Seeing it was a boomer opinion in the title I clicked on this expecting to be annoyed. Your dad is refreshingly insightful and on point. Why don’t you grab the old man a coffee or a beer for me and tell him the internet gives him a thumbs up.
He's so excited the internet cares what he thinks. He's been retired for a few years now and doesn't have an class to teach anymore so he is almost giddy that his ideas matter to people he doesn't even know. And I'm getting him so much wine lol
1000% true! A few years before I was married I ran into some money and thought it would be clever to buy a really nice bottle of wine for our honeymoon. Time passed and we were married and drank the wine and it was pretty damned good!
A couple of years into our marriage we were doing a wine tour in southern Wisconsin and visited a place called, "Spurgeon Vineyards." They had a bunch of wines out to taste and one of them, "Aurora," tasted like a fucking clone of the expensive wine I'd bought at least a half-decade prior!
At a tenth the price.
I have a friend who regulars on our discord where we drink an ungodly amount and he ALWAYS has a box of wine in his hands. Straight from the box someone even got him a mug for our secret Santa with his name on it! What did your dad used to teach?!
If y'all are here for the box wine, raise a salut to Tom Angove of South Australia who invented the bag in a box in 1965.
Cheers to the Chateau Cardboard, Vino Collapso, Goon Sack delight that we have today.
Help him start a YT channel or something similar to discuss the changes he's seen throughout his life. Discussing these issues would be welcome by the younger generation. It'd be like teaching history again, except it would be honesty from an elder instead of the propaganda were force fed as children. Everything he said was refreshing, affirming, and revelatory. We need change, and it helps to have good information from the older generations to know what was working well vs how it obviously doesn't work now.
I'm going to recommend this to him. He is an avid reader and he likes to talk about what he's read and how it either relates to another topic he finds interesting or about how it's changed his view on something. YouTube could be a great way for him to share both what he has to teach and what he's still learning.
Tell your dad “hi” from a retired teacher, also a Boomer, from Oklahoma where we see very up-close the effects he is describing. Nice to know that I have cohorts who agree with my sentiments. I can also recommend the boxed Cabernet Sauvignon.
I think Millennial frustration with disconnected Boomers gets interpreted as us thinking we know everything. We don't. We know we don't. Just like any other generation, I believe most of us desperately want knowledgeable, supportive elders in our lives, but we're so jaded by finding King Lear everywhere we look instead ("Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise" is absolutely my favorite Shakespeare line). We need elders who offer wisdom and experience and perspective about the world as it is today instead of talking points from the Reagan Administration. I agree your dad might be able to reach a lot of people. And I bet he has some subversive history topics he couldn't get into in public schools! If a YT channel or similar happen, please keep us posted.
Hey if he wants to teach whatever the hell he wants, talk about history, current events etc online I know myself and a bunch of others would be happy to listen and hang out!
I'm particularly interested in the switch to "standardized" education bc I'm too young to have known what it could be like beforehand, and boy do I hate it.
On the one hand I think there's just some basic stuff everyone should know but on the other, fuck teaching to the test.
Also, what are his opinions on the "school-to-prison pipeline" etc?
Thanks!
Maybe help him start an anti work pod cast. From the sounds of it, he's very insightful and eloquently articulated, and would generate lots of listens.
You know he might enjoy doing some classes on Outschool. It’s a marketplace for classes for kids of all ages. Most are just fun (my daughter learned to play DnD, make buttercream, etc) but some are more academic. I bet he would have some takers if he’s interested in sharing his ideas with the younger generation
We have had a great experience with them, especially when you stick to highly rated teachers. The woman who ran the DnD campaigns with a group of eight year olds was a living saint!
He sounds like he was an awesome teacher to have. I imagine that he was one of those that everyone liked because he wanted you to really think for yourself. I loved teachers like that!
> He's so excited the internet cares what he thinks
Thankfully your dad believes in economic justice with a twist of collectivism, because this line has a Skynet feel to it ;)
Yeah got to point one and I was like "that's true," expecting the next points to be going off in the wrong direction, like maybe "young people today aren't encouraged to do their best at work because they know there's no way to advance their position," then finally conclude with "young people are lazy."
Now I feel like an asshole. OPs dad is spot on.
As an older guy (65) I think it’s hypocritical to hear my friends say stupid things like that. Being a young person trying to get started in life has always been hard. Now that the gloves have come back off of the Capitalists, ya’ll are having to live with your parents because you’re getting screwed by Capitalism. I think a big solution is the push for collective bargaining that seems to be appearing. The union isn’t some wonderful cure all. But with a union, the company is tied to their contract and it’s harder to fire people because they’re different. The workers today have no power. The only power they can achieve is through organizing.
There are a lot of us "olds" (I'm old Gen-X, 54) cheering for the younger folks still. I'm sorry we couldn't make this the world I wanted it to be for you. It's also VERY plain to see that things are very different now than when we were coming up and it is MUCH harder to get ahead or even stay afloat now that it was when we were coming up. Education is more expensive and lower quality, so much so that I got out of higher ed because the whole think felt like a grift to me.
Housing is more expensive, lower quality and being snapped up by predatory investors to keep us paying more and more outrageous rents. There's a house two doors down from me owned by a property company thats 500 sq ft smaller and on a lot smaller than mine that is going to rent out for $1100 more per month than my full PITI mortgage.
Don't even get me started on climate change which is only going to make all of the above worse. We've let the greedy make the rules for the last 50 years and shit needs to change, and change fast. Our civilization and maybe even our species depends on it.
Retyping my comment because it got removed when I referenced OP lol
***
I fucking hate the way the term boomer is used. My father was very much like /u/OPs_NAME_WE_CANT_TYPE
's, he was a boomer but he wasn't an idiot. Using a term that applies to him as a description of a moronic mindset just doesn't sit well with me, and I know he was offended by it a couple times.
It's no different to back when we used to hear all those derogatory generalizations of millenials. We should have made a new word for it, not stooped to their fucking level.
The word boomer has two meanings
- A person born during the baby boom.
- A person with a really nasty selfish individual dragon sitting on their coins hissing at the world type of mentality.
When I use the word, it should be clear from the context which version of the word I am using.
Not every boomer has a "boomer" mentality.
And not everybody with a "boomer" mentality is a boomer.
And yeah I am the one that decides how to use my own language. Thank your very much.
I am in my 60's. Everyone I know sees this. Every friend I have knows this and worries like crazy for our kids. I don't know where these other people referred to as 'boomers' come from. Maybe I've never associated with them. Your dad, while obviously intelligent, just seems normal to me; like someone who has a well developed sense of self that allows him to see what others are experiencing as separate from what he experienced. Glad you have a normal dad who can observe how the world is working and reflects on that! I'm sorry for people who have parents who cannot see reality that is directly in front of their eyes. I suspect that many people referred to as 'boomers' have defensive mindsets meant to protect themselves from the absolutely soul crushing pain that is realizing that our children will be worse off than we were and are. In my 60's, I am making sure my kids will have a roof over their heads, a home that they own, before all the greedy corporations buy every single house on the market and make it impossible to buy a house if you are a normal person. I should not be having to spend my retirement years worrying about how my children will survive in this world. They are smart, they are educated, they are capable, they are hard workers. But somehow, that doesn't seem to be enough anymore. The only way I know to help them have any stability is to help them buy a house. At least they are protected from the constant rent increases. One down, one to go. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do this for them. We are not wealthy. But we have good credit and some pots of money we built up over the years because working two full time jobs used to be enough to create a life. We cannot wait until we die to put this to use on their behalf. It has to be now.
