Rift between the Baby Boomer generation and Millenials


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To begin, Im 37, so I'm in a weird place where I often find myself looking down the line to the Millenials, and feel adrift from there identity politics, and general wave of emotive nonsense, In the same breath, I do feel massively let down by the baby boomer generation.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate my parents. They are brilliant people (as are many of the BB's I meet) That said their mantra of,"i want to die, before I get old" looks increasingly like a difficult lie, with octogenarians holding on for grim death etc etc.  Much like wonderful history making epic that was Woodstock.  after all the free love, interpretive dance was over, the fields of plastic and trash was all that remained. Somehow, hand in hand with the Carpe Diem "F*** it!" mindset, you inevitably end up with a big mess, that people were too busy being "hip" to worry about. 

Here in the UK, the Government is considering giving all Millenials £10K as a sort of apologetic stuffed envelope. I don't agree with this as, A, it's a pathetic amount of money, considering University fee's etc. and B, Many senior professionals have ratcheted up the draw bridge of social mobility, and don't want to pass on the baton of knowledge, in a fear of how long they will live themselves!? 

What do you think FOH???, I think every generation should shoulder the burden of a certain degree of guilt, for what we leave behind. but the world between BB's and Millenials seem so stark. how will it all work itself out?

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I’m 34. I think the apt term for us ‘80s babies is ‘the lost generation’. We’re shouldering the burden of the baby boomers’ negligent practice of systemic externalization of cost. TANSTAAFL, as Milton Friedman would say. You and I are paying for the ‘free lunches’ enjoyed by so many baby boomers before us. The big party from 1945-1990 has left you and me to clean up the fields of trash. 

To all the baby boomers who think we should ‘pull ourselves up by our bootstraps’ i have only one thing to say...

??

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2 minutes ago, cfc1016 said:

 

To all the baby boomers who think we should ‘pull ourselves up by our bootstraps’ i have only one thing to say...

??

Haha, I love your pep.  But hey, Were buying cigars, things cant be too bad.    I did pull myself up by my bootstraps, paying my own way through education, working in kitchens etc. but genuinely do see a difference in opportunity between myself born in 1980, and someone born in 1984.  What it all boils down to, it whether people are open to teach. 

I'm a metals conservator, and in one of my jobs, I worked with and old fella Micky, who was in his 70s, had kids late and the company had 'tried' to retire him off on numerous occasions. Anyway, Micky did his apprentiship with the old silversmiths of Aspreys (the Queens Warrented Jewellers/Silversmiths)  Anyway I was placed in the company to learn from, and eventually take over from Micky.    Like a stubbourn old ox, he would hide tools, mis-inform, sabotage etc etc.   I remember blowing up with him, and basically saying "you had the opportunity of learning from the old hands, and now your shafting the generation coming up!, more importantly your killing the knowledge".   

Ultimately although I was pissed off, I still had sympathy for him, as much as he had gorged on ease of his generation, he was staring down the barrel of living another 30yrs, and was beside himself with worry.  

It's never straight forward.

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9 minutes ago, cfc1016 said:

I’m 34. I think the apt term for us ‘80s babies is ‘the lost generation’. We’re shouldering the burden of the baby boomers’ negligent practice of systemic externalization of cost. TANSTAAFL, as Milton Friedman would say. You and I are paying for the ‘free lunches’ enjoyed by so many baby boomers before us. The big party from 1945-1990 has left you and me to clean up the fields of trash. 

To all the baby boomers who think we should ‘pull ourselves up by our bootstraps’ i have only one thing to say...

??

Kind of an ironic statement, considering your parents are likely baby boomer generation 1945-1963. 

My wife was born in '63 and has a son who will be 34 in September. He has no "rift" with his mother's generation or anyone else AFAIK. 

I don't understand the whole jist of the thread. But then, things here in the USA are not the same as the UK in many respects. 

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Well, this is one of those topics that requires a lot of groundwork. All that I can offer with some brevity is the observation that ‘Divide & Conquer’ has long been used as a strategy very successfully. Get people fighting over all sorts of insignificant things and they do not recognize their common cause & enemy.

From about the time just prior to WW1, mass propaganda methods have been employed very effectively. The attitudes of your grandparents, parents, you, and your children- have been very carefully & strategically shaped. (You don’t think the 60s ‘Flower Power Movement ‘ spontaneously sprouted on its own, do you ?)

Similarly, the idea of ‘the Millenials’ and ‘the Boomers’ is also a fabrication for generating divisive diversion IMO.

But, as I mentioned earlier- this is a long conversation requiring a lot of historical groundwork in order to properly address it.

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2 minutes ago, Colt45 said:

I'm 54. I've been working since I was 12. I've never had a free lunch, but have, and continue to pay for many.

