Than the current trend if blaming boomers for everything wrong. We’re greedy, we didn’t have to get college loans, many of us had or have good jobs with pensions, our houses were affordable, etc. Many of us think the fact that younger people don’t have these things is wrong and it’s the fault of Republicans, not us boomers! And I had to worry about my brother getting drafted and killed in Vietnam.

...jaundiced view of my generation.

I expect and hope for better rising generations and feel as if, overall, they will be better than we were. It would be hard to be worse.

History will not forgive us, nor should it.

It is sad that you have self-hatred for your own generation that has done so much good-- even while that "good" is offset by largely RW members and those of the generation prior whose policies were often so harmful and regressive. There is much to be proud of in terms of the accomplishments of that generation--while likewise many serious lapses, mistakes, and lessons to be learned and not to be repeated by subsequent generations.

No population or cohort is all good or all bad. If you take the time to reflect on the incredible advances made by the Boomer generation--whether it be civil rights, science, medicine, technology, the early environmental movement, education, space exploration, and on and on. It is just depressingly sad that you don't see that, even if equally important to recognize the failures as well.

...in Civil Rights.

I was in elementary school when Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. He was born in 1908, Dr. King in1929.

I was in high school when humans landed on the moon. The engineers who built the landers, who lived in the area in which I grew up were my parent's ages, not mine.

To me, Donald Trump is the avatar of my generation. My demographic represents the class of people in which he has the highest support, fat, old, bald white men.

I will never forget a baseball game to which I went where my team consisted of one time Hippie draft evaders where they were all praising Raygun's tax cuts.

Like wise I worked in a lab where my fellow boomers placed a TV in the library to cheer for the killing of human beings in Iraq War #1. They were suddenly FOR war when they reached an age where they could not be expected to participate.

Of course there are exceptions to any sweeping demograhic profile. Overall however the boomer generation in this country should hope to be forgotten by history but to the extent we are remembered by it, it won't be pretty, assuming that the "history" exists at all.

Sorry, but as my life draws to a close, I'm damned disappointed in my generation and my class.

his ilk--including SCOTUS has dismantled it. I'm sorry you don't see that. Save the scorn for those elements that deserve it--no matter which generation--but take off the blinders to the good.

They can hardly take credit for the Civil Rights Act.

The Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. Therefore, the very oldest of them were 18 in 1964. The voting age was 21 at the time.

But it did take more than voting to get it passed. And a good many people under the age of 21 were active participants in those other important activities.

any Boomers voting was the 1972 Nixon landslide, as the voting age was not dropped to 18 until 1971. Only 1946 and first 10 months (plus 6 days) of 1947 born Boomers could vote in 1968.

damned well have, whether it be race, gender, sexual orientation, or other. I likewise said, that the latter is only emphasized by the dramatic dismantling of by Trump, his ilk and his manipulated (in terms of composition) SCOTUS. I never said (and I'm not sure anyone else did that I have seen on this thread) that they were responsible for the civil rights bill being signed by LBJ--who most certainly was NOT a BOOMER. I'm a bit befuddled by this subthread argument. But, yes, you are most certainly correct that no Baby Boomer was old enough to vote in 1964 on civil rights (Act signed July 2, 1964). Still, I would likewise agree with H20Man that non-voting activist youth DID have an influence on its passage--not to be discounted.

I was born in the age of Aquarius and have watched us regress to the Gilded Age. For me that's it in a nutshell.

I was never into astrology myself, but there are other points about our times and attitudes i can insert.

and we boomers have made some differences there.

What, specifically, is the evidence of these "rights" that my generation secured for women?

It was a right for many decades, now lost.

How did you miss that one?

...Potter Stewart in 1915, William Brennan in 1906, William O. Douglas in 1898, Thurgood Marshall, 1908, and Lewis Powell in 1907.

These are all the justices who voted that abortion was protected under the 14th amendment.

One of the things notable about my generation is an uncanny ability to take credit for something with which they had nothing to do.

In fact it was Boomers who declared that the government had suzerainty over women's bodies and their internal organs:

I note that Brett Kavanaugh, the worthless, abusive, molesting drunk was born in 1965, Justice for overturning freedom from religion Amy Conan Barret, religious bigot, was born in 1972, Neil Gorsuch in 1967, Sam "bribe me" Alito in 1950, and Clarence Thomas, the avatar for corruption and bribery on the illegitimate court in 1948.