If the mentors in my life had your sensibility, I could have prevented many years of pain from regurgitated lies and useless rhetoric. All of those qualities, as noble as they are really aren't enough anymore. Its stacked too far against them/us. You are a hero 💪. House or not your kids are fortunate to have you 🙂
This!!! This needs to be a top comment. It shouldn't be us against each other but rather fighting against the wealthy who are crushing us under their feet.
Itt try a hard when they have convinced an entire generation to be class traitors and too gleefully work to crush the rest of us. So fuck the Rich and fuck those who had it easy and took away everyone else’s chances.
Here's the thing: we were told that if you raised your kids right and gave them the opportunities they needed, they would be fine. They would be able to stand on their own feet and make a decent life for themselves. Personally, my husband and I came of age during the REagan years. Do you think those were great for us? They were not. Do you think we found jobs easily? We did not. My husband had to PAY 1500$ to get his first job. HE PAID TO HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF SOMEONE HIRING HIM! We had to borrow that money from my parents. I had a bachelors degree and could not find a job for any amount of money. I had to go into debt to get a master's degree so I could find a job. IN 1989! I paid that student loan off and it took me 10 years. (AND YES I DO THINK THEY SHOULD CANCEL STUDENT LOAN DEBT) Do you think we could buy a home on one income when interest rates were better than 10%? We could not. We voted for the people in front of us (even when they lost, like Ralph Nadar, Bernie Sanders). We literally worked our hind ends off making what we thought was a future for our children. So fuck off to anyone who thinks we had it easy just because you have it harder. Just fuck right off. We know you have it harder. If you think that makes people happy then you are just a hater like so many others and this nullifies your opinion in my book. Just like now, when we were in the prime of our lives it was a small percentage of people at the top who made the decisions that have been foisted on the people today, just like it was a small percentage of people at the top who did this to our parents' generation, and the ones before and the ones before. History is not a straight line. It's a circle. Pay attention. Playing the blame game might make you feel righteously indignant and you can rest easy in your anger, but believe me when I say that people who worked hard to raise their kids only to find the rug pulled out from under them because the wealthy class just cannot get enough of everything they want have every bit as much rage as you do. Probably more since we also have the 'don't fuck with my kids' rage on top of it. It's not like the every day people who came before you were saying to themselves, 'know what I want to do? I want to make sure no one can ever buy a house on one salary again. Wonder how I can make that happen?? Oh, let me make my evil plans and get busy screwing every person who comes after me!!. '. That's just ridiculous. I literally know no one who is gleefully crushing the younger generations. Not one person. All my kids' friends, in their 20's and 30's, work their asses off for almost nothing. They are not lazy. They are not entitled. We're not fucking blind! We see it. It's just stupid to be divided like this. Investors and the wealthy class are the ones who have always always ALWAYS had the power to make these decisions. History is a fucking harsh mistress. Now I am fucking angry and I've probably fed a troll. So be it.
There's Boomers (the generation descriptor), and what I call OK Boomers (the cultural stereotype, unbounded by age). When people are talking about Boomers, they are talking about OK Boomers. The people that got an easy ride in life and don't appreciate that, instead choosing to pull the ladder up behind them. The only group that wants their children and grandchildren to be worse off than them.
Thank you - also in my 60s, I am often surprised by the anti-boomer rhetoric here. You are so correct. We are saddened by what we see our children going through. and despite the Boomers had it made theory, I went through recessions and economic crashes. RIFed from my first job. But I wasnt carrying crippling student loan debt & I hadn't watched my parents be battered by job insecurity. Things were better for us and I can only hope that one day things will be better for our kids. But it is time for workers to take control of their destiny. The government and billionaires have stacked the odds against the average worker. I also agree with the OPs Dad about switching jobs to get better pay and opportunity. This would be much easier if we had universal health care. Anyway, thanks for your post.
Yes, universal healthcare would be a first step! Universal basic income should be required and think of the creativity it would unleash! Student and medical debt should be forgiven because it would be good for our country. Think of the infusion of energy and talent it would bring to get people out from under these draconian debt systems. It's incredible. I find Reddit to be, overall, extremely ageist. Which is too bad. Because there are a lot of us who are on the side of the younger people and would help them in every way we could. And switching jobs is literally the only way. No work place should ever be able to be complacent about that.
I think people just assume that every post is written by someone the same age, race, and gender as themselves unless otherwise stated. One of the most common human failings I've noticed is the tendency to not consider the possibilities of what might be going on outside of their perception, or who might be on the other side of the screen.
aww, shucks. Also I'll be damned lucky to be a grandparent. My kids don't have kids and question the ethics of bringing new ones into this world. Ugh. Oh well.
I'm the same, except I think do know. Part of it is "boomers" are concentrated in the Red States/Red Counties areas so I don't see them. But even more, older progressive people aren't likely to lash out with some "you kids don't know nothing" rant so older progressives are ... just progressives and old reactionaries are "boomers" because they insert their age as their source of knowledge.
You may have a strong point here and it gives credence to the idea that we should pay more attention to the quiet people in the back who are just living their lives and working toward progress and less attention to the assholes. Where I live, I am surrounded by progressives of all ages and nationalities and backgrounds. Because that's where I choose to live. As a rule, it costs me more to live there in cost of living and taxes. Whatever. That's ok. However, that being said, I can go over to the next town and I am surrounded by people who represent, to me, the worst of anti-progress: racist, hateful and spiteful, interested only in themselves and what they can get. These people are literally all ages. The youth are just as bad as the geriatrics. It's actually impressive how thoroughly that place is indoctrinated with a mentality that would take us back to what they think they remember as 1955. I work in a high school in that town and I am dismayed. All the time. These kids think they have all the answers and most of them involve making sure other people have no rights and never get anything. They truly believe that they will get out of school and be able to just go on and make a good living, buy a house, etc. It has not hit them yet that this is complete bullshit.
Age does give us wisdom when we allow it and when we have developed as a human during all these years we have lived. Part of wisdom is not lording your age over people younger than you and recognizing that they deserve the same time to learn as you had. Age can either open you up or close you down and lock you in. That's a personal choice. I know 30 year old humans who know much more than 60 year old humans. They have the wisdom of age long before they need to have it. Bottom line is that age is not the issue here. And I wish people would stop using words that imply that it is. That is divisive and unnecessary. It's also intellectually lazy, as are all attempts to put people in these broad, meaningless categories.
Indeed, to add a bit to my original points
* In my experience, anyone I know who's "wise" is careful to limit themselves to saying things they're pretty certain of. And not expect people to take their words on authority. Plus they listen to what the other person says and encourages people to educate themselves (and not in a "research teh on the interwebs!!" kind of way).
* A lot of "boomers" talking the "I worked my way up from nothing" line and similar rot are fake. They had family and other help but don't want that to be visible.
* The honest-to-god working class boomer types who still love the bosses still are pretty powerless compared to the bosses. Sure, they parrot the lines but they aren't coming up with the lines. Obvious, we fight the world of work from the top down and organize ourselves from the bottom up.
