I have come across a few articles over the last couple of days .
That honestly shocked me at my core
They were dripping with so much hate and venom toward the older generations
**Disclaimer **Before I go on I will make this clear I am not a boomer . Wrong generation..
I just don’t like the abuse and hate thrown their way. If after this you want to debate/ comment fine but let’s act civil. We are all human beings!!
They deserve respect as we all do.
Now let’s go on..
The articles were about the how hard the younger generations have it. I will give my thoughts and explanations on why I think every generation has had bad .
Let’s examine this fairly . Now I’m not going to get in the mathematics because the pay scale has changed ..We all know about inflation/ Let’s look at the whole picture shall we ..Not a tiny piece of the puzzle.
Here are facts: The older generations left their parent’s homes earlier than they do now . This is a fact. There were many reasons for this.
1. First and foremost there was usually some type of abuse in the home they wanted to escape. They didn’t have the luxury of staying with their parents til they could get on their feet. This affected both males and females. This is why most got married early-to make their own family.
2. They were forced out by no fault of their own/ with no warning (This happened to both my grandfather and my husband) In my grandfather’s case he arrived home one day and his belongings were on the doorstep.
The door was locked and his mother would not answer the door.
**How did my grandfather survive basically being thrown on the street you ask? By going into restaurants and asking for hot water. What did he do with that he mixed in ketchup and that was his meal. That’s it. But he had it easy right?
He scraped by over the years doing anything he could whatever that was. He took small jobs, he hustled, he scammed, anything to survive. He did it. Fast forward when I was 12 he had built his own business. It was a small tire store/barber shop. He owned his own home that my grandmother still lives in to this day.
How did he do it? He did what was necessary . He worked hard. Now yes I understand in his early years he didn’t always follow the legal line or he skirted it. My point is he did what he needed to do to survive on the streets til he could build his self up. Jobs those days were not easy to find.
In my husband’s case it happened when he graduated high school and his parents were no longer getting a check for him.
( when you are disabled your child can also get a check til they get out of school)
He was told this I got you a place the end. No discussion just out of the blue Boom!
3. Most get caught up in the mathematics. Yes things cost more today of course but people still couldnt afford the basics back then with what little they received.
Could U imagine working for change nowadays? Not even a dollar. Well my grandmother did for a insurance company. They still sometimes had to eat the barest of food -onion sandwiches. Ask a old person what did they eat growing up?
You will surprised at what they ate to survive. Heck some lived on what they produced in a garden(that you have to take care of) or hunted(my husband still hunts to this day.
During covid when meat was scarce around our area it helped us in so many ways. Still today we don’t buy much meat. Pretty soon we will have a cow butchered and have freezers full again.
4. The work was harder /the hours were longer/ no rules were set in place yet for breaks, *etc . You worked from sun up to sun down - You worked in the elements(Some still do) , Manual labor, back breaking jobs no vacation time, no holidays, no sick days, no time off work cause your wife had a baby(they would have laughed in your face or fired you on the spot)
* even when I was a teenager I never got all my breaks that was required by law and By law was supposed to only work til 10 pm since I was in school. Nope I was locked in . My Dad would come get me and they would unlock it when they felt I was done. By the way this is a company you might b familiar with Walmart . Did I get paid for this extra time doubtful. I just wanted money of my own so bad I dealt with it.
But the older generations have it easier you say? Is that so? Many of the things you take for granted they didn’t have. Please think about that. They took what they could get to survive. They didn’t have the luxury to say this job is beneath me, it’s not paying enough, I’m working myself to the bone.
They wanted any job to put food in their bellies, to feed their children
They had no alternative. It was survival. They had no safe cushion to go back to if it was too hard. It was work hard or have no home.
The older generations had it just as bad as the younger generations do now. They had to work themselves ragged to afford what they have now. This leads me to my next point
5. If the older generations had/have it so good why are more older people working? Even people on Social security have to work because they do not get enough to buy food and pay bills.
Most have no husbands(they passed away) and they cant make it on one paycheck like everyone else.
Where is the hoarded wealth I have seen people talk about?
I have seen one lady in her 70’s still working at walmart . She uses a walker but she still goes to work everyday. Why? Because she has too! She has no alternative. Have you ever had to make the decision between food or your electricity being paid/heat?
6. Ponder this scenario you have worked at a company for years and years . You finally have a pretty good wage. Then all of a sudden a young person starts working at the company for the same wage you worked years and years for. Is that fair? But yet the older generations have it better than us. It’s so hard, I don’t want to work my whole life, you had it easier, etc
No most young people don’t know the sacrifices older people have had to deal with. They have dealt with the same system. Is it worse hell yeah! But They took 2-3 jobs to afford that house you hate them for.
They didn’t spend much time with their families. They had to work to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly. Yet you say the world’s ills are at their feet and they are the cause. They had it so much better lol. You call them names like boomer, you say who will take care of them when they are older, I hope they die so new blood will change the world, etc
They were born in the same system as you.
