Boomers Okay

 

I think most generalizations, apart from purely statistical ones, about American generations are silly. They are usually disparaging (except about the World War II generation) and say more about the prejudices and resentments of those making them than about their subject. We boomers are used to it, having gotten them from our elders when we were young, from conservative traditionalists all along, and now from some young people who dismiss us and our opinions as irrelevant and out of touch, often with the phrase “okay boomer”.

Probably the best response to “okay boomer” is to laugh it off, but if a person wants a rude rejoinder there is an obvious one. He could say “ We are indeed okay. The success of our WWII generation parents made our childhoods mainly prosperous and pleasant. In our youth we enjoyed a flourishing of sexual and other freedom. We established our careers in the boom years of the 1980s and 1990s, generally did okay thereafter, and now control most of the wealth in the country, besides collecting full social security. Our years in retirement are healthier, wealthier, and full of more fun and adventure than those of any before us. And our music was better than the crap you have to listen to today. So, yeah, we’re okay. How are you making out?”.

I still recommend just laughing “okay boomer” off, but if a person wanted to say something, this would be better than “whippersnapper” or “get off my lawn” or making some dumb generalization about the critic’s generation.

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