Yes, all the boomers i know worked very hard for what they have/had. The ones that didnt work did not do well. Many folks nowadays think that boomers all became magically rich.
Discussion
The Boomers had social supports, low college tuition, easy access to entry level positions at low skill jobs with union support that had pensions. They did work hard, but were also able to accumulate wealth by means that are no longer available.
They are also the generation that practically single handedly brought us Ronald Regan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.
The Boomers are not bad people, but that doesnāt mean they donāt make bad choices.
Bad choices are not something specific to any generation, bad choices are a personal thing. And the picture you paint of all these opportunities and easy life is not accurate, i saw how hard life could be for many in that generation. I would argue that making a living today is easier because of the internet.
Making a living on the internet is not a low skill entry level position with a pension.
Your argument that bad choices being a personal thing could be extended to your proposition that life has been hard for āmanyā in the Boomer generation.
The Boomers as a whole make bad choices that may be in their immediate best interests, but have long term consequences they do not fully understand.
The Boomersā choices have resulted in an unbalanced government. Instead of a right wing and a left wing party we have a right wing and centrist party (thanks to Clinton and perpetuated by Obama).
The Boomers refuse to acknowledge group responsibility or personal responsibility. They are a generation that has manufactured their own suffering and now try to pass the responsibility onto the generations that followed them.
The only thing anyone is asking for from the Boomers is to step aside and pass the torch to a new generation, which they failed to do with Gen X, and now the Millennial for their turn. Meanwhile Dianne Feinstein refuses to step aside for a new generation and dies in office.
Again, my point is that i dont blame a large swath of society just because they live in a time when bad things happen. I dont feel personally responsible for anything that happens today, except for my own decisions.
Weāre not talking about blame. We are talking about personal and group responsibility. Blame, responsibility, and accountability are three separate things.
The Boomers generation has a responsibility to pass the torch in the same way it was passed to them. But instead they choose to elect the oldest Presidents in history and die in office, as mentioned above.
So you are blaming the whole generation. And i know many people in all generarations who make bad choices in all areas of life. The current generations chose the recent ancient and senile presidents.
In any case, it doesnt matter how we got here, we should put our big boy/big girl panties on, and make the best life for ourselves that we can.
If we donāt understand how we got here history will repeat itself. It is everyoneās responsibility to understand exactly what got us here and take action so that it doesnāt happen again.
I dont think anyone on nostr does not understand how we got here. But this constant whining about "boomers" being responsible for all the world's problems is tiresome. Every generation has their own set of problems, and every generation before that, etc. We should all be responsible for how our own lives turn out, instead of blaming someone else when things dont work out the way we want. That is just childish.
Well said!
I have enjoyed chatting, but I need to go. (I have ducks to let into their yard, and I have to finish building a computer for my friend.)
Iām told that I donāt sound kind when I discuss things, so, please know I meant no offense, and did not intend to make anyone angry.
I hope you all have a wonderful day & weekend!š
Enjoy your day, friend.
As for asking them to step assideā¦Iāve been finding that the Boomers are waiting for younger generations to grow up and take initiative so the Boomers can feel comfortable passing the torch to them. Torches are earned, not given! It takes willingness to learn and grow- from BOTH side of that equation!
The Boomers are the first generation in recent history that has clung to power to the point they are dying in office. That is why we keep electing the oldest presidents ever.
It is not the responsibility of younger generations to make the older generations feel comfortable with letting go of power. If the Boomers take the approach of āYou can have the Torch when you pry it from our cold dead handsā there will be repercussions. This was Dianne Feinstein attitude.
Iām confused - are the Boomers certain politicians, or your parents/grandparents?
Because if youāre talking about politicians, I wonāt sit here and defend them - most are useless wastes of skin.
If youāre talking about the generations of people before me, iIāll defend them more vigorously than the politiciansā¦.
My parents elected those politicians.
I agree with nostr:npub13kwjkaunpmj5aslyd7hhwnwaqswmknj25dddglqztzz29pkavhaq25wg2a - the internet makes it so easy to make a living, whether it be by finding a job, selling items online, finding side jobs. Those tools didnāt exist for GenX. And Dad was born in the ā50ās (before they totally devalued the nationās money).
But it sounds like youāre falling into what I call the trap of āPoor-mouthing.ā My grandparents - great, hardworking farming family - did this. It was always āthe manā or unfavorable circumstances that held them back. They were farmers by profession, and were wealthy if you considered the value of the property they owned, but there was always someone who had it better than they didā¦ And I believe that same attitude allows many to justify their own failures.
Boomers were able to buy houses in places like the SF bay area for ~ 5 figures in the 70's and 80's... which turned into a giant treasure chests of generational wealth.
They then proceeded to pull up the ladder behind them with NIMBY regulations.
Add to this government pensions, and any boomer who had two brain cells to rub together in their 30's and 40's is now sitting on multiple comfortable passive income streams for their retirement... None of which are available to their children.
But hey, at least we've got Bitcoin!