“Boomer” Becomes New Fighting Words For Millennials
People say to respect your elders, but what do you do when your elders do not respect you?
Baby boomers are the generation that was born between 1946 and 1964. They are also the generation that has a rivalry with the millennial generation. Because of the near 50-year difference in age there is also a 50-year difference in beliefs.
For years, millennials have been defending their beliefs, arguing with stubborn “boomers” and trying to be taken seriously. Recently, on Twitter, millennials have given up their efforts to pointlessly explain their beliefs to boomers who will not listen. Now instead of giving them an explanation, millennials just say “OK, Boomer”.
It has been used widespread in November 2019, but has been documented since April of 2018. Radio host Bob Lonsberry compared the word “boomer” to the n-word on his Twitter, causing a flood of responses. Obviously, the n-word has a 300-year history of oppression, abuse, injustice and cruelty behind it. “Boomer” has almost zero negative connotation to it, for it is just the name of a generation. The two words are incomparable. The phrase has caught on with Generation Z and Generation X as well, uniting the 3 generations against a common enemy, fueling the boomer’s rage.
For a generation that has made fun of younger generations for being too sensitive, they seem pretty hurt over a word.