# Spoiled millenial profiled in New York Times **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 8, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979 "2010-07-08T17:10:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/21 "2010-07-08T20:22:06Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Actually, I kinda like the story…at least the first page of it, didn’t read the rest of it. Sums up many of the problems of today’s youth. The real world can be a harsh place. They don’t seem to get that, because today’s helicopter parents rush to smooth over all the problems the kids had growing up. These kids really expect a happy ending (the storybook kind, not a handjob). > > Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go chase those damn kids off my lawn again. We ought to be chasing them _all_ off their _own_ lawns - their _families’_ lawns. They’d be better prepared for productive adulthood if they were homeless, wigged out from lack of Paxil and Zoloft and bumfighting each other for dumpster scraps. Believe it? Neither do I. But that’s all some of us think the younger generation - or the unemployed of _any_ generation - deserve. The kids don’t expect a “happy ending.” They expect the breaks earlier generations had, and no one’s given them a good reason why they’re not going to get them or what they can do in their absence. And please, simple thinkers, spare us your homespun crackerbarrel bullshit about the work ethic. It’s what’s broken, not the kids. Saying “the world can be a harsh place” is somewhere between complacent and smug. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/22 "2010-07-08T20:23:22Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I don’t see how. I think it may sum up the problems of a class that basically expects good things to be all but handed to them. Here’s his grandfather: But you know what? Most of “today’s youth” don’t know “somebody who knows someone” “who can get [them] to the head of the line,” nor do they even have relatives that have any illusions about that prospect. > > Hell, that’s the nature of a line: most people in it aren’t at the head of it, so there’s only so many people who can be boosted to the head of the line by their connections. > > This kid obviously has an inflated sense of how much of a boost his family connections might get him, right off the bat. I don’t think he’s at all representative of “today’s youth.” The grandfather is right about the best way of getting a job. It doesn’t have to be through family connections, it can be through getting out there. Even new graduates can do it - my daughter is excellent at this. What bugs me is that this guy from a good but not great college and a new BA thinks he deserves a top job just for existing. The job he got offered doesn’t have to be a dead end job if he plays his cards right, and is really as smart as he thinks he is. If he really wants to start at the top - or higher - he should get his granddad to pay for an MBA. But experience in the real world is good even for that. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/23 "2010-07-08T20:36:09Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > We ought to be chasing them _all_ off their _own_ lawns - their _families’_ lawns. They’d be better prepared for productive adulthood if they were homeless, wigged out from lack of Paxil and Zoloft and bumfighting each other for dumpster scraps. > > Believe it? Neither do I. But that’s all some of us think the younger generation - or the unemployed of _any_ generation - deserve. > > The kids don’t expect a “happy ending.” They expect the breaks earlier generations had, and no one’s given them a good reason why they’re not going to get them or what they can do in their absence. > > And please, simple thinkers, spare us your homespun crackerbarrel bullshit about the work ethic. It’s what’s broken, not the kids. Saying “the world can be a harsh place” is somewhere between complacent and smug. You know what? I’m of an earlier generation and I got NO breaks that I didn’t make on my own and the ones in the generations earlier than me earned their breaks in Vietnam and Korea. The last 30 years are chock full of big success stories that came from people making their own way (see Microsoft, Google, Apple). Today is different than yesterday, the breaks ain’t comin’ and if you sit around bitchin’ about how you never get a break, you’ll go broke. And if the ‘famous-for-being-famous’ bit is what you’re looking for in a break? Dream on, pumpkin. Success is nothing more than a manifestation of hard work, intelligence and luck. If you try to be successful without any of those three things, you’ll fail, no matter what you do. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/24 "2010-07-08T20:39:36Z")
Tell that to Paris Hilton. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/25 "2010-07-08T20:41:59Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > You know what? I’m of an earlier generation and I got NO breaks that I didn’t make on my own and the ones in the generations earlier than me earned their breaks in Vietnam and Korea. The last 30 years are chock full of big success stories that came from people making their own way (see Microsoft, Google, Apple). > > Today is different than yesterday, the breaks ain’t comin’ and if you sit around bitchin’ about how you never get a break, you’ll go broke. And if the ‘famous-for-being-famous’ bit is what you’re looking for in a break? Dream on, pumpkin. > > Success is nothing more than a manifestation of hard work, intelligence and luck. If you try to be successful without any of those three things, you’ll fail, no matter what you do. Excellent argument against compassion. Even a hand up is a handout. When did the work ethic become a cudgel of the self-righteous? ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/26 "2010-07-08T20:53:39Z")
