"Ok, Boomer"

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

Heckled Politician Pulls Out Trendy Internet Insult [https://www.newser.com/story/282769/politicians-use-of-ok-boomer-grabs-attention.html]

The war between the generations continues, this time Down Under. The "OK, boomer" phenomenon?an internet-driven trend in which millennials or members of Gen Z mock older folks they think are out of touch?took hold of a 25-year-old New Zealand politician Tuesday after she was heckled by a more wizened member of Parliament. CNN reports Green Party MP Chloe Swarbrick was speaking on how the climate crisis will affect her generation, and those after it, when she started getting jeers. "In the year 2050, I will be 56 years old," she said. "Yet, right now, the average age of this 52nd Parliament is 49 years old." That's when the heckler caught her attention, prompting a swift and merciless response. "OK, boomer," she replied, before immediately moving on to more talk on climate change.

The Washington Post reports reaction in the room was "muted," though the Guardian notes fellow Green Party MP James Shaw, of the much cooler Generation X, can be seen chuckling behind Swarbrick. She spoke about her retort later on Facebook, writing, "Today I have learnt that responding succinctly and in perfect jest to somebody heckling you about *your age* as you speak about the impact of climate change on *your generation* with the literal title of their generation makes some people very mad. So I guess millennials ruined humor. That, or we just need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and abstain from avocados. That's the joke." What some people are now wondering is what generation NZ Parliament TV staff hail from, as the closed captioning for Swarbrick's barb read "OK, Berma." "Clearly we need to start doing all-office meme briefings," it tweeted afterward. (Read more New Zealand stories.)

This is nothing new to Ms. Swarbrick. It's been something that has been happening for a while. It comes during a time where Millennials would be blamed for World War 2 if someone could be brave enough to stand up on the platform and swing hard enough for it.

There are lists [https://www.ranker.com/list/no-more-millennials/mariel-loveland] upon list [https://www.moneytalksnews.com/slideshows/starter-homes-golf-and-23-other-things-millennials-are-killing-off/] upon lists [https://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-are-all-of-the-things-millennials-have-been-accused-of-killing-2017-05-22] that report on what Millennials are considered to be ruining.

There are many articles about how Millennials don't have the work ethic needed to survive in jobs [https://nypost.com/2019/03/12/why-lazy-entitled-millennials-cant-last-90-days-at-work/]. Polls on how Millennials are seen to be 'Spoiled' and 'Lazy' [https://www.axios.com/millennials-a-tale-of-two-generations-ff2a6de5-cfde-42c5-ab38-ec0908fbfcc9.html].

These are the things that Millennials are saddled with, while they have to deal with out of control school debt, living wages going through the roof without any increase in pay, and the very ageism Baby Boomers blame us for having by simply using the term Boomer.

The sentiment is clear: "How dare you defend yourself? How dare you have a limit? How can you not realize civility only means respecting my interests?"

I struggle to understand a mentality that these people have. But yet, here we are.

Sidebar, I didn't know New Zealand was apart of the Down Under Moniker. Learning rocks.

 

[Batou667]

I think millennials get a lot of undeserved stick (oh, we're killing the yacht market, are we? I'll pass your complaint to my employer and my landlord, just as soon as I finish this AVOCADO TOAST LOL). Then again, there's nothing inherently noble about ageism against older people either.

"You durn kids" versus "Stupid old geezers" - it's hardly a new sentiment. The Baby Boomer generation themselves rebelled against the WW2 generation. And in the context of a barbed political situation, I suppose tit for tat is fine - you want to pick a fight, you don't insist the other person fights with one arm behind his or her back.

It makes me wonder though, do we REALLY need yet more division at this point? We're already hyperaware of subdividing ourselves across the gender spectrum, racial boxes, points on the political divide, our position on the hierarchy of privilege. Now we can add strictly defined and jealously guarded generational categories to the mix. Well, I choose to identify as 200 years old; so all of you damn kids can get off my lawn and pull your damn pants up.

 

[Seanchaidh]

On the one hand, "OK, Boomer" is often a distraction from the more salient impact of class or race. But on the other hand, "OK, Boomer" can be quite gratifying in certain contexts, especially when it makes a dismissive and delusional sexagenarian asshole steaming mad.

[tweet t="https://twitter.com/HeerJeet/status/1193177837353738240"]

 

[Baffle]

I quite like it. After all the abuse millennials have put up with just because of when they were born and their crazy expectation of a reasonable standard of living, I'm quite happy to see what is effectively 'Fuck you, grandad' with a touch of condescending 'Of course that's what you think, you're ooooold'.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

I think millennials get a lot of undeserved stick (oh, we're killing the yacht market, are we? I'll pass your complaint to my employer and my landlord, just as soon as I finish this AVOCADO TOAST LOL). Then again, there's nothing inherently noble about ageism against older people either.