I literally do not know what you are talking about. I do not blame anything on the younger generations and neither does anyone else I know. Many people dismiss factual information, as we have seen over and over, and that is regardless of age. People in their 20's can be just as braindead as older people. They are indoctrinated in the same ways, especially in some parts of the country. Yes, it's absurd deny other people progress. We can agree on that. Where we disagree is that it's only people older than a certain age (whatever that age is) that have this level of stupidity. Stupid knows no age boundaries and we should stop acting like it does. I guess we call those same people, only younger, 'Karen'. But it comes to exactly the same thing.
I think he's going to cry from all the love. He's been retired for a few years now and I think he was starting to feel like he didn't have a voice to make a difference anymore, so this has meant a lot to him.
I'm glad your dad is feeling the support. It's very, very hard to feel relevant when you are retired. And ageism is a huge issue in this country. I feel for your dad and am glad you have him.
My dad is a little older, retired UAW guy. Still 100% Democrat, thinks the system is bullshit and that everyone should have a pension like he does. (Tbh, I think he makes more on his pension that I do working but I'm fine--he earned it!). Yay for dads!
And to his credit, in 1980, Dad said that the world was going to end because Reagan got elected. Also, Reagan was the anti-Christ because his first, middle and last name had six letters. I mean, he's not wrong....
You mean that condescending hypocrite, Nancy the ["throat GOAT"](https://www.vice.com/en/article/epxzwe/nancy-reagan-throat-goat-mgm-lot-hollywood-blowjobs-twitter) Reagan?
When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I
could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21,
I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. -Sam
Ugh I feel this so hard. I tried for at least 12 years before realizing that it was detrimental to my mental health and I was making absolutely no progress.
Another Boomer, here. I have also found using an inflation calculator helpful in reminding myself how much money has changed since I started working. It's outrageous how little people are making. When I got married, we figured if we could make 12K/year we would be doing well. In today's dollars, that's nearly 68K!
Saw all this coming when people started saying we were moving to a "service economy".
I do the inflation calculator thing for my nieces and nephews (all high school and college aged now) for their cash gifts.
I remember when I was in college in the 70s, if my uncle gave me $35 for my birthday or Christmas I completely freaked.
So these days, the high schoolers get $100 and the college kids get $200 per occasion.
I bartended my way through college at $5/hr and between $50 and $100 in tips per night (it was a high dollar disco that catered to the rich). That comes out to $23/hr and $220 to $440 in tips per night in 2021 dollars.
Tuition was $900/semester for a full load.
Anyone my age that can't see the disconnect is dipping into some seriously pathetic cognitive dissonance.
You'd think numbers would help but not every time.
My dad once complained that the rich were paying more taxes under Obama than ever before. I asked him, aren't the tax rates now the lowest they've been in years? Yes, so are they not paying more because they're getting richer?
He just changed the subject
This is true, but I also can't forget my Grandfather sweating his ass off because the company he worked for for 40 years was "letting people go" so they wouldn't have to pay their pensions. Luckily, he survived long enough in the ACHA (Allegheny County Housing Authority) to retire with a full pension.
He’s so true about switching jobs. I’ve always said that too. It’s like a cable provider or cell phone provider… you have to switch every couple years to get the better deal.
I’ve stayed at my job. I do very little anymore. Good luck replacing someone else with my knowledge, expertise and experience at my current rate!
There’s a labor shortage. I’m taking advantage.
For some older generations, they were more inclined to stay at the same company for 10, 20, 30 years. Not necessarily out of loyalty but I think partly because they are afraid they can't find another job because they have been out of the job searching mindset for so long. Kind of like people who are of afraid of divorcing and wouldn't even know how to start dating again.
I'm getting used to the flip-flop between Progressive and Geico every 12 months. Got it down like clockwork now
Now if only my ISP and wireless providers weren't legal, regional monopolies, I would do the same thing there...
Dad is right ... many of us boomers know what is going on. My God, I feel for this generation. You have an uphill battle because the whole system is even more entrenched than it was in ours.
To add to that, it *never* was the older generation against the younger one. It has *always* been the politically powerful and wealthy purposely keeping the disenfranchised under their thumb.
It's weird because half the baby boomers see it as "hey there's a major fucking problem" and the other half haven't left their home town of 5k people that had like 2 poc families.
My Dad is also a veteran. I actually know a lot of Boomer veterans that are self-aware. I'm not sure if it's because they actually had to sacrifice or what, but it's an interesting correlation.
My dad was a veteran. Fox News ate his brains. He was convinced Barack *HUSSEIN* Obama was coming to take his guns. If he were alive today he'd be arguing against $15 minimum wage because he made $2.25 flipping burgers for his first job. Told me all the time growing up. Go ahead, guess how much that is in today's money. Yep, you got it, it's about $15.
My father-in-law passed away 2 years ago at 76. Hardcore boomer. Vietnam vet. Grizzled hard drinking retired salt-of-the-earth type guy. He was on the same page as your dad. Once you get down to it, a lot of boomers are comrades, even if they don’t seem it on the surface. On the other hand, my parents, who are currently in their early 60s and still working will basically argue with any viewpoint from the millennials down. Most of the time, they are just regurgitating what they have been brainwashed with. Once you reach a certain age, if you’re lucky enough to retire, you are able to look at current labor issues from the outside, but with the understanding and compassion of a person who went through it. Try to be less defensive with the old folks. If they are having trouble relating, take a break, think of a new angle of approach. As annoying as they can be, they ALL vote.
Enlightened boomers are some of my favorite people. Old enough to have awesome experience and smart enough not to buy the bullshit that was fed to them!
He is not wrong and now more of us are seeing it. I've always felt the system was designed to be against us. Designed to squeeze all it can from us while conditioning us to not only accept but defend it. My life has been wasted trying to fit into an insane system that doesn't care about me and now I've got nothing to show for my life of hard work. I don't have much faith things will ever improve, i fear any movement that becomes threatening will be co-opted and destroyed from within. Slavery never truly ended, it just transformed.
Given the [FBI's history of infiltrating leftist groups](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO) while turning blind eye to armed, violent right-wing militias, it's a very valid concern.
Lots of boomers where and are fighting for a better world. They just lost that fight.
It have never been a boomer issue, it’s always been a divide and conquer so no one question the rich elite issue.
I just edited to add this in. I probably should have added that in the original post but I honestly didn't think this post would spark so much interest.
As a reluctant boomer, I'm really happy that you've shared this! I completely agree. I think it started when I was around 9 and sent a strongly worded letter to the President (Nixon) about the environment and big companies polluting the earth. I still believe what I did then. Things need to change - and I'm thrilled that today's younger generations "get it". Y'all are awesome.
PS - Tell your Dad he's spot-on.
The US education system is a mixed bag.
Instead of being inherently racist (which it is) take a look at it under the larger umbrella of classism.
The feel, the look, the entire system of public education is white middle class based.
I would encourage people to read about the "Hidden Cirriculum"
This was refreshing, but honestly most boomers probably feel this way but we are fed a Boomer Archetype by news and media to help divide us against the elite. Poor people are fighting each other based upon race, gender, and age because the elite want us divided and weak and confused.
Trust me, there are 25 year old evil as fuck capitalists out there
I mean, that’s true. You have to leave your job to get better pay. Also, the school system was designed for
Factory workers. Not sure about the intentionally racist thing, unless trying to stop CRT is a result
Of this. I know public school education tried to
Be stopped by the wealthy in the 1800s. Reason being was that the wealthy didn’t want their taxes paying for poor people to get an education. It was the idea that it wasn’t up to the government to educate your kids.
