“Okay, Boomer.”
Two simple words that have begun to signify what many believe to be the end of an era of peaceful communication between Generation Z as well as Millennials, and Baby Boomers.
In an age where Generation Z and Millennials have often been criticized for wanting to constantly be coddled, be spoon fed luxuries of life, and constantly remarked as “snowflakes” so displaying dissatisfaction with political climates and wage disparity, it can be argued that non-hostile communication has always been out the door.
Youth have begun to use this phrase as a way to disregard and discredit ideology that one could consider classist, sexist, racist, or oppressive.
Twitter user, @TheGallowBoob, girlfriend took a moment to break down the significance behind the phrase. “Millennials tried for so long to explain using facts and evidence that they don’t actually have it that easy and they aren’t just being lazy, but it became very clear that [baby]boomers don’t care about facts, evidence, or reality for that matter. So this is what has resulted. We’ve given up. I feel like ‘okay boomer’ is kind of the equivalent of ‘Wow, you’re so horribly wrong, but I don’t have the time or the energy to repeatedly explain something that you’re not going to listen to anyways.'”
Not to imply that discourse between two disagreeing parties can’t be mutually beneficial, @TheGallowBoob released a follow up statement saying, “…it shouldn’t be used to shut down relevant information presented by someone is also willing to listen and keep an open mind…At the end of the day it’s a result of the frustration of younger generations who are tired of being bullied and generalized themselves. Many young people today…are simply pushing back.”
Baby boomers took to social media and tooted that younger generations were equipping the very weapons they had been condemning, remarking that “Okay, Boomer” was effectively coded ageism that damaged discussion the way young people fought against.
Conservative radio host Bob Lonsberry even took it a step further, tweeting, “‘Boomer’ is the n-word of ageism. Being hip and flip does not make the bigotry ok, nor is a derisive epithet acceptable because it is new.” The tweet has since been deleted, but the Internet was quick to call out the cheap comparison of the two. Dictionary.com responded, “Boomer is an informal noun referring to a person born during a baby boom, especially one born in the U.S. between 1946 and 1965. The n-word is one of the most offensive words in the English language.”
Since it’s conception, “Okay, Boomer” ideology has begun to permeate social media platforms of all sizes. No matter where you stand on the legitimacy to the “Okay, Boomer” response, we think we can all agree that out of this conversation, we want two very divided groups of people that have long had their conversations split through misunderstanding and hardheadedness to be able to come together.
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