First of all, as a Gen-X-er, I resent the resentment towards the Millennials. I think they are a fine lot and I have seen no evidence that they were any lazier or disenchanted with the world than we were. I also vote for unity and peace between the two generations. Now, this article started with someone getting caught playing hookie by some jerk who thinks that people who call in sick when they aren't are lazy. This is, of course, absurd. Everyone plays hookie, and those that don't are boring as fuck. If you've never called in sick when you weren't really ill, then you are so fucking sad, my friend. You can't imagine anything more inspired for yourself than to just go to work like you do every day after day? Variety is the spice of life, people. Yes, hard work is good, and hard work is fine, but first take care of head. But, seriously, if you're sitting there, with your perfect attendance record, your undying loyalty to your company, with the weight of the world resting on your shoulders...try to relax. Don't you realize that the way we have things set up at work is rigged so that no one can ever take a "mental health day" without having to lie? You are just pissed that you are so uninspired in your life that if you called in sick, you wouldn't have anything to do. So, you come into work every day without fail and try to get what little pleasure you can by telling others what to do and judging them and humiliating them when you "catch" them playing hookie. Sad, sad, sour grapes for you, my friend. Try to lighten up. The world moves on fine without you if you take a little break now and then.
Now, onto this generational war thing. Look, I was born in 1972, which, if you look at birth rates, had the lowest population growth of all generations between WW2 and today. Hence, I've always felt that my particular subset of Gen-X has been in the shadows of all of this bologna for years. I can't say that I've felt anything in common with those born before 1969 or those born after 1979, so to me, that is Gen-X. But, whatever, it's a loose term. Was "grunge" gen-x music? Well, to me it was. It's a terrible name for it, but, I think we all know that once we heard Smells Like Teen Spirit, all previous rock music became crap overnight, and the rage, disappointment & disillusionment all came flowing out and changed (and also somehow killed) rock n roll. After it was over, radio died, rock n roll seemed spent and flaccid, and the next generation started to take over as we all finally had to get jobs and sell out. Of course, after that, magically the internet took off and all of us who had Atari 2600's when we were 4 found out we had a naturally symbiotic relationship with computers and that were indeed quite possibly half-machine ourselves.
After the bust of the dot.com's, we Gen-X-ers realized that the current economic and social models were not going to be sustainable. Plus, the Bush Administration has showed us that the real engine behind this version of "free market capitalism" is the dark, dark greed of the man behind the curtain. We realized that there are a scarce amount of resources, and that we need to think more carefully about everything--bringing us to the green movement. Now, I'm not going to say that we get all the credit for this stuff, but I know for a fact that Gen-X has been a huge part of all that I have mentioned, and that our generation has been defined by this. Ironically, we Gen-X-ers are the most prepared to live in this new world, since we remember best the teachings of our grandparents, the greatest generation, and how they used to scrimp and save, having been changed forever since the great depression.
But, this anti-gen Y/millennial thing has to stop. It's ridiculous. They are very bright kids who saw clearly our failures, our weaknesses, and our tragic inability to change the wrongs we saw (we just didn't have the numbers like the Boomers). But, I think that they also know that we will be the next generation in power, and that we are not going to sell out like the Boomers did. We can't, we've already swallowed the Red Pill, and there's no going back. We're going to have to work together, Millennials, if we're going to get this world back on track. We need you on our team and your support if we're going to change anything. And fellow Gen-X-er's: don't be so smug. We are one of the smartest generations ever, but we were also duped by quite a bit in the past (remember "Just Say No?"), so be open to the Millennials ideas about life. Fresh eyes are always good.
First of all, as a Gen-X-er, I resent the resentment towards the Millennials. I think they are a fine lot and I have seen no evidence that they were any lazier or disenchanted with the world than we were. I also vote for unity and peace between the two generations. Now, this article started with someone getting caught playing hookie by some jerk who thinks that people who call in sick when they aren't are lazy. This is, of course, absurd. Everyone plays hookie, and those that don't are boring as fuck. If you've never called in sick when you weren't really ill, then you are so fucking sad, my friend. You can't imagine anything more inspired for yourself than to just go to work like you do every day after day? Variety is the spice of life, people. Yes, hard work is good, and hard work is fine, but first take care of head. But, seriously, if you're sitting there, with your perfect attendance record, your undying loyalty to your company, with the weight of the world resting on your shoulders...try to relax. Don't you realize that the way we have things set up at work is rigged so that no one can ever take a "mental health day" without having to lie? You are just pissed that you are so uninspired in your life that if you called in sick, you wouldn't have anything to do. So, you come into work every day without fail and try to get what little pleasure you can by telling others what to do and judging them and humiliating them when you "catch" them playing hookie. Sad, sad, sour grapes for you, my friend. Try to lighten up. The world moves on fine without you if you take a little break now and then.
Now, onto this generational war thing. Look, I was born in 1972, which, if you look at birth rates, had the lowest population growth of all generations between WW2 and today. Hence, I've always felt that my particular subset of Gen-X has been in the shadows of all of this bologna for years. I can't say that I've felt anything in common with those born before 1969 or those born after 1979, so to me, that is Gen-X. But, whatever, it's a loose term. Was "grunge" gen-x music? Well, to me it was. It's a terrible name for it, but, I think we all know that once we heard Smells Like Teen Spirit, all previous rock music became crap overnight, and the rage, disappointment & disillusionment all came flowing out and changed (and also somehow killed) rock n roll. After it was over, radio died, rock n roll seemed spent and flaccid, and the next generation started to take over as we all finally had to get jobs and sell out. Of course, after that, magically the internet took off and all of us who had Atari 2600's when we were 4 found out we had a naturally symbiotic relationship with computers and that were indeed quite possibly half-machine ourselves.
After the bust of the dot.com's, we Gen-X-ers realized that the current economic and social models were not going to be sustainable. Plus, the Bush Administration has showed us that the real engine behind this version of "free market capitalism" is the dark, dark greed of the man behind the curtain. We realized that there are a scarce amount of resources, and that we need to think more carefully about everything--bringing us to the green movement. Now, I'm not going to say that we get all the credit for this stuff, but I know for a fact that Gen-X has been a huge part of all that I have mentioned, and that our generation has been defined by this. Ironically, we Gen-X-ers are the most prepared to live in this new world, since we remember best the teachings of our grandparents, the greatest generation, and how they used to scrimp and save, having been changed forever since the great depression.
But, this anti-gen Y/millennial thing has to stop. It's ridiculous. They are very bright kids who saw clearly our failures, our weaknesses, and our tragic inability to change the wrongs we saw (we just didn't have the numbers like the Boomers). But, I think that they also know that we will be the next generation in power, and that we are not going to sell out like the Boomers did. We can't, we've already swallowed the Red Pill, and there's no going back. We're going to have to work together, Millennials, if we're going to get this world back on track. We need you on our team and your support if we're going to change anything. And fellow Gen-X-er's: don't be so smug. We are one of the smartest generations ever, but we were also duped by quite a bit in the past (remember "Just Say No?"), so be open to the Millennials ideas about life. Fresh eyes are always good.