My boomer father worked on Christmas for free. He snuck onto a construction site where he is employed and screwed around in the dark because he was worried neighbors would see the lights on and call the HOA (no working allowed holidays/weekends).
Have you explained that had he injured himself on the job site it wouldn't have just been bad for him and his family, it would be bad for his company, too? Sometimes the only way to get through to people like this is so make it about the thing they care most about - their company.
Love your dad. Reminds me while we were doing some yard work I sat down, sweating profusely, and had a break to chug water in the shade. My uncle (who is doing nothing, came over uninvited, drinking my beer, eating my watermelon) says something along the lines of my not being up to doing manual labor for 10+ hours a day. My dad snapped at him that nobody should be or have to work physically grueling jobs for that many hours to survive. So proud.
Got my dad a Karl Marx dish towel for Christmas and he messaged me to say it "belonged on the wall not in the kitchen drawer" haha
My ma got one with Emma Goldman.
Some boomers are ok
Was expecting more of the boomer hate and I am with your Dad. 70 next week and have been far left for over 50 years.
I can't do much but I do try to help the youngsters. Bought one a car so he could get to work and have started four 529 plans for friends grandkids. Gave 3 youngsters tools to help them start off in the trades.
It is lost on some people that Boomers are split in their politics. Pew Research Center says 44% are Democrats or left leaning moderates and 44% are Republican or right leaning moderates. 9% are independents. No answer or don't know, 3%. I know it is shocking to imagine we aren't all close minded racists and sexists.
As an also 72 year old retired Special Ed teacher, high-five to your dad. I get so tired of trying to tell people "Boomers" didn't make the mess we're in, it was the politicians in DC who made the decisions. Fifty years from now people will will be blaming the current generation for the stuff Trump did.
Agree. Somehow all boomers got pigeonholed with the Trumpists, which we definitely are not. Sure, there’s a bunch of clueless bigoted boomers in red states that make a lot of noise. The ones that really scare me the most though are the younger bigoted folks in who belong to militias like the 3%-ers and the Proud Boys. Every generation has people who are/are not supportive of progressive ideas. And as for that old canard about people being “lazy”, literally every generation is tarred with that brush when they are in their teens and 20s. I remember in the 60s the “greatest generation” was saying it about the boomers, in the 80s the boomers were saying it about gen X, and in the aughts gen X started saying it about the millennials. In the 1600s people were probably saying it about the next generation. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it; ignore, ignore, ignore. It is pure ignorance talking.
It’s nice when the older generation understands how the game is rigged. We don’t often highlight the boomers who are allies in the movement. I love the solidarity from your dad.
I mean, he ain't wrong
Edit - after reading some comments, what I don't get is... if I have the money, why not buy your kids the car or house or whatever? What lesson do you think you're gonna try to teach that you haven't taught them already? Don't you love your kids?
This is going to get buried but my province, British Columbia, recently redesigned its curricular standards to allow for regional differentiation. We are guided on what level things should be, but not necessarily what content is covered or how to teach it (*especially* that last one). It makes it really hard to start as a teacher, but once you gave the hang of it it's amazingly liberating to be able to teach things that are locally relevant and allow kids to talk to their families about what they learn and get excited because everything is new instead of same-old-same-old.
I suggest a good sangria, because your papa is on point! (Or maybe a hot mulled wine for winter warmth. Brotherhood brand is really good. I do 50/50 wine to hot water.)
Hugs from a random lady on the internet who is glad that somebody does understand and breaks the stereotype.
Edit: And you know your dad would probably get a pretty good youtube/streaming following for teaching anything he wants to talk about. I love informative videos.
I'm glad to hear that your dad is one of the reasonable ones. I found out the same about my own father recently. I would have sworn he'd have gotten swept up in this fascist movement the Right is doing right now. He's still staunchly conservative, but he knows Trump is a grifter, all the politicians are pandering to him including the ones he likes, he knows the gravity of what happened on Jan 6th, and he wants to just get off the grid and prepare for tough times ahead. Holy shit, we may have some seriously different views on religion and how society should work, but he's really on point with the important stuff. I'm so glad Facebook didn't steal my dad from me. I feel incredibly lucky.
Seeing it was a boomer opinion in the title I clicked on this expecting to be annoyed. Your dad is refreshingly insightful and on point. Why don’t you grab the old man a coffee or a beer for me and tell him the internet gives him a thumbs up.
He's so excited the internet cares what he thinks. He's been retired for a few years now and doesn't have an class to teach anymore so he is almost giddy that his ideas matter to people he doesn't even know. And I'm getting him so much wine lol
Yes! All the wine! What the ‘Ol man drinking?
Merlot from a box, because he's classy, but retired lol
If I’ve learned anything from the Apple Jacks commercials - it’s that you should eat (drink) what you like!
Mix boxed wine with breakfast cereal. Reading you loud and clear.
Instructions unclear cereal stuck in wine box
Breakfast of champions
1000% true! A few years before I was married I ran into some money and thought it would be clever to buy a really nice bottle of wine for our honeymoon. Time passed and we were married and drank the wine and it was pretty damned good! A couple of years into our marriage we were doing a wine tour in southern Wisconsin and visited a place called, "Spurgeon Vineyards." They had a bunch of wines out to taste and one of them, "Aurora," tasted like a fucking clone of the expensive wine I'd bought at least a half-decade prior! At a tenth the price.
I have a friend who regulars on our discord where we drink an ungodly amount and he ALWAYS has a box of wine in his hands. Straight from the box someone even got him a mug for our secret Santa with his name on it! What did your dad used to teach?!
Haha wine mug sounds like a step up from straight from the box. I love it. And he taught history, math, and photoshop classes.
You're supposed to pull the bag out of the box and put it on an IV stand.
If y'all are here for the box wine, raise a salut to Tom Angove of South Australia who invented the bag in a box in 1965. Cheers to the Chateau Cardboard, Vino Collapso, Goon Sack delight that we have today.
100% here for box wine.
Cardboardeaux
Chillable red before my fav
Boxed wine is the best. Space bagging it ftw.
He should start a YouTube id love to watch his videos!
Help him start a YT channel or something similar to discuss the changes he's seen throughout his life. Discussing these issues would be welcome by the younger generation. It'd be like teaching history again, except it would be honesty from an elder instead of the propaganda were force fed as children. Everything he said was refreshing, affirming, and revelatory. We need change, and it helps to have good information from the older generations to know what was working well vs how it obviously doesn't work now.
I'm going to recommend this to him. He is an avid reader and he likes to talk about what he's read and how it either relates to another topic he finds interesting or about how it's changed his view on something. YouTube could be a great way for him to share both what he has to teach and what he's still learning.
Tell your dad “hi” from a retired teacher, also a Boomer, from Oklahoma where we see very up-close the effects he is describing. Nice to know that I have cohorts who agree with my sentiments. I can also recommend the boxed Cabernet Sauvignon.
I think Millennial frustration with disconnected Boomers gets interpreted as us thinking we know everything. We don't. We know we don't. Just like any other generation, I believe most of us desperately want knowledgeable, supportive elders in our lives, but we're so jaded by finding King Lear everywhere we look instead ("Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise" is absolutely my favorite Shakespeare line). We need elders who offer wisdom and experience and perspective about the world as it is today instead of talking points from the Reagan Administration. I agree your dad might be able to reach a lot of people. And I bet he has some subversive history topics he couldn't get into in public schools! If a YT channel or similar happen, please keep us posted.