Frankly, the response to the article\* has been more annoying to me than the article itself. Everyone over the age of 35 seems to be pointing at it and saying “SEE! My antipathy toward the younger generation is totally justified and I am in no way like my parents when they complained about me!” The kid doesn’t represent anyone other than himself, and what he chooses to do with his life isn’t any of our business until he’s asking us for money. If he doesn’t see any problem with being picky in the course of his job search and his family has no problem supporting him, then good on him for being fortunate. The vitriolic responses the story has generated seem to me to be motivated by jealousy more than anything else. But why let logic get in the way of complaining about kids these days and their rap music? \*I should mention I’m not referring to this board exclusively; I’ve seen this article discussed on several websites and blogs. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/27 "2010-07-08T20:58:58Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > Frankly, the response to the article\* has been more annoying to me than the article itself. Everyone over the age of 35 seems to be pointing at it and saying “SEE! My antipathy toward the younger generation is totally justified and I am in no way like my parents when they complained about me!” > > The kid doesn’t represent anyone other than himself, and what he chooses to do with his life isn’t any of our business until he’s asking us for money. If he doesn’t see any problem with being picky in the course of his job search and his family has no problem supporting him, then good on him for being fortunate. The vitriolic responses the story has generated seem to me to be motivated by jealousy more than anything else. > > But why let logic get in the way of complaining about kids these days and their rap music? > > \*I should mention I’m not referring to this board exclusively; I’ve seen this article discussed on several websites and blogs. I disagree. I suspect the anger is not motivated simply by jealousy, but by a widespread unwillingness to question the status quo, and by fear of what will happen if too many people begin to question it. We’re in a very tricky place right now as a nation. We’re all right with individuals taking charge of their own destiny, but even the possibility of a mass movement in that direction has a lot of us shitting their pants - even as these same people bemoan the lack of community in modern life. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/28 "2010-07-08T21:20:44Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > Frankly, the response to the article\* has been more annoying to me than the article itself. Everyone over the age of 35 seems to be pointing at it and saying “SEE! My antipathy toward the younger generation is totally justified and I am in no way like my parents when they complained about me!” > > The kid doesn’t represent anyone other than himself, and what he chooses to do with his life isn’t any of our business until he’s asking us for money. If he doesn’t see any problem with being picky in the course of his job search and his family has no problem supporting him, then good on him for being fortunate. The vitriolic responses the story has generated seem to me to be motivated by jealousy more than anything else. > > But why let logic get in the way of complaining about kids these days and their rap music? > > \*I should mention I’m not referring to this board exclusively; I’ve seen this article discussed on several websites and blogs. Hey, I’m 23 and posted negatively about his decision. Maybe my parents did raise me to see realistic standards. Maybe I realized along the line that instead of getting a liberal arts degree over 4 years, going to a trade-based course for 2 years would do me better. Maybe this is why I have money and my friends who all went to university and aren’t doing anything with their degrees don’t. Maybe I am a little bit jealous. I have a good career, but it’ll take a few years before I see as much money as he was offered. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/29 "2010-07-08T21:25:46Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > Frankly, the response to the article\* has been more annoying to me than the article itself. Everyone over the age of 35 seems to be pointing at it and saying “SEE! My antipathy toward the younger generation is totally justified and I am in no way like my parents when they complained about me!” > > The kid doesn’t represent anyone other than himself, and what he chooses to do with his life isn’t any of our business until he’s asking us for money. If he doesn’t see any problem with being picky in the course of his job search and his family has no problem supporting him, then good on him for being fortunate. The vitriolic responses the story has generated seem to me to be motivated by jealousy more than anything else. > > But why let logic get in the way of complaining about kids these days and their rap music? > > \*I should mention I’m not referring to this board exclusively; I’ve seen this article discussed on several websites and blogs. Dunno if it’s an age thing. I’m 43 and my response is above. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/30 "2010-07-08T21:51:27Z")