Donald J. Trump, senile thug and serial rapist, was born in 1946.

You were saying?

What are you talking about. Yes the prior generation as well, but yes boomers did heavy lifting.

Are women getting equal pay?

Do women have control over their bodies?

First I hear that "boomers" achieved the right to abortion, and point out that the decision was made by men born before 1925, and then I hear about "marching," after the fact, and then I note that a court illegitimately stuffed with boomers by a boomer overturned the rights of women to control their bodies.

I'm pretty clear about what I'm talking.

History will not forgive us, nor should it.

in this country. Sad.

The state: "let them have their little march and get it out of their system"

had no influence on what followed?

Boy, you have an unbelievable lack of respect for those who fought hard for civil rights and change, whether it be people of all ages and races that day in Washington, or women over many years for reproductive and equality rights--as well as many many other examples. How the hell do you think women got suffrage to begin with (if you care)? It certainly wasn't remaining meek and mild in their kitchen or bedrooms hoping the men would do what was right--for THEM. Neither so for Boomer women with reproductive choice hiring and pay and general equality. Nor others for worker's rights. And on and on.

The very oldest Boomers were 17 years old. The youngest Boomers handn't been born yet.

BADLY. Every generation has had youth activists, including teens. WHo the hell do you think both protested against and ultimately fought in Vietnam? How old do you think the Stoneman Douglas activists were when they first started? EVERY generation has had motivated teen activists and that most certainly included the Boomer generation. Do you honestly believe such activism started only with the Millenials, Gen Xers, and in time, Gen Z? REALLY. Is that what you believe?

As I said, NOTHING would serve you better than to start reading and learning HISTORY.

that marches (sic protests) have never gotten us anywhere (#205 if you follow the subthread carefully, you can see which posts responses are directed to and avoid the nonsequiturs).

How have I never seen this?!!!

L.O.L.

The right to equal funding for women's sports via Title IX, the right, under law, to equal opportunity in hiring (My 50 something niece was shocked to learn that the newspaper's classified "want ads" were, until the early 70's, divided into Male and Female).
So much has changed -- Employers cannot legally discriminate against women in anything -- jobs, housing, loans, education. This was NOT the case prior to the feminist activism of the late 60's and early 70's. At 73 years old, I am a witness to it! Like most little girls in the 1950's and 60's, I couldn't aspire to a career in anything but Nursing or Teaching. Professionals in Law, Medicine, Engineering, Government -- You name it were virtually ALL white males. Look at it now..You can bet that Trump would not now be getting indicted or judged by three women.

I'm past retirement age and still working (because I want to do so). In a long professional career, I really, really, really haven't noticed all of this equality.

I know I got special consideration for male white privilege.

The Boomer generation failed to pass the ERA. "Too radical," I guess.

Granted there are more women in professional lives, but I very much doubt that boomers took all that much time out of golf, partying, consuming and drinking to make it happen. We are, of course, the generation of "drugs, sex, and rock and roll."

All these professional women you mention, fo they really get equal pay?

The quintessential boomers to my mind are George W. Bush and Donald Trump. The former appointed boomers to the Supremes, Alito and Roberts, the latter, the worst justices in history (except for the one his father appointed Clarence the Corrupt), Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Barrett, boomers all.

We have an inclination as to how all those "rights" will stand up.

But don't let me stop us for cheering for ourselves and patting ourselves on the back. It's what we do.

History will not forgive us, nor should it.

a bit older...We were old enough to make a ruckus and we did..

I don't know your age, but I'm guessing the reason you "really, really, really didn't notice all this equality" is because you were either too young to recall the adult world prior to the late 60's and 70's, or you weren't, as a male, particularly interested.

The ERA failed on a national level, but succeeded in the states. Most, if not all of the states now have their own Equal Rights laws

"All these professional women do they really get equal pay"?..I don't know if they all really do, but the far larger point is that they now have legal standing to demand it, via the courts, if not elsewhere. My sister is a retired Superior Court Judge..She got paid nicely.