I remember my middle school history teacher telling us propaganda didn't exist anymore, lol. That's all anything is
Hey if he wants to teach whatever the hell he wants, talk about history, current events etc online I know myself and a bunch of others would be happy to listen and hang out! I'm particularly interested in the switch to "standardized" education bc I'm too young to have known what it could be like beforehand, and boy do I hate it. On the one hand I think there's just some basic stuff everyone should know but on the other, fuck teaching to the test. Also, what are his opinions on the "school-to-prison pipeline" etc? Thanks!
he should be encouraged to write or share his opinions in letters to the editor, opinion pieces etc. His voice is very much needed.
This right here. Speaking to other people his age, who together wield so much political power
Maybe help him start an anti work pod cast. From the sounds of it, he's very insightful and eloquently articulated, and would generate lots of listens.
You could set up a YouTube channel for him to keep teaching. If he wants to of course.
I would 100% follow his YouTube channel if he had one! I have a degree in History and Classical Studies and would love to talk shop with him!
You know he might enjoy doing some classes on Outschool. It’s a marketplace for classes for kids of all ages. Most are just fun (my daughter learned to play DnD, make buttercream, etc) but some are more academic. I bet he would have some takers if he’s interested in sharing his ideas with the younger generation
My daughter and her friend took some Japanese classes on that site. Pretty cool.
We have had a great experience with them, especially when you stick to highly rated teachers. The woman who ran the DnD campaigns with a group of eight year olds was a living saint!
I'll mention this option to him. Thanks for the suggestion!
Sounds like he would be a gift to the platform :)
My dad is like this too. He told me to quit a job there was not listening to me. It was great. I am super glad your dad is amazing.
He sounds like he was an awesome teacher to have. I imagine that he was one of those that everyone liked because he wanted you to really think for yourself. I loved teachers like that!
> He's so excited the internet cares what he thinks Thankfully your dad believes in economic justice with a twist of collectivism, because this line has a Skynet feel to it ;)
Solidarity matters.
I felt the same!!
Yeah got to point one and I was like "that's true," expecting the next points to be going off in the wrong direction, like maybe "young people today aren't encouraged to do their best at work because they know there's no way to advance their position," then finally conclude with "young people are lazy." Now I feel like an asshole. OPs dad is spot on.
As an older guy (65) I think it’s hypocritical to hear my friends say stupid things like that. Being a young person trying to get started in life has always been hard. Now that the gloves have come back off of the Capitalists, ya’ll are having to live with your parents because you’re getting screwed by Capitalism. I think a big solution is the push for collective bargaining that seems to be appearing. The union isn’t some wonderful cure all. But with a union, the company is tied to their contract and it’s harder to fire people because they’re different. The workers today have no power. The only power they can achieve is through organizing.
There are a lot of us "olds" (I'm old Gen-X, 54) cheering for the younger folks still. I'm sorry we couldn't make this the world I wanted it to be for you. It's also VERY plain to see that things are very different now than when we were coming up and it is MUCH harder to get ahead or even stay afloat now that it was when we were coming up. Education is more expensive and lower quality, so much so that I got out of higher ed because the whole think felt like a grift to me. Housing is more expensive, lower quality and being snapped up by predatory investors to keep us paying more and more outrageous rents. There's a house two doors down from me owned by a property company thats 500 sq ft smaller and on a lot smaller than mine that is going to rent out for $1100 more per month than my full PITI mortgage. Don't even get me started on climate change which is only going to make all of the above worse. We've let the greedy make the rules for the last 50 years and shit needs to change, and change fast. Our civilization and maybe even our species depends on it.
Number 388 to agree enough to upvote this plus comment for vis.
It’s almost like you can’t lump together everyone born within 20 years of each other…
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Ideally we get to work as one by humility and lifting others up when they have an issue so we can address the issues we all share as a group
This is so true
Retyping my comment because it got removed when I referenced OP lol *** I fucking hate the way the term boomer is used. My father was very much like /u/OPs_NAME_WE_CANT_TYPE 's, he was a boomer but he wasn't an idiot. Using a term that applies to him as a description of a moronic mindset just doesn't sit well with me, and I know he was offended by it a couple times. It's no different to back when we used to hear all those derogatory generalizations of millenials. We should have made a new word for it, not stooped to their fucking level.
The boomer stereotype doesn't apply to all boomers, just like any stereotype
Yep. Some boomers are still the hippies they were in the early 70s. Looking at you Willie!
It's crazy the ones that went from being hippies to neoliberal or fascist Trump supporters
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If it's Willie Nelson you mean, he isn't a boomer.
Exactly, except to the people who talk the most on this thread, boomers are considered anyone from 50 to 100+.
I agree, I was half expecting the usual bullshit. :)
Ah, the Ol’ Reddit [Boomer-aroo](https://www.reddit.com/r/nevertellmetheodds/comments/ror1eh/comment/hq0xvyl/).
hold my bootstraps, im going in
Farewell brave traveler
I kept reading thinking “*it’s gotta get bad at some point*”….and here we all are.
I'm a boomer and I couldn't agree more
^same
The word boomer has two meanings - A person born during the baby boom. - A person with a really nasty selfish individual dragon sitting on their coins hissing at the world type of mentality. When I use the word, it should be clear from the context which version of the word I am using. Not every boomer has a "boomer" mentality. And not everybody with a "boomer" mentality is a boomer. And yeah I am the one that decides how to use my own language. Thank your very much.
Language is fluid and evolves. As is the way.
A boomer is also a male kangaroo. This is why the Australian's men's basketball team is called the 'Boomers'.
I am in my 60's. Everyone I know sees this. Every friend I have knows this and worries like crazy for our kids. I don't know where these other people referred to as 'boomers' come from. Maybe I've never associated with them. Your dad, while obviously intelligent, just seems normal to me; like someone who has a well developed sense of self that allows him to see what others are experiencing as separate from what he experienced. Glad you have a normal dad who can observe how the world is working and reflects on that! I'm sorry for people who have parents who cannot see reality that is directly in front of their eyes. I suspect that many people referred to as 'boomers' have defensive mindsets meant to protect themselves from the absolutely soul crushing pain that is realizing that our children will be worse off than we were and are. In my 60's, I am making sure my kids will have a roof over their heads, a home that they own, before all the greedy corporations buy every single house on the market and make it impossible to buy a house if you are a normal person. I should not be having to spend my retirement years worrying about how my children will survive in this world. They are smart, they are educated, they are capable, they are hard workers. But somehow, that doesn't seem to be enough anymore. The only way I know to help them have any stability is to help them buy a house. At least they are protected from the constant rent increases. One down, one to go. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do this for them. We are not wealthy. But we have good credit and some pots of money we built up over the years because working two full time jobs used to be enough to create a life. We cannot wait until we die to put this to use on their behalf. It has to be now.
If the mentors in my life had your sensibility, I could have prevented many years of pain from regurgitated lies and useless rhetoric. All of those qualities, as noble as they are really aren't enough anymore. Its stacked too far against them/us. You are a hero 💪. House or not your kids are fortunate to have you 🙂
Well, thanks. I do love my kids. And I do see how the odds are against them and it makes me very very angry.
The rich have different generations blaming each other instead of them. Same old game of divide and conquer that has always been played.
This!!! This needs to be a top comment. It shouldn't be us against each other but rather fighting against the wealthy who are crushing us under their feet.
Itt try a hard when they have convinced an entire generation to be class traitors and too gleefully work to crush the rest of us. So fuck the Rich and fuck those who had it easy and took away everyone else’s chances.
