I'm a GenX dealing with modern children.

[Dave-W]

Once again - there are exceptions... but pretty much all of the "Keep Government out of Medicare" people, the FOX News addicts, etc... are boomers. My opinion of them as a group stands. When they were young and had nothing - they were all about "taking". Now that they're old and have something - they're all about "keeping". lol

Hey I am a 'Peak' boomer. (1955 was the crest of the boomer wave) I am not looking forward to medicare or SS or any of that. I intend to keep working.

BTW - I watch CBS news and listen to NPR .....

 

[HannahT]

Once again - there are exceptions... but pretty much all of the "Keep Government out of Medicare" people, the FOX News addicts, etc... are boomers. My opinion of them as a group stands. When they were young and had nothing - they were all about "taking". Now that they're old and have something - they're all about "keeping". lol

(shrugs) I think your broad brushing here.

Medicare is something they paid into, and so is SS. That's not taking, but a return on their investment. They fulfilled their end of the bargain if you will. I have my doubts about SS when my time comes - despite the fact I also paid into the system. We have planned around it (via other types of investments), and did without to do so. We haven't taken anything - and as far as I know neither did my parents, grandparents, etc.

Yes, you did have some dingle butts from the boomer generation. Pie in the sky dreamers, but all generations have that. We had two groups like any other generation. One that went to school, went to work, raised children, etc. They you had others that were hippies, free love, smoked pot (among other things), etc. This generation just was a bit louder about breaking from the cultural norm. Despite that many great changes in society took play, because of the ground swell that many take for granted today. Now, I doubt the druggies had to much to do with that part...lol they were to stoned to pay attention! Yet, we have that today too.

I guess I'm not sure what the generation really 'took'.

 

[DZoolander]

What I'm referring to isn't so much the stuff about Medicare and SS (I believe wholeheartedly in both systems.) What I'm thinking more along the lines of are things like college tuition, etc.

Like in my first example - my sister is a boomer. She was able to put herself through college on a part time job coaching swimming at the YMCA with no loans, no grants, no help from my parents. How come? Because her tuition was around $125 per quarter.

Why, factoring in inflation and the value of the dollar then relative to now, etc...was her tuition so inexpensive comparatively speaking with what today's kid's face? Because my father's generation (the Silent generation) generally saw the value of investing toward a common goal and in society as a whole. She reaped the benefits of that attitude.

Yet, she'll lament about how she "pulled herself up by her own bootstraps" and will use that as a comparison against her "loafing kids" who are having difficulty paying back debt from tuition fees of around $4k per quarter (not including books).

Back then - the state subsidized around 80% of university costs. Now - it's pretty common that they invest as little as 8-10%. Why? Because, generally speaking, Boomers (and they're the ones who vote) hate taxes and are unwilling to invest in "such commie socialist things".

They have a misguided perception of how much was their own gumption, and how much was given to them by earlier generations that actually cared.

 

[sdmsanjose]

EZ regarding the Boomers
They were simply selfish.

They challenged the Vietnam war because they didn't wanna go. No more, no less


They were far too busy banging around with each other, doing drugs, living hedonistic lifestyles on the dime of their parents and being cowardly to get any bonus points there.


insofar as they react violently to any kind of giving.


Because my father's generation (the Silent generation) generally saw the value of investing toward a common goal and in society as a whole. She reaped the benefits of that attitude.


Because boomers hate taxes. Boomers hate the idea of investing in someone else. Boomers hate "socialism"


Back then - the state subsidized around 80% of university costs. Now - it's pretty common that they invest as little as 8-10%. Why? Because, generally speaking, Boomers (and they're the ones who vote) hate taxes and are unwilling to invest in "such commie socialist things".