I think the fact he got his associates degree from Summer’s Eve Community College is what is really holding him back. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/31 "2010-07-08T21:55:47Z")
Can we compare and contrast this to old bags that think the world owes them one big, giant, perpetual favor and talk about entitlement then? But I do find it real amusing that people that are simultaneously bitching at him for being a choosy beggar in a depression/recession are so confident that he can parlay a shit job into high riches just as soon as he gets a little 'sperience under his belt. I mean, sure, I probably would not scoff at the job as he did, but then again, that’s his choice and if he truly believes that it will not be to his benefit, and he’s not hurting anyone, then what right does anyone have to complain? Acting as if you can’t ever put yourself on a permanent path by a single bad decision is foolhardy. Maybe he’s wrong in his choice, maybe he’s not. What’s it to you? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/32 "2010-07-08T21:57:42Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Dunno if it’s an age thing. I’m 43 and my response is above. You’re Gen X. (I’m 43 myself.) The pull-up-the-ladder sentiment comes overwhelmingly from Boomers and older. Ironic, isn’t it, that they don’t want the generation who’ll be paying for their old age benefits to have a fighting chance. Maybe the worry is that if Gen Y catches a break instead of having to bootstrap it into their 40s, they’re liable to forge some new communitarian ethic that means America won’t be the biggest baddest bully on the economic or military block anymore, and that, in turn, will bring about some nameless jack-off fantasy of Armageddon, with starving millions expiring while White babies roast on scimitars in the Capitol rotunda. Under this scenario, they couldn’t care less whether they get their check or not - until they don’t, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/33 "2010-07-08T22:04:03Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > The last 30 years are chock full of big success stories that came from people making their own way (see Microsoft, Google, Apple). Maybe the guys who built these companies didn’t get things handed to them, but the circumstances of their lives certainly played a big role in their success. Most came from well-off to very wealthy families, and the way they grew up gave them a tremendous advantage. Bill Gates went to an exclusive private school that had a computer in the classroom in the 1960’s. Sergey Brin’s parents were both professors of Computer Science at Michigan State. Steve Jobs grew up in Silicon Valley and had a job at Hewlett Packard as a high-schooler. I’m about ten years younger than Jobs and Gates but I didn’t even see a computer until high school, where we had one terminal. Maybe those guys made their own way, but the skids were very well greased. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/34 "2010-07-08T22:14:09Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Maybe the guys who built these companies didn’t get things handed to them, but the circumstances of their lives certainly played a big role in their success. Most came from well-off to very wealthy families, and the way they grew up gave them a tremendous advantage. Bill Gates went to an exclusive private school that had a computer in the classroom in the 1960’s. Sergey Brin’s parents were both professors of Computer Science at Michigan State. Steve Jobs grew up in Silicon Valley and had a job at Hewlett Packard as a high-schooler. > > I’m about ten years younger than Jobs and Gates but I didn’t even see a computer until high school, where we had one terminal. Maybe those guys made their own way, but the skids were very well greased. Speaking of Bill Gates, I wish we could have some Twilight Zone episode of the SDMB: Scene: Mid 1970s, magically internet and message boards have large proliferation in the world, despite the absence of a particular operating system Board: The BBQ Pit Thread: Spoiled rich kid quit from Harvard University Date: July 10, 1975 Author: Outraged Greatest Generation Wanker Post: So this kid, pimply faced and fresh out of high school, decided to drop out of Harvard university to form this stupid company called “Microsoft”. Gawd, he took the space out of high school that some more dedicated, deserving student could have had. Where I come from, you finish what you start, goll darn it! And I had to walk 70 miles to school, both ways uphill! I can’t believe they’re wasting valuable newsprint on this entitled asshole! ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/35 "2010-07-08T22:18:32Z")
> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > Can we compare and contrast this to old bags that think the world owes them one big, giant, perpetual favor and talk about entitlement then? Sorry, no. See **buttonjockey308** ’s post again. The male oldies earned their out by showing up when they gave a war. (But where does that leave the females?) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/36 "2010-07-08T22:20:59Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > You’re Gen X. (I’m 43 myself.) The pull-up-the-ladder sentiment comes overwhelmingly from Boomers and older. Ironic, isn’t it, that they don’t want the generation who’ll be paying for their old age benefits to have a fighting chance. Ooo, you’re so right. I should never forget that all my potential Social Security and health benefits will come from the starveling youth of today. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!! > [@](#): > > Maybe the worry is that if Gen Y catches a break instead of having to bootstrap it into their 40s, they’re liable to forge some new communitarian ethic that means America won’t be the biggest baddest bully on the economic or military block anymore, and that, in turn, will bring about some nameless jack-off fantasy of Armageddon, with starving millions expiring while White babies roast on scimitars in the Capitol rotunda. Stop it, you’re getting me hot. 🆒 The article in the OP gets a “meh” from me, after having seen another recent article about law schools applying retroactive grade inflation to their students so that everybody will be above average and look good to job recruiters. In addition, some law schools are _paying_ law firms to take on their graduates. It’s all going to hell in a handbag, yes indeed. My first job paid $6600. A year. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/37 "2010-07-08T22:37:06Z")
> [@Camus](#): > > And, for those who haven’t read the article, if his “college training” is referring to what his degree is in, it’s going to be next to impossible to find a corporate job that really draws on his bachelor of arts in political science (and his history minor) without also having any other kind of graduate degree or special experience. As someone who also got a poli sci degree (which as an undergrad degree is as useful job-wise as a philosophy or English degree), so long as he is interested in history and puts in at least a minimum amount of time studying, it’s not particularly difficult to get good grades in this area. He has a B.A. in PoliSci!?! God help him… Friar Ted B.A. in PoliSci, Minor in Psych Position: Customer Service Supervisor in Retail Sales ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/38 "2010-07-08T22:41:28Z")
Why does this kid with the degree and experience (or lack of) he has think he should have anything OTHER than an entry level position? Not enough money? Okay, maybe. Not that kind of position? Okay, maybe. Not in the insurance field? Okay, but WTF did he even apply then? But does he really expect some business to put him in charge of something at 23, no significant experience, and a poly sci degree? Besides maybe some place like Cliff Notes. Hell, virtually every person that gets a degrees that ACTUALLY trains you for your job like engineers, chemists, scientists…even THOSE people generally start at the bottom barring amazing credentials, great connections, a rare skill, or damn good luck. The kid’s delusional. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/39 "2010-07-08T22:43:03Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > And please, simple thinkers, spare us your homespun crackerbarrel bullshit about the work ethic. It’s what’s broken, not the kids. Saying “the world can be a harsh place” is somewhere between complacent and smug. > [@shy\_guy](#): > > Frankly, the response to the article\* has been more annoying to me than the article itself. Everyone over the age of 35 seems to be pointing at it and saying “SEE! My antipathy toward the younger generation is totally justified and I am in no way like my parents when they complained about me!” Yeah? Well, it’s been a very long couple of weeks, and I’m just not in the mood for a multipage flamefest. Let’s just pretend that so terrible was my wrath that my vitriol in my response to both of you melted the internet, and then y’all fixed it and remelted it with your replies to me, and call it even. ---
**Author:** ![pabstist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e99b99/32.png) [@pabstist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pabstist)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979/40 "2010-07-09T03:18:02Z")
My BIL, 28 years old, dropped out of community college because he knew more than the professors. He has been unemployed for over a year and lives with his parents. He has had a few job interviews, but hasn’t taken any offers because he thinks he is worth more than $15 an hour. His last job was touching up high school senior photos and removing zits. Why do under-educated, inexperienced people think that some human resource person will find them valuable or worth hiring? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-millenial-profiled-in-new-york-times/545979.md?page=3)