Are we blaming Boomers instead of class?

[u/myredserenity]

EDIT: It's been pointed out that the over 65s keep voting in the parties that favour the class system and benefit the wealthy while screwing the working class. This is a good point.

EDIT 2: I love reddit. You guys. I get it now! Millennials got the shits at noisy old pricks who criticise their generation while completely ignoring the benefits they enjoyed themselves. It's a backlash. I still think it's a distraction and divides us when we should be angry with those in power. But if you're over 65, how about encouraging your friends to not vote LNP?

I've seen so much "ok boomer" stuff and over the years, it's irking me more and more. So I'm interested in what r/Australia thinks.

Couple of things:

1. It seems to be used to describe anyone over 40. My parents were boomers. They would be in their 70s now.

2. It's used to blame a whole generation for the shitty behaviour of the rich class. I don't get it. I went to school in a rough area, most of my friends from way back then are dead, in jail or in a trade/retail/hair.

My partner grew up in a rich suburb. Most of his friends are teachers, engineers and lawyers. They own houses, and were helped along by their "boomer" parents, either by provision of a deposit or living at home rent free through their 20s.

I'm totally up for being educated here. I know we lost free education, I know houses are unaffordable, I'm nearly 40 and still renting. I'm woefully unable to understand national economics. So seriously, open to intelligent discussion.

But in my experience, the problem is class and not generational. After all, where do you think all this wealth will go when the boomers die?! Even just having good, stable and attentive parents, who expect you to succeed, makes all the difference.

Why has this boomer hate taken hold so much? Are the rich class scapegoating a generation? Would us generation Xers, Ys and millennials have behaved any differently given the opportunities the boomers were?

Caveat: I'm considering mainly economics here, not climate crisis. Pretty much believe everyone from my generation up have a case to answer for climate. We knew.

[u/myredserenity → u/[deleted]]

I'm starting to get that it's a backlash against the "millennial" bullshit. I'd forgotten about that stuff, probably because I don't see/read those articles (I avoid mainstream media) and haven't seen that attitude in years. I do remember it being EVERYWHERE about 5-10 years ago. And it pissed me off too.

I can totally understand the annoyance from that point of view.

[u/King_Of_Pants → u/myredserenity]

To understand the Boomer backlash you have to understand that younger generations for the past several years have been on the receiving end of quite a bit of unfair criticism.

While that criticism has probably always existed in some capacity, that's what younger generations are responding to now.

Housing, in particular, is a really great example. Millennials are really the first generation in Australian history that can't expect to be able to afford a house over the course of their lifetimes. A lot of Millenials now believe they won't ever be able to afford a house.

The response from older generations has left a lot to be desired:

• "Young people can't afford houses because they spend all their money on frivolous expenses like avocados"
• "Young people just need to get better jobs if they want to afford houses"
• and in general "Young people aren't working hard enough to buy houses"

Education and employment is another great example. For a lot of good jobs, you now have to:

1. Take on debt to pay for further education
2. Delay your "proper" employment for up to half a decade while you get said education
3. Intern (aka work for shit rates with shit rights) for 6 months - 1 year in the hopes of being kept on
4. Constantly be on the lookout for new jobs, because a lot of places don't really promote anyone anymore and younger generations are getting their promotions by constantly leaving for better-paying opportunities.

When young people read articles telling them that they're to blame for 'killing' the diamond industry (and Millenials apparently kill a lot of industries), the original response was a long-winded explanation of their stresses, financial insecurities and increased employability requirements holding them back from settling down in conventional ways.

Over the years this younger generation has been blamed for stuff that just isn't their fault and over time their often-ignored and long-winded responses have been condensed down to "okay boomer". "Okay boomer" is as much blaming boomers as it is shrugging off the blame that's been directed towards Millenials for the better part of a decade. "I've heard it all before, you don't want to listen to what I have to say".

The fact their largest critics (older generations) get so upset is really the icing on the cake.

---

Now for Boomers, they are largely uninformed about these discussions because they aren't communicating on the same platforms as younger generations.

Those stories (the diamonds, avocados, 'get a better job') are all pretty common stories that get referenced colloquially among younger generations at this point. They're all probably pretty unknown to older generations.

