To be fair, Andrew Sullivan did start it on this occasion. He’s not even a boomer, but seems to have fallen prey to the same infatuation with y’all that so many others have exhibited. Most mysterious behaviour. I didn’t mind that the thread was there at first, but it just kept going and going. And going. Granted, in my increasing aversion I took to skimming the entries, so it’s possible that I missed a mention of Generation X, but I doubt it. Because apparently in Generation Y world there are only Gen Ys and an occasional boomer. Who knew? No, this is not a case of yours truly getting bitter because I’m feeling left out. Cliques were never my style. If I’d seen something more insightful and less self- congratulatory, I would’ve been interested to hear what the up-and-comers had to say.
So imagine my delight and relief when the latest post on Sully’s pernicious thread was from dissenters to the cause. Interestingly enough, from Yers themselves; koinky dink that the most pointed skewering comes from cuspers?
I’ve been holding back on writing because I was certain that someone would add some self-critical considerations to all the self-congratulation evident on this thread. Alas, either because of editorial control or because of rampant navel-gazing, no such perspective seems imminent, so in I dive.
I am a grandmother in the Millennial generation, born in 1980. Still, I hardly remember a time without computers and came of political age with Bush, so I place myself in the Millennials. And that’s fortunate, because have you heard how amazing we are? We are socially progressive. We see through the lies of pundits better than older generations. It’s not their fault though, we can do it because we really value “facts” and “analysis” and look things up online, unlike our gullible elders.
To my generational cohort, a plea: get over yourself.
Another:
One of your readers says that Millennials are “a little more willing to challenge orthodoxy than those before us.” This response typifies the problem with trying to use cohorts to explain much at all. Wow, you guys Occupied Wall Street! Congrats! Your parents’ generation changed views on whether women and people of color should be treated equally in the eyes of the law. But you guys stood up to rich people! Way to challenge orthodoxy. It’s not like anyone has ever stood up to Wall Street before.
Full post here (wherein you can find a link to the whole thread; knock yourself out). Now if the conversation were to start with this critique, things might start to get interesting. But I daresay we’re looking at a bone thrown to the dissenting POV that will go nowhere.
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