I just. I donât like this view of âmillennials vs Gen Zâ. This is NOT supposed to be a competition of who got fucked over the most and whoâs âactually fighting backâ.
Millennials are fighting back just by surviving in a job market where the minimum wage doesnât cover the living cost. Millennials are awesome at âkillingâ the diamond, golfing and napkins industries. Millennials are using the internet to make sure things that corporations want to keep in the dark are exposed. Theyâre open LGBTQIA-friendly business, theyâre supporting each other with online donations so everyone can survive this shitty economy.
And the Gen Z kids? The Gen Z kids are rad. I remember a post about something like the millennials making a collective promise to never become a disenchanted generation that only criticizes the next one and I want to point out that this âmillennials vs gen zâ trend is trying to do exactly that: split us apart. Prevent millennials from being the older siblings that teach the younger siblings to throw a good punch and turn them into the annoyed adult complaining about âthose kidsâ on their lawn. We are the two groups that grew in a connected world of information. We are two very unique generations.
I think that itâs our duty for us millennials, as a disrespected, underpaid, very angry generation to stand up by our younger siblings, and fight together the oppressive systems that brought us all to this point.
Theyâre trying very hard to pit Millennials and Gen Z against each other because I honestly think theyâre terrified of what the two will accomplish together.
GenX, circa 1990: Shit, organizing is hard work. My parents just want me to study and âget a good jobâ like they did, and I canât get my message out beyond these zines I keep leaving at the coffee shop. 300 people at a protest is a big deal. *studies developing tech, starts building communication and information exchange platforms, settles down to a day job but doesnât stop trying to change the world, takes up blogging. Eventually figures out self-care*
Millennials, circa 2001: OK, thereâs got to be a better way to communicate and network to organise. Emailing everyone is just so damned tedious, and I canât really share blogs . I try to talk to my family about whatâs important, and theyâre busy with their own shit. *works on developing social media, builds more collaborative communities, gets into encrypted apps and communication platforms. Canât get day jobs in field, so ends up in high-turnover employment like teaching*
GenZ: This shit canât stand. OK, everyone, put the word out on social media that weâre walking out of class to protest. Start making videos and putting them out there. We have shit to say.
Millenials respond: We have spent the last decade becoming strong and active voices for justice and activism. Now we have millions of followers and weâll amplify you and support you.
GenX responds: A lot of us are your parents. We raised you on a steady diet of hero and heroine stories about faith and perseverance, and many of us never gave up our quiet rage. Weâll pack you a lunch, make sure youâre wearing good shoes for the protest, and remind you to wear sunscreen and not to use swears in news interviews.
Thereâs not a contest between the generations for who the âreal activistsâ and the âreal voices for justiceâ are.
Weâve been waiting for you, kids. Not to save us. To join us. ]
Not all of us live in Brooklyn! In fact, the vast majority of us do not live in Brooklyn.
Most of us donât get money from our parents! Nor do we want it! Assuming that everyone has parents who could or would bankroll a life in NYC or SF is fatuous. What many of us want and most of us have are jobs.
Yes! Jobs! We have them! We get up and put on work-appropriate clothes and then go to work and do our best and come home.
We did not all study humanities! Of those who did, lots have great jobs! And even if some donât â did you make no stupid decisions when you were 19? Do you think that maybe someone who is deeply in debt with few job prospects maybe has learned his or her lesson without your public concern-trolling?
Not every 20-something female who is making a movie/writing a book/running a blog needs to be compared to Lena Dunham. Lena is insanely talented and telling an interesting story. But: It is a story. It is not the only story.
Yeah, Boomers: a lot of us are narcissistic. Also, weâre in our 20s. 20-somethings are to narcissism as teens are to contentless rebellion, or 50-somethings are to weird, expensive hobbies that bring them joy.
We grew up with a model, and set of assumptions, that proved untrue. During our childhoods, unemployment was low, houses gained in value, a bachelorâs degree left you prepared for a variety of employment opportunities and investing was a sound decision. Now all of those things arenât the case. Itâs our job to deal with that, and thatâs fine. Generations have faced much worse. But itâs easy to distrust a system that melted down so spectacularly just as it was time for us to buy into it.
Seriously: is this just a need for an older generation to feel anxious about the next one? Do you really think humanity has devolved spectacularly in the past 15 years, and there is something uniquely wrong with us? Do you just need something to rile the readership up? What is the deal?
