
‘OK Boomer’ Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations - doener
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/29/style/ok-boomer.html
======
dang
Let's keep these generation bait articles off HN. They're just vehicles for
projection, leading to angry arguments about—literally—generic identity. We
don't need that here; we need not-that.

------
johnday
This is silly. The only party here marking the end of "friendly generational
relations" is the NY Times itself.

Drawing lines through society is the cheapest and easiest way to look wise
without making any meaningful comment.

~~~
bredren
Actually this phrase started around October 15th on TikTok. The phrase’s use
in related videos grew rapidly and had not existed before. It’s real
sentiment.

The fault with this article is that it focuses on merchandise.

Edit: here’s the first video I saw it trend in comments:
[http://vm.tiktok.com/553g7w/](http://vm.tiktok.com/553g7w/)

~~~
boardwaalk
I think the point is that this phrase doesn’t mark any sort of new sentiment.
Millennials and later have been hating on boomers for many years at this point
on reddit etc.

~~~
bredren
Ah. My point is that it’s manifestation on TikTok specifically is significant.

------
PeterStuer
The idea that climate change and financial inequality concerns are
generational divided is ludicrous. To me this framing reeks as just another
divisional front the promoters of identity politics, who btw are also not
generational divided, would like to inflict on us all.

P.S. I'm not Gen Z by a long shot and _deeply_ concerned about climate change
and financial inequality.

~~~
overthemoon
Generations are ideologically divided. [https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-
tank/2017/03/20/a-wider-par...](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-
tank/2017/03/20/a-wider-partisan-and-ideological-gap-between-younger-older-
generations/)

[https://www.people-press.org/2018/03/01/the-generation-
gap-i...](https://www.people-press.org/2018/03/01/the-generation-gap-in-
american-politics/)

[https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/07/09/the-
politic...](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/07/09/the-politics-of-
american-generations-how-age-affects-attitudes-and-voting-behavior/)

~~~
PeterStuer
No they are not. They have statistically differently skewed preferences, but
that is a completely different thing.

Divided would mean that e.g. Millennials with few exceptions vote Democrat
while Boomers with few exceptions vote Republican. You know their age, you
know their vote with few exceptions.

The reality is that if you would 'accuse' a Boomer of having voted Republican
you would be wrong 56% of the time, and if you would 'accuse' a Millennial of
having voted Democrat you would be wrong 46% of the time.

This means that if you would start guessing DEM/REP voting purely based on
cohort, you would on average be wrong 51% of the time! Yet somehow, this is
spun as a generational divide? Do you think this warrants supporting a
generational 'war' narrative?

~~~
overthemoon
You're just redefining "divide" to mean something more substantial than I am.
Do you think this is so insignificant that it doesn't even warrant a
conversation?

~~~
PeterStuer
Then how should I interpret your 'Generations are ideologically divided'?

If it is merely the expression of slight shifts in political leanings
correlated with age, we'd have to look whether this is a new thing or
something that has always been the case [1].

The reason I point out in my response to you that the presumptions which you
will find even in this tread, that there is a conflict between the generations
that expresses itself as a principle component in voting behavior and
justifies division and vilification of the 'opposite' age cohort, is blatantly
false and a manufactured framework intent on dividing people and gaining
economically and politically from that conflict rather than uniting and
looking for solutions.

[1] [https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/02/24/heart-
head/](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/02/24/heart-head/)

------
skywhopper
I often wonder if newspapers have a template for these sorts of articles that
they can pull out every time one of the completely artificial and meaningless
"generations" hits a certain milestone. For the last 5-10 years we've been in
the cycle of articles where the current "generation" in their 20s and 30s are
settling into career paths and shaking things up with their crazy new demands
at work, or how they just aren't looking after their own futures like their
elders did. And now that "Gen Z" has hit adulthood, it's time to write the
articles where these crazy kids are pushing back on the complacency of their
elders in a shockingly disrespectful way. In a few years we'll learn all about
how new trends in advertising, fast food, and consumer marketing are all being
shaken up by the 20-somethings who just aren't satisfied with the same-old
patterns of doing business.

If you go back 20 years you'll find the same articles about millenials. Go
back 20 more years and you'll find them about Gen X. Go back 20 more years and
you'll find them about Baby Boomers. Go back to the 1920s and there are
articles complaining about the Kids These Days, so lazy and disrespectful,
taking all this newfangled technology for granted...

------
frankbreetz
“Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall
never sit in.” ― Anonymous Greek Proverb

~~~
MandieD
And it feels that instead, old men have been demanding that young people cut
down the trees for the old men to burn.

~~~
yummybear
There are old people who've been arrested for pro climate actions, there are
young people who are in charge of cutting down the rainforest. It's
complicated, and reducing it to old men vs. young people only removes focus
from the actual problems at hand.

