My Reply to Joe Luca

— From one Boomer to another

I follow Joe Luca. He is a good writer. I like reading what he writes. It is entertaining. You should give him a try if you do not know him.

Lately, he has been writing, in a humorous and informative way, on the “conflict” between Boomers and Millennials. In his latest article, OK Millennials: Boomer Has Been Listening, he gave me a call out at the end. Not sure why. Maybe for some support?

Baby Boomers

The Baby Boomer Generation is generally defined as the people born between 1946 and 1964, inclusive. For you Millennials, inclusive means the years 1946 and 1964 are counted in the range. It is a term they teach in Math.

Biting humor and sarcasm is a defining trait in Boomers.

I have never been called a Boomer

Although I am an American, I have lived most of my life overseas. Although I do know the term Boomer, I have never been called a boomer. It probably can be attributed to my living overseas and having a former profession where the United States Government paid me to rain death and destruction on foreign enemies of the State. People tend not to piss me off.

The Language

I will say, the language has changed a lot over the years. I love English. It is the most flexible language around. A simple sentence can mean so many things to so many people just because of context.

Because I teach Lindy Hop, a popular dance among the Greatest Generation and the Silent Generation, I am familiar with Gender Neutral and Gender Identity. A Lindy Hop revival started in the 1980s and is still going strong. Lindy Hop is also popular with today’s college students, Generation Z. Therefore, my familiarity with today’s Gender Issues.

I try to respect the Gender Neutrality issues, but I love my English. One such term is chairman. I am not quite sure when the term chairperson came into existence. I do not use it. If I ever meet Nancy Pelosi, I will refer to her as a congresswoman, and if I do address her, it will be as Madam Chairman.

I am not sure why some people think if a word starts or ends with “man” it is sexist.

Are we going to stop using the words mankind and human?

While I am at it

I might have mentioned I live overseas. I do occasionally visit the United States. One of the things I dislike is the automatic phrases people utter without thinking. When people find out I was in the Army, they thank me for my service. Why, they do not even know me?

If I ever told these people what I have done for God and Country, they would probably run away screaming. Of course, once I caught them, I would have to kill them, sever their head from their corpse and lock it in a Class 2 safe. Some of that stuff I did was top secret.

Just kidding. Or am I?

I just do not understand why people thank other people just because of their profession.

Vickie Dawn Jackson was a nurse in the North Texas hospital. Being a nurse is an honorable profession. I am also sure she received compliments and thanks due to her profession, even from people that did not know her. If you do not know Vickie Jackson, she is an Angel of Death. Oh, and she is a millennial.

So, the next time you want to thank somebody for their service, make sure you know them.

I don’t really care

Calling people names is just childish. It is also a sign of someone’s lack of communications skills. I think it comes from the idea that ideas or solutions need to fit on a bumper sticker.

Take a look at Facebook or Instagram. People love to post little wisps of wisdom by insulting someone else. Whether they use the term “snowflake”, “libtard”, or “repuglican”, it is merely a reflection of the poster’s literacy and intelligence level.

If somebody wants to call me a name, thinking they are insulting me, go ahead. I just consider the source. What do I care if an uneducated and inarticulate person insults me. They probably do not even know the meaning of the insult.

Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. — Mark Twain

Mark Twain could always turn a good phrase.

Every generation thought the following generation are idiots

My father’s generation thought we were a bunch of idiots. His father’s generation thought my father’s generation was idiots. My generation thinks my children’s generation is idiots. When you have children, and they enter their teenage years, you will think their generation are idiots.

It is the one constant for every generation. The next generation will destroy the world. Has not happened yet. Won’t happen, unless the sun goes nova, and you really can’t blame a generation for that event.

Take action

Instead of blaming someone else for the problems of the world, look at what you have to work with and come up with a solution.

There was a study done with two groups of children. There was a room with a doorway on each end. The group was given the task to cross the room as quickly as possible without touching the floor with any part of their body.

One group was given two boards and two ropes. The other group had only one board and one rope.

Every group that had two boards and two ropes attached the ropes to the boards and walked across the room on the boards.

The second group used one board and one rope and skipped across the room.

The second group with fewer materials was always faster.

None of the groups with two boards and two ropes thought to use only one board and one rope and skip across the room, even though skipping was always faster.

The takeaway from the study. Just because you have an abundance of resources does not mean you will come up with a better solution. Many times, less is more.

It is a lesson I try to pound into all the millennial programmers I work with.

You need to be self-confident

Boomers, Millennials, Gen Xers, Generation Y and Gen Next, what is in a name? If you want to use the terms, use them to identify when someone was born. Do not try to use it as an insult.

By the way, the Baby Boomers will always be the greatest generation.