# OK Boomer! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 8, 2019, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162 "2019-11-08T01:49:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/61 "2019-11-08T15:29:38Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Nope, boomers go thru ['64](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomers). Only if you’re going strictly by birth rates. Culturally, someone who couldn’t vote until 1980 could not have had influence on what was happening in the late sixties and the seventies. **cmkeller** , that was never meant to be a slogan. It was one thing Jack Weiner said in a long interview. It was the generation above Boomers who \*\*claimed \*\* that was what Boomers believed, so as to discredit them. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/62 "2019-11-08T16:09:42Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > The world is a pretty good place right now. And this, I think, is the Millennials’ number one complain against the Boomers: their attitude of “Things are fine **right now**. Who cares what happens 10 or 20 or 30 years from now? That’s not my problem; I won’t even be around then.” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/63 "2019-11-08T16:09:44Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > As another Gen X, I’m delighted that this pithy phrase is putting so many Boomers into a tizzy. > > And in case you haven’t seen it - a 25 year old NZ MP used it to shut up a heckler during a speech about climate change: > > [https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/06/asia/new-zealand-ok-boomer-trnd/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/06/asia/new-zealand-ok-boomer-trnd/index.html) Then you must not internet a lot. The phrase is already being used to try and shut down anyone with a differing viewpoint. I very rarely see it used against anyone who is an actual boomer. Even on platforms where the age of users is very apparent. When you complain that you are Gen X and not a boomer don’t be surprised when the reply is “OK boomer.” ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/64 "2019-11-08T16:13:22Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Yeah, but as I said previously, that has \*always \*been the case. It is a human certainty that elders moan about the kids and the kids moan about the elders. That has been true throughout history and only the relevant topics of complaint change (and even then not so much regarding clothes, hair, language and music). > > I have no doubt that kids in Carthage moaned about Hannibal with his fancy elephants dragging them into the Punic wars. > > The youth of today will be just fine and they will leave the world in better shape than they found it, at which point the youth of the day will give them shit about what they didn’t do…and so on…and so on Yeah, but the entire point is that the Baby Boomers DIDN’T leave the world a better place than they found it. > **[Why Aren't Millennials Spending? They're Poorer Than Previous Generations,...](https://www.npr.org/2018/11/30/672103209/why-arent-millennials-spending-more-they-re-poorer-than-their-parents-fed-says)** > > Millennials are less well off than members of earlier generations when they were young. They have lower earnings, fewer assets and less wealth, a new Federal Reserve study says. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wealth-millennials/most-millennials-seen-worse-off-than-parents-despite-aptitude-study-idUSKBN1DE18M](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wealth-millennials/most-millennials-seen-worse-off-than-parents-despite-aptitude-study-idUSKBN1DE18M) ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/65 "2019-11-08T16:31:31Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > But I’m not, nor do I decry the youth of today. Note carefully what I wrote in my last post. > > What a piece of shit I am. It’s the attitude, not the age that triggers this particular response. When you are trying to work to make things better and certain folks just won’t shut the fuck up about how everything is good enough as is you just get tired of having to entertain these people. OK, Boomer is an excellent dismissal and a quick way of saying if you can’t respect younger folks positions on important topics then you should not expect younger people to respect your position. If you aren’t going to help then the least you can do is get the fuck out of the way. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/66 "2019-11-08T16:41:08Z")
> [@BeagleJesus](#): > > I’m not a millennial but I love the phrase. Short, sweet and to the point. > > The Boomers have been fucking the world up for decades and now they want to turn around and lecture younger generations about what we should care about, how we should conduct ourselves, where we should focus our energies, etc…like we haven’t seen the results of their turn at bat. When you produce such poor results over such a long period of time no one has any interest in hearing your next nugget of wisdom, whatever it may be. It’s like getting a lecture on moral responsibility from a drug addicted, child molesting murder who cheated on their taxes. > > Boomers should do the world a favor and just retire so the rest of us can get started on at least trying to fix things. Why wait? If the so-called millennials are the planet’s saviors they don’t need mommy’s permission to get started. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/67 "2019-11-08T16:52:10Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Why wait? If the so-called millennials are the planet’s saviors they don’t need mommy’s permission to get started. But they do need the climate change deniers currently making public policy to stop undermining every environmental regulation and treaty. They do need the people whose only response to every school shooting is to offer thoughts and prayers to either do something more constructive or get out of the way. They need the people who benefit from the status quo to stop carrying out vast and well-funded media smear campaigns every time a young person dares to suggest that maybe we could do things better. And they need a large portion of the population to stop voting for the people who are actively making things worse. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/68 "2019-11-08T16:54:50Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > (still mystified by why ‘Sooner’ is a clever reply) No worries, it’s pretty much a US thing. I just thought more people might get it. Seems only a few of us do. “Boomer Sooner” is the [fight song for the University of Oklahoma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomer_Sooner). It’s [common](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Boomer%20Sooner) for one alumni to shout “Boomer!” and another to respond “Sooner!”. Finally, OK is the two letter abbreviation for Oklahoma, so that’s how I make the connection. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/69 "2019-11-08T17:02:32Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > A boomer is a kangaroo in Strine. In New Zealand, it apparently shares the new meaning – [https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/11/05/ok-boomer-year-old-lawmaker-shuts-down-heckler-during-climate-change-speech/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/11/05/ok-boomer-year-old-lawmaker-shuts-down-heckler-during-climate-change-speech/) Member of Parliament Chlöe Swarbrick, delivering a speech about climate change, responded to a heckler in the chamber with the retort “Okay, boomer.” ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/70 "2019-11-08T17:15:49Z")
