Fwd: reasons to stop listening to Baby Boomers
Last week I received another email from the serial forwarder. The subject was “Fwd: My Dogs” and this is what it said:
Like a number of my maternal relatives, the serial forwarder is squarely conservative and has a tendency to lean toward the birther and (freshly minted!) secessionist fringe. Needless to say, I rolled my eyes and did not reply. Why? Well, I do not have the confrontational killer instinct required when countering ignorance, nor the ability to conjure a precise, razor sharp retort that will leave someone with their mouth half open and saliva pooling under their frozen tongue. Plus, I have decided to stop listening to Baby Boomers.
That’s right: Why listen to an entire generation of Americans when this — shameless stereotypes, generalizations, fear mongering, and finger pointing — is all they have to offer? Why listen when, instead of acknowledging shifting demographics and being good stewards of the democracy and capitalist economy they so worship and cherish, they have retreated to their spiritual Ruby Ridge to collect Social Security and watch reruns of The Andy Griffith Show?
Okay, perhaps I am doing my own generalizing. Instead of targeting all Baby Boomers, especially those who spend my FICA taxes on Chinese-made Route 66 knickknacks, perhaps I should tune out insular and narrow-minded relatives. Obviously, not all Boomers are stuffy fuddy-duddies. I have been wanting to tune out hidebound and intolerant relatives for a long time, so it is something I need to do anyway. But I just cannot resist the urge to give Boomers a taste of their own medicine by pointing the finger squarely at them and saying, “I am tired of you telling me what to do! You never have anything constructive to offer so I am not going to listen to you anymore!”
That is what I resent more than anything about this whole thing: unconstructive generalizations, stereotypes, and oversimplification. (This whole post seems to be an exercise in deciding exactly what I think and why. It happens sometimes.) Instead of intelligently discussing the pressing concerns of our nation like adults, you give me an insensitive joke about mixed race, bastard dogs that join the welfare rolls? Real mature, bud. Real mature. It sets an awful precedent: when things go wrong, blame and ostracize everyone who is different.
That is why I have stopped listening.
This morning I went to sign my dogs up for welfare. At first the lady said,
"Dogs are not eligible to draw welfare."
So I explained to her that my dogs are mixed in color, unemployed, lazy,
can't speak English and have no frigging clue who their Daddy's are.
They expect me to feed them, provide them with housing and medical care.
So she looked in her policy book to see what it takes to qualify.
My dogs get their first checks Friday.
Damn, this is a great country!
Like a number of my maternal relatives, the serial forwarder is squarely conservative and has a tendency to lean toward the birther and (freshly minted!) secessionist fringe. Needless to say, I rolled my eyes and did not reply. Why? Well, I do not have the confrontational killer instinct required when countering ignorance, nor the ability to conjure a precise, razor sharp retort that will leave someone with their mouth half open and saliva pooling under their frozen tongue. Plus, I have decided to stop listening to Baby Boomers.
That’s right: Why listen to an entire generation of Americans when this — shameless stereotypes, generalizations, fear mongering, and finger pointing — is all they have to offer? Why listen when, instead of acknowledging shifting demographics and being good stewards of the democracy and capitalist economy they so worship and cherish, they have retreated to their spiritual Ruby Ridge to collect Social Security and watch reruns of The Andy Griffith Show?
Okay, perhaps I am doing my own generalizing. Instead of targeting all Baby Boomers, especially those who spend my FICA taxes on Chinese-made Route 66 knickknacks, perhaps I should tune out insular and narrow-minded relatives. Obviously, not all Boomers are stuffy fuddy-duddies. I have been wanting to tune out hidebound and intolerant relatives for a long time, so it is something I need to do anyway. But I just cannot resist the urge to give Boomers a taste of their own medicine by pointing the finger squarely at them and saying, “I am tired of you telling me what to do! You never have anything constructive to offer so I am not going to listen to you anymore!”
That is what I resent more than anything about this whole thing: unconstructive generalizations, stereotypes, and oversimplification. (This whole post seems to be an exercise in deciding exactly what I think and why. It happens sometimes.) Instead of intelligently discussing the pressing concerns of our nation like adults, you give me an insensitive joke about mixed race, bastard dogs that join the welfare rolls? Real mature, bud. Real mature. It sets an awful precedent: when things go wrong, blame and ostracize everyone who is different.
That is why I have stopped listening.
