Thursday, March 06, 2014

Millennials... The New Baby Boomers

For decades now I've been content in the knowledge that the most worthless generation to ever foul the earth with its presence...  The Baby Boomers... was dying out soon.

Then...  along came the Millennials.

Having observed these pathetic creatures in the wild... I almost concluded that we'd be better off reanimating the boomer corpses and putting them back in kindergarten and just recycling them on through all over again.  Then I realized... that wouldn't do any good really.  We'd just end up in the same place.

Because the Boomer and the Millennials share the same affliction.

The Boomers viewed themselves as the smartest most specialest people the planet has ever seen.  They know for a fact they are smarter and better than any generation that as ever come before.  The Boomers came along and we got the 60s.  They screamed "you're doing it wrong!" to the generations that had come before and built the institutions that had stood for hundreds of years.  20 year olds are smart like that ya know?  They can do better.

For the Millennials... its really the same.  They are super special.  Things are so obvious to them that no else noticed at all before they came along.  For the Millennials... its all about feelings.  They wage war against two specific evils; MINDHURT and FEELBAD.   And it stems from exactly the same root as the Baby Boomer affliction.  Just like the Boomers...  the Millennials know for a fact they are the smartest people to ever live.

A disturbing commonality between the two generations... is an authority complex.  Both generations enthusiastically tell everyone else how to live their lives.  They are generations of control freaks.  And its fitting that when the Boomers first started gaining real power in the late 80s...  they dreampt up Political Correctness.

And of course... the Millennials come along and take it to the extreme.  The 20-Somethings can't be bothered to find a job... but they have the time and ambition to build organizations to ban words.

In its late teens and twenties... Generation X was fueling the dotcom boom and creating millionaires and billionaires.

The Millenials are sitting in their parents basement... in pajamas... drinking hot chocolate... and fighting the ultimate winner take all war...  against FEELBAD.

One can only imagine what kind of horrors these tyrants will dream up when they begin to take the reigns of real power.

World War III is a big concern right now...  but maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing in the long run.  If enough of these psychotic little navel gazing bastards get killed off... we may actually have a chance to live our lives in peace 30 years from now.




26 comments:

Raggededge said...

WWIII is coming whether we think it's a bad idea or not. The outlet for economic depression has always been war on a massive scale. There really is not reason to think that this time it will be different. And yes, if it takes out a bunch of millennials, well, that won't be the worst of it.

cheddarman said...

"folly is bound up in the heart of a child, and the rod of correction will drive it far from them"

we need a big assed paddle for Nate, and a license for him to spank the crap out of millennials

Susan said...

Yes you should have. You are really slipping Nate.

I will give you a 1/2 point on the dot.com bubble and such. But in terms of actual creation of ideas to the betterment of society, Gen-X sucks.

And I am talking about creation Nate. Not running with an existing idea from the Boomer generation and making it work well. That is what is expected of any succeeding generation, to build on what their previous generations have created. Nope, I am talking actual invention/creation of things to contribute to society.

Nate said...

That's a false distinction Susan.

Name something you think the Boomers created.

WaterBoy said...

Nothing is built from scratch; everything depends on what has come before. The dot.com boom of the 90's was only made possible because of the growth of the Internet...which was the result of the implementation of the internetwork transmission control designed by a team of Boomers...which was built on top of ARPANET that was designed by the Silent Generation...and so on, and so on.

But here are some examples of Boomer-created products:

- Steve Jobs (b. 1955) and Steve Wozniak (b. 1950) developed the initial line of Apple products (their cofounder, Ronald Wayne (b. 1934), was not responsible for product development and sold his stake back to the company 11 days after its founding).

- Bill Gates (b. 1955) and Paul Allen (b. 1953) founded Microsoft, eventually developing the Windows OS.

- Tim Paterson (b. 1956) developed the original QDOS (which may or may not have been a ripoff of CP/M), from which MS-DOS eventually grew.

- Tim Berners-Lee (b. 1955) developed the first web browser.