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I am an early boomer that was raised in the 1950s and 1960s. As Hanna has mentioned, EZ is using a broad brush with his statements. However, as much as I hate to admit it EZ is right on some of his GENERAL statements IMO. I am going to comment on a few.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]They were simply selfish.
EZ are you telling me that Gen X and Millenniums are not selfish?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]They challenged the Vietnam War because they didn't wanna go. No more, no less[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]For the majority that is probably true but then you did not mention those that sacrificed and challenged the war and not because “they didn’t want to go” See statements at bottom of this page[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]They were far too busy banging around with each other, doing drugs, living hedonistic lifestyles on the dime of their parents and being cowardly to get any bonus points there.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I cannot argue against that as many of the boomers did just that. Of course not all boomers but enough to put a bitter taste in your mouth. We Christian boomers that lived the hedonistic lifestyle were a disgrace to our God. EZ do you think that the boomers were more immoral than the Gen X and Millenniums?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Because boomers hate taxes. Boomers hate the idea of investing in someone else. Boomers hate "socialism"[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]No one I know hates taxes and socialism more than the Tea Party[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]EZ, you may be surprised to know that 50% of tea party supporters are under the age of 50 (NON-BOOMERS)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://www.gallup.com/poll/127181/tea-partiers-fairly-mainstream-demographics.aspx[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]EZ, you are right, some of us boomers were selfish and abandoned the altruistic actions of the silent generation. However, as we boomers got older, some of us are lucky enough to have good Christian parents from the Silent Generation. I am one of those lucky ones. Even though I am embarrassed about my life in the 1960s, because of the great influence of the greatest generation (my parents), I now strive to live a life that pleases God and have some successes. I love the saying by John Newton; here it is below:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I am not the man I ought to be, I am not the man I wish to be, and I am not the man I hope to be, but by the grace of God, I am not the man I used to be."'[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]John Newton (24 July 1725 – 21 December 1807) was a British slave trader who later became an abolitionist and converted to Christianity. He came to be a clergyman and songwriter. He is most famous for writing the lyrics to the historical hymn, Amazing Grace[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

Inspired by the example of the Civil Rights Movement, hundreds of predominantly white college students volunteered to challenge Jim Crow through registering blacks to vote and desegregating bus facilities.


The response to the black and white “Freedom Riders” included angry mobs that overturned and burned buses while beating the integrationists with clubs and baseball bats. The Klan threatened participants in the 1964 Freedom Summer with violence, yet college students were not intimidated. It is interesting today to ask students how many would risk their lives by spending their summer vacations in pursuit of expanding American democracy.
And increasingly college students, despite their draft exempt status, were drawn to protest the Vietnam War.


There was much more to the demonstrations than young people simply wanting to save their own skins and opposed to serving their country


Many young men had the courage to face prison or exile rather than submit to the draft, but most accepted conscription even if they were in opposition to the war


Obviously there was an excess of drugs, violence, and sexuality in the 1960s, but the clouds of marijuana smoke associated with the era should not be allowed to obscure the contributions of a generation that sought to combat racism, war, pollution, sexism, poverty, and materialism - See more at: History News Network | This Generation Changed America ? And We Don't Think It too Made a Great Contribution?

 

[faroukfarouk]

...The only thing I can remember really freaking about? My 21 yr old came home with a cat tattoo on her ankle. She knew the freak out was coming, and was trying to calm me down. (Sigh) If that is the worse she does? I can live with it. What the heck is it with this kids and tattoo's? Yuck!

PS:

I'm not sure what a specifically Boomer perspective on tattoos would be...

 

[Hetta]

I'm a boomer with a couple of tattoos. It's not strictly for the younger generation. I wouldn't get any now, but I certainly got them in the past.

Well Ezoo, you have several people who are boomers telling you that's not what they believe, and I have a wide range of people in my life who are my age, and who come from many different backgrounds and cultures, and they don't feel that way either, so not everyone is like your sister! I particularly always loathe when people blame boomers for the ozone layer. Hello? It was my generation that was the first to catch on to what had happened and to call for non-CFC products. My generation also protested the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela. Many of us have been and are involved in political protest and other activities. It's crazy to dismiss an entire generation as hippies/greedy, when there is so much else that they did, including protesting Vietnam. I think that Bernstein and Woodward where Boomers, were they not? I'm quite happy to be a part of the generation that includes such individuals.

 

[faroukfarouk]

I'm a boomer with a couple of tattoos. It's not strictly for the younger generation. I wouldn't get any now, but I certainly got them in the past.

Hetta:

Well, there are all sorts of things that could be said about Boomers.

Regarding Boomers with tattoos, as opposed to the younger generation with them, the youngsters of today are certainly getting them a great deal, to the extent even of often regarding it as a rite of passage at 18.

But I think on reflection Boomers probably have a special link with tattoos in that they have coincided with the great expansion of tattoo establishments and the arrival of better quality inks (and even numbing creams for the less confident). A lot more care is now taken with the ingredients of the ink that ends up in wrists, upper arms and ankles and elsewhere; and now parlors are often more like salons than the dingy establishments of yesteryear.