~~~
izacus
The results of elections across USA and Europe are pretty much telling though:
There's a big divide between older cohorts and younger cohorts about climate
change, housing and other sustainability policies.

------
djsumdog
Generational names have always been created by authors to sell books. Adam
"Ruins Everything" Conover did a talk at a marking conference where he pulled
up old copies of Time magazine talking about the entitled baby boomers from
decades ago; almost identical to the same articles about every other
generation.

Generational titles were NEVER used to lift anyone up. They were used to sell
books, sell newspapers/magazines, blame everything on the youth who knew
nothing of hardship or some other fake-rage bullshit. The age ranges are
arbitrary and the names that stick are pure chance and/or marketing.

Why is NYT referencing a moronic TikTok video anyway? Is NYT now trying to
compete with Buzzfeed?

~~~
cafard
The NYT has sections of serious news, and sections of ridiculous "trend"
articles. The trend articles are easy to source, easy to write, and have a
shot at making it to page 1 of HN. I tend not to read them, or at least not to
believe them when I read them--Mithidratism from reading too many such
articles long ago.

But then I'm an old bitter boomer, so what do I know?

~~~
Clubber
I wonder if they realize how much they are diluting their brand with this
tabloid-esque garbage. The Gray Lady - how ridiculous.

------
Clubber
Much of this is contrived. The previous generation said GenX were slackers
too. It's just something to sell ads.

~~~
frankbreetz
I think global warming makes this a little different then calling young people
slackers.

~~~
Clubber
Do you really believe the article's premise that boomers don't believe in
global warming? If so, is it all of them, or just some of them?

Of course another purpose of this "culture war," is to take the blame off the
politicians who had a chance actually make the regulations and laws and lay it
on a generation of citizens.

What has Generation Y and Z actually done to stop global warming? I don't see
anything but talk. Does that mean Generation Y and Z doesn't care about global
warming, or maybe it's back to the politicians who are in a position to pass
regulations and laws.

~~~
frankbreetz
I think that a much larger percentage of Gen Z believe in global warming than
boomers do.

Of course, politicians are elected by people so if everyone believes in global
warming and votes that way everything will work out.

GenY and GenZ tend to vote for more pro-climate policies, many more of them
protest for the government to do something. Many more of them on environmental
conscience.

The big thing you seem to be missing is governments should be doing the will
of the people, and the will is there for GenZ, but not for the Boomers.

~~~
Clubber
>The big thing you seem to be missing is governments should be doing the will
of the people, and the will is there for GenZ, but not for the Boomers.

I think the main thing you seem to be missing is that's not how it actually
works. The will is there for the energy companies but not the people because
energy companies pay for campaigns. Do you think boomers really want
ridiculously high health care costs? At their age? Or perhaps it's the
insurance companies and the AMA pushing that? Do you think people like paying
tax preparation companies every year, even though the government knows what
most people owe, or do you think the tax preparation industry pays for that
inaction? Do you think people like getting arrested for smoking pot, or the
politicians are maybe being influenced by the police and prison unions to keep
that sweet, sweet paycheck coming?

When the politicians ignore the will of the people during the your generation,
are you going to lay the blame on your generation as well? Will that mean your
generation doesn't believe in global warming, or maybe it's something else?

~~~
frankbreetz
most boomers are on medicare. I think there are some exceptions, but for the
most part, the government does the will of the people. I think that most older
people think smoking pot should get arrested (another thing that is changing,
because of the will of the people...) I don't even know what to say about the
tax thing, I guess people vote about more important issues.

You don't what generation I am in, it's not GenZ

Boomers caused the end of Vietnam because of protest, GenZ is trying to do the
same with climate change.

If nothing is done about climate change, it is because the voters didn't vote
this way, I don't think it will be because they don't know. It is quite
publicized these days. But, if GenZ spends there whole life not doing
something about climate change it will be there fault.

------
arkh
> Ms. O’Connor is far from the only one cashing in. Hundreds of “ok boomer”
> products are for sale through on-demand shopping sites like Redbubble and
> Spreadshirt, where many young people are selling “ok boomer” phone cases,
> bedsheets, stickers, pins and more.

I like how one of the first reflexes when criticizing a generation of
ecological catastrophes is to over-consume. Reminds my of the boomers' "Che
Guevara" merchandises.

------
cdirkx
What? The phrase itself is just a current meme, inspired by the recent
boomer/zoomer memes.

It is partially an ironic revenge against the "are millenials killing the
economy?" type sentiments, and more generally used to say that the target has
an old fashioned and self absorbed worldview: resisting social change, blaming
younger generations for societal issues or trivializing their problems. This
is nothing new, the "crazy uncle/racist grandma at christmas dinner" is a very
much a thing people already talked about years ago.

So the behaviour against the younger generation was already unfriendly (and
has been so since forever [1]), and the only thing that has changed for the
older generation is that someone says "okay" to them and proceeds to ignore
them. That is hardly "the End of Friendly Generational Relations".

[1] [https://historyhustle.com/2500-years-of-people-
complaining-a...](https://historyhustle.com/2500-years-of-people-complaining-
about-the-younger-generation/)

------
rco8786
Wait. Who was being friendly before?

------
akhilcacharya
The fact that casual generational warfare is becoming more mainstream
genuinely bothers me.

Making generalizations about a year one was born is just a few turns less
silly than astrology

------
arkh
> there’s not a lot that I can personally do to reduce the price of college

Thinking you need to get a college education is the real big Scam you can
thank previous generations for.

It will be fun to watch more and more of them wake up and refuse two other big
scams which are marriage and male gender role (women woke to this one decades
ago).

