I did not like that quiz. Did not reflect me at all. I spent my younger years working, studying, drinking, and chasing nooky. Not in that order.
An Anonymous
March 5, 2014 3:57 pm
The best time for an American to have been born would have been about 1910. You would have been young enough to miss WW1, just old enought to miss WW2 and the Korean War, and too far along to miss the tag-team wars since then. You would have hit your peak earning years as Truman was ending the depression and the Eisenhower economy was booming. Likely your kids would have been too old to have been drafted to kill commies in Viet-Nam.
On the other hand you would have grown up BI and BA (Before Internet and Before Administrator) so’d you probably have believed what you were told, volunteered during WW2, and forced your kids to enlist for later military service. That’s why, if you’re still alive, you had your leg amputated after that war wound and your kid’s name is on the war memorial wall.
Zarathustra
March 5, 2014 4:06 pm
That isn’t a test. It’s a stupid fucking statement from an unemployed millenial who lives with his/her parents.
Stephanie Shepard
Author
March 5, 2014 4:09 pm
[img[/img]
Stucky
March 5, 2014 4:30 pm
A stupid “test” link posted by our local disgruntled Salad Prep genius, Clameltoe Kuntweed.
Don’t waste your time!!
NO MATTER WHAT ANSWERS YOU SELECT THE FOLLOWING WILL APPEAR AT THE END;
“SCREW YOU. Your generation was the most selfish, entitled one in history. Your major legacy will include massive unsustainable government programs that only served your generation, horrible music, and horrendous fashion. You will suck all government safety net programs dry while saddling the next generation with $17 trillion-plus in debt. Don’t mind us while we pick up the pieces from the economy you wrecked. Enjoy comfortably retiring at the age of 65 — you’re the last generation that will ever get that. Thanks a bunch.”
Utter waste of time. Much like responding to Clams.
Iska Waran
March 5, 2014 4:32 pm
This whole discussion reminds me of a guy I knew in college. He was from a small town. I was from a city. He said “you city guys think you’re better than us”. I said I’d never thought anything at all about small town kids one way or the other. I didn’t have a bad opinion about small town kids because I didn’t have ANY opinion about small town kids. From what I see here, it appears that “millenials” (whoever the fuck they’re supposed to be anyway) spend a lot of time thinking about other generations and about what those other generations think about millenials. Honestly I don’t give a fuck one way or the other. I don’t even know who’s a Gen X and who’s a Gen Y and who’s a Millenial. I certainly haven’t gone to the trouble to formulate a Unified Field Theory of generational traits. I just think anyone who texts while walking across a crosswalk is an idiot. And when Miley Cyrus sticks her tongue out it makes her look retarded or like she’s having a seizure or something.
Stephanie Shepard
Author
March 5, 2014 4:40 pm
Stucky- How many times did you take the quiz? Lulz…
Treemagnet
March 5, 2014 4:50 pm
How many kinds of asshole are there?
AWD
March 5, 2014 4:56 pm
There are different kinds of baby boomers?
You mean some aren’t obese slobs?
You mean some don’t have Hepatitis B & C?
You mean some don’t have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, COPD, joint pain, sleep apnea, heart disease, diabetes, and aren’t on 12 meds that the don’t pay for themselves?
You mean some have morals, values, and ethics?
You mean some actually buy products that aren’t made in a foreign country?
You mean some aren’t self-centered pigs and don’t believe the world revolves around them?
You mean some actually care what’s going to happen to this country when they’re gone?
You mean some didn’t reverse mortgage their house and run up their credit cards?
You mean some actually saved for retirement?
I’m shocked I tell, just plain shocked
sensetti
March 5, 2014 5:00 pm
Thanks Stucky, you always try these exercises first and then warn the rest of us not to bother, you’ve saved me hours. Thanks again.
AWD
March 5, 2014 5:02 pm
Interesting conversation between “grandma” from the hero generation, and her “grandson”, obviously an echo-boomer. Explains pretty well what the boomers did to this country:
“The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.
The Grandma replied, “Well, let me think a minute. I was born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. There was no radar, credit cards, laser beams or ballpoint pens.
Man had not invented panty hose, air conditioners, dishwashers or clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air, and man hadn’t yet walked on the moon.
Your grandfather and I got married first – and then lived together. Every family had a father and a mother. Until I was 25, I called every man older than I, ‘Sir.’ We were before gay rights, computer dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy. Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong, and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege. We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started. Timesharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends – not purchasing condominiums.