As for Trump and Dubya being "The quintessential
boomers", you MUST be kidding..By simple fact of their wealth, those two aren't typical of ANY generation! Try Obama, he's a Boomer, albeit a later one. Then again, you do seem to want to focus on the negative..You point out Trump and Bush's conservative SC appointees, but ignore Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayer -- all Obama and Clinton appointees.. You also fail to give us credit for bringing down that bad, bad Vietnam War.

History has, relatively speaking, little to "forgive" us for, We're not perfect, but what generation was?..I'm proud to be a Boomer.

Last edited Wed Sep 27, 2023, 08:10 PM - Edit history (1)

...hard to understand?



Behind Biden’s 2020 Victory (Pew Research)

Was it Peter Townsend who told us, "The kids are alright," or was it "We won't get fooled again."

Oh, that's right..You can't because I didn't.

You started off with a question about women's advancement in post 1960's America, claiming not to see it. I responded, in two posts, by giving you several examples of such and some suggestions as to why you may have been unaware of them. Unable to
counter the points I made, you go for a general, baseless "slam" against me and my demographic, by inferring I claimed some generational superiority. Try
again.

...you've expressed your opinion of our generation.

We disagree. I'm embarrassed by our generation and you're proud of it. You have your criteria; I have mine.

As my son sometimes says to me in only a marginally humorous way. "OK, boomer?"

Ultimately history will decide.

I am unswayed in my frequently stated opinion that history will not forgive us nor should it.

No one among us here will be alive to argue with the judgement of history.

As it happens, I've been reading Annette Gordon's two books on Thomas Jefferson's relationship with the Hemmings family, slaves who included his own children.

He is in no position to object to the author's view of him nor to mine. He belongs to history. Soon enough so will we.

So let it be with us.

but that's fine, bro. Good luck with the pessimism..I suspect it's roots lie in things more personal than objective.

of those in their generation in decades past-- without power, more often without "voice," and whose fights were not at all their own.

I can only hope this does not continue with subsequent generations. There are many heroes among us-- of all ages --whose names and accomplishments may never be heralded. But to cast them all--paint them all with the same broad brush-- as failures to future generations is just beyond disgusting in my book.

Certainly, the other poster does and it was his posts to which I specifically address and refer-- denouncing an entire generation. That is so inexplicable and indefensible by the historical record--thus my thesis is the most likely explanation for a member of the Boomer generation to be so seemingly dripping in derision and contempt for his own generation--blind to any and all accomplishments. Only if the accomplishments are immaterial to one's self-interests could I imagine so discounting them.

Where?

can get confusing.

succeeded in blocking the last few states. Yet in your mind, that means that all Boomers, women, and supportive men all dropped the ball. Your dripping contempt for all who genuinely did fight and at times suffered the consequences is inexplicable (Kent State and other Vietnam protests, but one example, those who worked to integrate the schools, and the many many other examples a cursory review of history would underscore). No one is trying to make Saints of that generation or venerate them beyond all reason, but your willingness to discount the accomplishments of an entire generation is beyond irrational, in both my honest opinion and informed assessment.

😬
And I would never call myself an activist. A semi-activist, yes.

I could have spent the many hours I did starting at 15: doing more concert going, music buying, hanging with friends, drinking (at 21), toking, etc instead of...

•protesting the Vietnam War
•fighting for safe autos
•campaigning for Mayor Lindsay's 2nd term
(yes, a liberal Republican - the Democrat was too conservative on X issues!)
•campaigning for Hubert Humphrey (after grieving for RFK, and realizing Nixon was not good over all)
•Anti-Nuclear Weapons (yes, I met Hibsakushas - Hiroshima survivors)
•Labor March (after Reagan was elected)
•Renewable Energy marches (3) in DC ('80s)
•Pro-Choice marches in DC (3) ('90s)
•Phone banking for Democratic Candidates
•Designing, Xeroxing, and taping up my own letter size posters for Democratic Presidential candidates (several elections) in my nabe, midtown, and college campuses
•The Women's Marches (until Covid)
•Some letter writing, and DC phone calling, etc, etc...

*Thank you, bb, 👍 and other younger DU's for acknowledging our efforts.
It would be worse if we hadn't done our protests, etc.