"You durn kids" versus "Stupid old geezers" - it's hardly a new sentiment. The Baby Boomer generation themselves rebelled against the WW2 generation. And in the context of a barbed political situation, I suppose tit for tat is fine - you want to pick a fight, you don't insist the other person fights with one arm behind his or her back.

It makes me wonder though, do we REALLY need yet more division at this point? We're already hyperaware of subdividing ourselves across the gender spectrum, racial boxes, points on the political divide, our position on the hierarchy of privilege. Now we can add strictly defined and jealously guarded generational categories to the mix. Well, I choose to identify as 200 years old; so all of you damn kids can get off my lawn and pull your damn pants up.

But the fact of the matter is that the older generation have really focused on Swarbrick's actions of being the height of disrepsect. Especially at the Governmental Level.

... Yet few to no articles I've seen actually mentioned the fact that she was being Heckled before she said it. While she was speaking about actions that need to be taken to fix this planet.

The articles that mentioned it are passing "Yes, the Heckler is wrong, but this Generation...". No talk about the Baby Boomer generation that he represents. No talk that his actions show that the Baby Boomers need to straight up and fly right before talking about Millennials.

Nope. Milliennials have it all wrong. And I can say it because I have video of this Millennial doing this. Let's not ever think about it's really a video of the condescension that Millennials have to bare when talking about anything. Nothing she said was false. But the mere fact that she's stating it deserves to be heckled.

No, we don't need more division. So the previous generation should stop sowing seeds of dissension and calling it fact all the time. Why don't we just get out of our own biases and help each other for once instead of judging each other?

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

The thing I love the most about this is that Boomers have for years said Millenials are 'snowflakes' for thinking gays are people, sticking your hand down a woman's pants at work isn't okay, blackface even as a kid is a bad idea, living wages are a good thing, please don't melt the planet, probably shouldn't say racists things and it'd be great if cops stopped killing black people, but this one phrase, 2 words and Boomers freak out and soil their Depends.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I think millennials get a lot of undeserved stick (oh, we're killing the yacht market, are we? I'll pass your complaint to my employer and my landlord, just as soon as I finish this AVOCADO TOAST LOL). Then again, there's nothing inherently noble about ageism against older people either.

"You durn kids" versus "Stupid old geezers" - it's hardly a new sentiment. The Baby Boomer generation themselves rebelled against the WW2 generation. And in the context of a barbed political situation, I suppose tit for tat is fine - you want to pick a fight, you don't insist the other person fights with one arm behind his or her back.

It makes me wonder though, do we REALLY need yet more division at this point? We're already hyperaware of subdividing ourselves across the gender spectrum, racial boxes, points on the political divide, our position on the hierarchy of privilege. Now we can add strictly defined and jealously guarded generational categories to the mix. Well, I choose to identify as 200 years old; so all of you damn kids can get off my lawn and pull your damn pants up.

What middle, common ground do you think Millenials and Boomers can reach? They're basically polar opposites. Everything millenials want, free health care, affordable school and housing, equal rights, an end to the military industrial complex, a safer/cleaner planet, the rich to pay taxes, inclusion, end to harassment, etc...are all things Boomers are openly against. Its like trying to find common ground between an ant and an ant eater - ain't much there

 

[Hawki]

I'm not fond of it myself.

If a Boomer is chastisting a Millennial for doing Millennial things, then sure, but apart from that, it's attacking someone based on inaliable traits. In that specific context, I think the woman was in the right, in that she was being heckled, not critiqued, but if an argument is being directed against you, attack the argument, not the person.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I'm not fond of it myself.

If a Boomer is chastisting a Millennial for doing Millennial things, then sure, but apart from that, it's attacking someone based on inaliable traits. In that specific context, I think the woman was in the right, in that she was being heckled, not critiqued, but if an argument is being directed against you, attack the argument, not the person.

but that's exactly what Boomers do - mock millenials relentlessly and say their too young to know better on issues. OK Boomer is the perfect way to respond.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Are we talking about Baby Boomers, people born after 1945?

 

[Hawki]

Are we talking about Baby Boomers, people born after 1945?

Yes.

I'm not fond of it myself.

If a Boomer is chastisting a Millennial for doing Millennial things, then sure, but apart from that, it's attacking someone based on inaliable traits. In that specific context, I think the woman was in the right, in that she was being heckled, not critiqued, but if an argument is being directed against you, attack the argument, not the person.

but that's exactly what Boomers do - mock millenials relentlessly and say their too young to know better on issues. OK Boomer is the perfect way to respond.

Like I said, if they're doing it, you can respond. But if they aren't, it's no better.

