“OK, Boomer:” Not an Ageist Slur
At this point, we’ve all heard it. The phrase “OK, Boomer” has become commonplace over the last week as a symbol of generational anguish and ageism. To clarify, the term “boomer” refers to someone who was born in the baby boomer generation, or 1950s, in America. These people are generally frowned upon by younger generations for their perceived lack of empathy for the environment and their greedy economic worldview which led to the Great Recession, as well as smaller things like complaining about technology and refusing to admit their mistakes.
Today, “Ok boomer” is used to denigrate someone who appears to be acting on their own self-interest without care for others. The phrase has become famous, being used all over the world; a member of the New Zealand parliament, when talking about the environment, called out a 50-year old heckler by saying, “OK, Boomer.” But, of course, you probably already knew that. The real issue, for me, with “OK, Boomer” is that actual boomers are getting characteristically frustrated with the use of the word “boomer” itself. Probably the most famous example of this frustration is Bob Lonsberry, a conservative radio host who recently said that the word “boomer” is just as disparaging as the N-word.
This argument is ludicrous. First of all, the phrase “OK, Boomer” is not limited to only boomers. It only describes those who exhibit thoughts coinciding with the orthodox boomer mentality. A millennial could be a “boomer” if they demonstrate indifference for the consequences of their actions, like a stereotypical boomer.
However, there’s a bigger, more obvious problem with this argument: it alleges that the word “boomer” is meant to be derogatory, and that by using it, millennials and Gen Z are disrespecting the efforts of the previous generations to create a better world for us to live in.
There’s just one problem. The issues which boomers strove to fix—like healthcare, the economy, and the environment—are the source of some of the biggest complaints which my generation has. For example, there is a prevailing sentiment today that nobody cares about the environment, except from an economical standpoint. If it makes you rich, then it’s good. It doesn’t matter if it kills the Earth, so long as you get instant gratification in the form of money.
And as long as we’re talking about money, another big issue for our generation today is education. In the 1980s, college cost around $15,000 dollars per year. Today, it costs around $36,000 per year, discounting textbooks, which cost hundreds of dollars alone.
And that’s coupled with the fact that there’s more people attending college today than before. It’s problems like this that trigger the frustrations of millennials and Gen Z. It’s also why complaining about using “boomer” derogatorily is founded on flimsy evidence. Boomers may believe that they worked really hard, and maybe that’s true, but it’s unfair to complain about being insulted. After all, boomers refuse to listen to our generation’s complaints that we have to fix the problems they created.
Ultimately, the use of “ok boomer” may be slanderous, but instead of complaining, boomers need to consider the opposing viewpoint. Use of the phrase isn’t ageism; it comes from a generational frustration at certain individuals’ unwillingness to comprehend the consequences of their actions.
We group those people under the umbrella of “boomer,” but in reality, they are not defined by their birth year but by their actions. That’s what Lonsberry and others with the same resentment fail to understand. It’s not slurring a generation, it’s the manifestation of our generation’s desire to fix the problems in our society and on our Earth. If someone calls you a boomer, chances are, they’re not insulting you because of your age. They’re pointing out your problematic actions, and urging you to fix them.