
A professor at the University of Oklahoma provoked outrage by saying the phrase “OK, boomer” was like saying the N-word. He later apologized to students. This event has been getting a lot of press lately, ecllipsing even the the two most significant, ongoing, high-profile meltdowns the world is currently facing: the Antartic ice shelf and Donald Trump.
Setting aside the fact that this professor would seem to exhibit an astonishing lack of awareness of what the N-word signifies in both a historical and cultural sense, Life in the Boomer Lane will admit that she hadn’t even been aware of the phrase “OK, boomer.” She has been entirely too preoccupied with her own aging process, which presents her with daily opportunities to marvel at how the human body can create entirely new forms for itself, in the hours in which she is sleeping.
But, on closer inspection (of the article, not of her own body), LBL now realizes that “OK, boomer” is but the tip of a (non-climate change affected) iceberg that is swallowing up her entire generation.
The prof’s comment was precipitated when a student said that news organizations needed to adapt to stay relevant with younger audiences. Mr. Gade, the professor, said that the student’s comment was like saying, “OK, boomer,” referring to a phrase that, accordibg to the news source, has alternately been called “a dismissive, even ageist retort” against older people and “a rallying cry” of younger generations. He then compared it to the N-word, generally shocking the entire class.
According to CNN, “The term ‘OK, boomer,’ a viral meme among millennials and Generation Z, exploded last year on the TikTok social media app, where countless mocking videos are calling out what young people perceive as out-of-touch Baby Boomers and their patronizing opinions.”
For those readers who generally spend their days on Facebook or in staring at their senile perpura, and have not yet been introduced to the terms “viral meme” and “TikTok,” LBL invites you to enter the reality of the present century. There you will find any number of people, places, and things that have absolutely nothing to do with you but that have a profound impact on virtually everything else on the planet.
LBL, herself, is not outraged by younger people boomer-bashing her. If she were young right now, she would be pretty pissed off at how things are going all around her. Starting with the first cavewoman who rolled her eyes and told her caveman spouse that he was acting like a complete Neanderthal, humans have realized that the best way to make themselves feel better about their misfortune is to blame someone else.
She actually feels pretty lucky. As a Boomer, she may have had to exist without cell phones and Spanx, but she also had the great fortune to exist before it was known that political conspiracies, identity theft, and gluten were ruining her life. She had a pretty carefree early existance. Looking back, the threat of polio or nuclear war was a mere annoyance, compared to the current threats imposed by the President, the demise of science, and the fact that Ruth Bader Ginsberg is 86 years old.
Millenials, Gen Xers, Gen Zers, and all other alphabet generations coming along, will, if they are very, very lucky, be around to sit in our seats. Like us, they will be surprised to find out that they have ruined everything for younger people. They will continue on with life, living in their own age-appropriate bubbles, being basically unaware that they have no idea who anyone is who represents humanoids on earth.
They will, without realizing it, start wearing comfortable shoes and avoid driving at night. They will choose to have dinner earlier and earlier during the day. They will one day suddenly notice that the menus they are looking at in a restaurant are advertising early bird specials and be delighted that they are seated at just the right time to take advantage of this. They may even take extra little sugar and sweetener packets home with them.
LBL wishes them the very best. The world has been turning for a very long time, and hopefully, it will decide to turn for awhile longer. LBL hopes that it continues to do so until these up-and-coming generations can appreciate what it means to be the older generation and to learn to congratulate themselves when no one else will. We Boomers have our faults, for sure, but we have been pretty successful at the self-congrtulatory. You’ll learn to do the same.
Meanwhile, we’ll leave the light on for you. You’ll need it by then.
Peter's pondering
February 14, 2020
Excellent. Just remind those youngsters that from the moment we are born we are all dying.
Just saying!
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 15, 2020
Right. Death is a fuzzy concept until one realizes that one’s body has been replaced with something that can’t quite be readily identified.
Peter's pondering
February 15, 2020
Yes. Just who the hell is that in the mirror!
dufmanno
February 14, 2020
I had all three kids take a shot at me with the “ok boomer” line and then I gave them a math lesson and explained that 50 year olds are generation X. Then I put on my readers so that I could see the fine print on a menu and looked online at the real estate market in Florida.
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 15, 2020
Ah, you are a powerful woman, indeed. As I am at the extreme upper end of Boomer, I cling to that label. Had I been born 15 minutes earlier, I’d be part of Gen Dead.
Phyllis
February 14, 2020
I hate feeling irrelevant.
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 15, 2020
We have some serious talking to do, Darling.
Ilona Elliott
February 14, 2020
HA! LBL you somehow manage to remind me of all the horrors in the world while simultaneously guffawing at your humorous takes on them. How do you do that? You’re a gift!
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 15, 2020
Wow, Ilona, I’m farklempt at your comment. As I live entirely in my brain, and as my brain is becoming more and more inhospitable, I am forced to see the absurdity all around me. It doesn’t change the world but it does make people stare at me when I am standing alone on a subway platform and laughing.
Richard E. Berg
February 15, 2020
I love this!
Being the recipient of an “OK, Boomer” response does evoke a twinge of guilt in me. I interpret it as: “You had your chance and failed. Time to get out of the way and let us fix the world.”
We’ll see…maybe.
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 15, 2020
I, personally, am so ready to get out of the way, as long as “out” doesn’t mean to another dimension. I would like to live long enough to see these younger people return some kind of moral decency to government, relief to the environment, and to cut the balls off the NRA. Oh, and providing more parking would be good too.
Peter's pondering
February 15, 2020
Plus chocolate for all!
Kate Crimmins
February 15, 2020
I got stuck at RBG is 86. Oh Ruthie hang on please! I’ve heard people have volunteered their kidneys if she needs one. Ok Boomer? There are more important things to get annoyed about.
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 15, 2020
I’m so with you, Kate.
Keith
February 15, 2020
Renee, it amazes me how reasonable human beings can invent we/ they fights. Let me set aside the equating of OK Boomer with the N word. That is just poor judgment on the part of the author and shows callousness.
On the general topic of we/ they fights, I have read Boomers who put down Millennials, Millennials who put down Gen xers, Gen xers who put down Boomers, etc. People who comprise these groups are not uniform. They are all imperfect beings, so to disenfranchise a group with a label, is just causing trouble where none exists.
Life is hard enough without inventing foolish fights. If someone said OK Boomer to me, I would probably laugh and move on. As Billy Joel once sang, the good old days weren’t always good and today is not as bad as it seems. Keith
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 16, 2020
Wise words, Keith. When we come up with ways to seperate ourselves from others, or to demonize others, the outcome is sadly predictable.
Keith
February 16, 2020
Thanks Renee. Demonizing others is so childish. I once lived in a large neighborhood that had a “North” and “South” description since it had so many houses. So, people would disparage the other group simply because of the different first name. This was in 1987 and my comment then is the same as it is now. Really? Keith