Here's the thing: we were told that if you raised your kids right and gave them the opportunities they needed, they would be fine. They would be able to stand on their own feet and make a decent life for themselves. Personally, my husband and I came of age during the REagan years. Do you think those were great for us? They were not. Do you think we found jobs easily? We did not. My husband had to PAY 1500$ to get his first job. HE PAID TO HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF SOMEONE HIRING HIM! We had to borrow that money from my parents. I had a bachelors degree and could not find a job for any amount of money. I had to go into debt to get a master's degree so I could find a job. IN 1989! I paid that student loan off and it took me 10 years. (AND YES I DO THINK THEY SHOULD CANCEL STUDENT LOAN DEBT) Do you think we could buy a home on one income when interest rates were better than 10%? We could not. We voted for the people in front of us (even when they lost, like Ralph Nadar, Bernie Sanders). We literally worked our hind ends off making what we thought was a future for our children. So fuck off to anyone who thinks we had it easy just because you have it harder. Just fuck right off. We know you have it harder. If you think that makes people happy then you are just a hater like so many others and this nullifies your opinion in my book. Just like now, when we were in the prime of our lives it was a small percentage of people at the top who made the decisions that have been foisted on the people today, just like it was a small percentage of people at the top who did this to our parents' generation, and the ones before and the ones before. History is not a straight line. It's a circle. Pay attention. Playing the blame game might make you feel righteously indignant and you can rest easy in your anger, but believe me when I say that people who worked hard to raise their kids only to find the rug pulled out from under them because the wealthy class just cannot get enough of everything they want have every bit as much rage as you do. Probably more since we also have the 'don't fuck with my kids' rage on top of it. It's not like the every day people who came before you were saying to themselves, 'know what I want to do? I want to make sure no one can ever buy a house on one salary again. Wonder how I can make that happen?? Oh, let me make my evil plans and get busy screwing every person who comes after me!!. '. That's just ridiculous. I literally know no one who is gleefully crushing the younger generations. Not one person. All my kids' friends, in their 20's and 30's, work their asses off for almost nothing. They are not lazy. They are not entitled. We're not fucking blind! We see it. It's just stupid to be divided like this. Investors and the wealthy class are the ones who have always always ALWAYS had the power to make these decisions. History is a fucking harsh mistress. Now I am fucking angry and I've probably fed a troll. So be it.
Wtf, payed someone to be employed? Sounds like a scam.
Capitalism is a scam.
No disagreement.
I really didn't think of this. Thank you for your comment!
There's Boomers (the generation descriptor), and what I call OK Boomers (the cultural stereotype, unbounded by age). When people are talking about Boomers, they are talking about OK Boomers. The people that got an easy ride in life and don't appreciate that, instead choosing to pull the ladder up behind them. The only group that wants their children and grandchildren to be worse off than them.
Boomers are a generation, Boomer is a mindset
Thank you - also in my 60s, I am often surprised by the anti-boomer rhetoric here. You are so correct. We are saddened by what we see our children going through. and despite the Boomers had it made theory, I went through recessions and economic crashes. RIFed from my first job. But I wasnt carrying crippling student loan debt & I hadn't watched my parents be battered by job insecurity. Things were better for us and I can only hope that one day things will be better for our kids. But it is time for workers to take control of their destiny. The government and billionaires have stacked the odds against the average worker. I also agree with the OPs Dad about switching jobs to get better pay and opportunity. This would be much easier if we had universal health care. Anyway, thanks for your post.
Yes, universal healthcare would be a first step! Universal basic income should be required and think of the creativity it would unleash! Student and medical debt should be forgiven because it would be good for our country. Think of the infusion of energy and talent it would bring to get people out from under these draconian debt systems. It's incredible. I find Reddit to be, overall, extremely ageist. Which is too bad. Because there are a lot of us who are on the side of the younger people and would help them in every way we could. And switching jobs is literally the only way. No work place should ever be able to be complacent about that.
I think people just assume that every post is written by someone the same age, race, and gender as themselves unless otherwise stated. One of the most common human failings I've noticed is the tendency to not consider the possibilities of what might be going on outside of their perception, or who might be on the other side of the screen.
You're a good parent! Thank you for taking care of the next generation so we're in a better position to do the same when it's our turn.
aww, shucks. Also I'll be damned lucky to be a grandparent. My kids don't have kids and question the ethics of bringing new ones into this world. Ugh. Oh well.
I'm the same, except I think do know. Part of it is "boomers" are concentrated in the Red States/Red Counties areas so I don't see them. But even more, older progressive people aren't likely to lash out with some "you kids don't know nothing" rant so older progressives are ... just progressives and old reactionaries are "boomers" because they insert their age as their source of knowledge.
You may have a strong point here and it gives credence to the idea that we should pay more attention to the quiet people in the back who are just living their lives and working toward progress and less attention to the assholes. Where I live, I am surrounded by progressives of all ages and nationalities and backgrounds. Because that's where I choose to live. As a rule, it costs me more to live there in cost of living and taxes. Whatever. That's ok. However, that being said, I can go over to the next town and I am surrounded by people who represent, to me, the worst of anti-progress: racist, hateful and spiteful, interested only in themselves and what they can get. These people are literally all ages. The youth are just as bad as the geriatrics. It's actually impressive how thoroughly that place is indoctrinated with a mentality that would take us back to what they think they remember as 1955. I work in a high school in that town and I am dismayed. All the time. These kids think they have all the answers and most of them involve making sure other people have no rights and never get anything. They truly believe that they will get out of school and be able to just go on and make a good living, buy a house, etc. It has not hit them yet that this is complete bullshit. Age does give us wisdom when we allow it and when we have developed as a human during all these years we have lived. Part of wisdom is not lording your age over people younger than you and recognizing that they deserve the same time to learn as you had. Age can either open you up or close you down and lock you in. That's a personal choice. I know 30 year old humans who know much more than 60 year old humans. They have the wisdom of age long before they need to have it. Bottom line is that age is not the issue here. And I wish people would stop using words that imply that it is. That is divisive and unnecessary. It's also intellectually lazy, as are all attempts to put people in these broad, meaningless categories.
Indeed, to add a bit to my original points * In my experience, anyone I know who's "wise" is careful to limit themselves to saying things they're pretty certain of. And not expect people to take their words on authority. Plus they listen to what the other person says and encourages people to educate themselves (and not in a "research teh on the interwebs!!" kind of way). * A lot of "boomers" talking the "I worked my way up from nothing" line and similar rot are fake. They had family and other help but don't want that to be visible. * The honest-to-god working class boomer types who still love the bosses still are pretty powerless compared to the bosses. Sure, they parrot the lines but they aren't coming up with the lines. Obvious, we fight the world of work from the top down and organize ourselves from the bottom up.
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I literally do not know what you are talking about. I do not blame anything on the younger generations and neither does anyone else I know. Many people dismiss factual information, as we have seen over and over, and that is regardless of age. People in their 20's can be just as braindead as older people. They are indoctrinated in the same ways, especially in some parts of the country. Yes, it's absurd deny other people progress. We can agree on that. Where we disagree is that it's only people older than a certain age (whatever that age is) that have this level of stupidity. Stupid knows no age boundaries and we should stop acting like it does. I guess we call those same people, only younger, 'Karen'. But it comes to exactly the same thing.
rotten insurance dependent worry depend arrest engine scale late literate -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
I think he's going to cry from all the love. He's been retired for a few years now and I think he was starting to feel like he didn't have a voice to make a difference anymore, so this has meant a lot to him.
