I assume your parents are my generation. No, most people I knew didn’t work 40 hrs and made a good living. I worked 16 hours/day in earlier in my career, even later on I slept with a blackberry next to my bed, in order to provide a certain life style for my family. My daughter is working similar hours as me when I first started out. I am not sure if this generation is any different than other generation.
Micro-aggressions, trigger-warnings, safe-spaces? Millenials: the most pathetic, hovered generation?
Probably in reference to this thread in College Life - http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1782000-so-whats-the-deal-with-safe-spaces.html
oldfort, did you work in the factories?
Notice what I said: “My parents’ generation ** around here**” I live in metro Detroit where factories were a way of life. That is my point of reference.
16 hour days are not and have never been typical in MOST fields… though certainly not all.
And, by the way, there are studies that show that yes, on average we are working more for less than older generations. That is not anecdotal.
romanigypsyeyes - maybe it wasn’t what you meant, but I read it as your parents’ generation (my generation) was making a good living working 40 hours a week. I also do not believe working in factories around Detroit were a way of life for everyone. There were many executives at those car companies, and I am sure they worked very long hours. In any field, if you want to work 40 hrs then you will get paid accordingly. It is all personal choice as to what is important to you. D1 is working just as many hours as I used to and she is not getting paid less than older generation (me).
I think back in the day, things were relatively less expensive. I understand inflation, of course, but large items like college, housing, property taxes, health care, I believe were way lower. And of course we have higher expectations of what is now essential. Unfortunately, it seems in many fields that salaries have not gone up with inflation. Even in my field, though I feel that I get paid very well, if my salary had kept up with inflation over the last 30-40 years, I’d be making double of what I do now.
I posted this in another topic but you’re talking only about SJWs basically, and SJWs span generations. Yes, it’s a newer phenonem, but it’s not just millennials nor is it even widespread throughout millennials.
I didn’t want to look like an uninformed middle aged person, so I googled SJW, as I admit I have no idea what it meant. Here’s what I got: “Social justice warrior. Well SJW originally referred to the crazy tumblr types who would say things like “White people wearing dreadlocks is cultural appropriation”, or “I was mentally raped by a man yesterday because he looked at me in the subway”. That sort of thing.”
Do people really say those things like that? Seriously, not joking? Because I can’t stop laughing, now. 
Who do you think invented the term “micro-aggression?” Or if not them, they certainly popularized the term in the past few years.
Oy. SJW is an extreme fringe of mostly teens who have tumblrs. And since it’s anonymous, there is no way of knowing whether these people are real or created/exacerbated by those who want to paint social justice activists in a “crazy” light. (It has been proven that some of the most virulent accounts were created by people in order to discredit activists.)
Microaggression was not created by so-called SJW on tumblr.
For what it’s worth, a lot of people throw around the term “SJW” when others don’t agree with what they say. It’s a stupid, meaningless term IMO.
FYI
http://www.vox.com/2015/6/3/8706323/college-professor-afraid
I’m a liberal professor, and my liberal students terrify me
I thought SJW is a misspelling of WSJ when I first encountered it.
Ironic that WSJ and SJW enthusiasts couldn’t possibly be more different…
Maybe I was using the wrong term… I guess I just mean social justice activists. Or anyone who uses the term “micro-aggression” without being ironic.
My point is that the people who complain about “micro-aggressions” and a lack of “trigger-warnings” are a very small portion of Millennials, and they exist in Gen X and Boomers as well.
There have been, and always will be, jerks in every generation. The Internet allows us to come into contact with more examples among current generations. I think it also may exacerbate the tendency to take the extreme as representative.
Remember that Bull Connor was a member of the Greatest Generation.
D2 is making more in her internship (different field than mine) than I currently make with 20 years of experience. She is putting in long days, though.
I am in romani’s parents’ generation, I am guessing … and I worked in the factory as a supervisor. We (both salaried and hourly) worked well over 40 hours a week. In fact, my salary almost doubled one year with all the shift premium and OT pay. It was hard, hard work. I imagine it is still much the same in factories, with the difference being that pay is lower (adjusted for inflation) than it was back in the day.
I work well over 40 hours a week, and I am not well paid. My D works well over 40 hours a week, although I would say she has more work/life balance in her job than mine allows. She is also paid much more than I will ever be paid. Today’s young worker seems to have to move around in order to earn more money, with fewer opportunities for growth within companies and fewer opportunities for raises than there used to be. But guess what? I also have fewer opportunities for growth within my company and fewer opportunities for raises … and the knife in my baby boomer back is that I am not exactly the kind of worker places are clamoring to hire (read that, I am “old”). Life can be hard for anyone at any stage of life. (Although, even as I silently scream at the kids to get off my grass, I am counting my blessings because I am far more fortunate than most.)
This is an interesting perspective. I’m going to guess that the “American dream” of your parents’ generation was pretty basic: a car, a house, a TV, a family. Probably much more meager than your own “American dream.” What would yours include? Cell phone/internet service, two cars, college educations for your kids, a house, international travel? If it is the same as your parents’, then you should have no problem accomplishing it, and probably already have the car and one TV.
Also, how do you expect to pay off your “massive debt” by saying “no” to working longer hours and demanding more work/life balance? That sounds rather … entitled? Maybe that is not the right word. Naive, maybe?
Sigh.
Yup. You’re right. My generation is lazy, spoiled, and just plain whiny. We have plenty of jobs, great pay, and future security- everything we could ever ask for! Plus, education is free and no need to start life with any debt. The economy is booming and has been our whole lives. We haven’t been at war for nearly 30 years. Etc. /sarcasm
Here’s data, not anecdotes. I’m done with this thread:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/why-millennials-are-struggling/
http://time.com/money/3545722/millennials-work-life-balance/
My American Dream would consist of two cars + cars for children, a good sized house (4 bedrooms), cell phone/ internet, health insurance, the ability to contribute to college education, travel (international would be a plus), good retirement savings, a good credit score, a job with travel, along with a schedule that allows for flexibility.
I think it can happen, although it’d be a great plus if I could support my mom when she’s older…might just have to throw out some things.
Naive? Sure, but with some strategy I don’t see how it couldn’t be accomplished.
I can’t speak for romani’s family, but I live in the same part of the country as do she and kelsmom. From what I can tell, the “American Dream” that was once available to factory workers here goes well beyond a home, a car, and a family. When jobs were dependable and overtime was abundant, it was not unusual for these factory workers to have a second home (a cottage up north), a boat, very nice new cars, and yearly trips to Disney World - not to mention a great pension that included health care. Not so meager…
As @kelsmom indicated, these jobs were hard but they were lucrative - and these factory workers (the people on the line) often just had high school diplomas.