We never heard of FM radios. And I don’t ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey. If you saw anything with ‘Made in Japan’ on it, it was junk. The term ‘making out’ referred to how you did on your school exam. Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and instant coffee were unheard of.
We had five and 10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for five and 10 cents. Ice cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. And if you didn’t want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and two postcards. You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.
In my day, ‘grass’ was mowed, ‘coke’ was a cold drink, ‘pot’ was something your mother cooked in, and ‘rock music’ was your grandmother’s lullaby. ‘Aids’ were helpers in the Principal’s office, ‘chip’ meant a piece of wood, ‘hardware’ was found in a hardware store, and ‘software’ wasn’t even a word. We were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us ‘old and confused’ and say there is a generation gap.”
ragman
March 5, 2014 5:52 pm
Fuck your quiz! I am the boomer from your worse nightmare. I have no debt, either credit card or mortgage, no hepatitis or diabetes, pay for everything, married to the same wonderful lady for 44yrs , &tc. As miserable as you are, I’ll still give you a nice tip for good service!
HalfPint
March 5, 2014 6:09 pm
Ragman, ditto. It’s got to be “good” service.
Olga
March 5, 2014 7:50 pm
As a 54 year old boomer from rural, rust-belt Michigan that quiz did not resonate with me.
I would like to see some more study given to the “Silent Generation”.
After reading the Fourth Turning I am convinced that particular generation’s conscious lack of involvement or engagement in our culture – deferring passively to whatever either the can-do-no-wrong GI’s or the can-not-be-wrong boomers decided upon because the wealth and security was a given and boats should not be rocked – has more to do with where we are as a Nation than some would believe.
When I follow the money I find the very first wave of boomers and the Silents.
Stephanie Shepard
Author
March 5, 2014 8:01 pm
“When I follow the money I find the very first wave of boomers and the Silents.”
You should know that there are many others that the money leads to. Being from Michigan I would think you would acknowledge pensions as part of the problem.
MuckAbout
March 5, 2014 9:42 pm
@Olga: I’m a Silent. I started working at 12 with a paper route. Joined the Navy at 18, married at 19, two kids by 21. Starved out of college in two years (no G.I. Bill back then) and went to work to support the family.
I did my research and voted in every election since (2014 and 2016 are in doubt as to whether or not I’ll bother). I’m a CLASSIC LIBERAL ( which today is totally twisted around to mean the opposite of what it used to be) mixed with sufficient libertarianism to mean I’m always open to new ideas, new methods and ways of doing things as long as you don’t try and cram them down my throat.
Back when I became of voting age, I was always outvoted by those who found out they could vote favors for themselves by voting for politicians who promised the most “Give aways”. It continues to this day – in SPADES (double meaning is meant to apply).
So don’t blame the “Silents” for your troubles. We worked our whole lives as productively as possible, raised families and paid our dues (taxes and military) and voted mostly independently. This is not my world. This is not the world I grew up in, served and worked in. My world was not selfish, you could find people on the street who’d meet your eye and return a “Good Morning!” instead of shuffling by, perhaps running into you as they stare at their stupid digital machine and tweet “I’m walking down the street!” to a thousand “followers”.
I will be long dead before I own a “smartphone” and “tweet” anyone.
So, to make it short and sweet, Olga, blow me..
MA
Thinker
March 5, 2014 9:54 pm
Olga and Muck, I’d actually like to have that conversation. It’s a worthwhile one, as Silents don’t get much recognition for their contributions to American society, yet have had profound effects, both positive and negative.
I think it’s an important conversation, given that kids born after 2005 are a new Artist archetype (same as Silents). Artist generations throughout history have been important (like the Compromise and Progressive gens), so it might be time to begin to think about the world that Homelanders will inherit and what they might do with it.
Zarathustra
March 5, 2014 10:24 pm
Olga, read my post above. It wasn’t a quiz, lay off the bong. Fuck, it probably took Stucky two or three tries to find out what I discovered merely by skimming it. But then I went to a State University, I own multiple choice exams.
Tator2
March 6, 2014 6:25 am
What most Millennials don’t understand is until 1987-1990 there was only a Liberal/Progressive press. It was MSNBC 24-7 on ABC,CBS, NBC, and PBS. The boomers who were not fortunate to have someone in their lives calling BS to what was in the press got propagandized with only the Liberal/Progressive entitlement line (SS, Medicaid, no need to save). What is hysterical is Millennials who complain about those selfish Boomers are just the end game of Liberal/Progressive meme (entitled to anything and everything)…think Boomer entitlement mentality on steroids.