Blame the true culprits which created this since the beginning of our creation. The same system who started taxing your income so long ago . Those who tax you to death, those who give your money to other nations, to other people, to pet projects, they waste your money on nonsense, on drama theater. Talk about inflation..Did you cause inflation? Did I? Did they?
Who is in charge? Put the blame where it lies. If you are mad at having to work til U are old. Blame the government, blame your representatives, Roar and get your voices heard. Will it change? Doubtful the world has always and will forever b in this discrepancy between the rich and the poor..
But what you don’t do is try to say you are the only generation who has had it hard nor the only place where people have had to work hard.
If this was true why do we have people coming in our country and pretty much taking over our towns? They have opportunities here. They work hard. They are doing the jobs you think are beneath you. They are owning property , they are creating businesses (yes they do get handouts BUT they don’t sit on their butts whining about the unfairness of life.)
People who come to America do so at their own peril. The journey is treacherous but also the cartel abuses men, women, and children.
They are told they will b brought here for a certain price and then the cartel says you owe us more. Some are treated as slaves.
Yet for all of this they come here. It is not stopping ..
Where they come from is sometimes a third world country. They know poor. You think your money doesn’t go far? Try it around the world. The dollar goes farther.
They will gladly take that job you turn your nose at.
How about working in a sweatshop as a child? Some countries have zero child labor laws.,Some countries don’t have running water, air conditioners, electricity, they live in war torn countries, they can’t go to school, even at a early age they are expected to follow in their parent’s footsteps.
I know people in China and South Korea have such a hard work ethic that children commit suicide. They cant deal with the pressure, the expectations.
I know some people whose parents were poor they were farmers/they sold kabobs to passerbys. They knew that life and they wanted more. They wanted it for themselves and to help their parents(cause unlike America other countries respect their elders)
They worked hard, they took chances, they looked for opportunities, they hardly ate or slept. What they didn’t do is say it’s too hard. I’m not going to try. Now these same people are billionaires.
How about famous people who dropped out of school / college and made their own company. Now they are billionaires.
Their circumstances/nor the system kept them from trying. They made the decision to try in spite of the system (the system you think your generation is the only one who has had to deal with)
Here’s the thing about life you can say poor is me or work for what you want. You can give up or have a backbone. You can have nothing or work towards something. I know it seems things are unattainable.
If this was so how do others make it ? Others whose lives were fraught with more hardship than you will ever know. It wasn’t given to them. Chalk it up to luck? Or did they bust their ass not knowing if they would b successful, through obstacles, through tragedy, They did what they had to do to survive , They worked hard to eke out what they wanted.
Nothing is guaranteed in life .You pull yourself up as best you can. You work in this system we have , have always had.
There are two types of people whiners and doers which are you?
Now I will admit I feel bad for the younger generation because they have nothing to look forward to at the end of their working lives.
My nephews will not have Social security.
Most certainly they will have to work longer. Land, buying a house, a car is so expensive!
It’s daunting..It’s unfortunate.. It’s BS. But guess what my father is still working even after a stroke. He couldn’t talk right for months after. He still went to work after a few days. Actually at work is when it happened. He cant afford to not work. He is the breadwinner. The one who has taken care of my mom (housewife) all her life.
Everyone has to work longer these days even those boomers!! Old and young…Noone is exempt well except the inept government. It is as it has always been. Adapt, make money on youtube, b a influencer, do what you can that’s all anyone can do.
But make no mistake we all have had to deal with this. We all have had to work our fingers to the bone. Your generation is not special nor should we take away something they worked hard for..just to make your lives easier.
We are all in this system . Unless you were born rich then you are one of the lucky ones. Don’t hate older people cause they have more.
You don’t know the hours they worked, the sacrifices, or maybe it was given to them . You don’t know their hardships
What you see is a system put in place from our creation. Point your fingers at the right villains of this world.
Have they made mistakes yes! They believed in a world that never was. They trusted in a government that never cared. They still do and that is the downfall of us all.
Next time you want to talk so venomously about the older generations. Think of your mother who wiped your behind. Think of your father you hardly saw because he was too busy working.
Think of your grandparents. Really ask them how was life back then? When they answer listen.
What this world needs is more compassion. Not misplaced blame. We all should come together and quit fighting amongst ourselves. We need to band together and put our anger to the right ones. Not people caught in it like everyone else.
The thing is the younger generation does. The older generation’s only fault is they trusted the government. Some still do like my 80 something year old grandmother. They just can’t fathom the government would lie, the news would lie.
You are correct:) If only we all could see it for what it is. Some just can’t .
@Charlotte Pendragon I ran into one myself here and this is why I wrote this ..I will Thank them though for the inspiration :) I have seen it on many social sites. People like this are not critical thinkers. They just spew forth what they have heard.
You must hate old people. I get labeled a boomer myself lol . I have the audacity to take up for them.
I find it pretty funny that the same people who do this don’t want to be labeled themselves..I also notice they can’t debate with you in any coherent way just Boomer.
I don’t argue with them any longer. I love a good debate but they never ever give me one.