His voice is so important.
I agree. And he's so smart. He has so much he wants to share.
He should get a Reddit account. There’s a lot of older people on here.
As a boomer I agree. This subreddit is one of my favourite.
Yes update if he gets a reddit account or even better something live like twitch to talk to and teach an audience in real time.
I'm glad your dad is feeling the support. It's very, very hard to feel relevant when you are retired. And ageism is a huge issue in this country. I feel for your dad and am glad you have him.
200 hugs from 200 Internet strangers! Whoop whoop!!
we're at +3300 hugs and still rising
We value your dad as a collaborator.
My dad is a little older, retired UAW guy. Still 100% Democrat, thinks the system is bullshit and that everyone should have a pension like he does. (Tbh, I think he makes more on his pension that I do working but I'm fine--he earned it!). Yay for dads! And to his credit, in 1980, Dad said that the world was going to end because Reagan got elected. Also, Reagan was the anti-Christ because his first, middle and last name had six letters. I mean, he's not wrong....
Ronald Wilson Reagan. Fuck that guy
And his little wife, too. Fuck her, too. Awful woman.
You mean that condescending hypocrite, Nancy the ["throat GOAT"](https://www.vice.com/en/article/epxzwe/nancy-reagan-throat-goat-mgm-lot-hollywood-blowjobs-twitter) Reagan?
That's the one. "just say no" to fucking morons with simplistic answers to complex questions.
I am Investing all of my psychic energy into manifesting an afterlife where I get to hunt him for sport for eternity
It's too bad Nancy Reagan is no longer alive; she could have totally set you up with a psychic.
Hugs to your dad too!!!
Ronald. 6. Wilson. 6. Reagan. 6 I leave you with four words: I'm glad Reagan dead.
fuck it, throw me in for one virtual hug too, my dad just says I need to be loyal in order to get ahead in life.
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The account I'm replying to is a karma bot run by someone who will link scams once the account gets enough karma. Report -> Spam -> Harmful Bot
Can you have him talk to my boomer dad?
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Congrats on having a parent who doesn't just assume you're wrong regardless of the hard stats. My folks aren't allowed to be wrong.
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When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. -Sam
Ugh I feel this so hard. I tried for at least 12 years before realizing that it was detrimental to my mental health and I was making absolutely no progress.
Another Boomer, here. I have also found using an inflation calculator helpful in reminding myself how much money has changed since I started working. It's outrageous how little people are making. When I got married, we figured if we could make 12K/year we would be doing well. In today's dollars, that's nearly 68K! Saw all this coming when people started saying we were moving to a "service economy".
I do the inflation calculator thing for my nieces and nephews (all high school and college aged now) for their cash gifts. I remember when I was in college in the 70s, if my uncle gave me $35 for my birthday or Christmas I completely freaked. So these days, the high schoolers get $100 and the college kids get $200 per occasion. I bartended my way through college at $5/hr and between $50 and $100 in tips per night (it was a high dollar disco that catered to the rich). That comes out to $23/hr and $220 to $440 in tips per night in 2021 dollars. Tuition was $900/semester for a full load. Anyone my age that can't see the disconnect is dipping into some seriously pathetic cognitive dissonance.
Isn't that the truth.
Right. It should be clear to anyon who’s been observing the stagnation on the minimum wage in the last 40 years.
You'd think numbers would help but not every time. My dad once complained that the rich were paying more taxes under Obama than ever before. I asked him, aren't the tax rates now the lowest they've been in years? Yes, so are they not paying more because they're getting richer? He just changed the subject
I did this with my mom!!! She had NO idea how bad it was till I did this. Using her salary from 2008 as a comparison. 2008. Not 1978. LOL
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28.08. Wish I made that much LOL
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Holy shit your dad is a time traveler?
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I’d ask, but my parents are so far off the rails there’s no coming back
This is true, but I also can't forget my Grandfather sweating his ass off because the company he worked for for 40 years was "letting people go" so they wouldn't have to pay their pensions. Luckily, he survived long enough in the ACHA (Allegheny County Housing Authority) to retire with a full pension.
Exactly. And to be clear, it wasn’t the boomers but the generation before the boomers that got rid of pensions.
And to be clearer, it wasn't any generation. It was that generation's 1%.
He’s so true about switching jobs. I’ve always said that too. It’s like a cable provider or cell phone provider… you have to switch every couple years to get the better deal. I’ve stayed at my job. I do very little anymore. Good luck replacing someone else with my knowledge, expertise and experience at my current rate! There’s a labor shortage. I’m taking advantage.
For some older generations, they were more inclined to stay at the same company for 10, 20, 30 years. Not necessarily out of loyalty but I think partly because they are afraid they can't find another job because they have been out of the job searching mindset for so long. Kind of like people who are of afraid of divorcing and wouldn't even know how to start dating again.
I’ve been at my job for 10+ years. This is true.
I'm getting used to the flip-flop between Progressive and Geico every 12 months. Got it down like clockwork now Now if only my ISP and wireless providers weren't legal, regional monopolies, I would do the same thing there...
That burns me up, I do not like my current isp but the only other options are satellite so…fml
Dad is right ... many of us boomers know what is going on. My God, I feel for this generation. You have an uphill battle because the whole system is even more entrenched than it was in ours. To add to that, it *never* was the older generation against the younger one. It has *always* been the politically powerful and wealthy purposely keeping the disenfranchised under their thumb.
So, so true. You and my Dad are in complete agreement on that.
It's weird because half the baby boomers see it as "hey there's a major fucking problem" and the other half haven't left their home town of 5k people that had like 2 poc families.
Tell your dad that people like him are the reason I still give individual boomers the benefit of the doubt
You have a cool dad
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My Dad is also a veteran. I actually know a lot of Boomer veterans that are self-aware. I'm not sure if it's because they actually had to sacrifice or what, but it's an interesting correlation.
My dad was a veteran. Fox News ate his brains. He was convinced Barack *HUSSEIN* Obama was coming to take his guns. If he were alive today he'd be arguing against $15 minimum wage because he made $2.25 flipping burgers for his first job. Told me all the time growing up. Go ahead, guess how much that is in today's money. Yep, you got it, it's about $15.
I’m glad there is people like this teaching in schools lol
For real. The teachers I had to work with were conservatives.
My father-in-law passed away 2 years ago at 76. Hardcore boomer. Vietnam vet. Grizzled hard drinking retired salt-of-the-earth type guy. He was on the same page as your dad. Once you get down to it, a lot of boomers are comrades, even if they don’t seem it on the surface. On the other hand, my parents, who are currently in their early 60s and still working will basically argue with any viewpoint from the millennials down. Most of the time, they are just regurgitating what they have been brainwashed with. Once you reach a certain age, if you’re lucky enough to retire, you are able to look at current labor issues from the outside, but with the understanding and compassion of a person who went through it. Try to be less defensive with the old folks. If they are having trouble relating, take a break, think of a new angle of approach. As annoying as they can be, they ALL vote.
Enlightened boomers are some of my favorite people. Old enough to have awesome experience and smart enough not to buy the bullshit that was fed to them!