I get the “OK Boomer” part, but what does “sooner” have to do with it? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/71 "2019-11-08T17:25:59Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > I get the “OK Boomer” part, but what does “sooner” have to do with it? See Post #68. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/72 "2019-11-08T17:51:03Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Why wait? If the so-called millennials are the planet’s saviors they don’t need mommy’s permission to get started. True, but they still have to pry the reins of power from the cold, grey claws of smug, old nihilists. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/73 "2019-11-08T18:01:49Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > It is just another faddy phrase. An ultimate _ad hominem_, shorthand for “you are old and therefore your opinion can be discounted”. . . That’s true, of course, but I have to say I prefer it to the dismissive phrase which is generally tossed at me: “Racist, sexist, clueless old white guy.” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/74 "2019-11-08T18:01:53Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > True, but they still have to pry the reins of power from the cold, grey claws of smug, old nihilists. What power? I mean, just because the President, the three leading candidates to replace him, the Speaker of House and the Senate Majority Leader are all in their seventies… ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/75 "2019-11-08T18:06:05Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Why wait? If the so-called millennials are the planet’s saviors they don’t need mommy’s permission to get started. They don’t need mommy’s permission. They need the old folks to get the fuck out of the way so they have space to operate and the ability to actually make changes without constantly being undermined by folks who want to see things change only after they are dead. Or , what **Gyrate** and **Inigo Montoya** said… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/76 "2019-11-08T18:24:12Z")
> [@BeagleJesus](#): > > It’s the attitude, not the age that triggers this particular response. When you are trying to work to make things better and certain folks just won’t shut the fuck up about how everything is good enough as is you just get tired of having to entertain these people. > > OK, Boomer is an excellent dismissal and a quick way of saying if you can’t respect younger folks positions on important topics then you should not expect younger people to respect your position. If you aren’t going to help then the least you can do is get the fuck out of the way. It’s as equally excellent a reply as calling someone a snowflake to shut them up. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/77 "2019-11-08T18:58:54Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It’s the best possible response to any headline that starts with “Millennials Are Killing \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_”. May I mention as an aside, even as a Boom/X cusper on the slight Boomer side, those are annoying. Very often, Millennials aren’t what’s killing (X), _Boomers getting old_ is killing (X). Or just plain technological obsolescence, cultural displacement, having to satisfy stockholder short-term demands, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/78 "2019-11-08T19:48:24Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > And this, I think, is the Millennials’ number one complain against the Boomers: their attitude of “Things are fine **right now**. Who cares what happens 10 or 20 or 30 years from now? That’s not my problem; I won’t even be around then.” Then make that case to those people who hold that attitude. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/79 "2019-11-08T19:49:35Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Yeah, but the entire point is that the Baby Boomers DIDN’T leave the world a better place than they found it. > > [Why Aren't Millennials Spending? They're Poorer Than Previous Generations, Fed Says : NPR](https://www.npr.org/2018/11/30/672103209/why-arent-millennials-spending-more-they-re-poorer-than-their-parents-fed-says) > > [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wealth-millennials/most-millennials-seen-worse-off-than-parents-despite-aptitude-study-idUSKBN1DE18M](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wealth-millennials/most-millennials-seen-worse-off-than-parents-despite-aptitude-study-idUSKBN1DE18M) The USA is not the world and the accumulation of wealth is not the sole metric of “better” ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162/80 "2019-11-08T20:02:48Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Then make that case to those people who hold that attitude. This response is targeted specifically at the people with that attitude. The people who want to use the same old debunked arguments, who just want to basically troll younger people. It’s for the people who like to drop “But he never produced the birth certificate” or “He’s secretly a Muslim [or better yet, Moslem]” into conversations about Obama, or who refuse to acknowledge that a difference exists between pure socialism and a democratic socialist. It’s the tired response of a generation of people who get prompted to re-hash old arguments every time they turn around by someone who thinks they are clever on the internet. The case has been made. The facts are out there for those receptive to them. Those who refuse to see them, and who continue to cling to the idea that it’s all just overblown, get dismissed by the people who want things to change for the better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-boomer/843162.md?page=5)