But also it's among Boomers that women started getting tattooed in huge numbers.

I guess you yourself can relate to the fact that giving your skin to the inking needle has been something that has come naturally to you in your generation. While in North America now 59%-70% or more of parlor clients are female, women of the older generation would not have done it as naturally and confidently as you have done.

So I guess you'd probably agree that there has also been a special relationship between Boomer women and tattoos, at least to an extent that did not exist with women of an older generation. Maybe for you and many other Boomers, getting tattooed became a wholesome, womanly thing to do with confidence.

 

[DZoolander]

[FONT=&quot][quote[FONT=&quot]][/FONT]EZ are you telling me that Gen X and Millenniums are not selfish?[FONT=&quot][/quote]
[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]To be honest - from my perspective it's still a little [FONT=&quot]too early to tell. I think that my group ([FONT=&quot]t[FONT=&quot]he GenX[FONT=&quot]'ers) has a degree of selfishness to [FONT=&quot]us...hence the[FONT=&quot] statistic you were citing [FONT=&quot]showing the breakdown of [FONT=&quot]tea partiers. I know a good number of kids I went to s[FONT=&quot]chool with that are in that camp politically.

[FONT=&quot]As for the [FONT=&quot]millennials - that really remains to be seen[FONT=&quot]. From what I know of them - they [FONT=&quot]value [FONT=&quot]the "group" in ways t[FONT=&quot]hat the boomers (generally) and my group (generally) don't. [FONT=&quot]So it'll be interesting to see how that parlays i[FONT=&quot]nto the future when it comes to things like social[FONT=&quot] investment. My understand[FONT=&quot]ing, however, is that they are in favor of[FONT=&quot] it (generally).

[FONT=&quot]I think the reason why the boomers (generally...lo[FONT=&quot]l [FONT=&quot]I'll start using that now) get under my skin about their selfish[FONT=&quot]ness in a way that [FONT=&quot]my group doesn't is that in my view it comes off as [FONT=&quot]either[FONT=&quot] unabashedly a[FONT=&quot]nd unashamedly crass [FONT=&quot]or just plain unaware[FONT=&quot] of[FONT=&quot] things. I mean - they W[FONT=&quot]ERE the beneficiaries of the investments of the previous generation. [FONT=&quot]For all intents and purposes - their ride was paid for in full.

[FONT=&quot]So, the self aggrandizement about how they [FONT=&quot]"pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps" just gets under my skin when I h[FONT=&quot]ear how they talk about the millenn[FONT=&quot]ials (generally)[FONT=&quot]. It's actually listeni[FONT=&quot]ng t[FONT=&quot]o them talk about this newer group that has fired me up[FONT=&quot] about them.

[FONT=&quot]Compared to the millen[FONT=&quot]nials - in a lot of respects - I had it easy, too. Hec[FONT=&quot]k - my folks paid fo[FONT=&quot]r my college in full. I carr[FONT=&quot]ied no [FONT=&quot]debt coming out of college[FONT=&quot] - and immediately after graduating was able to get a good paying job where I c[FONT=&quot]ould buy a home and begin be[FONT=&quot]ing a productive member of society.

[FONT=&quot]But I don't [FONT=&quot]suffer from delusions of how I [FONT=&quot]was an isla[FONT=&quot]nd - making it on my own. I completely recognize the he[FONT=&quot]lp I was given - and as a result I have no problems with the [FONT=&quot]idea of investment in the better[FONT=&quot]ment of others. I received, and it ma[FONT=&quot]de a great [FONT=&quot]difference. Others should receive as well. To me it only seems fair - and like a good investment going forward.

[FONT=&quot]To your que[FONT=&quot]stion though - I think within my group such a shared perspective is kinda [FONT=&quot]a 50[FONT=&quot]/50 proposition. A lot [FONT=&quot]of those in my group didn't get the same types of allowances I was given. The 80's rolled around, the Boomers started becoming more of a factor, [FONT=&quot]people sta[FONT=&quot]rted getting scared of the idea that Government might ask "How can we help[FONT=&quot]?", an[FONT=&quot]d community investment began to sink. So - some in my group got shafte[FONT=&quot]d - and I guess they think "If I got shafted, why shouldn't eve[FONT=&quot]ryone else?"

