Who would have thought the kids would start taking over so soon? Or that they would even want to? They were supposed to be slackers, cynics, drifters. But don't be fooled by their famous pose of repose. Lately, more and more of them are prowling tirelessly for the better deal, hunting down opportunities that will free them from the career imprisonment that confined their parents. They are flocking to technology start-ups, founding small businesses and even taking up causes--all in their own way. They are making waves on the Web, making movies in and out of Hollywood, making money, spending money. Slapped with the label Generation X, they've turned the tag into a badge of honor. They are X-citing, X-igent, X-pansive. They're the next big thing. Boomers, beware! It's payback time.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Why do they act so surprised?
From the 'always Gen X luvin' pages of Time. The biggest problem with this article is the "oh, how quaint" attitude it exudes.
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3 comments:
Welp, that's what makes TIME magazine TIME magazine: the TIME-liness of its commentary.
Does anybody proofread that swill? I'm not so much insulted, as I feel bad for the description of Boomers like my parents -- 'career imprisonment'? Sure, some people have the good fortune to 'come up' when times are flush, and can start families and throw themselves into a 'career', and peak at 38, the way a lot of guys like my dad did. When America went away from steel and steel-related manufacturing, a lot of people looked like dopes, in retrospect, for their career choices.
TIME's generational analysis is a lot like the writing of fortune cookies or horoscopes; true, of course, but generic. The oldest of the 'X-ers' are somewhere in their forties, so they'd probably have been working for at least 20 years by now (whether or not there was a recession on, or general belt-tightening at the corporate level), so why wouldn't 'X-ers' have accomplished something by now?
Well, after that breathless and X-citing summary -- (good lord)-- I am so impressed with Gen X. Not.
All sounds a little too cute to me. And a badge of honor? Yeah, I don't think so.
Kath
Rockie- it's truly bizzaro. The person that wrote this seemed condescending to me, almost like a parent saying "I'm gonna go check on the kids hanging out downstairs".
Kath- you captured the article X-travagently. Hah! Could they be anymore lame overusing "X" to start an adverb?
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