the little darling, it was the TEACHER who got in trouble!
So maybe it was the younger boomers (we span a lot of years) who spoiled their kids. I know my youngest sister never said "no" to her kids and they went to Disney every year, had every toy you could imagine, beautiful clothes, themed birthday parties, houses with a separate bathroom for each kid.
As an Xer with parents who were greatest generation married to a wife whose parents were boomers I can see a very strong difference in them. Yes, the boomers were the spoiled generation. So much so they don't realize how much. I can see both sides and it appears the millennials do have some points to their argument. Boomers may not have had computers as kids, but they had an education you could afford, cars, and jobs waiting for them when they graduated. Millenials are now paying the price.
Dang, somehow my invitation to that spoiled lifestyle must have got lost in the mail. And having spent the last part of my childhood in the South, I have memories of segregated schools, different water fountains and restrooms for blacks/whites, only whites could sit downstairs at the movie theater, most restaurants were white only, etc. The golden age may not have been for everyone.
we're talking in general within a generation of people. obviously there were people in poverty during that era as well.
and for those who say past generations can't be generalized or labelled, they're the ones who do it all the time to millennials. heck they did it to my gen x, and called us slackers.
While the original post of this thread is reasonable, sensible, and entirely void of invective, it is interesting how intense the feelings can get when it comes to generational discussions. In fact the word "hatred" would not be too strong. Right here in the Retirement Forum, there was a fairly recent thread in which one poster ended several different posts with this statement directed to Boomers: "Thanks for destroying America". The Economics Forum has two stickies, the first one of which is entitled "Generation wars will not be permitted". Having read a few of the "generation wars" there over the years, I was stunned by the extreme hatred directed against us Baby Boomers.
I think the anger from millennials happens because they're the generation known for being crippled by the economy at the beginning of their career.
And earning potential, like investments and debt (as millennials know all too well), compound. The beginning of a career/earning potential sets the tone for the rest of the lifetime. Being crippled early on is far worse than being crippled after your career has already started, or towards the end of it.
Anyway, it doesn't justify hatred or failing to take responsibility for oneself, but economically, as a generation in its entirety, it doesn't come as a surprise why millennials often feel crippled by obstacles and setbacks than other generations do. Since the generation that guided them into this situation are now the ones criticising them for being in this situation, it's almost inevitable that they'll snap at them for it.
While the original post of this thread is reasonable, sensible, and entirely void of invective, it is interesting how intense the feelings can get when it comes to generational discussions. In fact the word "hatred" would not be too strong. Right here in the Retirement Forum, there was a fairly recent thread in which one poster ended several different posts with this statement directed to Boomers: "Thanks for destroying America". The Economics Forum has two stickies, the first one of which is entitled "Generation wars will not be permitted". Having read a few of the "generation wars" there over the years, I was stunned by the extreme hatred directed against us Baby Boomers.
Don't want to get political here, but I think that this is a planned, concerted party line by left-wingers to means-test Social Security and Medicare and any other program out there. So rich evil Boomers are out of luck.
The early 70s was not a great time for college grads like teachers or engineers to start careers. There was a glut in that economy. Many of my friends did other jobs at first but within a couple of years most moved into their career path. That is not happening as consistently today.
A big difference is the level of home ownership that I see with millennials. Most of us bought homes in our mid-20s although we were satisfied with much less fancy accommodations then some young people today. Most of us grew up in a home with one full bathroom and maybe shared bedrooms, plus an extra "powder room" on the first floor was quite a luxury. We hadn't been exposed to what is considered "necessary" today.
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