When I was 16, I stood in line to desegregate a lunch counter in the basement of a woolworth's in downtown Dallas. When I was 20, I was shouting "hey hey LBJ, how many kids dis you kill today?"

As a retired senior, I look at young people today and think "gather ye rosebuds while ye may ..." you're all going to get old with a myriad of old age diseases. So show some respect.

for me is to see so many of the generation today who adored the likes of Donald Trump and still do!

If you can get them to the polls they are overwhelmingly on our side... far more so than middle aged and elderly Americans.

When my sons were in college I had opportunities to talk to their friends and roommates about voting. I was very disenchanted with how few of them voted regularly, and even more disenchanted with the myriad reasons they had to defend non-voting - as if being a non-voter was an intellectually superior stance and that non-voting was a proven tactic for influencing and signaling their party of choice to "shape up".

As I point out in many of my posts here, 87 million eligible voters did not cast a vote in 2016. A key demographic within that 87 million was young people who couldn't be bothered to vote because "their one vote doesn't change anything" and "Trump is so flawed, he couldn't possibly win...enough people will vote without me that this will take care of itself" and "it's such a hassle to register".

These factors - combined with the apathy of younger people toward issues that don't directly impact them, plus this idea that they'll only cast a vote for a candidate that is 100% in line with their own thinking (anything less is too imperfect a candidate to earn my vote) - keep younger people away from the polls and keeps margins of victory so thin that no winners have a true mandate for change.

If we can somehow get younger voters to the polls in battleground states, a lot of the rancor over elections will go away.

Trump won some battleground states by a only few thousand votes. If we can get 100-120 thousand young voters registered and to the polls in each of these battleground states, we can probably score more decisive victories. 100-120 thousand new younger voters in states where 2-3 million votes total are typically cast should be within our grasp.

My two daughters vote reliably Democratic, and in every election. The one in her ward in New York City, and the other votes absentee in Texas from her home in the Taunus Hills north of Frankfurt. I got them U.S. citizenship at birth, and they have voted in every US election ever since they could legally do so.

Until Dobbs. Turning her and her daughters into second class citizens was enough to get her to vote. I’m sure she’s not the only Millennial so motivated.

it would've been a whole another history.

I truly hope people learned from that catastrophe.

I very actively worked in NW Ohio/SE MI during the campaign , and had family doing the same in WI, and I apparently saw something firsthand that's very different from what you read.

but this is her story written by her for her defense (or rather the campaign).

In working with the campaign, it certainly didn't show.

Yes, my little bubble, but working things at the time is much different than when there's time to figure out a response why it failed.

Actually, she mentioned the end result similar to what I saw (though more stayed home):

…focussed on slim margins in a few particular states, iirc, which gave Trump the Electoral College. Plus the ads and rumors.

but there are plenty of young conservatives and liberal boomers.

has many Trump supporters and that is really a poor reflection on that generation.

But the author of this OP has recognized that not all boomers should be labeled with such generational blame. Kudos to them for recognizing the fountain of wisdom that resides here at DU. Thanks for the compliment is what I say.

In every generation there's approximately 20% actively progressive, 20% actively "conservative" and 60% opportunistic depending on whichever philosophy will allow them to live with the least amount of hassle.

Growing up in the 60's, I learned for every civil rights activist, there was a John Bircher fighting to keep the WASP status quo. And three moderates who pretty much stood by and watched until public opinion declared a winner, then went through the motions of support because they were too busy living and working for today to really care about thinking about a future.

For every David Hogg, there's a Charlie Kirk, along with three Zoomers more interested on the latest Balder's Gate, how to get into college or pay the rent than the actual climate change policies of who might be running for House Representative next.

Haele

I was at the Pentagon demonstration in 1967 with the Fugs (remember them?) helping out with their mobile sound system, watching the flower children sticking their daisies in the barrels of the National Guard guys' guns, thinking, "THERE'S a dialogue that's never gonna happen!"

Much water has flowed under the bridge since then..............

Love them…

It was hard to tell if Ed Sanders was just playing a role, or if he really meant all that stuff.
I was just 15, so, what did I know?

