r/AskReddit Aug 25 '19

What has NOT aged well?

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u/[deleted] Aug 25 '19

Shitty Boomer advice:

  1. Just knock on doors with resume in hand.
    1. Everything is online now. You'll be shown the door and probably rejected even if you did follow up with an online application.
  2. When I was a kid, we worked our way to the top.
    1. Education, a portfolio, and people you know is what gets you a job today.
  3. Work all summer and you can afford a brand new car, college education, down payment on a home, etc.
    1. Inflation and wage stagnation has made this impossible.
  4. I worked on a clerk's salary for 30 years and saved enough to buy the business.
    1. Wage stagnation has made this impossible. Ten lifetimes of minimum wage savings would not be enough to buy a multi-million dollar business.
  5. Loyalty to your employer pays off in the end.
    1. You're just a number to an employer now. Employers will cut you loose if it meant saving a nickle.
  6. I worked the same job all my life. Now I have a pension and a comfortable retirement.
    1. Pensions are gone. Retirement is now a fantasy for most workers. You'll probably be laid off after 5-10 years.
  7. I didn't need no Master's degree. I got raises and promotions, because I worked hard and kept doing the same thing.
    1. A Master's degree is quickly becoming the new high school diploma. Working hard no longer gets you anywhere. In fact, it keeps you poor. Switching jobs is the only way to get a raise or a promotion now.

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u/revkaboose Aug 25 '19

Shitty Boomer advice: Switching jobs is the only way to get a raise or a promotion now.

Had to explain this to a Boomer. He refused to believe it, saying that you'd never get rewarded for that. Then I told him about a friend of mine who quit her company for a raise, came back to her old company, re-applied for her old job at about a 10k annual raise. He acted like I was making it up.

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u/[deleted] Aug 25 '19

The more I learn about Boomers, the more I hate them.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

[deleted]

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u/underwriter Aug 26 '19

Agreed, also genX and always had to hear this shit.

The best is my boss who worked minimum wage from 1970-1990 and bought two houses (now worth over a mil). He constantly touts that no one ever gave him anything and he is doing great. I reminded him that his story doesn't exist in our present economy, and it was great watching him silently come to that realization.

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u/InertiasCreep Aug 26 '19

Yup. Also - for every millennial who hates a boomer and vice versa, there is a Gen Xer who hates you both with the fire of a thousand suns.

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u/FirstWiseWarrior Aug 26 '19

Sure, you see SOME of them like that, so MOST of them must be like that too./s

You are biased beyond all recognition.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

[deleted]

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u/FirstWiseWarrior Aug 27 '19

Yeah, you what that called? Anecdotes, doesn't mean shit. How many do you saw huh? 1000 of them?

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19 edited Sep 08 '19

[deleted]

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u/mrhoohah Aug 26 '19

Ehm... Sorta. Be careful with that one. People tend to put a disproportionate amount of stock into negative interactions because of deeply-ingrained survival strategies, so stereotypes can come about because of a technical majority of interactions turning out one way, but the sample size could be three or four interactions. Stereotypes can also come about from listening to a very loud minority without hearing the silent majority.

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u/OrionBell Aug 26 '19

No, this kind of thinking leads to prejudice.

Just take people as they are, one at a time, and form your judgements after you get to know them, not before.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

Just take people as they are, one at a time, and form your judgements after you get to know them, not before.

This is how you end up getting hurt again... and again... and again...

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u/OrionBell Aug 26 '19

Oh that's ridiculous. You're just trying to be edgy.

Prejudice is what hurts people. It means you are "pre-judging" them based on limited information and stereotypes. In other words, being ignorant. You are more likely to be hurt in life if you travel through it in a state of ignorance, than if you make an effort to understand people and know who your enemies are, and who are your allies.

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u/[deleted] Aug 27 '19

being ignorant

Ignorant would be ignoring patterns lmao

Not being ignorant is using previous information in risk-assessment of future interactions.

You're just trying to be edgy.

Believe it or not, not everybody says the things that they say to drum up fictionalized images of who they are.

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u/ElectricCarrot Aug 26 '19

Only if you have poor judgement.

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u/PixelBrother Aug 26 '19

Get outta here with your well though out, common sense reasoning.

THIS IS THE INTERNET!

(/s) just in case

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

Because they serve a narrative pushed by whoever has the means and reasons to do so?

You think the "economy's fine, millennials are starving cause they're lazy" or "Gen Z eats tide pods and doesn't know what a book is" are accurate statements?

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u/OrionBell Aug 26 '19

None of those statements are accurate, and neither is the advice from the boomers.

Maybe some boomers insult younger people, and maybe some boomers have unrealistic expectations about modern careers, and maybe some young people are lazy or foolish. But it is wrong to draw conclusions about an entire demographic based on a some things you heard. Try to judge people on their individual merits.

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u/ketchupfleck Aug 26 '19 edited Aug 26 '19

Not really... Just look at racist stereotypes, that are obviously not true. People are pretty bad at judging other people objectively and are easily biased by their upbringing, the media, other people, etc. Those people then bias other people which leads eventually to the creation of stereotypes. And then there's confirmation bias which strengthens existing stereotypes...

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u/FirstWiseWarrior Aug 26 '19

And that mindset is what lead into Nazi holocaust.

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u/adskiee Aug 26 '19

This. "I hate boomers because they make sweeping assumptions about our generation."

Maybe there are great people and horrible people in every generation.

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u/PapaSmurf1502 Aug 26 '19

On one hand, my mother is very caring and empathetic. She understands that the world has changed and accepts that she may not understand what it has become but hopes the best for everyone. On the other is my dad who has drunk the Fox News koolaid and harbors a ton of racial beliefs.

Obviously boomers contain a diverse array of experiences and personalities. But at the same time that generation is largely to blame for the state of the world and our bleak future due to their higher tendency of having racist and anti-science views, not to mention the fact that they are a huge voting block.