Boomers

Some people use that word all the time when talking about seniors usually it is used as “OK Boomers” without thinking about it because it is so common.

Most of them would be horrified if anyone used the “N” word or other racist words but boomer is just laughed off.

I was at a town hall meeting to discuss the coming legislative session about what LGBTQ+ discrimination legislation we should sponsor, most of the attendees were probably in their late teens and twenties. The legislation discussed was about discrimination in school and I mentioned about the other end of the spectrum… seniors.

I talked about discrimination in nursing homes and long term care facilities, after I finished someone said “OK Boomer” which was followed laughter.

A CEO of a large Hartford based insurance company in a news conference said that they’re moving their headquarters to New York City to find younger talent.

When they shutdown the factory where I worked for 28 years I took the option of early retirement because I knew that at 60 it would be impossible for me to find a job, especially at my salary but even with a cut in pay I don’t think that I would get any job offers. They would want someone with “fresh skills,” and with “new ideas” translated someone fresh out of college.

Even the Supreme Court thought the phrase “OK Boomer” was age discrimination.

How ‘OK, Boomer’ Went From Meme to Supreme (Court)
Bloomberg
By Caleb Melby
January 17, 2020


Can saying “OK, boomer” at work constitute age discrimination? Inquiring minds, among them U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, want to know. While the jury’s out, workers might want to exercise caution when using this phrase around the office. But they shouldn’t be surprised if younger generations roll their eyes at the heightened concern.

1. What’s ‘OK, boomer’?
“OK, boomer” took off early last year as a snappy, youthful retort, especially online, to the concerns and concern-trolling of Americans born between 1946 and 1964, i.e. the postwar Baby Boom generation. Like many things on the internet, subtlety and nuance are not exactly the point. Hand-wringing about so-called cancel culture? OK, boomer. Attributing the delayed life-markers of younger generations -- home-purchasing, marriage, children and retirement savings -- to personal failure rather than an inhospitable economic climate? OK, boomer. Feeling disrespected by kids saying “OK, boomer”? OK, boomer.
[…]
4. How’d it get to the Supreme Court?
The chief justice posed a hypothetical question during oral arguments Jan. 15 in a case in which a woman alleges the Department of Veterans Affairs denied her opportunities for promotion because of her gender and age. He asked: if someone says, “OK, boomer,” to a job applicant, would that be significant enough to show age discrimination?

NBC News had this to say,

The meme is a favorite of younger generations and Roberts used it in questions in a case about age discrimination in the workplace.

"The hiring person, who's younger, says, ‘OK, Boomer,' once to the applicant,” Roberts said as he conjured a hypothetical exchange to try to figure out when an older federal employee might be able to win a lawsuit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

It was the first time, according to databases of high court arguments, the somewhat pejorative phrase used by younger people to criticize the less flexible, tolerant and tech-savvy ways of their elders has been uttered in the Supreme Court, where the nine justices range in age from 52 (Neil Gorsuch) to 86 (Ruth Bader Ginsburg).
[…]
The issue before the court is whether an employee can prevail only if age discrimination is the key factor she didn't get what she sought, or whether it's enough that age discrimination was part of the process, even if the people who were selected were better qualified.

Many of the people who use “OK Boomer” would never discriminate against anyone nor use words that are derogatory but they don’t even think about age discrimination.


“OK Boomer” is not just an American problem…

Oh and that meeting I attended, when the people running the meeting never spoke out, I never went back.