Boomers vs Millennials

The media, and some political parties, love to divide us, to play one group off against another. Farmers versus Townies, Tradies vs white collar workers, Māori vs Pākehā, divisions used to cast one group against another ensuring the people who are really causing the problems are ignored. 

An easy card to play is the generational one - Boomers vs Millennials.

The sheer absurdity of generalising about an entire generation, no less absurd that generalising about an entire race. Not all Baby Boomers are racist slum lords who bought their first home on a quarter acre section for $20, and not all Millennials are self-entitled woke brats that you wouldn’t trust to cut steak.

We’re really talking about three generations...

The Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. They grew up in black and white in the 1950s but also in colour in the 60s and 70s once it had been invented, listening to the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley and Pink Floyd. There was Vietnam, man walking on the moon, hippies, punks, and the cold war.

The Millennials, born from 1981 to 1996. You grew up mostly this millennia - no one really knows what those decades are called. You listened to the Spice Girls, My Chemical Romance, Muse, you read and watched Harry Potter, you were a kid when 9/11 happened, and you’ve had email and social media since you were a teenager - you poor buggers.

We used to call you Gen Y, actually at work we used to refer to you as Gen Whine. Not sure when you changed the name to Millennials.

Boomers and Millennials shouldn’t be blaming each other, it’s Gen X causing all the damage at the moment. Not because we’re inherently evil, it’s just our turn to be in charge.

The reason you Millennials can’t buy a home is not too many $5 coffees, and it’s not that your Nana bought up all the houses. But you see those guys in the business suits - you could start by questioning their role in all of it.

We in Gen X were born from 1965 to 1980. We grew up in the 80s and the 90s listening to Michael Jackson, Nirvana, and the Chilli Peppers. We watched ET, the Breakfast Club, the Young Ones, and queued around the block for Star Wars. We remember the Berlin Wall coming down, yuppies, the Gulf War, and Dungeons and Dragons.

You do need to be a bit careful - Boomers aren’t as old as you think, many of those people you think of as Boomers were actually born during the war or even prior to it but for the purposes of generational division lets just lump them in together.

Similarly Millennials aren’t as young as you think.

I remember the first time I hired a Millennial, it seemed preposterous to be hiring someone born in the 80s. Today the oldest of the Millennials are in their 40s. So next time you’re taking the piss out of the property-less, phone obsessed, food photographing Millennials remember you are taking about people potentially in their early 40s, bit of a different image eh?

Again in the interests of division and simplicity we’ll just lump in those that followed with the Millennials.

Boomers had a job for life although I’m not sure how many got the gold watch. Gen X were told to focus on our career but be ready to change it three of four times during our life time, and Millennials got the gig economy.

What’s wrong Millennials did you not want to work for less than minimum wage delivering our dinner to fund our untaxed capital gains on a hovel you can’t afford to rent?

There are things we all had in common of course, we all grew up with the Queen and Keith Richards, the reader is invited to provide their own punchline here.

Our first boomer PM was Mike Moore, you also gave us Jenny Shipley and Helen Clark. Which, Helen Clark and Mike Moore aside, is a pretty piss poor return from the luckiest generation to have ever walked the planet.

Gen X gave NZ Key, English and Jacinda Ardern. The first Millennial PM will be Nicola Willis - which is no shame on that generation but it is on the people that vote for her. Come on Boomers this is supposed to be building up to a “we’re all in this together” ending and you’re voting for Nicola Willis? Possibly the worst Millennial there is - although hold that thought.

Most of our current MPs are Gen X but there are other generations. Boomers you give us Judith Collins and Gerry Brownlee. Millennials you have Chlöe Swarbrick to counter Nicola Willis - well done. But before you breathe a sigh of relief you also provide David Seymour and his assistant in the dark arts Brooke van Velden!

We all want the same things Norm Kirk talked about “someone to love, somewhere to live, somewhere to work, and something to hope for”.

The good news Millennials is there are plenty of jobs available, I’m sure you’re very lovable, but as for somewhere to live and something to hope for - yeah you might have drawn the short straw on those - sorry.

We need to help each other, for example Gen X provides Boomers with IT support and underwrites rental agreements for Millennials. But more than that we can listen to the advice of generations that have learnt a bit, and younger ones who might have worked out some things we missed.

A dear friend, someone I’ve known for quarter of a century, wrote the following on reddit a few of days ago with the headline “Hello millennials and your entitled ways”.

“I am 58 and have worked in HR for 30 years. I am so happy to see you. Where have you been all this time? Finally, a generation that understands morals, doing what's right, living a REAL life that's all your own and what is important (hint: it's never work). You fight against exploitation, consumerism, capitalism and the ownership of labour. I have been waiting for you for so long. I am about to retire so I pass the baton to you.”

It got 1.7 million views and over 20,000 up votes, and I’m not surprised. Doesn’t it cut through the whole playing off of one generation against another to us all facing the same problems?

Millennials have the perfect storm to improve things with the working landscape changing post-COVID coupled with strong labour shortages. But you won’t just be given it, as any generation that earns change you’ll need to stand up and fight for it.

“Ha - sneer at us about smashed Avo on toast, very funny - now make with the minimum hours and no more subcontracting bollocks. We’ll do a good professional job but we expect to be fairly compensated, treated respectfully, and you don’t own us.”

“Oh, and we’ll be wanting houses to live in as well - shocking right.”

And the thing is lots of us in Gen X, and the Boomers, want you to have a house and a good standard of living, and fair and decent conditions. You’re our kids and our grandkids.

Watch out for anyone saying “mmmk... I'm also gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday too, kay”. Sorry, Gen X movie reference there.

And for goodness sake lets make the first Millennial PM Chlöe, or Kiri Allan the highest ranked Labour Millennial, not Willis or Seymour - I’m talking to you Boomers.

As for the person who wrote that reddit post, baton passing sounds fair enough - heck we’ve been putting the world to rights for 25 years. But I reckon you’ve got a lot more wise advice to impart yet and I look forward to reading it.

---

This one should have something for all the generations… and don’t forget, don’t sweat the small stuff for you are a bird plane!