# Gen-KY **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 22, 2000, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091 "2000-04-22T23:30:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/21 "2000-04-24T05:14:00Z")
> [@](#): > > In five years – just five years – you’ll have completely different views. And if you don’t, it’s time to come to terms with the fact that you’re a moron." Oh man, you nailed it here. The same thing happened to me. ## I had some traumatic life experiences as a young woman. Up until those things started happeneing, I was absolutely convinced that I just freaking knew everything. One day I woke up to a brand-new crisis, and had a sudden, blinding realization that I didn’t know jack. We’re talking a Saul-on-the-road-to-Damascus-style epiphany here. I suddenly relaized that I was a moron, and everything my parents ever told me was right. Once I accepted these facts, my life began to get much better. Cristi, Slayer of Peeps I made my husband join a bridge club. He jumps next Tuesday. (title & sig courtesy of UncleBeer and WallyM7!) ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2000, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/22 "2000-04-23T18:13:00Z")
_sigh_ As someone who somehow ended up in Generation Y, permit me to claim that I try to keep hypocrisy to a minimum in my life; that I have ethical standards and I strive vigorously to maintain them; and that I try actually to live the low impact lifestyle which I espouse. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2000, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/23 "2000-04-23T20:18:00Z")
What baffles me is the supposed apathy and bleak outlook these kids now have. They don’t care, life sucks, the world’s a rotten place. I’m 37, and when I was 18 all we had to worry about was the threat of global destruction, constant economic recessions, high unemployment, double-digit inflation and interest rates. And yet we were a pretty happy bunch. ---
**Author:** ![Kiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@Kiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiva)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/24 "2000-04-24T03:46:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by andros: > **Don’t forget the ones who protest the WTO’s trampling of personal property rights by destroying several square blocks of Seattle.** Wait a minute…just wait a minute. Only a small percentage of protesters were doing the property damage. And these people weren’t protesting the WTO; they came here with the sole intent of trashing the city. The majority of protesters were nonviolent. I repeat, NONVIOLENT. So stop being overly emotional and get the damn facts straight! And as a member of Gen Y, I admit that we’re idiots, but every day I see people in their 30’s and 40’s that fit the descriptions given here as well. It’s convenient to put the blame on one age group, but not at all accurate. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/25 "2000-04-24T13:34:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by dhanson: > \*\*What baffles me is the supposed apathy and bleak outlook these kids now have. They don’t care, life sucks, the world’s a rotten place. > > I’m 37, and when I was 18 all we had to worry about was the threat of global destruction, constant economic recessions, high unemployment, double-digit inflation and interest rates. And yet we were a pretty happy bunch. \*\* Well, you know, it could be the _lack_ of any real worrisome problems that is the sore spot for Gen X/Y. There’s precious little for people as a whole to rally around, so we fractionalize ourselve over piddly little stuff, instead of pulling together. * * * Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good dipped in chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/26 "2000-04-24T14:12:00Z")
Actual conversation with Gen-Now daughter: She: I’m getting a tattoo the minute I turn 18, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Me: All I ask is that you wait until you are 25…then you can get all the tattoos you want. She: But I won’t want it when I’m 25! Me: Exactly. p.s. she’s been 18 for a month now…so far so good! ---
**Author:** ![Pixoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pixoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixoid)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/27 "2000-04-24T15:15:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Dr.Watson: > \*\*" . . . is it fair to lump us all in the same category?" > > Ye gads **saucy potato** , would that I had been given a choice of the categories to begin with. But where would be the fun in that? The whole point of these drippingly frivolous ‘battles’ between the fractious factions is that every mother’s child gets to choose a side. Well, nearly so. Given that one is rather saddled at birth with certain characteristics, many, but by no means all, choices have already been made for you. But most of that is for other threads and braver men than I to explore. > > Of course it isn’t fair to lump any group together and offer blanket observations or condemnations. This particular truth would be the implied point of all of this, I expect. Paucity of imagination and dullness of wit aside, what cause would be served by failing to invite the analysts, the perennially disgruntled, the professionally offended, and the hard-core nit-pickers into a protest against them? Thus far they have failed to register, but I think they’ll be stopping by before long. > > You are “lumped” no more than you “lump”, and condemned no more than you condemn. Such is the price of an, “Us vs. Them,” mentality, and such is the galloping nonsense that keeps this brand of idiocy alive and well and thriving in the land of the free. > > As far as I know, no one has yet died from disillusionment, and I mean to keep it that way. > Dr. Watson > “There is nothing more refreshing than a self-made man who worships his Creator.” > > \*\* So, the simplest way to combat the OP is to not debate it, but to ignore it, and try to live the best possible lives we can, arguing not with criticism, and feeling a sense of community with all of humanity, rather than the people who were born at the same time as us. We should not feel some sort of sense of superiority when do not fall into the category so defined, but should instead realize that we too are fallible. And therefore, we should not make generalizations based on “generations,” rejoicing rather in the similarities throughout the ages. