Source
r/politics•
Reothecube

Dear people on Reddit that think all the world's problems are caused by baby boomers, there is a quote that 2500 years old you ought to read

"Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers." -Socrates

I'm seeing this more and more and it's kind of grating. All the world's problems are caused by baby boomers, and when they say it, it's like they can't take things in to perspective with the generation gap and changes that progress through them. It works in a chain, Interbellum Generation has been frustrated with the Greatest Generation, The Greatest Generation is frustrated with Baby Boomers, the baby boomers have been frustrated with Gen X, and the Gen X is starting to get flustered with Gen Y. This is how it's been since ancient times.

But I find that a lot of the excuses that people try to push out like saying, THEY ALL VOTED FOR REAGAN. Ok now, they were born from 1946 to 64, so in 1980, that was ages of 16-34, right here, although on wikipedia,it says it was even or 1% on Carter, for the majority of that generation, now a crushing 20% defeat in the popular vote, seems like on a scale that Carter was more liked by that generation. There are so many other misconceptions, that I don't want to get into it. So can you please stop taking pushing the blame game on them, that's what's been done in the past and all that ever generally is until the next generation tries bitches out the previous out about how they've ruined everything.

It's a bit maddening cause I at one point in time kind of thought this, but then I had to take it into perspective. I'm a Gen Y kid so maybe I just don't care enough!

Sorry if it doesn't quite belong here. Sorry about the typo in the title too.

Posted Jan 2, 2010, 11:39 PM UTC · edited

417
zoltar74•

This is not the same. The quote refers to the elders' disdain for the youthful. This is likely universal.

What we have now (and probably not unique in terms of history) is a generation that grew up in a time of large financial growth and spoiled by the lack of a major war or knowledge of physical hunger.

Fat and religious. They will die, and we will be better off.

15
ReothecubeOP•

It's all about perspectives, why do you think the elder ones feels that way? Because of people screaming how stupid they are, no that couldn't be it at all. I often find with my peers an absolute lack of respect for a baby boomers, which makes me sad. I sure know a lot of fat, religious people that are my age and Gen X age. Saying that we're the only ones with ideals is a bit sickening to me. Although it is definitely noted that as people get older they get more "conservative" and will just as likely happen to this generation as it has others.

0
lanimil3•

“shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.”

“The father buys, the son builds, the grandchild sells, and his son begs.” - Scottish Proverb

6
Realworld•

It's usually shorter than that. Most nouveau riche money only lasts two generations in America. The father makes it and spends all his time working because he enjoys it. The wife lives well & lets the man run his business. The children are given money & ignored by the father. When the father dies early the wife sells the business (she doesn't know how to run it) & lives comfortably. The children are given trust funds. The children waste it; that's all they know how to do.

And that's it for the money in two generations.

3
[deleted]•

Quick! Somebody cue Circle Of Life. Or... I guess I Can't Wait To Be King will do as well. Oh ALL RIGHT THEN; Hakuna Matata.

0
[deleted]•

"Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius; will you remember to pay the debt?"

5
onedimensional•

I generally see it that the elders of today and the privileged few that hold Trust at the top of Society have abused their position of "authority", used Torture, started wars by deception and without consent, and want to take more centralized power and control through maintaining and heightening fear and increasing security measures and extending the police state.

3
mathewferguson•

You are absolutely failing to look at any demographic information. The Baby Boomers are called that because it was a literal baby boom - a massive population bump. This group carries enough power by sheer numbers that it can sway the entire of society to serve it. The entire political process over many years has been shaped by this group.

When you see low tax rates for retirement investment funds that put money into housing, you can blame the Baby Boomers. They made the rules, it benefits them the most and the younger generation are getting fucked because they'll never be able to buy a home to live in.

Right now in Australia we're moving into having a grey population. There will be more retired people than working. Old people will control the policies and taxation, etc, through sheer numbers. Guess what will be happening then? Low tax rates on retirees. High tax rates on the young. Medicines subsidised at the cost of say, education and primary schools.

The Baby Boomers have had a very real demographic effect.

3
zoltar74•

Superb explanation.

1
ReothecubeOP•

There was a baby boom for the Great generation too (After WWI), did that effect you just as badly?

0
mathewferguson•

affect

No it didn't because it's not just about the population bump. It's is caused by political power being exercised, the alteration of social structures, changing moral values, distortion of a social system towards a single goal.

It was right number in right time in right place.

If you have a look around at laws, taxes and other rules that exist in society and then think about which age group they benefit the most, you'll find a bias towards baby boomers. A huge number of investment rules, for example, benefit baby boomers over younger generations.

2
ReothecubeOP•

I will be honest, I have no idea about Aussie political scheme as it is, so I am definitely in no position to argue. But the reason why I said that is because now would be the first year (65) in the US at least where it plausible to reap all the benefits of the government such as Social security and the like.

People are often greedy and it shows a lot in the past with previous generations, but the zenith of this point and the big pushers of a lot the policies that really benefit baby boomers were really pushed by the previous generation at least in the beginning (The 80s) which got more fucked up then it really should have been and just having the blame on the generation turning of age... Kind of seems more condescending then it ought to be, because they're just adding fueling it now, and it looks like Generation X is only going to add more fuel to the fire before it explodes. So I apologize if I'm confused in any way.

You also don't need to be condescending and have correct grammar on the internets

0
[deleted]•

I'm a Gen Y kid

Wait until you have to actually find a job, make car payments, raise children, etc. and generally pull your own weight for once and you'll resent the boomers as much as us Gen-Xers do. They're the 1st generation to hand a society and world to their children in worse shape than when they got it. Fuck 'em.

3
SgtSausage•

==>you'll resent the boomers as much as us Gen-Xers do

Nah ... you got it wrong. By the time they take on that kind of responsibility it's us. The Gen Y kids will end up resenting us Gen Xers.

1
CliffDropOver•

The State executed Socrates for being a busy-body by his incessant meddling in the affairs of others, and not believing in the gods!

2
BrainwashedSociety4•

People with power despise giving it up, and change only happens in youth. They blame the young to hide their power, because the louder the calls for change become the more fragile is their grip.

2
FrankManic•

I think you're taking this out of context. It's a quote from an old white guy complaining about young people. In a modern context it translates "I don't like this new rap music. All these rap music kids have baggy pants and do drugs and promiscuity."

2