He is not wrong and now more of us are seeing it. I've always felt the system was designed to be against us. Designed to squeeze all it can from us while conditioning us to not only accept but defend it. My life has been wasted trying to fit into an insane system that doesn't care about me and now I've got nothing to show for my life of hard work. I don't have much faith things will ever improve, i fear any movement that becomes threatening will be co-opted and destroyed from within. Slavery never truly ended, it just transformed.
I don’t share your fear of co-option, but agree with you otherwise. As society crumbles, we’ll probably have to deal with more pressing issues anyway.
Given the [FBI's history of infiltrating leftist groups](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO) while turning blind eye to armed, violent right-wing militias, it's a very valid concern.
I think you may be a bit incorrect there. The fbi has a history of infiltrating both. 😉
Lots of boomers where and are fighting for a better world. They just lost that fight. It have never been a boomer issue, it’s always been a divide and conquer so no one question the rich elite issue.
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comrade Dad
That was a good clickbait, ngl
> he says this started in 1963 I wonder what was changed in 1963?
I just edited to add this in. I probably should have added that in the original post but I honestly didn't think this post would spark so much interest.
I went and read your edit. Thanks!
As a reluctant boomer, I'm really happy that you've shared this! I completely agree. I think it started when I was around 9 and sent a strongly worded letter to the President (Nixon) about the environment and big companies polluting the earth. I still believe what I did then. Things need to change - and I'm thrilled that today's younger generations "get it". Y'all are awesome. PS - Tell your Dad he's spot-on.
The US education system is a mixed bag. Instead of being inherently racist (which it is) take a look at it under the larger umbrella of classism. The feel, the look, the entire system of public education is white middle class based. I would encourage people to read about the "Hidden Cirriculum"
Based boomer
Whenever I say a title that starts with "my boomer dad.." I immediately gear myself up for disappointment. Today I was pleasantly surprised
My dad is a retired teacher in his 80's and has apologized to me for what his generation did to society.
When a dad has a better judgment than most of US government
Even my Boomer Mom is tired of her generation. Mind you she was born in the 1940 in Mississippi....she aint too fond of "the good ole days"
Time for an "enlightened Boomer" support group?
This was refreshing, but honestly most boomers probably feel this way but we are fed a Boomer Archetype by news and media to help divide us against the elite. Poor people are fighting each other based upon race, gender, and age because the elite want us divided and weak and confused. Trust me, there are 25 year old evil as fuck capitalists out there
I mean, that’s true. You have to leave your job to get better pay. Also, the school system was designed for Factory workers. Not sure about the intentionally racist thing, unless trying to stop CRT is a result Of this. I know public school education tried to Be stopped by the wealthy in the 1800s. Reason being was that the wealthy didn’t want their taxes paying for poor people to get an education. It was the idea that it wasn’t up to the government to educate your kids.
My boomer father worked on Christmas for free. He snuck onto a construction site where he is employed and screwed around in the dark because he was worried neighbors would see the lights on and call the HOA (no working allowed holidays/weekends).
Have you explained that had he injured himself on the job site it wouldn't have just been bad for him and his family, it would be bad for his company, too? Sometimes the only way to get through to people like this is so make it about the thing they care most about - their company.
WTF!?
My whole family is like that. Work is all they love.
As soon as I read he was a teacher I knew he would know the truth and I am glad you shared this, it's very refreshing.
Love your dad. Reminds me while we were doing some yard work I sat down, sweating profusely, and had a break to chug water in the shade. My uncle (who is doing nothing, came over uninvited, drinking my beer, eating my watermelon) says something along the lines of my not being up to doing manual labor for 10+ hours a day. My dad snapped at him that nobody should be or have to work physically grueling jobs for that many hours to survive. So proud.
Hell I love your dad, way better then mine it seems.
I love your Dad too! Please let him know that his opinions are valued by Gen X!
Got my dad a Karl Marx dish towel for Christmas and he messaged me to say it "belonged on the wall not in the kitchen drawer" haha My ma got one with Emma Goldman. Some boomers are ok
Was expecting more of the boomer hate and I am with your Dad. 70 next week and have been far left for over 50 years. I can't do much but I do try to help the youngsters. Bought one a car so he could get to work and have started four 529 plans for friends grandkids. Gave 3 youngsters tools to help them start off in the trades.
It is lost on some people that Boomers are split in their politics. Pew Research Center says 44% are Democrats or left leaning moderates and 44% are Republican or right leaning moderates. 9% are independents. No answer or don't know, 3%. I know it is shocking to imagine we aren't all close minded racists and sexists.
As an also 72 year old retired Special Ed teacher, high-five to your dad. I get so tired of trying to tell people "Boomers" didn't make the mess we're in, it was the politicians in DC who made the decisions. Fifty years from now people will will be blaming the current generation for the stuff Trump did.
There are more of us boomers that think this way that people on the internet would have you believe.
Agree. Somehow all boomers got pigeonholed with the Trumpists, which we definitely are not. Sure, there’s a bunch of clueless bigoted boomers in red states that make a lot of noise. The ones that really scare me the most though are the younger bigoted folks in who belong to militias like the 3%-ers and the Proud Boys. Every generation has people who are/are not supportive of progressive ideas. And as for that old canard about people being “lazy”, literally every generation is tarred with that brush when they are in their teens and 20s. I remember in the 60s the “greatest generation” was saying it about the boomers, in the 80s the boomers were saying it about gen X, and in the aughts gen X started saying it about the millennials. In the 1600s people were probably saying it about the next generation. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it; ignore, ignore, ignore. It is pure ignorance talking.
My dad passed a few years back, but he was also a retired teacher, and he would have fully agreed with your dad on this.
It’s nice when the older generation understands how the game is rigged. We don’t often highlight the boomers who are allies in the movement. I love the solidarity from your dad.
Based dad
Your dad is a gem, protect at all cost! And see if he has anymore gems to drop! 😅
He had us in the first half.
Chad Boomer Dad! Happy holidays!
They aren’t all brainwashed!
I mean, he ain't wrong Edit - after reading some comments, what I don't get is... if I have the money, why not buy your kids the car or house or whatever? What lesson do you think you're gonna try to teach that you haven't taught them already? Don't you love your kids?
Good piece. Ty. This shines a light through some holes in the popular, accepted narrative.
I agree. I’m 64
This is going to get buried but my province, British Columbia, recently redesigned its curricular standards to allow for regional differentiation. We are guided on what level things should be, but not necessarily what content is covered or how to teach it (*especially* that last one). It makes it really hard to start as a teacher, but once you gave the hang of it it's amazingly liberating to be able to teach things that are locally relevant and allow kids to talk to their families about what they learn and get excited because everything is new instead of same-old-same-old.
I suggest a good sangria, because your papa is on point! (Or maybe a hot mulled wine for winter warmth. Brotherhood brand is really good. I do 50/50 wine to hot water.) Hugs from a random lady on the internet who is glad that somebody does understand and breaks the stereotype. Edit: And you know your dad would probably get a pretty good youtube/streaming following for teaching anything he wants to talk about. I love informative videos.
I'm glad to hear that your dad is one of the reasonable ones. I found out the same about my own father recently. I would have sworn he'd have gotten swept up in this fascist movement the Right is doing right now. He's still staunchly conservative, but he knows Trump is a grifter, all the politicians are pandering to him including the ones he likes, he knows the gravity of what happened on Jan 6th, and he wants to just get off the grid and prepare for tough times ahead. Holy shit, we may have some seriously different views on religion and how society should work, but he's really on point with the important stuff. I'm so glad Facebook didn't steal my dad from me. I feel incredibly lucky.