I've never expected anyone to give me anything. Daily, I see on the news people who do.

If this is incomprehensible..... :violin::violin::violin:

 

Were you given knowledge and in-work experience from your seniors?   this is largely drawing to and end. Senior Professionals these days, are treating their knowledge like copyrighted intellectual property. i.e "why am I going to teach this young buck......just so he can replace me"   forgetting they were once the young buck. Blah Blah

I started this thread saying I didn't feel as if my generation was represented by either the BB's or the Millenials.  My point was it seems broken, and whats the answer?

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Having a millenial and 2 generation Z kids has at times given me great insight and at other times great confusion. My millenial has done his level best to avoid education and conforming to the "norm". My 2 gen Z kids both seem to be level headed about most issues especially work, education, and conservation. Now granted these kids are all American made so to speak, so their vision is usually skewed that way. I did my best to raise them not to expect anything from anyone and self reliance. Whether that means they live in the woods and fending for themselves or in the big city I pretty much know they will be fine. My millenial is another story entirely. Since as far back as I can remember he has felt the government owes him. Whether we as a generation blame the boomers, the millenials, or the Z's it doesnt really matter as blame doesnt fix the issue. Then again neither do knee jerk reactions like a 10k gift apology. Sorry left off a final thought. The boomers in my opinion feel knowledge must be earned not just given. The reluctance comes from not showing the effort to earn said knowledge nor the ability to control said knowledge. Well at least that is how I teach my kids and share what limited knowledge I have to share.

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9 minutes ago, JR Kipling said:

Well, this is one of those topics that requires a lot of groundwork. All that I can offer with some brevity is the observation that ‘Divide & Conquer’ has long been used as a strategy very successfully. Get people fighting over all sorts of insignificant things and they do not recognize their common cause & enemy.

From about the time just prior to WW1, mass propaganda methods have been employed very effectively. The attitudes of your grandparents, parents, you, and your children- have been very carefully & strategically shaped. (You don’t think the 60s ‘Flower Power Movement ‘ spontaneously sprouted on its own, do you ?)

Similarly, the idea of ‘the Millenials’ and ‘the Boomers’ is also a fabrication for generating divisive diversion IMO.

But, as I mentioned earlier- this is a long conversation requiring a lot of historical groundwork in order to properly address it.

Juvenal set it up... Bernays knocked it down. ?

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2 minutes ago, Dijit said:

Whether we as a generation blame the boomers, the millenials, or the Z's it doesnt really matter as blame doesnt fix the issue. Then again neither do knee jerk reactions like a 10k gift apology.

I agree with both these points.  I think the singular point of importance is there has to be intergenerational working/learning. Free social mobility, and genuine opportunites for the old and the young alike

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20 minutes ago, 99call said:

Were you given knowledge and in-work experience from your seniors?

Sigh.....

In an effort to be brief, I'm first generation American. My parents came here and worked their asses off to provide for six kids - and they did provide. They instilled, early on a work ethic. I wanted a car? I worked and saved. Paid my own insurance. Etc....

Let's just say I get a laugh out of watching people with their heads down in their phones - and less of a laugh knowing they think they're owed them....

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1 minute ago, Colt45 said:

Sigh.....

In an effort to be brief, I'm first generation American. My parents came here and worked their asses off to provide for six kids - and they did provide. They installed, early on a work ethic. I wanted a car? I worked and saved. Paid my own insurance. Etc....

Let's just say I get a laugh out of watching people with their heads down in their phones - and less of a laugh knowing they think they're owed them....

By Seniors, I don't mean your parents, but mentors, people in the work place that showed you the ropes etc. 

I think a valid and important point in this, is that hard work doesn't always get you to where you want to go. In times gone by a job interview may have 15 applicants, now it's in the 100s. 

Just for the record, I've been independent since I was 15, paid for my own education, and have never had a hand out/been given anything etc.

I'm not the one complaining here, or has an axe to grind with/blames anybody. I'm just aware of the antipathy between BB's and Millentials.    BB's often feel self made, and that the rest of the world has never had it so good.    Milleninals often feel as if the BB's have had it easy and rigged social mobility in their favour etc.   

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52 minutes ago, 99call said:

By Seniors, I don't mean your parents, but mentors, people in the work place that showed you the ropes etc.

I've been taught, have taught, and have no problem continuing to do so. There is no question that all types of industries have consolidated / shrunk. Magazines, newspapers. Going to the corner shop for a cigar. We all love buying stuff online. Businesses close and jobs are / will continue to be lost because of this. "Technology" is wonderful, but the dominoes are falling - it's staring us all in the face. The Terminator seems increasingly close to becoming reality.