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/28 "2000-04-24T16:08:00Z")
> [@](#): > > So, the simplest way to combat the OP is to not debate it, but to ignore it, and try to live the best possible lives we can > \ > rejoicing rather in the similarities throughout the ages. Brought to you by Hallmark. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s After School Special, “Happy Fuzzy Bear Loves Everyone.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/29 "2000-04-24T16:29:00Z")
A “generation” in the way the media uses it is more than people that were born in a certain set of years; it is more of a marketing term to describe a demographic of people with similar views on life and thus similar vunrabilities to certain types of advertising. Just because you were born in 1981 does not mean you have to be a "Gen-Y"er–just decline to dipsplay all the symbols that that generation uses to express their group identity. Participate in the larger American culture instead of limiting your exposure to "Gen-Y’ culture. Don’t wear shirts with words on them, don’t watch MTV, don’t use the trendiest slang, don’t wallow in nostalgia for the period that “defines” your generation, and make friends in all age groups, not merely the people two years older or younger than you. This is what I do, and no one has ever treated me as a member of my “generation” (Gen X). ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/30 "2000-04-24T20:16:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Dr.Watson: > \*\*Glancing through the ‘Gen-Y Slang’ thread over in MPSIMS, I couldn’t help but notice that there was a bit of a dust-up concerning where the generational lines ought to be drawn. Speaking purely for the rest of us, I tend to define both ‘Gen-Y’ and ‘Gen-X’ in similar terms… > (blah, blah, blah, blah) > \*\* I don’t know anyone like that. * * * [Cessandra](http://envy.nu/cessandra/profile/) I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids! ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/31 "2000-04-24T20:18:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Dr.Watson: > \*\*Glancing through the ‘Gen-Y Slang’ thread over in MPSIMS, I couldn’t help but notice that there was a bit of a dust-up concerning where the generational lines ought to be drawn. Speaking purely for the rest of us, I tend to define both ‘Gen-Y’ and ‘Gen-X’ in similar terms… > (blah, blah, blah, blah) > \*\* I don’t know anyone like that. * * * [Cessandra](http://envy.nu/cessandra/profile/) I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids! ---
**Author:** ![jakrabit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@jakrabit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jakrabit)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/32 "2000-04-24T22:06:00Z")
not that i disagree with you Dr. Watson, for the most part, Gen-X and Gen-Y are pretty much the same, with the exception of the age bracket… it is just that your style of delivery left a bit to be desired… the saying “you are unique, just like everybody else” just leaped out at me when I read your post… besides, we Gen-X’rs are just trying to be like mom and dad… so, Dr.Watson, to you i give a hug… to be so much like you means that i have followed in my parents footsteps… GAWD!!! i love being an asshole! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/33 "2000-04-24T22:12:00Z")
> [@](#): > > GAWD!!! i love being an asshole! > > 😃 Do you? Will we ever get to see this behavior? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/34 "2000-04-24T22:16:00Z")
Christ in Birkenstocks, is this thread just one great big whoooosh? ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/35 "2000-04-24T22:18:00Z")
I don’t understand what you mean, andros. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Watson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Dr.Watson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Watson)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2000, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091/36 "2000-04-25T07:33:00Z")
They had Birkenstocks back then? I’ll be dipped in a never-ending list of contradictions if I don’t learn something new every single day around here! Sigh. I don’t really mean to single you out **jakrabit** , but, "(T)he saying(,) ‘You are unique, just like everybody else(,)’ just leaped out at me . . . " is just the kind of thing I might have said, had I said it. But you’re right just the same. You are. I don’t know your parents, but I’m damned proud to read your capitulation. At least all of their efforts did not go for naught. (Hint: They’d be a bit proud to know that you understand, and reject, their efforts as well, and perhaps you should clue them in that you’re proud to be an asshole. It ought to make for an interesting Sunday dinner.) Oh, and **mouthbreather** : never mind. Lycidas is not about to rise from the Irish Sea on account of this nonsense, and it seems that the more rational among us will not be lured into caring about the manifestations of abject idiocy. It was fun to try though . . . Dr. Watson “Nobody wants to kiss when they are hungry.” – Dorothy Dix [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-ky/6091.md?page=1)