Many of s here have been fighting over 20 years!
K&R

I put in almost as many unpaid hours as paid hours in a full time job. Sometimes I get discourage as watch the things I fought for being lost due to many things happening since 2015. All I can say is thank God Joe Biden was elected.

fighting the last 20

woman’s rights, worker’s rights, and a host of other issues.

have a really poor grasp of history. Apparently they have little concept of what life was like for minorities and women before my generation came of age. I really hate putting people in generational pigeon holes, as if everyone of a certain age group is the same. It is lazy and limited thinking.

Actually, it is more the way most on the right think as they are the ones who frequently blame "others" for their problems.

The dumbing down has been successful in that the grasp of history is loose, at best, for too many.

I have younger friends an relatives with whom I discuss history and politics and I find that they don't realize how short a time it has been since many laws that make their lives so comfortable were fought over and won. They have clean air, water and better health care and people of color at least gaining some rights such that they have been able to assume better roles in life, well some. And that all became possible with laws enacted in the 1960s and 1970s.

I saw a lot of this history up close and personal like many of us did. I do try to lure them into conversations that bring out their curiosity. I guess I'm getting old as I have noticed that occasionally they will individually sit and ask questions about the past and are ready to listen to what I can tell them. They are often fascinated and it becomes more real for them. Maybe we should start a story tellers corps to become a regular thing. Vetted elders could share experiences with younger generations, like it used to be in may cultures including the indigenous peoples here. I think one of the reasons spoken word history lived on for millennia is that the personal aspect and perspective made it more memorable, sometimes language on a page loses too much nuance to "stick" as it were.

I see a lot of younger generations paying attention because they are noticing that things are disappearing all of a sudden like personal rights and stuff. Hopefully they will also see that participating in our participatory government is actually a very powerful thing. I think that's the real message we are trying to get across to them in the end.

Thoughtful post and sharing history with the younger generations. I remember listening to my elders discussing historic event and their participation. We’re all into electronic media so much these days I’m afraid we don’t talk much within families and friends as we used to - me included. I’m giving thought to how I can engage as you are doing.

There are plenty of people in all generations that are right, left, or center.

to talking points rather than read. Some educated young people!
Next thing is….Biden is to old!
How about the party??? Is the entire Democratic Party to old???

many rights and advances that are both taken for granted, AND in danger of being rolled back by right wingers.

if one is old enough to be tried as an adult, and sent to war to kill, they should be allowed to vote

--from regulations on nuclear, oil, and gas emissions, the particulates and acid rain-causing sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions, the creation of EPA, and progress thus far on climate change--however inadequate we might think it is to date.

Yes, that generation is saddled with the a'hole RW members of the cohort and their regressive policies and greed, but from the Woodstock years forward, there has been progress, laying a roadmap for subsequent generations.

........And don't forget LGBTQ+ rights. Stonewall happened in 1969. The first year of the baby boomers' birth was 1946.

Baby Boomers have had very eventful years. I sometimes wonder if every generation feels the same way. I think it may be inaccurate to lump entire generations together.

During WWII, it seemed like a majority of Americans were in favor of the U.S. getting into the war due to Pearl Harbor and Hitler's rise. However, Rachel Maddow's podcast, "Ultra", tells the little known story of the anti-semitism movement happening here in the the U.S. My understanding is that her upcoming book, "Prequel", delves deeply into this situation.

There are people in each generation who see the world completely differently. I think the influence of these varied idealogies is based in a large part on religion (which is ironic - given the teachings of Jesus). And if you throw in the hateful natures of some people (those who aren't religious at all) it can create a significant number of citizens.

However, I still believe there are more of us (thoughtful, caring, and kind) then there are of them.......

i wd wager that few of the boomers here r the 1s who lived selfish lives, and screwed shit up.
hell, i bet not that many of us here even have a solid retirement account.

most of us here have been fighting the same fucking battles all our lives. we’re bone tired.
we’re your political history, y’all. we have things to teach. this is a chance to learn. we look back at the recent past, at st ronnie, and nixon, and how we got here.

anyone who does otherwise is suspect, imho.

Like . . . when does this end? Who is left to call a Nazi when everyone is? Any little displeasure or disagreement? "Just like the Nazis!"

I just don't understand how people do not understand what that looks like.

The problem isn't one of demographics. It's one of insularity. One is getting mistaken for the other.