[FONT=&quot]Not excusing it - but that's how I think it plays out.[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]I cannot argue against that as many of the boomers did just that. Of course not all boomers but enough to put a bitter taste in your mouth. We Christian boomers that lived the hedonistic lifestyle were a disgrace to our God. EZ do you think that the boomers were more immoral than the Gen X and Millenniums?[/FONT]

Ehhh, not really. I just used that as something to illustrate the grand level of debauchery they were involved in as part of a whole...lol

I think my generation got kinda scared about sex with the whole AIDS thing. Heck - I've said here before that I think my entire life - even with a previous marriage - prior to trying to have kids with my wife I've had sex w/o a condom maybe 5 times. I remember my mom pulling me aside in the 7th grade and telling me about this "new aids thing that will kill you"...lol

So, if there was any more chastity in my group than in the millennials or the boomers - it's only by circumstance - so I don't think any bonus points can be given there.

Can't really speak about the millennials, although anecdotally I've heard they're pretty promiscuous...lol "Hook up culture"

[FONT=&quot]EZ, you are right, some of us boomers were selfish and abandoned the altruistic actions of the silent generation. However, as we boomers got older, some of us are lucky enough to have good Christian parents from the Silent Generation. I am one of those lucky ones. Even though I am embarrassed about my life in the 1960s, because of the great influence of the greatest generation (my parents)[[FONT=&quot]/quote]
[/FONT][/FONT]
I've always kinda seen myself as a mix of boomer and Gen-Xer - because my folks were part of the Silent-Generation. So in a sense, I had the same type of home life that the boomers did.. My dad was born in 1925, raised during the depression, was a WWII vet, etc...and was pretty much your stereotypical "Silent-Generation/Greatest Generation" guy. So, I can see a lot of their perspectives, actually.

Probably plays into things like why chastity is not my litmus test of morality, I think sexual issues are far overplayed in terms of importance, etc. I also had a ton of things given to me on a silver platter by virtue of how my parents were.

I also witnessed, like I said before, how a lot of people in my group didn't get those types of things due to shifting priorities culturally. So observing that had an effect on me as well.

It could be that I'm painting the boomers with too broad of a brush - but like I said earlier - a lot of them have really gotten on my nerves lately with stuff I've been hearing them say about the millennial group. I have a lot of respect so far for that young group - and given the choice of growing old and ending up under their watch - or given the choice of growing old under the boomer's watch - I'd far prefer the millennials.

 

[favoritetoyisjoy]

The proof is in the pudding and talk is cheap, just like it was with my generation. I'm willing and hopeful for a better generation to emerge, I'd like my children and grandchildren to have it better.

When does this new and improved generation that is now in their 40's kick in and start making a difference? When will the blame game end? When does accountability begin for the new and improved generation? When will the crime rate go down, divorce rates go down, the wars end, the ecomomy improve, and all of the other indicators of a better generation kick in?

 

[DZoolander]

Oh, I'm not engaging in any sort of "blame game", I simply made an observation.

As for when things will start to improve - I think that things are already improving. The biggest problems that we face as a society are the hanger-on'ers of the past who can't/won't accept improvements. As they die off and that voting block withers away to nothing - I think a lot of progress will be made as society is "handed off" to the new generations.

As for your other questions - those are more complicated to answer I think - because I guess it boils down to what you consider to be "better".

For example - crime rates. I'm a big proponent of the idea "the more laws - the more criminals". The state really doesn't have any business in a lot of the things they currently criminalize...for example drug laws. I don't think that people should be incarcerated because they like to do drugs. Now - if they steal to support their habit - or if they're caught selling to minors - or if they're caught driving under the influence/etc...yeah. That should be a crime. But if someone wants to smoke up, shoot up, whatever...that's their problem. They ought not go to jail for it, though.

I think simply addressing what we consider to be "crimes" will be a huge benefit to society - and will cause the crime rate to drop considerably.

As for divorce - my understanding is that divorce rates have actually been declining since the 1970's. I think the less you pressure people to get married socially (so they get married for the right reasons - instead of the sex-guilt that drives a lot of it) - the better off society will be for it.

Wars ending - ehhh - that probably won't happen. However - I think with the anticipated death of the chicken-hawk generation - you should see some improvements.

...etc...etc.

 

[favoritetoyisjoy]

All fine and dandy, and by the time we die off your generation will be our age and your children's generation will have already started judging your generation. So unless you want to end up looking as lame as we do, you better get hustling. It's not as easy as it looks.

