A Boomer doesn’t understand why his g-g-generation is held in such open contempt by the younger generations:
I’m not sure I understand. As a 69-year old boomer, I don’t know any boomer of my acquaintance who wouldn’t, and hasn’t, tried to help his children and grandchildren in any way he can, whether with time or money, or any other way.
Very well. I think we can solve this conundrum. Ask yourself these four questions, Boomer:
- On average, how many days per year did you see your grandparents as a child?
- How many days per year do you see your grandchildren?
- What did you inherit from your father and grandfather?
- In real terms, do you expect to leave more to each and every child and grandchild than you received, or less.
Of course there will be outliers, so keep in mind that general attitudes are usually derived from relative averages. I wonder what the over/under on “but… but.. times were different and I don’t even live in the same state as my grandkids” will be?
In light of the usual responses from Boomers about this subject being inspired by personal issues and projecting their own historic hostility for their parents and everyone else over thirty onto me, I should like to take this opportunity to point out that my parents are not Boomers and neither am I.
UPDATE: Boomers are so wicked and stupid that some of them are even trying to claim that Generation X was the “Me Generation”. From Wikipedia:
The “Me” generation is a term referring to Baby Boomers in the United States and the self-involved qualities that some people associate with it. The 1970s were dubbed the “Me decade” by writer Tom Wolfe; Christopher Lasch was another writer who commented on the rise of a culture of narcissism among the younger generation of that era. The phrase caught on with the general public, at a time when “self-realization” and “self-fulfillment” were becoming cultural aspirations to which young people supposedly ascribed higher importance than social responsibility.