As for the dot.com boom, it was not just Xer's creating everything. Chris Jaeb (b. 1959), Todd Wagner (b. 1960), and Mark Cuban (b. 1958) founded Broadcast.com. David Bohnett (b. 1956) co-founded GeoCities with John Rezner (b. 1964?). Robert Levitan (b. 1961) founded both iVillage and Flooz.com. And of course, Jeff Bezos (b. 1964), founder of Amazon.com, is one of those gray area births to whom both generations seem to lay claim.

Susan said...

DNA fingerprinting Sir Alec Jeffreys born 1950
Jarvik 7 implantable artificial heart Robert Jarvik born 1946
Bacterial cement Dr. Sookie Bang, graduate Seoul Univ 1974 w/Ph.D in microbiology in 1981 from UC-Davis
Viagra Dr. Gill Samuels(f) born 1945 in UK
Worldwide Web Sir Tim Berners-Lee born 1955 He laid out the concept in 1989--developed a software to create web pages and the first web browser that was made available in 1991.
Ambulatory infusible pump and portable dialysis machine- Dean Kamen born 1951
Flexfoot prosthesis - Van Phillips born 1954
Universal serial Bus port- Ajay Bhatt born 1957
Rechargeable lithium ion batteries--Yet-ming Chiang born 1958
The Nakao Snare, used during colonoscopies, Dr. Naomi Nakao born 1948
CMOS active pixel image sensor-Eric Fossum born 1957 While working for NASA he came up with the "camera on a chip" that enables digital cameras, cell phones and other devices to take pictures.

When I say create, that is exactly what I mean. It was totally expected and proper for Gen-X to take these ideas and run with them. However, to claim that Boomers ruined everything for you is garbage. Each person is in charge of their own destiny Nate. You can either blame your elders, or break the cycle and stand on your own two feet. Which is what you yourself have done.
This list is just a partial of what I found. Sad to say, the only thing I found evidence of for contribution from Gen-X is cynicism. Doesn't bode well for you or the Millennials.

WaterBoy said...

Susan: "Sad to say, the only thing I found evidence of for contribution from Gen-X is cynicism."

Then I must say, you didn't look very hard. Yes, they're cynical. But they're also responsible for most of the social networking sites:

- Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg b. 1984; Eduardo Saverin b. 1982; Andrew McCollum b. 19??; Dustin Moskovitz b. 1984; Chris Hughes b. 1983)

- MySpace (Chris DeWolfe b. 1966; Tom Anderson b. 1970; Josh Berman b. 19??)

- Twitter (Jack Dorsey b. 1976; Evan Williams b. 1972; Biz Stone b. 1974; Noah Glass b. 19??)

Social networking has had a tremendous impact on society, whether you think that's good or bad. To say that cynicism is the only thing they've contributed is to speak a lie.

And it extends far beyond this, too. Frankly, given your research into those Boomer inventions, I think you're engaging in far too much hyperbole.

WaterBoy said...

An amusing look at employing Gen-X workers, from 2001:

"According to Clough, these environmental influences have shaped the perceptions of Gen Xers. He says this generation’s motto is: “You have to take care of yourself, no one else will.”
Clough explains why most of Generation X feels this way by pointing out that they have grown up in an environment of uncertainty. Almost half of those in this generation come from divorced families, and many have also seen a parent go through economic hardship and layoffs. Because of this economic shift, many mothers had to get jobs, leaving children to take care of themselves —the so-called “latchkey kids.” These factors, according to Clough, have created a generation that is very independent and at the same time somewhat distrustful of the workforce — and sometimes of other people.
"

Nate said...

I don't think that's what you mean at all Susan.

In almost all of those cases I can show you how those "boomers" were standing on the shoulders of others exactly the way you want to use to disqualify the contributions of X.

For example... you ask what X has done? I say... duh... ever seen Youtube? and you say... That doesn't count because internet was invented by silents!

Bullshit.

Nate said...

As for me blaming my problems on someone else...

Do you know who the hell I am?

I retired when I was 28 years old. I have 5 beautiful kids and run a company that brings in more in a month than most people make all year.

What problems are we talking about?

cheddarman said...