 

[sdmsanjose]

BY EZ
So, the self-aggrandizement about how they "pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps" just gets under my skin when I hear how they talk about the millennials (generally). It's actually listening to them talk about this newer group that has fired me up about them.


But I don't suffer from delusions of how I was an island - making it on my own. I completely recognize the help I was given - and as a result I have no problems with the idea of investment in the betterment of others. I received, and it made a great difference. Others should receive as well. To me it only seems fair - and like a good investment going forward.


The 80's rolled around, the Boomers started becoming more of a factor, people started getting scared of the idea that Government might ask "How can we help?", and community investment began to sink. So - some in my group got shafted - and I guess they think "If I got shafted, why shouldn't everyone else?"

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]EZ, it seems that your statements above in bold relates to the tea party, as I understand them, more than the boomers[/FONT][FONT=&quot]. From what I understand the Tea Party wants most, if not all, government programs to be eliminated. I guess they think that all Americans can be an island and “Pick themselves up by their boot straps”.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If “Pick yourself up by your boot straps” means that you can do a lot better for yourself but want to cop out and let others take your load upon others, then I can see that phrase as being ligit and a call to stop being a leech. However, if some Americans need a helping hand or they just do not have the resources to help themselves have a secure or a decent life and no fault of their own then the phrase “Pick yourself up by your bootstraps” is a nice sounding phrase but it disguises their pure selfishness and a lack of compassion for your neighbor.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In 2010 Larry King interviewed organizers of the Tea Party and they verify the notion that the Tea Party would abolish all or just about every social program in the federal government. A partial reprint of that interview is below:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Tea party leaders say they would ‘absolutely’ abolish Social Security.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]By Lee Fang Posted on March 30, 2010 at 12:50 pm[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]"[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Tea party leaders say they would ‘absolutely’ abolish Social Security. Last[/FONT][FONT=&quot] tonight on CNN, Larry King discussed the rise of the tea parties with a variety of guests and featured footage from last weekend’s lobbyist-organized Tea Party Express rally in Searchlight, NV. Dana Leech, a tea party organizer from Missouri, and another tea party organizer, Wayne Allyn Root, joined King for the discussion. Root and Leech decried the “unprecedented” and “unconstitutional” reach of a health care mandate. However, King noted that programs like Social Security are mandatory and asked if the tea parties would like to “do away with” that program as well. Both tea party organizers enthusiastically said “yes, absolutely” and added that a compromise would be at least privatizing the system: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]KING: Would anyone turn away Social Security now? Would you do away with it? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]LOESCH: I would, yes. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]KING: You would? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]LOESCH: Yes, absolutely. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]KING: Would do you away with it, Wayne? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]ROOT: I’d certainly like to. At best, I do away with it because I could find better ways to spend and save my own $15,000 a year.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Tea party leaders say they would 'absolutely' abolish Social Security. | ThinkProgress[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

Such beliefs are starkly at odds with the basic facts regarding social programs, the analysis finds. Federal budget and Census data show that, in 2010, 91 percent of the benefit dollars from entitlement and other mandatory programs went to the elderly (people 65 and over), the seriously disabled, and members of working households.



People who are neither elderly nor disabled — and do not live in a working household — received only 9 percent of the benefits.
Moreover, the vast bulk of that 9 percent goes for medical care, unemployment insurance benefits (which individuals must have a significant work history to receive), Social Security survivor benefits for the children and spouses of deceased workers, and Social Security benefits for retirees between ages 62 and 64. Seven out of the 9 percentage points go for one of these four purposes
Contrary to "Entitlement Society" Rhetoric, Over Nine-Tenths of Entitlement Benefits Go to Elderly, Disabled, or Working Households ? Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

[FONT=&quot]The social programs that the Tea Party wants to cut include such programs as:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Medicaid[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Food Stamps[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]SSI/Old Age Assistance[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Earned Income Tax Credit[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Pell Grants[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Section 8 Housing (HUD)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The above are the programs that receive the largest amount of funding.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]EZ, if you are referring to the far right wing of Tea Party and other groups that are fighting to cut out social programs as described above, then I am with you 100% in your disgust for those selfish people.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Those selfish people consist of the Silent Generation, Boomers, Gen X, and the Millenniums. My guess is that the selfish people are mostly from those that lack compassion for others, have very little to no understanding about many that receive social program help, or are just selfish people. Those are the ones that that fit the criteria for being a determent to the Golden Rule more than the boomer generation or any other generation IMO.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Getting people to have compassion for others, follow the Golden Rule, and stop being so selfish is a ginormous task and God has been trying to get mankind to improve in those areas for thousands of years.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I like the quote below by the associate Justice of the Supreme Court[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody - a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns - bent down and helped us pick up our boots.


