patrick.net

How to be ignored even when you are loud, abrasive, obnoxious and self centered.

Obviously, they are eminently exploitable to fall for all this booosheeeeit!

Because we all know that there are generalizations about entire generations born in certain windows of time that totally hold up.

So his thesis is that Generation X is quietly saving the world ?

Let me guess, he's not by any chance a member of generation X is he ?

Boomers are so consistent! The moment any Gen Xer says anything positive about the gen X generation, they just can't wait to squash it!

If it is not about the Boomers glory, they don't want to hear abut it.

All I can say, is look around boomers...do you like what you've done with the place?

I've heard them called Generation Jones. I think of Gen jones/tweeners as part of Gen X and not as boomers. They have way too much consciousness about other humans and the world to be lumped in with the Boomers.

Indiana Jones says

Boomers are so consistent! The moment any Gen Xer says anything positive about the gen X generation, they just can't wait to squash it!

Let me guess,...another gen xer. Definitely not a boomer anyway.

What's consistent and predictable is the blaming of everything on boomers.

Not that much of the criticism isn't justified. But the human and American attributes they are criticized for, such as narcissism and selfishness, are not any more prevalent in that age group than they are in later ones.

I'm a boomer, and I'm not saying "nah, nah, my generation is better than yours."

But you are saying that.

I'll leave it to you to do the math on which one of us is the asshole.

humanity says

Indiana Jones says

Boomers are so consistent! The moment any Gen Xer says anything positive about the gen X generation, they just can't wait to squash it!

Let me guess,...another gen xer. Definitely not a boomer anyway.

What's consistent and predictable is the blaming of everything on boomers.

Not that much of the criticism isn't justified. But the human and American attributes they are criticized for, such as narcissism and selfishness, are not any more prevalent in that age group than they are in later ones.

I'm a boomer, and I'm not saying "nah, nah, my generation is better than yours."

But you are saying that.

I'll leave it to you to do the math on which one of us is the asshole.

I am not saying Xers are a better generation, necessarily. What I am is damn tired of hearing over and over again how great the Boomers are.

They're just great in number.

But their generation did coincide with a lot of great progress on the popular music scene. So if a boomer says we had more good music in our youth, than you guys do (or did) that's just true. But it's not saying they are better.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jyJ7lRur43o

Will any boomer watch this video through?

A look at the social and philosophical reasons as to why the Boomers do what they do.

Sex, drugs and rock and roll.

Centuries ago it was wine women and song. Things don't change that much.

Yes, boomers had a very prosperous time they grew up in. Some might have gotten caught a little in some pretty bad recessions though in the 70s, or in the beginning of the 80s. But their childhoods were a great time.

Gen Xers who come into the job market in say the late 80s or early nineties, actually had it much better than many boomers who came out into the workplace in the mid seventies or around 1980.

You know upon further pondering of the GenX generation.
We were primed to protest, but really didn't have anything worthy of protest. So we set out to protect the trees, whales, air, no nukes and other things. We mastered turning protests into a personal social statement. Nothing was expected to change, and you really weren't trying to. It was just cool to wear "No Nukes" or "Save the Whales" T-Shirts. It might even get you laid. We paid damn good money for anything made by green peace with an adhesive backing, so one could affix their social advocacy.

We would have killed for Government who had come characters like G.W. Bush and Obama we could have had some really meaningful political participation. Reagan politics were boring to young adults. Even though my parents sure pitched a bitch about future financial stuff, hidden under esoteric layers of language like "Trickle down" we didn't get it. We wanted some cool shit to rile about like Buffalo Springfield sung about. We wanted to denounce the military industrial complex and oppose the draft. But the only thing was, the military complex wasn't doing anything, and there was no draft.

I think that if had we had more to bitch about, like even just half of the shit GenY has to bitch about. We would have been more relevant.
But a big difference is, we wouldn't have stood around waiting for someone to give us something, and lead confused masses of people to congregate in a tent city festival environment, and called it a protest. Nor would we have been protesting successful people, there's plenty to protest about. But instead this generation chooses to protest against Warren Buffet's invisible twin.

Video summary: Boomers seem self involved to me. I propose that it's actually all about us (ie me). I've got this theory that my generation is going to save the world. I hate it when people think it's all about them, because the truth is it's actually all about me, it's all about me, it's all about us. I can explain why, it's all about us. I don't want to hear about them anymore. Why ? Because it's all about me, that is us.

Okay, whatever...

Indiana Jones says

Boomers are so consistent! The moment any Gen Xer says anything positive about the gen X generation, they just can't wait to squash it!

If it is not about the Boomers glory, they don't want to hear abut it.

All I can say, is look around boomers...do you like what you've done with the place?