I was damn lucky. I had a father who was Libertarian and an historian. By the time I was 15 he had already taught me SS would not be there for me and to prepare accordingly. Also, centralized governments grow and consume, eventually rendering the populace brain-dead dependents. Millennials prove that is spades.
When ever I meet the typical Millennial spouting Liberal/Progressive BS I ask them cite just one example where the quote below has not been true, which always illicits the deer-in-the-headlights look:
In all of history, no government became more honest, less corrupt, or granted its citizens more rights as it grew in size. E.L. 2011
I did not like that quiz. Did not reflect me at all. I spent my younger years working, studying, drinking, and chasing nooky. Not in that order.
The best time for an American to have been born would have been about 1910. You would have been young enough to miss WW1, just old enought to miss WW2 and the Korean War, and too far along to miss the tag-team wars since then. You would have hit your peak earning years as Truman was ending the depression and the Eisenhower economy was booming. Likely your kids would have been too old to have been drafted to kill commies in Viet-Nam.
On the other hand you would have grown up BI and BA (Before Internet and Before Administrator) so’d you probably have believed what you were told, volunteered during WW2, and forced your kids to enlist for later military service. That’s why, if you’re still alive, you had your leg amputated after that war wound and your kid’s name is on the war memorial wall.
That isn’t a test. It’s a stupid fucking statement from an unemployed millenial who lives with his/her parents.
[img
[/img]
A stupid “test” link posted by our local disgruntled Salad Prep genius, Clameltoe Kuntweed.
Don’t waste your time!!
NO MATTER WHAT ANSWERS YOU SELECT THE FOLLOWING WILL APPEAR AT THE END;
“SCREW YOU. Your generation was the most selfish, entitled one in history. Your major legacy will include massive unsustainable government programs that only served your generation, horrible music, and horrendous fashion. You will suck all government safety net programs dry while saddling the next generation with $17 trillion-plus in debt. Don’t mind us while we pick up the pieces from the economy you wrecked. Enjoy comfortably retiring at the age of 65 — you’re the last generation that will ever get that. Thanks a bunch.”
Utter waste of time. Much like responding to Clams.
This whole discussion reminds me of a guy I knew in college. He was from a small town. I was from a city. He said “you city guys think you’re better than us”. I said I’d never thought anything at all about small town kids one way or the other. I didn’t have a bad opinion about small town kids because I didn’t have ANY opinion about small town kids. From what I see here, it appears that “millenials” (whoever the fuck they’re supposed to be anyway) spend a lot of time thinking about other generations and about what those other generations think about millenials. Honestly I don’t give a fuck one way or the other. I don’t even know who’s a Gen X and who’s a Gen Y and who’s a Millenial. I certainly haven’t gone to the trouble to formulate a Unified Field Theory of generational traits. I just think anyone who texts while walking across a crosswalk is an idiot. And when Miley Cyrus sticks her tongue out it makes her look retarded or like she’s having a seizure or something.
Stucky- How many times did you take the quiz? Lulz…
How many kinds of asshole are there?
There are different kinds of baby boomers?
You mean some aren’t obese slobs?
You mean some don’t have Hepatitis B & C?
You mean some don’t have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, COPD, joint pain, sleep apnea, heart disease, diabetes, and aren’t on 12 meds that the don’t pay for themselves?
You mean some have morals, values, and ethics?
You mean some actually buy products that aren’t made in a foreign country?
You mean some aren’t self-centered pigs and don’t believe the world revolves around them?
You mean some actually care what’s going to happen to this country when they’re gone?
You mean some didn’t reverse mortgage their house and run up their credit cards?
You mean some actually saved for retirement?
I’m shocked I tell, just plain shocked
Thanks Stucky, you always try these exercises first and then warn the rest of us not to bother, you’ve saved me hours. Thanks again.
Interesting conversation between “grandma” from the hero generation, and her “grandson”, obviously an echo-boomer. Explains pretty well what the boomers did to this country:
“The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.
The Grandma replied, “Well, let me think a minute. I was born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. There was no radar, credit cards, laser beams or ballpoint pens.
Man had not invented panty hose, air conditioners, dishwashers or clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air, and man hadn’t yet walked on the moon.
Your grandfather and I got married first – and then lived together. Every family had a father and a mother. Until I was 25, I called every man older than I, ‘Sir.’ We were before gay rights, computer dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy. Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong, and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege. We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started. Timesharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends – not purchasing condominiums.
We never heard of FM radios. And I don’t ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey. If you saw anything with ‘Made in Japan’ on it, it was junk. The term ‘making out’ referred to how you did on your school exam. Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and instant coffee were unheard of.
