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Talking about my generation

Millennial has become a dirty word. If you Google it, you’ll be overwhelmed by a sea of think pieces about how lazy, entitled, delusional, shallow, oversensitive, apathetic and coddled we all are.

Baby Boomers and Gen Xers seem to think the average Millennial is an over-sharing narcissist with a smartphone in one hand and a participation trophy in the other. They’re not fans of us. In fact, I once heard a Baby Boomer call Millennials one of the worst generations in American history.

I don’t agree with most of the generalizations that get thrown at us, and I find the idea that we’re the worst generation just absurd. I don’t even think we’re in the bottom 10. I mean, there were several generations of Americans who owned slaves and systemically murdered Native Americans, but somehow Millennials are the true monsters because we take a lot of selfies.

I would put up more of a defense, maybe bring up some statistics that paint Millennials in a positive light, but I know all this criticism isn’t coming from a rational place. I try to be empathetic because I imagine it’s scary to see a group of upstarts step onto the stage while you are slowly shuffled off it.

And maybe some of these old curmudgeons have a point when they talk about how we don’t deserve all the comfort and shiny devices we were born into, but we also don’t deserve all the problems we got either: the crumbling economy, the devastated environment, etc. We didn’t earn the good or the bad, but we’re stuck with both and have to make do.

I know generational conflicts aren’t a new thing, and there’s nothing really unique about this current clash. It seems almost inevitable that old and young will duke it out, child rebelling against parent and parent judging child.

Perhaps it’s overly optimistic to think Millennials might break this cycle when it comes our time to exit the stage. Even if it is a bit delusional, I hold out hope that we’ll treat whatever weird generation that comes after us with some decency and understanding. I hope we’ll fade away with some grace.

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