The millennials are very angry right now at their parents because of the decline of the economy and the loss of jobs caused directly by policies supported by boomers for generations. Now in a recent article, in response to millennial frustration and complaints, a senior executive from the AARP said “we’re the people that actually have the money.”
In a recent interview about her organization’s media presence, a senior executive of AARP—the American Association of Retired Persons—took a jab at the viral “OK, boomer” meme by making fun of the relative destitution of younger Americans.
The executive, Myrna Blyth, made the comment during an interview with Axios. Blyth serves as the senior vice president and editorial director of AARP Media. AARP is a non-profit organization, 38 million members strong, whose mission is to “empower people to choose how they live as they age,” according to its website. To qualify for membership, applicants must have already passed their 50th birthdays.
“OK, millennials,” Blyth reportedly said in the interview. “But we’re the people that actually have the money.” (source)
I have warned that right now, that the rhetoric between the millennials and boomers needs to calm down because it is going to lead to violence. This will not take the form of “street violence” as in a war, but rather domestic violence.
Boomers are getting old. They are not going to live forever, even as many spend money and what would be their childrens’ inheritances on themselves. Many millennials are looking on in horror and anger, as they know that due to the worsening job market, declining wages, and worsening social situation, they will not only have nothing for their lives and be forced to live in continually declining circumstances, but they will have no inheritance to help themselves or their children if they have any.
The boomers can laugh, but one day they are going to be very old and feeble, as what happens to every generation. The millennials will at that point have taken full control over society, and they will also be charged with custody of their elders.
What is a millennial going to do to his own parents if they are old and sick, and they spent money that was supposed to go to him and did not care?
What will a millennial think about the pain a boomer is experiencing in the nursing home when the millennial lives daily and has lived for years with the misery of poverty and the hopeless drudgery that accompanies it?
What will a millennial do if a boomer starts making condescending remarks to him, or if he makes “demands” of said millennial?
“OK, Boomer” is not a meme. It is a condensed insight into the sad, angry, tired, and often times overworked and underpaid souls of millennials, a generation who was given much as children and promised that if they did good in school, went to a good college (and took on the accompanying debt), and listened to their parents they would have good jobs like them and be able to live what was considered a “normal” life for them and the boomers, because as they were also told, it was only dumb or bad people who did not succeed. Then the economy died due to boomer policies, as the millennials discovered as they grew up, and when they were not able to find jobs and were left with lots of debt, their parents said ‘it is not my fault you are a bad person, I will spend your inheritance on myself’.
Boomers may complain about millennials eating ‘avocado toast’ and “killing” things such as corporate restaurant sit-down chains and golf courses, but it was the boomers who killed the economy, the political arena, and the viability of work for future generations on their watch, and now are trying to take away the one small pleasure that millennials have in the form of coffee or avocado toast, and the millennials are not happy.
Now in all fairness, there is much the millennials have done wrong, in that many have the Internet yet have chosen not always to learn from it and use it to better themselves, but to indulge themselves in degenerate or bad ideas and things. This is not good. Likewise, there is much that millennials can learn from boomers, and taking a dismissive attitude towards them is not helpful either.
What needs to happen is that the angry rhetoric on both sides needs to stop and the two need to forgive each other and work together. Both generations have much they can contribute to the other, and while they may not be able to live a “good life” for themselves by past standards, their combined efforts could prepare the way for Gen Z or even the following generation- Generation Alpha -to recover and build a better future for them and their children.
At this point, both generations- boomers and millennials -have to look outside of themselves. While they may have complaints, now is less the time for attacking and more the time for working together. The economy is not getting better, and the likelihood of a crash around 2023 is very high based on my estimations. Boomers have money, but they need to be able to hold onto it for themselves and their children, and millennials may be able to make due with little and work hard, but will need to help their parents.
There is much blame to go around. However, at this point, the pursuit of mercy must generally precede that for justice, for both are different parts of love, and the fact is that as “love covers an abundance of offenses”, both groups need to help each other lest they are reduced to exploited pawns in a strategy of tension used by people who hate both and will eventually destroy them for their own gain, both boomer and millennial alike.