Right? Nice job trading a quality life for some jazzy technology. I would trade all of our tech gadgets for a safe home, pension, retirement, clean environment and the ability to have a parent stay home. I love how the boomers are always acting like our cheap tech gadgets should be a fine trade for living in crap holes and paying ten times what they did to live in the crap holes, have two parents work two jobs each, commute hours a day and have zero benefits or retirement. Yeah, about as much as beads were a trade off to Native Americans for stealing their land, destroying their way of life and then killing them off. I'm sure if any Native Americans complained their oppressors probably just rolled their eyes and thought them selfish, lazy and deserved to be used. I mean, really what did the Native Americans think it was all about them? What a stupid retort that always is. Of course when you are in the oppressed group you are worried about yourself and your family.

Great video Indiana Jones. There a lot of great boomers, like my father, and the people who pushed for the environmental regulations we now have, and many other heroes of that generation I have a deep respect for. Unfortunately, the majority of boomers are exactly like this video describes. Yes, I recommend your video.

The original link is great to give generation X confidence to clean up the mess. That is my hope. The second link is a video I would like the majority of boomers to sit down and watch.

It actually agrees with my open letter to the great apocalyptic master:
Dear Respected Mr. Shostakovich,

Maybe you did not read my article on practical steps to destroy a population and have them at your disposal. You could have all the face you want! Please consider my steps and add any you feel would help you along your path to greatness. Remember, those without hope are easy to control and there is only power and those too weak to seek it.

jojo says
We as a society (you and me and everyone else) decide how we will run things. The Greatest Generation knew this. It wasn't the bankers who did this. WE did this. And WE can change it.

Yes, but wait, if you really were in charge of smashing the middle-class or robbing the next two generations. How would you do it? What if it was your job to do it? Where would you start if you wanted to screw someone? Hmmm...
Well, I'd start with ruining their childhood, always a good start; ruin the foundation:
1. I would make sure the enemy grows up without any real community and let the TV raise them while they eat crap food and stare slack jaw at the screen.
2. Destroy their family life. Make sure the parents both work late hours and hopefully divorce. Divorce really screws with kids. Better yet, step parents. They should feel no real connections to anyone. Isolation is key on destroying a person.
3. Encourage them to go to stressful and competitive universities for years. Make sure that all that stress was actually for nil. The degree will not get them a job. Ha, ha, ha.
4. Once in the job market (Now this is where we can really do our work) No benefits for our little work slaves. We don't need some whiny advocate for health benefits, safe work spaces and retirement. Kill the unions. Also, if we want them to really be stressed we need to make them feel absolutely no sense of job permanence. We need hopeless and depressed work slaves. We will create slogans and propaganda that drill into every worker that all abuse is fair game in business. Business is above morality, or even God. Yes! Business has no heart, they will be our bees, we are Queen! This is awesome.
5. Make shelter so high that their entire wage after groceries and taxes goes to rent or a mortgage. That's what they do in China. It's not slavery you see if you pay the worker, just make sure that rice bowl and closet they live in costs exactly the wage we give them. Then I will be a job maker, and not a slave owner! Cool. Oh, I am good at this oppressive thing. Let me see, my home cost twice my income, the workers should be, I don't know ten times as much? They should take out loans, from me of course.
6. Make it impossible to build a home. We should create a department that taxes our enemy every time they change anything on their home. We can't have them building their own stuff. We will claim that the thousands we collect are for their own safety. Oh, my gosh I am good at this.
7. No benefits and no pensions should be the norm. There must be some way to turnover that silly law about overtime and work safety. How is a valient job maker like myself supposed to survive with red tape like this?
8. Tax the heck out of them, just make sure my group doesn't get taxed too much. We are above that, we are job makers. Snicker, Snicket.
9. We really need to take spouses off the medical free lunch. We can't have them staying home or running their own business. See step 1#. Better yet, take the little free loading children off of medical. The only person who needs to stay healthy is my little worker bee.
10. Make all necessities expensive as heck, and all wants/desires cheap as heck.
11. Take away any form of retaliation. No more allowing protests. No free speech and no petitioning for a redress of grievances. We need police kicking the whiny worker bees in the teeth. No weapons for our workers, only we have the weapons.
12. Should keep tabs on them. No privacy. Privacy is a luxury for the deserving, meaning: ME!
13. We should create an act that takes away their right to a fair trial. Make sure taxes and laws are far too complicated for anyone to understand, and then just do what we please. No one will know if it's illegal or not!
14. They should spend at least two hours in their car each day, hopefully listening to some of my propaganda.

Oh there must be more we could do to screw this generation over and make them feel hopeless. I know I am missing a few things. Any ideas? There has to be a way to demoralize this generation further? If you are going to accomplish something, one must be thorough. Help me out, I am tired today and can't think. My maid was sick, my nail appointment was canceled, my golfing buddies are busy with landlord duties, my pension is late, my stay at home spouse is upset because Pilates was canceled (stupid teacher had sick kids, selfish lazy generation x as usual) and my cruise was postponed because of some lazy union people striking, again.

Yours sincerely, Sir Thomas Gmork Marvolo Riddle