Like, hypothetical:

Boomer: Damn millennials and their avocado toast.

Millennial: Okay boomer

This is fine.

Boomer: I disagree that we should raise taxes on the rich. If we do, they'll simply take their business elsewhere.

Millennial: Okay boomer.

This isn't. It isn't addressing the argument, it's attacking the person on the basis of their identity, and inaliable identity at that. It's the equivalent of "check your privilige."

 

[Thaluikhain]

This isn't. It isn't addressing the argument, it's attacking the person on the basis of their identity, and inaliable identity at that. It's the equivalent of "check your privilige."

I'd agree with that, apart from it not being like telling someone to check their privilege.

Boomers, as a whole, have done all sorts of things people should be annoyed at, but that doesn't mean any individual boomer is bad because they are a boomer.

 

[tstorm823]

The thing I love the most about this is that Boomers have for years said Millenials are 'snowflakes'...

This is the real travesty. I want "snowflake" back. That started as an excellent way to describe the sort of person who's "just not like normal people", and at some point transformed into a word for anyone who's easily upset, and that wasn't what the insult was supposed to mean. It wasn't supposed to call someone fragile, it was supposed to criticize people who thought they were exceptionally different from everyone else.

 

[Squilookle]

This is nothing new to Ms. Swarbrick. It's been something that has been happening for a while. It comes during a time where Millennials would be blamed for World War 2 if someone could be brave enough to stand up on the platform and swing hard enough for it.

Well to be fair- the Millennials really did drag their feet in WW2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_b1Y-Rl_Uo

Oh look- video embedding is back. Noice.

Sidebar, I didn't know New Zealand was apart of the Down Under Moniker. Learning rocks.

To be honest- anything south of the Equator gets called Down Under by the North. Bolivia is technically Down Under. So is Zimbabwe. Easter Island and Antarctica etc count, too.

 

[Baffle]

What middle, common ground do you think Millenials and Boomers can reach?

You'd think the fact that they're in some way related (i.e. by blood) would help, but it certainly feels like the Boomer generation hate their grandchildren.

 

[tstorm823]

You'd think the fact that they're in some way related (i.e. by blood) would help, but it certainly feels like the Boomer generation hate their grandchildren communists.

Fixed that for you. I personally get along well with basically every generation but my own by virtue of not being a communist.

 

[Thaluikhain]

The thing I love the most about this is that Boomers have for years said Millenials are 'snowflakes'...

This is the real travesty. I want "snowflake" back. That started as an excellent way to describe the sort of person who's "just not like normal people"

On this matter I am in complete agreement. I used to be able to sarcastically say "I'm a unique and precious snowflake, it's not my fault there's a blizzard", but before I got more than one or two opportunities to say it they changed the meaning and it doesn't work anymore.

You'd think the fact that they're in some way related (i.e. by blood) would help, but it certainly feels like the Boomer generation hate their grandchildren.

Yeah, but then there's nothing new about hating relatives who turn out different than you. Any number of people have been disowned by their family for being gay, say.

 

[Terminal Blue]

That started as an excellent way to describe the sort of person who's "just not like normal people", and at some point transformed into a word for anyone who's easily upset, and that wasn't what the insult was supposed to mean. It wasn't supposed to call someone fragile, it was supposed to criticize people who thought they were exceptionally different from everyone else.

Actually, I want snowflake back.

Because it actually started in the book Fight Club, where it described the narrator's contempt for individualism, mainstream culture and "normal people".

Chuck, while his book is not particularly nuanced or deep, was smart enough to understand that part of being a "normal person" is, paradoxically, believing that you are special. A belief in your own self-worth is a good thing, it is a necessary part of psychological health. The problem, which the book is extremely unsubtle about telling us, is consumerism. The narrator's anger is with a society which tells people they are special while, at the same time, continuously reminding them that they are replaceable, expendable and that their actual worth is only measured financially.

Again, not as smart as anyone thought it was, but there is the seed of some real social commentary there. It's much more valuable than whatever is supposed to be pejorative about not being basic normal.

 

[Baffle]

You'd think the fact that they're in some way related (i.e. by blood) would help, but it certainly feels like the Boomer generation hate their grandchildren communists.

Fixed that for you. I personally get along well with basically every generation but my own by virtue of not being a communist.

Don't do that please, it's disrespectful and makes you look like a twat.

 

[Baffle]

Yeah, but then there's nothing new about hating relatives who turn out different than you. Any number of people have been disowned by their family for being gay, say.

Oh, absolutely, but it seems to be much broader here. This isn't someone that's part of a generation in which that individual has traits you don't like (e.g. being gay); it's much broader in as much its the traits of the generation broadly that are disliked.