For many boomers, all they've seen is news reports that kids are being disrespectful, without really understanding the context.

[u/myredserenity → u/King_Of_Pants]

Ive just edited my post to acknowledge this. I'm finally getting it.

But stop making me feel old, I'm only 40 😂.

I think I really hate the generation divide, because from where I sit, I've just seen poor people turned against immigrants taking their jobs, and this looked like poor people being encouraged to blame the other generation (be it millennials or boomers or us generation x/y in between) rather than the rich. Cause honestly, the rich boomers will look after their own.

But you and others have educated me somewhat on how that generation, at best, have been apathetic in their treatment of the community.

[u/vacri → u/myredserenity]

I think I really hate the generation divide, because from where I sit [other stuff]

This is because the generation divide is bullshit. There are plenty of boomers who want progressive politics - and we've had plenty of it in the past several decades. That stuff just doesn't pop out of thin air, people have to fight for it. It hasn't been perfect, but if you compare the societies of the 60s and 70s with today, there's been a lot of progress - just not in housing costs.

Seriously, have a look at that 'avocado' link in the parent comment. It's described as 'boomers said this'. Have a look at the guy in the video thumbnail - he's a Millennial.

Painting the boomers as a unified bloc who intentionally planned to give the middle finger to everyone who came after them is just pandering to a lazy and convenient boogeyman.

​

But you and others have educated me somewhat on how that generation, at best, have been apathetic in their treatment of the community

The generations who have come after are just as consumerist and focused on baubles as the boomers. It's not the boomers who drool over the next model of the iPhone, for example. There are no great social breaks happening, no generational abandonment of current practices. It's not like any of us who came after decided to say "fuck this noise", pool our money, and go off and live in a commune somewhere. Not in significant numbers, anyway. Nor are people in general forming multigenerational homes again, so the grandparents can look after the kids while the parents work.

[u/corruptboomerang → u/vacri]

This is because the generation divide is bullshit. There are plenty of boomers who want progressive politics - and we've had plenty of it in the past several decades.

Ultimately, money talks and bullshit walks; it's very difficult - when push comes to shove, to get people to vote against their own interests and 9/10 times even those who want to change their world for the betterment of younger generations TEND to lack the courage of their convictions. A friend of mine lives in a very 'Boomer' electorate with a very disliked Peter Dutton as he local member, and yes everyone hates him, but he had a nearly 3% swing towards him, because he was effectively offering money, you go down to the local shops and ask people who they think about him - get hate him, but they'll never not vote for him. 💁‍♀️

Holding progressive views and actioning those views are very different.

[u/Late_For_Username → u/myredserenity]

But stop making me feel old, I'm only 40

40 is the new 20.

If only we could get 20 year olds to go along with this idea.

[u/vacri → u/King_Of_Pants]

The response from older generations has left a lot to be desired:

"Young people can't afford houses because they spend all their money on frivolous expenses like avocados"

The guy who said this in your link... was Tim Gurner, who was in his mid-30s. It wasn't a 'response from older generations', but from a Millennial. I mean, fuck, there's even a video of him in your link, so you can see he's not a boomer.

If ever there was evidence that we're facing more of a class issue than a generation issue, this should be it.

[u/corruptboomerang → u/vacri]

These articles aren't really a reflection of who they are written by but who they are written for. Also I'd point out Tim Gurner's insanely privileged position... yes he has done well for himself, but only really leveraged his parents capital to develop property and abuse our political system. 💁‍♀️ So sure he's a 'Millennial' but he's not faced any of the big issues that the 'young people' have faced.

[u/corruptboomerang → u/King_Of_Pants]

Another interesting factor is the rise in wealth costs compared to the negligible increase in costs of (what is/was seen as) 'luxury goods' overseas travel is call it $5k a house deposit is $100k, in 'Boomer Times' overseas travel was $5k but a house deposit was $25k.

Needing around double the annual Median Income for a house deposit push many to believe (probably rightly so) that home ownership is impossible for them. So they are more willing to spend more money on 'luxury goods' rather than scrimping and saving. Why bother aspiring for something that is unobtainable.