

Generation Wuss - 001sky
http://www.vanityfair.fr/culture/livre/articles/generation-wuss-by-bret-easton-ellis/15837

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tsm
This article struck a chord with me (a young millennial). I spent a lot of my
childhood doing camping and other outdoor activities, and in the past six
years or so turned to programing. In both situations, problem-solving is much
more valued than abstract senses of justice or "how things should be". If you
firewood is wet, it accomplishes absolutely nothing to complain about how
you're being victimized by nature—you need to get over it and figure something
out. And I'm sure we're all acutely aware of how it matters not one bit
whether your software "deserves" to have a bug or not; you're still stuck
fixing it.

Far too many of my peers expect natural talent to yield success, expect effort
to count more than results, expect life to be overwhelmingly fun, expect to be
carefully nurtured until they're completely comfortable with the problem at
hand. I had a friend who was amazed that boys didn't come flocking to her
(despite her aloofness) since she was "beautiful like a Disney princess" and
"guys enjoy the chase". Another thought that her years of classical violin
training entitled her to win an American fiddling competition...despite not
being nearly as comfortable with the style as the other competitors.

There's a lot to be commended about my generation's focus on social justice
and equality. But hopes and dreams about the future shouldn't come at the cost
of being unable to grapple with the reality of the present.

------
gizmo
Let me get this straight: the 46 year old author started dating a 23 year old
and then concludes that millennial culture is immature? That's utterly
asinine.

If the author is "exasperated by how him and his friends [...] deal with the
world" perhaps he should grow up and date somebody his own age.

~~~
tsm
That's a bit _ad hominem,_ don't you think? I thought the author made good
points regardless of his personal circumstances.

[Disclaimer: Didn't downvote you]

~~~
gizmo
The article makes makes broad sweeping claims (unsubstantiated, needless to
say) about a generation (neurotic/narcissistic/wussy) with a linkbait title
"generation wuss". The article isn't even clever or insightful. We've heard
the horror of "participation trophies" a thousand times before. Yawn.

In the article he also manages to make light of bullying. He puts cyber-
bullying in scare quotes (as if it isn't a real thing) and by talking about
people who "feel" bullied. As if the emotional distress people feel isn't the
essence of being bullied. He then pokes fun at somebody who committed suicide
for being a wuss who can't handle a prank. That's such a vile thing to do.

Then the article tries to deflect criticism by proclaiming that people who
roll their eyes at his generational generalizations simply can't stand to hear
the truth ("anyone with a snarky opinion [...] labeled as a douche -- case
closed").

The author has been talking about this "Generation Wuss" things for years now
([https://twitter.com/BretEastonEllis/status/26825707812724736...](https://twitter.com/BretEastonEllis/status/268257078127247361)).
The article is just a longer version of that tweet. Juvenile and utterly
without substance.

~~~
scottlocklin
The fact that you're worried about his being unimpressed with modern non-
problems like "cyber bullying" kind of proves the point of the article,
whether or not you're a member of generation weak sauce.

~~~
jev
Laughing at cyberbullying because it happens online is as dumb as laughing
about school bullying because it happens in school, an environment which most
adults will agree is ridiculous.

That doesn't mean there aren't a few good points in there, but for someone who
claims to abhor narcissism, this person sure likes to talk about themselves
and their achievements a lot.

------
fciraci
I completely agree, as a member of the generation in question. Most of my
peers disgust me, and I'm not above these issues myself - but I try very hard
to fix it.

Fortunately, life has kicked my ass soon enough to wake me up, and my parents
did no do a bad job at it either.

------
Dewie
> I never pretended to be an expert on Millenials and my harmless tweeting
> about them was solely based on personal observation with the reactions to
> the tweets predictably running along generational lines.

"I intentionally stirred shit and called a generation too sensitive, and some
of them got upset by it - which just proved my point!"