We had five and 10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for five and 10 cents. Ice cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. And if you didn’t want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and two postcards. You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.
In my day, ‘grass’ was mowed, ‘coke’ was a cold drink, ‘pot’ was something your mother cooked in, and ‘rock music’ was your grandmother’s lullaby. ‘Aids’ were helpers in the Principal’s office, ‘chip’ meant a piece of wood, ‘hardware’ was found in a hardware store, and ‘software’ wasn’t even a word. We were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us ‘old and confused’ and say there is a generation gap.”
Fuck your quiz! I am the boomer from your worse nightmare. I have no debt, either credit card or mortgage, no hepatitis or diabetes, pay for everything, married to the same wonderful lady for 44yrs , &tc. As miserable as you are, I’ll still give you a nice tip for good service!
Ragman, ditto. It’s got to be “good” service.
As a 54 year old boomer from rural, rust-belt Michigan that quiz did not resonate with me.
I would like to see some more study given to the “Silent Generation”.
After reading the Fourth Turning I am convinced that particular generation’s conscious lack of involvement or engagement in our culture – deferring passively to whatever either the can-do-no-wrong GI’s or the can-not-be-wrong boomers decided upon because the wealth and security was a given and boats should not be rocked – has more to do with where we are as a Nation than some would believe.
When I follow the money I find the very first wave of boomers and the Silents.
“When I follow the money I find the very first wave of boomers and the Silents.”
You should know that there are many others that the money leads to. Being from Michigan I would think you would acknowledge pensions as part of the problem.
@Olga: I’m a Silent. I started working at 12 with a paper route. Joined the Navy at 18, married at 19, two kids by 21. Starved out of college in two years (no G.I. Bill back then) and went to work to support the family.
I did my research and voted in every election since (2014 and 2016 are in doubt as to whether or not I’ll bother). I’m a CLASSIC LIBERAL ( which today is totally twisted around to mean the opposite of what it used to be) mixed with sufficient libertarianism to mean I’m always open to new ideas, new methods and ways of doing things as long as you don’t try and cram them down my throat.
Back when I became of voting age, I was always outvoted by those who found out they could vote favors for themselves by voting for politicians who promised the most “Give aways”. It continues to this day – in SPADES (double meaning is meant to apply).
So don’t blame the “Silents” for your troubles. We worked our whole lives as productively as possible, raised families and paid our dues (taxes and military) and voted mostly independently. This is not my world. This is not the world I grew up in, served and worked in. My world was not selfish, you could find people on the street who’d meet your eye and return a “Good Morning!” instead of shuffling by, perhaps running into you as they stare at their stupid digital machine and tweet “I’m walking down the street!” to a thousand “followers”.
I will be long dead before I own a “smartphone” and “tweet” anyone.
So, to make it short and sweet, Olga, blow me..
MA
Olga and Muck, I’d actually like to have that conversation. It’s a worthwhile one, as Silents don’t get much recognition for their contributions to American society, yet have had profound effects, both positive and negative.
I think it’s an important conversation, given that kids born after 2005 are a new Artist archetype (same as Silents). Artist generations throughout history have been important (like the Compromise and Progressive gens), so it might be time to begin to think about the world that Homelanders will inherit and what they might do with it.
Olga, read my post above. It wasn’t a quiz, lay off the bong. Fuck, it probably took Stucky two or three tries to find out what I discovered merely by skimming it. But then I went to a State University, I own multiple choice exams.
What most Millennials don’t understand is until 1987-1990 there was only a Liberal/Progressive press. It was MSNBC 24-7 on ABC,CBS, NBC, and PBS. The boomers who were not fortunate to have someone in their lives calling BS to what was in the press got propagandized with only the Liberal/Progressive entitlement line (SS, Medicaid, no need to save). What is hysterical is Millennials who complain about those selfish Boomers are just the end game of Liberal/Progressive meme (entitled to anything and everything)…think Boomer entitlement mentality on steroids.
I was damn lucky. I had a father who was Libertarian and an historian. By the time I was 15 he had already taught me SS would not be there for me and to prepare accordingly. Also, centralized governments grow and consume, eventually rendering the populace brain-dead dependents. Millennials prove that is spades.
When ever I meet the typical Millennial spouting Liberal/Progressive BS I ask them cite just one example where the quote below has not been true, which always illicits the deer-in-the-headlights look:
In all of history, no government became more honest, less corrupt, or granted its citizens more rights as it grew in size. E.L. 2011