~~~
non-entity
Getting off topic here, but having a degree would do wonders for my network
and career mobility.

------
dyeje
'Millenials Are Killing Generational Relations'

------
some_random
Look, you know what has to be the reply to this, right?

Ok, Boomer

~~~
Beltiras
I think this just has to be the clearest instance of "old man yells at cloud"
in the history of publishing.

------
imgabe
Too much of the news involves trying to extrapolate broad societal trends from
a few (usually anomalous and hence newsworthy) data points.

------
Beltiras
There were friendly generational relations? o.O

------
cally
shout out to the other gen xers out there ignored by every generation before
or since.

------
bwsewell
they were friendly?

~~~
frankbreetz
I think they are referring to how previous generations had "respect for
elders"

~~~
rco8786
Perhaps those elders forgot that respect happens in two directions.

~~~
TheHypnotist
Right, hasn't lazy millennial been beaten to death enough?

~~~
croon
Yes, which is why we've moved on to Gen Z now as the scapegoat du jour.

------
lawlessone
Really? i thought i ended when everyone was talking about how millennials are
ruining companies by not buying affordable products.

Or saying millennials are poor because they like avocados. Or saying
millennials are entitled for demanding a living wage.

~~~
hmschreck
This is pretty much it. My generation has been called entitled, lazy, selfish,
etc, for wanting the same things our parents were given, like a living wage,
affordable college, or career stability. In what world is _that_ friendly?

~~~
bcrosby95
Our parents. Are you talking of Gen X? The boomer generation? In general, your
statement seems to apply to Gen X. But not really the boomer generation - e.g.
they didn't have affordable college like Gen X did. Gen X seems to have been
at the crossroads of things shifting and kind of got the best of all worlds.

And for Millennials, some have it rough but some don't. College was cheap and
affordable for some of them - certainly more affordable for them than the
boomer generation. Keep in mind the generation spans to 1981. Some Millennials
are almost 40 now.

Gen Z is in a whole other category of course. Lots of things going/have gone
rapidly downhill. But boomers mostly aren't the parents of these people. It's
Gen X/Millennials.

~~~
mcv
Yeah, I feel like a lot of the things Boomers and Millennials are blaming on
each other, actually apply to Gen X (and I say this as a Gen-Xer myself). We
got the best education deal before (admittedly Boomer-) politicians started to
undermine education. We were the slacker generation. We're the generation that
refused to grow up. We got jobs in the booming 1990s.

But sure, let Boomers and Millennials fight. We're happy to stay out of this
(just know that I'm on your side, Millennials!)

~~~
jhbadger
The 1990s were only "booming" (in the US) towards the end of the decade. The
early/middle part of the decade was a recession.

~~~
mcv
I guess I was still in university back then. I'm late Gen X. I imagine early
Gen X has a very different story. (I bet the same is true for every
generation.)

------
draw_down
Yeah, it was that. Not the endless slew of articles about how millennials
ruined this or that industry, or how they’re entitled hothouse flowers with no
work ethic and no spine. It wasn’t “millennials can’t afford houses because
they eat too much avocado toast”. It was “OK boomer”. Ay yi yi.

------
sdinsn
Boomers have complained about how millennials are weak and whiny, but yet they
can't handle hearing "OK Boomer". What losers.

~~~
dang
Please follow the site guidelines when posting here.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

------
hos234
Yet I see a lot of young Bernie and Trump fans.

------
gadders
Dupe and flagged previously as well:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21388646](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21388646)

