Reminds me that the whole concept of generations is something manufactured of whole cloth and meant to divide us, but more than that, that real people are compassionate and understanding. All that stuff is just fake.

It gives me hope for unity.

  • merc
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    6 months ago

    People are obviously influenced by the way things were during their lives, especially when they were young and impressionable. But, the idea that there’s some kind of magic dividing line between “boomer” and “gen X” is ridiculous. And, aside from the boomers, the rate of birth has been pretty constant. So, there are just as many people who are halfway between X and Boomer as there people who are exactly in the middle of the X generation.

    In addition, “Millennial but grew up in a small rural town” probably has more in common with “Gen X” than “Millennial but grew up in New York City”. If you were in NYC you were almost certainly exposed to the dot-com boom, the first smartphones, etc. If you lived on a farm, that tech probably arrived years later.

    Generations are useful for rough shorthand, and are more meaningful when there’s something generation-defining like a war. But, people act like the year you were born defines who you are.