Someone farts in the Middle East and oil prices skyrocket - for no other reason than speculators / investors / manipulators. Wonderful. Health insurance. The list is long and continues to grow, the breaking point continually growing closer.

I'm no doomsdayer - but nor am I blind to simple reality.

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You know we don’t have any real problems when we have the leisure to have theoretical discussions on an Internet forum about this.

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1 minute ago, Islandboy said:

At 56, I’m grateful to have worked with some fine mentors over the years. But back when I was your age, I learned pretty quickly that replacing my misguided young-un contempt with a little humility and respect went a long way. 

 

1 hour ago, 99call said:

Ultimately although I was pissed off, I still had sympathy for him, as much as he had gorged on ease of his generation, he was staring down the barrel of living another 30yrs, and was beside himself with worry.  

It's never straight forward.

Hmm If you can't see humility in my quote above........well I'm not sure what your looking at.    Ultimately It's country/economy dependant. in the UK job competition in huge, and hard fought, whereas whenever I converse with my mates in the Aussie/NZ they often refer to their careers are something that gets in the way of enjoying their life. 

I have massive respect for my parents generation. but something needs to be addressed, things like "zero hour" contracts  in the UK etc. the old are increasingly looking to earn of the young and keep them in stasis.  When I speak to my parents about getting a house, and having kids, they basically say it was "easy, and they thought about nothing. It just evolved without worry". My mother (god love her) also uttered the words recently "I would of hated to have been born when you were".    

To come full circle, I've worked with some BB's who are generous with their knowledge, but I would have to say they are in the minority, the larger number are in effect 'running scared' i.e. are wanting to elongate their career (which is fine) but all the time, not training/teaching the generations below...........which is not fine.

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13 minutes ago, Lotusguy said:

You know we don’t have any real problems when we have the leisure to have theoretical discussions on an Internet forum about this.

I kind of agree with this, but equally, in the 1900s people would write about 25 single sentence letters a day (about very important matters).  I find, a great deal of members on this forum, put forward some pretty interesting takes on things....including yourself.      its not without value

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30 minutes ago, Thig said:

I am 61 living in the US just to give you perspective. This thread strikes me as someone trying to blame the older generation because they are not successful. 

HHHmm I think you are off the mark here mate. I consider myself successful, and probably much like yourself (without financial help). The thread really is to highlight the contradiction of the 'free love generation'.  In many ways they railed agains 'the man" and have since become 'the man'. 

Ultimately the thread was about, how generations overlap, and how they should work with and learn from each other. All I was suggesting was that the BB's and the Millenials (of which I am neither) seem to be tied at the hip, but have antipathy for one another. 

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8 minutes ago, 99call said:

 

Hmm If you can't see humility in my quote above........well I'm not sure what your looking at.    Ultimately It's country/economy dependant. in the UK job competition in huge, and hard fought, whereas whenever I converse with my mates in the Aussie/NZ they often refer to their careers are something that gets in the way of enjoying their life. 

I have massive respect for my parents generation. but something needs to be addressed, things like "zero hour" contracts  in the UK etc. the old are increasingly looking to earn of the young and keep them in stasis.  When I speak to my parents about getting a house, and having kids, they basically say it was "easy, and they thought about nothing. It just evolved without worry". My mother (god love her) also uttered the words recently "I would of hated to have been born when you were".    

To come full circle, I've worked with some BB's who are generous with their knowledge, but I would have to say they are in the minority, the larger number are in effect 'running scared' i.e. are wanting to elongate their career (which is fine) but all the time, not training/teaching the generations below...........which is not fine.

I do see it. My words weren’t meant to be projected on anyone necessarily...I was mostly stating what worked for me, growing up and working in an old-school plantation town at twenty-something. I had to figure out how to pry the knowledge and experience out of the old-timers pretty quickly.

And of course I have no idea what life is like in the UK, so there’s that too.

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Just now, Islandboy said:

I do see it. My words weren’t meant to be projected on anyone necessarily...I was mostly stating what worked for me, growing up and working in an old-school plantation town at twenty-something. I had to figure out how to pry the knowledge and experience out of the old-timers pretty quickly.

And of course I have no idea what life is like in the UK, so there’s that too.

Hey, I can completely see what you mean. and I know what your talking about. Much of my two careers have been chefing and working with metal.   You have to sound people out, be yourself, but equally show respect and be willing to be flexible, to milk that knowledge.    Nobody should ever have to approach work in such a mercenary way, but I get it.     Part of someone giving you the knowledge and experience is feeling your worth it.      Everyone has the right to pick their apprentice.......this is at the heart of what I'm saying.   I think a great deal of BB's are saying "F-it!....... I don't want an apprentice...why should I!?"   this to be is the height of the spoilt behaviour they often accuse Millenials of. 

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