Thurgood Marshall
Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

 

[faroukfarouk]

My 21 yr old came home with a cat tattoo on her ankle.

HannahT: Well, these days, a bit of ink wouldn't be regarded as particularly radical, would it? particularly if done tastefully...

 

[RedPonyDriver]

My siblings and I are all "boomer babies"...born between 1956 and 1966. Of the 5 of us, only my older 2 brothers are the typical conservatives. The 3 youngest ones (including me) are quite liberal in our views (makes for some interesting discussions during family gatherings). I graduated from high school in 1981, the beginning of the Reagan years. MOST of my classmates who went to college all went for business, marketing, finance...they were ALL about the $$ and they are still rather conservative. However, there's a large segment of my generation that isn't conservative.

I have 4 holes in each ear, no tattoos (not really into pain), long hair and race cars for a hobby. Some of my classmates seem SO OLD compared to me...they're still doing the same things their parents did...buy a house in our hometown, have a couple of kids, vacation in the same place every year. I feel sorry for them. I think the bigger problem with most of the boomers is that they completely lost any sense of adventure.

 

[faroukfarouk]

My siblings and I are all "boomer babies"...born between 1956 and 1966. Of the 5 of us, only my older 2 brothers are the typical conservatives. The 3 youngest ones (including me) are quite liberal in our views (makes for some interesting discussions during family gatherings). I graduated from high school in 1981, the beginning of the Reagan years. MOST of my classmates who went to college all went for business, marketing, finance...they were ALL about the $$ and they are still rather conservative. However, there's a large segment of my generation that isn't conservative.

I have 4 holes in each ear, no tattoos (not really into pain), long hair and race cars for a hobby. Some of my classmates seem SO OLD compared to me...they're still doing the same things their parents did...buy a house in our hometown, have a couple of kids, vacation in the same place every year. I feel sorry for them. I think the bigger problem with most of the boomers is that they completely lost any sense of adventure.

Multiple holes in the ears would not be regarded as particularly radical these days; it's a very well established custom to do it. For example, teen girls (and their moms) started getting multiple holes in their ears in the late 70s and so if a 19 year old and her (for example) 44 year old mom did it in 1979, then today they would be aged 55 and 80 respectively. Radical? not particularly. Well established? certainly.

 

[Hetta]

Hey I am a 'Peak' boomer. (1955 was the crest of the boomer wave) I am not looking forward to medicare or SS or any of that. I intend to keep working.

BTW - I watch CBS news and listen to NPR .....

NPR = National Pagan Radio I saw someone say on CF today. I laughed.

 

[faroukfarouk]

So far? The only thing I can remember really freaking about? My 21 yr old came home with a cat tattoo on her ankle. She knew the freak out was coming, and was trying to calm me down. (Sigh) If that is the worse she does? I can live with it. What the heck is it with this kids and tattoo's? Yuck!

HannahT: Re-reading this. So was this her only ink? I see you said you can live with it!

 

[RedPonyDriver]

Multiple holes in the ears would not be regarded as particularly radical these days; it's a very well established custom to do it. For example, teen girls (and their moms) started getting multiple holes in their ears in the late 70s and so if a 19 year old and her (for example) 44 year old mom did it in 1979, then today they would be aged 55 and 80 respectively. Radical? not particularly. Well established? certainly.

Try doing it in the early 80's when you have an INCREDIBLY conservative Latina mother. I came home from college for semester break and was wearing 4 earrings in each ear...you'd have thought the world was coming to an end! My mother almost disowned me for it...thank God my dad calmed her down.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Try doing it in the early 80's when you have an INCREDIBLY conservative Latina mother. I came home from college for semester break and was wearing 4 earrings in each ear...you'd have thought the world was coming to an end! My mother almost disowned me for it...thank God my dad calmed her down.

RedPonyDriver:

3 or 4 earrings each side became quite popular, didn't they?

So do the holes still work?

 

[RedPonyDriver]

RedPonyDriver:

3 or 4 earrings each side became quite popular, didn't they?

So do the holes still work?

Yes, they're still open! When I'm feeling goofy, I'll wear 8 different earrings...but my favorite is to wear different sizes of hoops, from about 1" diameter to 3" diameter