And when has political power not been in the hands of those in the age range of the current boomers?
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“Some define “baby boomers” as those born between 1946 and 1964”
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The problem isn’t that the Boomers as a demographically strong cohort began exercising political power at that age, it’s that in general in the U.S. they’ve exercised it on behalf of Reaganism and “free” market fundamentalism and similar policies of selfishness.
Sorry, that was a typo. Corrected above.
The fact remains that the bulk of those Boomers were above voting age in 1980, and a lot of them were over age 30. In 1984 all of them could vote.
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I would just like to be able to have a decent society to retire in, instead of having to work a low wage shit job until I drop dead.
And that world is indelibly shaped by the older generations. Much like some boomers rebelled against the status quo of their parents, who were responsible for building that world (for some very good reasons - continuation of state sanctioned racism, sexism, homophobia, the bomb, the Cold War in general and Vietnam in-particular, etc), some of us younger folks (Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z) are rebelling against the world that SOME boomers are responsible for building. Too many boomers are clinging to power after showing themselves to be very bad stewards of our collective good. Their willingness to embrace corporations at the expense of their constituents (on both sides of the aisles) is a major part of the problem. It’s true that some Gen Xers and Millennials are now in positions of power, but the elite class is still relatively dominated by boomers. It’s quite true that the key problem here is actually class, not generation. As you say, it’s sort of eliding the real set of problems. But it’s also part of our collectively language that shapes how we think about the world. Using that language can grab attention and shape reactions.
And yes, plenty of Boomers are not actively part of the problem, but they are still by and large pulling the levers of political and economic power in our society. Hailing their collective identity (which many boomers embrace, BTW) can be a means of pushing for greater change.
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That’s true enough, but I wasn’t alive in the 1950s and 1960s to protest against what my grandparents generation were doing. I grew up in the post Nixon world. Am I meant to not point out problems with power when I see it, because it’s not all Boomer’s fault?
I totally agree that not all Boomers are to blame. But to imagine that baby boomers had literally no hand in creating the current world and are the primary victims of it is ignoring the reality of how power works.
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here’s the condensed version:
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I said nothing like that. But I’m not discussing the realities of 21st century American politics (I know we are mostly in agreement). I’m pointing out that holding everyone born between 1946 and 1964 responsible for Karl Rove and Donald Trump is sloppy and counterproductive.
Replace “boomers” in your quote above with any other group — Muslims, blacks, women, Capricorns. Would you accept that argument from anyone? I’ve seen you protest vigorously, and rightly, when someone uses “Southerners” as shorthand for racist ignoramuses. I’m sure you can understand why I dislike being lumped in with people I despise, because we were born in the same arbitrary twenty-year period.
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I saw Fireball 500 at about age 6 w/ my uncle (18 at the time - the older sibling role) and everything this vid said was obviously laid out in spades for me. It turned me into the cynic who could lay this template on TV, AM radio, the Monkees, Brady Bunch, etc, etc. I just kept wondering who believed any of it. They were TV people: no more real than comic books – which wallowed in disbelief. The people’s meme of - “But it’s fun!” - cut any criticism off at the knees and pre-empted any programming of real struggles.
Well, do you think that when we talk about white privilege and the like, it implicates all whites? Same deal, yeah? Do you really think we mean all boomers here?
I don’t think you’re to blame nor all boomers. But I do think that there is a generational problem here, too. You guys were and remain a powerful generation.
A good point! And I object for the same reasons you are here. However, I don’t object when people discuss white people as a privileged groups, despite being white myself.
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“Teenagers” in their 20’s, but that was the custom.
Is this an okay time to point out that political power concentrates in the hands of the wealthy?
When they were poor? Sorry, not trying to be hyper-critical, but wealth and poverty are real and cultural generations are a marketing gimmick.
I think everyone can. But lets give our fellow good-faith regulars credit, eh? Maybe the conversation could benefit from shifting from talking about generations to eras?
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Neither do I. White privilege is an inescapable fact. What I object to is the idea that because of my age, I will inevitably deny and simultaneously exploit my white privilege.
Yes. My point was that if you look at those with political power, they will tend to be in the age range currently occupied by the baby boom generation, say 50-75 years, more or less.
Exactly!
That’s what I’m arguing for, but I would shift to wealth and social class. Eras, like generations, tend to blend into each other, with a lot of overlap.
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Certainly. All I’m saying is that based on the history of our good-faith regs (@anon61221983 being among our longest standing), I feel pretty confident that they’re very much against generationalism.
Absolutely. I see them as pretty strongly interrelated, though there is some distinction due to the forces of intersectionality.
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Pretty sure I first saw (as opposed to heard) Little Stevie Wonder in some beach party flick.
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For the most part, I agree. But I can name two or three off the top of my head — regulars whom I generally like and respect — who rarely miss a chance to bash boomers.
That’s all I have to say on the issue. It’s time for my nap. 
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Hence my qualifier of good-faith.
Naps are an unqualified good.
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And again, that’s fair enough. I would say, however, that there is also generational privilege at play here as well. I think that @gracchus noted that the postwar expansion meant that the Boomers experienced unprecedenced economic opportunities that Gen X and the Millennials have not. It plays into some conservatives of your cohort arguing that they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, when it was their historical circumstances which historians are now understanding as anomalous, which allowed for the general success of the generation.
I think some of the Gen X antipathy towards the boomers was rooted very much in the generational conflict that boomers often brought to their relationships with their Gen X kids, too. the older Gen Xers (and many late Boomers) most certainly heard and agreed with the optimism of the 60s, and were disappointed how little of it translated into larger structural changes to our society (and in fact gave way to the post Nixonian wave of neo-liberalism).
And both you and @GulliverFoyle are right that cultural generations are marketing gimmicks… that doesn’t negate the fact that people do buy into that and act as if they are real things. Much like race (another construct), a social construct doesn’t equate to being irrelevant, I’d argue.
Generational agreement here…
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I grew up on these films (late boomer, though my cohort didn’t get reclassified to “boomer” until I was in my late 20s so I used to sneer at boomers as well). I still watch almost all of them nearly every year.
The rapidity with which this thread devolved into petty political snippery reminds me of the comments section in my local newspaper, where any story can instantly turn into attacks on Obama or Hillary Clinton.
The closing credits of Muscle Beach Party, with Stevie Wonder singing and Candy Johnson dancing in split screen, is one of the happiest 3 minutes in cinema history.
Just a couple of days ago I posted a link to James Brown dancing in Ski Party, which is a beach movie with snow.
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It is. Looked at from the POV of recent generations, wealthy Boomers have collected more of it during a longer period than their Silent or Xers did combined, and as a cohort with serious electoral clout were instrumental in perpetuating an economic environment that allowed for horrors like Citizens United.
While conservatives of the worst of the lot, I’ve heard my share of well-meaning centrist and liberal Boomers do some Old-Economy-Steve-ing of their own. Similarly, Boomers who buy into the “avocado toast” or “just move to N. Dakota” strains of thought regarding Millenials aren’t limited to conservatives.
I have my criticisms of my own generation, too, but Gen X simply has never had the clout to do too much damage.
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Yeah, and the ones of our generation who have gotten into positions of power also show the class divide noted by @teknocholer (thinking of someone like Paul Ryan, who was born in 70). But as a generation, overall, we have been much less powerful, unless we’ve aligned with the powerful interests still dominated by boomers (in Ryan’s case, the GOP).
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