FWIS3

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi ... ng/280920/

Jesus H. Christ... Stop blaming my generation for everything and look in a fucking mirror already. You're not going to "understand us better" by dehumanizing the entire lot of us.

Narcissism, the economy, and a fascination with gangster culture all play into the resurgence of "live fast, die young" themes in today's pop culture.

Disingenuous crap. This has been a thing forever. James Dean, Hunter S. Thompson, Kurt Cobain... need I go on?

It's just convenient to blame the "youth of today" for a bunch of things, because it shifts blame to a group that doesn't have the ability to push back. They did it to the Boomers, they did it to Gen X, now they're doing it to Millennials and Gen Z. And I fully expect our generation to do it to whoever comes along next. It's toxic human nature, but it's human nature.

And it doesn't mean I'm not going to call bullshit when I see it: this article is just more of the same bullshit.

Honestly, how much do you want to bet that the research for this hit piece condemning the lazy and nihilistic Millennial Generation was foisted off on an unpaid Millennial intern trying to make a life for him- or herself? As you say, GJ: disgusting.

Edit:

Also, there's kind of a weird strain of racism throughout the article. Odd.

You're definitely on to something re racism. There are some nasty, sweeping generalizations about race in the article.

(e.g. there are lots of blacks who dislike rap, lots of white rap fans, lots of blacks and rap fans who have no contact with the criminal underground.... etc. etc. It reads like the author got most of her information about this stuff from USA Today.)

Here you go homies, enjoy this

A Point of View: Should the baby boomers leave the stage?

See, and I'm really not okay with that, either. It's the same problem - making generalizations and stereotypes about an entire generational cohort rather than focusing on individuals and problems both systemic and specific. I don't want to blame "The Boomers" for destroying the world any more than I want "them" blaming people my age for the same.

Now, there are generational inequities and power imbalances - older generations tend to be more well-off and established than younger ones and so are able to punch down very effectively - but the impulse to blame the other and, in fact, to create an other to blame, is the problem.

Edit:

Geez. I'm taking things too seriously again, aren't I?

Yes you are

Well, maybe, but there's a reason GJ posted this in BMR. It gets tiring to be told you're a worthless son-of-a-bitch over and over just because of the generation that you belong to. It grates. It pisses you off. It's a thing you think about, seriously.

Like you said, the former generation ALWAYS does that. After being a near contemporary of the Boomers' antics I don't think they have any particular right to complain either and I am a LOT closer to them than you two

I don't get the complaint. The article is about the 'Live fast, die young' theme the author seems to think pervades modern pop. That isn't blaming a generation for everything, it's just someone analyzing a trend in music. Music does have trends that reflect the times.

Well, the "live fast, die young" meme has been in the mainstream for the last 30 years or so, remember when heavy metal became popular?

Sigma_Orionis wrote:Well, the "live fast, die young" meme has been in the mainstream for the last 30 years or so, remember when heavy metal became popular?

Yep. That was supposed to be the beginning of the end of civilization.

I just got one complain about you damned millenials and it's not really about you but about ignorant boomers.

I've had it up to HERE with hearing about how well adjusted you kids are with "technology", you so-called "digital natives".

geonuc wrote:I don't get the complaint. The article is about the 'Live fast, die young' theme the author seems to think pervades modern pop. That isn't blaming a generation for everything, it's just someone analyzing a trend in music. Music does have trends that reflect the times.

The theme of the article is "Stupid young people with their self-destructive mores, reflected in their music, are destroying civilization. Not like when we were young. Also? Black people are bad."

The complaint (well, aside from complaining about the racism, which is a different issue) is that what the article is saying is both A) untrue concerning the end of civilization and B) as true concerning the "coolness" of a live fast, die young nihilism to Millennials as it has been to every generation, including that of the author. The complaint is that it gets old to be criticized for something that applies just as well to the person doing the criticizing. The complaint is hypocrisy.

Sigma_Orionis wrote:I just got one complain about you damned millenials and it's not really about you but about ignorant boomers.

I've had it up to HERE with hearing about how well adjusted you kids are with "technology", you so-called "digital natives".

What's that? Sorry, gramps, I can't hear you over the sound of my BlueTooth-TweetCloud-Blog. Get with the cyber-times, dude!

Two Words: Justin Bieber

The Monkees.

What about them? I never even heard them play, I was like 3 years old when they came out

Really? They were "making" music all through the 80s, Wikipeida tells me. But, fine. Okay, then. Boney M? Gloria Estefan? A-Ha?

And, for the record, I've never heard Bieber, either, so I don't think that's relevant.

So they were, too bad very few people paid attention to them

I can give you much better examples..... The Bee Gees, Andy Gibb and Barry Manilow

so you never listened to your beloved fellow countryman, too bad, it's still your fault

Hey, man. We foisted him off on the States as quick as we could.

Heh, we could say the same thing about José Luis Rodríguez