Generations
Interesting
how we separate and name different generations.
There are
generations we never really met, known as “The
Olden Days.”
There is the
generation of my parents, WW II or “The
Greatest Generation”, then we had Beatniks, Hippies,
Yippies, Yuppies, Generation X and
currently Millennials.
Each
generation has its own music, its own way to dress, and it’s own
expressions. I find it interesting that
with each generation attitudes change along with descriptive phrases. Expressions seem to escalate.
For instance,
the Greatest Generation would say something good was…”Good.” Beatniks would call something good… “like
cool.”
It is easy to
identify someone’s generation in just how they describe different events.
Something good:
“You’re getting a raise in pay.”
The olden
days – “OK”
WWII – “That’s nice”
Beatniks – “Like OK…cool.”
Hippies – “Like no way man, far out, more time to make
love and tune out.”
Yippies – Dude, that’s gnarly! …but how much more is ‘the
man’ getting?
Yuppies – “Excellent!”
Gen X’s – “Awesome, when is my next raise?”
Millennials –
“That’s like super epically awesome, so
do I also get more personal days?”
If something
is not so good:
“I’m going to have to let you go.”
The olden
days – “OK”
WWII – “Darn”
Beatniks – “Huh…I don’t have to work? That’s cool.”
Hippies – “Let go from what, I already tuned out?”
Yippies – “Bummer”
Yuppies – “Damn”
Gen X’s – “Fuck you, I found a better job for much
more money.”
Millennials –
“What? Can you do that? Where do I go to
file a complaint?”
Generations
react differently to stress:
“We’re going to need this finished by
Monday.”
The olden
days – “OK”
WWII – “I’m on it.”
Beatniks – “Relax man, it’ll get done some time.”
Hippies – “We’ll see, whatever.”
Yippies – “Damn, I don’t think it can be done.”
Yuppies – “I’m worried, that’s going to take several all-nighters.”
Gen X’s – “Dude, I am FREAKING OUT!”
Millennials –
“I
am extra SUPER FREAKING OUT!”
On spending
money:
The olden
days – “Just going to make do somehow.”
WWII – “We need to save for a rainy day.”
Beatniks – “Hey daddio, you like have some extra bread?”
Hippies – “Make it, grow it, borrow it or steal it.”
Yippies – “Guess I have to get a job.”
Yuppies – “I need it, I can charge it and pay for it
in a few payments.”
Gen X’s – “I want it, I can charge it and my credit
score will go up.”
Millennials –
“I really want it, can I just open one
more line of credit and pay the minimum amount for the rest of my life?”
I’m a little
worried about the newest generation that is now just learning to walk. They will probably do just fine. To them, my generation will be “The Olden Days” and they will be super
radically epic and excellently awesome!
THE WHO
“Talking Bout My Generation”
Ah ... thanx for the memories ... The Who, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Sonny & Cher, Mammas & Pappas, Elvis, The Beach Boys, The Monkees and many others. Those were the days when ladies could come on stage and sing without having to take their clothes off like today's crop of singers. (Not that I mind).
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment on my Blog. I have responded there.
God bless.
You nailed this. Very well done, but some is frightening. I think we'll all be okay in the end. I hope so anyway.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. 😎
I DO say things like; cool, epic, gnarly, bummer....but I get really 'uptight' with the effusive use of the word 'awesome' lol.
ReplyDeleteYou're woke, bro.
ReplyDeleteYou're really cool, and i know you're on it.
ReplyDeleteSounds pretty accurate to me!
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of the OK generation who just got on wit it and didn't bother about complaining because there wasn't any point to that.
ReplyDeleteProbably accurate, for the most part. I have to hope for the best out of the Millennials, though. Some of them are pretty good folks, and well, they'll be here when I'm gone.
ReplyDeleteWondering where I fit in! I seem to remember using OKAY a lot. My mother would have knocked me flying if she knew half the expressions I used.
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant post! Love your take on what the millennials would say. I was a teenager in the 60s so I think your post is fab.
ReplyDeleteI remember when The Who (or what was left of them - Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend) did the Super Bowl halftime show. Something kinda pathetic about a couple of 60+-year-olds singing "hope I die before I get old". Too late, bro. . .
ReplyDeleteThat was fun and gives me a better understanding for some of the newer generations. Think I am a mix of WWII with shades of Beatnik and a smattering of Olden days.
ReplyDeleteJust a minor thing, but I have been told that when a Millenial is told it has to be done by a certain time, they'll say "sure, no problem", but then it simply would never happen. My eldest daughter and her hubby (both in their mid forties, and have people "under" them) have had this somewhat frustrating experience.
ReplyDeletePersonally, back in the day when I had some sort of supervisory roll, anyone who did that might get away with it once, but then they'd be gone. Having someone call from the Emergency (because you're in surgery) would be pretty much the only excuse. Or a family member died suddenly. Like that.
I am technically in the baby boomer hippies age, but don't really fit. So great to see how thought processes morphed. Will have to send this to my kids.
ReplyDeleteLike the idea of the generations perspective which is fun and and novel — The Greatest Generation is a bit of classic hyperbole I thought when it was first coined (for effect), though compared to 2016 and since, has become true for our lifetimes — but this “okay” view of my olden generation doesn’t mesh for me, my life, or friends who are part of that group. That “okay” word characterization is lacking, but then a lot of generalizations I’ve read written elsewhere about us, what we liked, what we did or didn’t do, just didn't apply to the lives being led by many of us. Also, for example, our jazz we sometimes spoke of being “cool” then, and there was even what was referred to as so-called hip terminology. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm a typical Boomer, but I think the Millenials get a bad rap sometimes.
ReplyDelete