OPINION - Editorial

EDITORIAL: The generation war: 'Okay, boomer' is trash-talking these days

‘Okay, boomer’ is trash-talking these days

Social media excels in coming up with new ways to divide Us the People, and we do make it so easy. People will argue about anything on social media, from the color of a dress, to the sound of a word (it's yanny, BTW) to all the usual political headlines. And now generational infighting seems trendy. We found out over the weekend that "boomer" is an insult--akin to being called a geezer.

We're not kidding.

Imagine our interest when we came back to work after the weekend and saw that The New York Times had an article on the pop culture phrase and affront. Here's a snippet:

"'Okay boomer' has become Generation Z's endlessly repeated retort to the problem of older people who just don't get it, a rallying cry for millions of fed-up kids. Teenagers use it to reply to cringe-worthy YouTube videos, Donald Trump tweets, and basically any person over 30 who says something condescending about young people--and the issues that matter to them."

People who just don't get it, eh? Why does that sound so familiar? Could that be what baby boomers once said about the greatest generation? Man, those squares just don't get it. Rock and roll is here to stay, my my, hey hey. And peace and love, my man.

Maybe there's a bright side to Generation Z's being pitted against boomers on social media. At least the Tide-pod-eating millennials can get a break from battle. If we never again see an article about how millennials have killed some product or service, it'd be too soon.

Perhaps the amusing part of all this generational infighting is that Gen Xers are often overlooked. Squished between boomers and millennials, nobody seems to give them any grief. And they don't pick fights, either.

Maybe it's time to put that generation under a microscope and figure out how it avoids all this conflict. Or maybe it's time to turn off Twitter and go take a walk, get some air. Or even read a book or newspaper. That sounds good.

Editorial on 11/06/2019

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