Nate can you divulge what type of company you run or ran? I am curious. I dont know that much about you, other than you are from the south, and have some Greek ancestry and have lived what appears to be a very interesting life.

Sincerely

cheddarman

Outlaw X said...

The biggest problem I see with millennials is they are undependable at showing up on time for work and they think that they are too special to fire. Well a neighbor boy/man (22 years old) came over to borrow a can of snuff from me, and I told him you got a job now and live with your mom can't you afford a can a snuff? He said I go fired, and I asked why and he said after being late 5 times in a month for work they fired me. I asked did he have a legitimate reason and he said yes, I stayed up too late partying. I gave him a can of snuff and told him if he is lucky enough to find another job show up on time everyday or have a damn good excuse, as a hangover is not one. I hurt his feelings I could tell. Then I broke into all the shit I had to put up with working for 30 years for an employer of one or another and even if I had a hangover one day I showed up on time and worked hard and this made me soon realize that is what Fridays are for. It didn't sink in I could tell.

If I missed work in my early years because I was sick I would go get a doctors note so there were no questions. I said when you establish a working relationship with your employer in about 5 to 10 years he will start believing you.

I told him the sad fact is most young people lie and you have to prove you don't, that is not accepted it is proved. And if he did a good job and worked hard he wouldn't have much to worry about. This whole concept seemed foreign to him, he has now moved out of the neighborhood I hope he learned something from me because this world is a harsh place and don't try and deceive people, you even try to deceive me, and never knew I caught you. Now grow up and realize not only does the world not revolve around you it don't give a shit about you.

He left with his head down, but what was I supposed to do, lie to him like everyone else has been doing all his life?

Susan said...

When I said What you yourself have done, I was referring to the fact that you have broken the cycle I was referring to. I am very sorry I did not make that clear. I was not referring to you specifically, but more like you as in your generation. Did not mean to include you personally in the brush stroke.

As to hyperbole, perhaps. But after a couple of years of reading the anger that Nate and Vox have against their elders, of which I am one, I decided to answer back. I just don't have the writing practice that Nate has, so it did not come out the way I wanted it to.

As to YouTube, etc, again, you would not have all of that to play with if boomers had not created the original components and made it all available. Each generation builds on what came before. As it should be, but somehow got screwed up early 20th century.

Nate said...

"As to YouTube, etc, again, you would not have all of that to play with if boomers had not created the original components and made it all available. Each generation builds on what came before. As it should be, but somehow got screwed up early 20th century"

Yes.

And on each item on your list of Boomer accomplishments I can make the exact same argument.

Well Boomer wouldn't have been able to do this if Silents hadn't done this before... or GIs hadn't don't that before hand.

Every generation builds on what the ones before did.

No generation creates anything out of thin air.

Ever.

Nate said...

Cheds

An interesting life is certainly one way to put it.

believe me... if I ever write the book... it will be worth reading. I don't talk about the specifics a lot because it comes off like bragging.

cheddarman said...

Nate,

There is nothing wrong with being blessed. Jesus did talk about 10 talent men and all.

Sincerely

cheddarman

Giraffe said...

By the way, Nate.

My uncle got one of them 17 WSM's.

I am rethinking my previous misguided lack of enthusiasm. I'm thinking I'll sell the crappy Remington 17 HMR and put the proceeds into a savage.

John Williams said...

Nate, What do you do? You can't dangle a carrot like that and not answer it.

Russ said...

Sounds like it all boils down to narcissism.

Vidad said...

"Nate, What do you do? "

Turn-key Brazilian fart porn.

Nate said...

Giraffe... hot ain't it?

cheddarman said...

Show tonight?

Nate said...

yup

post is up now

Nate said...

ajw

Look mate... I retired in 2002 when I was 28 years old. Since then I've predicted things like the housing bubble... the gold spike.. the silver spike..

You honestly wouldn't believe some of the crap I've been into if I told you. Hell I don't believe some of it.

Anonymous said...

Millennials: what you get when kids are exposed to both the toxic public skoolz and their equally toxic Boomer parents.

Anonymous said...

supreme new york
yeezy
air jordan
yeezy boost 350 v2
kobe shoes