Tired: 'OK, Boomer.' Wired: 'Eat the Rich.'
Hello friends,
In this week's newsletter:
(1) My VICE column on how "ok boomer" rage suggests a healthy inclination to buck a morally bankrupt establishment, but also risks missing who's really to blame for today's crises.
(2) What I'm reading.
Tired: 'OK, Boomer.' Wired: 'Eat the Rich.'
My latest for VICE is about the "ok boomer" meme, and what it gets wrong about boomer power (note: I've removed the many links that are in the actual article for this excerpt for email delivery reasons):
We don't want to hear about avocado toast ever again—that’s the sentiment behind the explosive growth of “ok boomer,” the Gen Z and Millennial social media retort to complaints from the olds that has caught fire online in recent weeks.
“Ok boomer” first surfaced over a year ago, but it has taken off as a recognizable part of Internet vernacular more recently, especially on Gen Z-dominated social media platform TikTok. It’s a casual two-word phrase, but it’s packed with meaning: it represents young Americans’ exhaustion with having to counter dubious narratives of how they’re unprecedentedly narcissistic or sensitive or entitled or lazy. It’s also a conversation-ending rejoinder, dismissing the statement at hand as unworthy of engagement or rebuttal. The message is resonating to the point that some teens are making thousands of dollars off selling “ok boomer” merchandise. And its dismissiveness seems to be getting under the skin of many older Internet users—conservative radio host Bob Lonsberry called it the “n-word of ageism” in a now-deleted tweet (which received countless “ok boomer” replies in response).
When a middle-aged man records himself complaining about how kids these days all suffer from “Peter Pan syndrome,” one of those kids will remix the video to include themselves scribbling an “ok boomer” sign while bearing an impish grin. When a Baby Boomer columnist blames millennials for killing the power lunch with their addiction to smartphones, he’ll get barraged with “ok boomer” replies on Twitter. When old people say absurd things about how marijuana melts the brains of the youth: “ok boomer."
But “ok boomer” has quickly evolved into more than just a comeback. It also appears to represent a broader left-leaning ethos of anger, if not rage, over the daunting circumstances that young Americans have been born into. On social media posts, “ok boomer” is a meme and hashtag often tied to concerns about catastrophic climate change, inequality, racism, misogyny, student debt, and increases in the cost of living. There’s even a viral “ok boomer” song in which college student Jonathan Williams sings: “You're all old and racist / All about the fakeness / I'm tryna pay my bills but I'm all on the waitlist.” Later in the verse, Williams refers to MAGA hats as fascist, and expresses disdain for nationalism: “Say America again, I'm gonna take a piss.”
The irreverence of “ok boomer” and the worldview that it provides a glimpse into is encouraging—it suggests an interest in bucking the tattered political and economic establishment that’s been handed to the youth. But ultimately it remains crucial for young activists to remember that today’s inhospitable world is not the product of total consensus among the older generations. Rather, it’s a testament to the success of right-wing political projects—architected by elites—which dominated the latter half of the Cold War. After all, a lot of Boomers were once anti-war hippies and militant left-wing activists who fought for economic, racial, and gender equality. They didn’t all just flip into conservatives. Rather, they were overpowered by the right.
Read the rest here.
What I'm reading
Bill Gates hasn't ruled out a vote for Trump.
Mike Bloomberg is preparing to enter the Democratic presidential primary.
The debate over whether the very rich pay lower taxes than you, explained.
"What is smoking for? People who don’t smoke think it’s for feeding an addiction, and they’re right. Once you’ve started smoking, it’s hard to stop. But that’s a narrow definition. There’s a physical addiction and there’s also a spiritual addiction. Perhaps you could call it a metaphysical addiction."
Attention, T.I.: there’s no such thing as virginity.
I’ve reported in Ukraine for 10 Years. Please read this before you say anything else about impeachment.
Digging in to Warren's odds against Trump.
A young member of New Zealand's parliament delivering a slick "ok boomer" while talking about climate change.
The vigilante president.
How inflation is affecting low-income families.
Is this the beginning of the end for free parking in NYC?
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