Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Lawn Maintenance

Since the media still loves divide and conquer tactics - as both attacked and attackers will click on the content - Boomers vs. Millennials is one of today's big Let's-You-And-Him-Fight matches.  I'm not happy with being shown how to hate on a daily basis, but it is - as the annoying Gen X folks always used to say - what it is. 

Just this month I've seen the following headlines:

Sorry Millennials, Boomers May Be Better Drivers Than You



I found a couple of more recent articles about inter-generational sniping in my bookmarks. Anyone who's amused by the current Millennial/Baby Boomer social media battles might find them familiar.

The first one is from the New Statesman.

"The growing public approval of anti-culture is itself, I think, a reflection of the new cult of youth. Bewildered by a rapidly changing society, excessively fearful of becoming out of date, our leaders are increasingly turning to young people as guides and mentors. If youth likes the Bieb, then it must be good, and clever men must rationalize this preference in intellectually respectable language. Indeed, the supreme crime, in politics and culture alike, is not to be “off the hizzle”."

Actually, I changed four words there. The original is from Bill Deedes (b. 1913) throwing shade at the Beatles in 1964. It's a great piece of sniffy fuddy-duddyism. It's worth a glance at the whole thing.

And from a decade later, we get another Bill - this time it's Grundy - tipsily attempting to out-snark Siouxsie Sioux and the Sex Pistols (Rotten, Jones and Matlock) on his TV show in 1976. The show was a disaster for the Pistols, as most of the country weirdly sided with Grundy (b. 1923) and the Pistols subsequently found themselves persona non grata, but at the time it was hilarious.

"GRUNDY: It's what?
ROTTEN: Nothing. A rude word. Next question.
GRUNDY: No, no, what was the rude word?
ROTTEN: Shit.
GRUNDY: Was it really? Good heavens, you frighten me to death.
ROTTEN: Oh alright, Siegfried...
GRUNDY: [Turning to those standing behind the band] What about you girls behind?
MATLOCK: He's like yer dad, isn't 'e, this geezer?
GRUNDY: Are you, er...
MATLOCK: Or your granddad."
Transcript from The Guardian 


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