I have a lot of sympathy for Generation X. From the very start, their role was one of gleaners, the Baby Boomers having harvested before them.
They got to be at the tail end of every Boomer fad and fancy, after it was no longer fashionable, and it had been adjusted for and taken into account. Congratulations, kid, you get to wear your older siblings bell bottoms and tie-dyed t-shirts, now that they are laughably tacky.
And it ran a lot deeper than that, in a host of ways. While the Boomers were fooled into thinking they were a gift from the gods unlike anyone who had ever before lived; the Gen X’ers were given cynical and unearned praise which they resented.
“You missed eight out of ten questions on your exam, but I’m giving you an ‘A’ anyway, because I don’t want to hurt your self esteem!” Is there any better way to hurt the self esteem of everyone in class?
While the Boomers were willing to “play the game” of 9 to 5 jobs, most of which was time wasting memo pushing, the Generation X’ers developed an “intelligent work ethic”, that was not appreciated.
“I’ll work, and I’ll do good work with efficiency. But when the work is done, don’t demand that I sit around playing with myself.”
This bizarre idea, that life is more than make-work, was innovated by the Gen-X’ers.
And right when they belatedly entered the work force, after the Boomers had finally been promoted higher than entry level, Jimmy Carter rewarded them with double digit inflation. So guess what, kid? You get only half the wage they got.
Up the career ladder, it was always the case of too many bosses and too few workers. And bless the Boomers, they were always in it for themselves, and to heck with everyone else. Crappy bosses.
The next innovation of the Gen X’ers was to be deprived of the American dream. Work hard, save your money, and there is no way you can ever be as prosperous as your parents, even if you do things just like they did.
Yep, I can see how they could become bitter about that. Now entering middle age, they still have to watch the rear end of the Baby Boomers ahead of them, who always managed to get pretty much what they wanted, and knowing that they, the Gen X’ers, aren’t.
The gleaners.
yefragetuwrabrumuy: You took the words right out of my mouth!
Billy Joel sand "We didn't start the fire..."
NO, Billy, but you drunken adulterous homosexual drug-addicted narcissistic liberal scum of the 60's and 70's went out of your way to pour gasoline all over everthing that hadn't yet ignited.
And then, as my wife says, you had the nerve to look surprised.
(And more than that, you were than indignantly self-righteous that what you had done "was the right thing.")
NO Cheers, unfortunately.
>>“You missed eight out of ten questions on your exam, but I’m giving you an ‘A’ anyway, because I don’t want to hurt your self esteem!” Is there any better way to hurt the self esteem of everyone in class?<<
And yet, your entire generation felt that self-esteem was more important than hard work and were shocked SHOCKED to find that it was work that was the coin of the realm — not good thoughts about yourself.
>>While the Boomers were willing to “play the game” of 9 to 5 jobs, most of which was time wasting memo pushing, the Generation X’ers developed an “intelligent work ethic”, that was not appreciated.<<
Yes, stereotyping hard work that created real results is certainly “memo pushing” to people who coined the term “intelligent work ethic” — meaning “pay me for what I think about myself and not what I do.”
>>“I’ll work, and I’ll do good work with efficiency. But when the work is done, don’t demand that I sit around playing with myself.”<<
Translation: “I will sullenly put up with these silly restrictions of dress and working enough hours to get the job done and then do booboo lips because you can’t see I am as great as my parents say I am. Which surprises us because many of us had our parents call you when we were hired and have them call you when we are unhappy.”
>>This bizarre idea, that life is more than make-work, was innovated by the Gen-X’ers.<<
Are you kidding? The Boomers said “turn on, tune in, drop out.” It was later when they realized that wasn’t a really good success strategy in the long run. But they carried the idea that a man is more than his work into corporate America. It was Boomers who came up with the idea of “work/life balance.” Gen-X gave us “life/life balance.”
>>And right when they belatedly entered the work force, after the Boomers had finally been promoted higher than entry level, Jimmy Carter rewarded them with double digit inflation. So guess what, kid? You get only half the wage they got.<<
Yes, we had to work harder than our parents, since the same class of idiots as the GEN-Xers who elected the TOTUS-reader gave us the peanut-farmer. Try living through stagflation and thriving. You have no idea how good you have it.
>>Up the career ladder, it was always the case of too many bosses and too few workers. And bless the Boomers, they were always in it for themselves, and to heck with everyone else. Crappy bosses.<<
That has been the way of life since Corporate America existed. And are you suggesting Gen-X isn’t spouting “the heck with everyone else?” A more self-centered group of narcissists has never been seen on Earth. The difference is your generation grumbles “we were promised riches just for being ‘special!’ Why won’t those who have worked for all these years recognize us for being ‘special?’”
>>”The next innovation of the Gen X’ers was to be deprived of the American dream. Work hard, save your money, and there is no way you can ever be as prosperous as your parents, even if you do things just like they did.” <<
Not with your attitude, no. Thank God we have Gen Y/Millenials — they are trainable, I hope.
>>Yep, I can see how they could become bitter about that. Now entering middle age, they still have to watch the rear end of the Baby Boomers ahead of them, who always managed to get pretty much what they wanted, and knowing that they, the Gen X’ers, aren’t.<<
Excellence always wins in Corporate America. Excellence is what you do, what you produce, how you move the bottom line. It isn’t what your mommy and daddy tell you.
>>The gleaners.<<
Says a spokesperson for The Whiners.