I’m starting to think the current “Millennials should Retire” social media trend (IG, X, TikTok), is another divide and conquer strategy. Why? Because it pits two working-class generations (Gen Z and Millennials) against each other. It feels like a social experiment, or a Boomer-led Psychological Operation. I have no proof, no evidence. Mostly questions and observations. Brought forth by pattern-recognition…something most Boomers will call “over-thinking.”

No, we just see more than what you want us to see.

By the way, Boomers, we don’t hate you. We see you as children. You’re the spoiled toddler who was told ‘no’ once, then has a huge temper tantrum. You holler “unfair!” when confronted with reality, then sulk in the corner with an eye on the audience, hoping your emotional performance sways reality.   

Anyways…the trend is like the left-right political divide, just repackaged with a new bow.

The Right-Wing and the Left-Wing are two wings of the same bird. The Rs complain about the Ds, and the Ds complain about the Rs, but as time goes on, nothing actually happens.

The Right screams “The Left hates you, now give us money or else the world will end.”

The Left screams “The Right hates you, now give us money or else the world will end.”

The oldest Millennial is in their mid-40s and, if they’re honest, will tell you the plot and story-arch of the American news cycle hasn’t changed. The players have changed, yes, but the story structure has not. It’s still the same “we’re the good team, because they’re evil” narrative.

“How do you know that?” We, as Millennials, have asked for twenty years.

“Because Sean Hannity (or Rachel Maddow) said so…from their teleprompter.”

It’s like going to see a play at a theater.

Do you hate the villain after the curtain call? Did Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort truly try to kill Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter? Did Hamlet actually avenge his father by killing Claudius, and pretty much everyone else in the play? Did Idina Menzel or Cynthia Eviro (as Elphaba in Wicked) really fly during “Defying Gravity?” Was her skin actually green?

Obviously, not. It’s theater. There is a curtain, and a stage, and a script, and stage directions, and a crew, everything is rehearsed for weeks, and dissected, and polished to look real.

Same with the political realm. The camera-ready Rs, and the tissue-ready Ds do the same thing.

Sure, they’re human with individual struggles and issues backstage, but in the grand scheme of it all, do they actually have beef? Or do they co-mingle like actors in a green room? When the camera’s away, do they hate each other? Or do they golf, and drink, and joke, and bang, and dine, and make deals, and go to the same parties…?

The way I see it…when the camera shows up… it’s suddenly “PLACES! EVERYONE, we’re at PLACES!”

It’s all designed to make normal people hate their neighbors.

“I really like that actress, but she’s a fan of Obama. Now I hate her.”

“I loved that book series, but then I found out the author believes in traditional marriage.”

“I really wanted to see that film…until I found out Robert Deniro (or Sydney Sweeney) starred in it.”

You see it yet? And after it leaves the mainstream, it bleeds into the local level…

“Yeah, Uncle Steve is really cool…wait, he thinks the moon landing was staged? We must confront him during Thanksgiving.”

“I just met the neighbors, they seem like good…wait, they have a Pride sign in their front lawn? Well, we need to form an HOA and kick them out.”

All this does is turn average people, who mostly agree, against each other.  

Why? Because it takes focus off the real divide…

Good vs Evil. Morality vs Immorality. Decency vs Debauchery.

So why do I think Generation Z is starting to blame Millennials for everything now?

Three reasons.

1. Gen Z (mostly) was born with a screen in their hand, and they have trouble separating reality from the internet (It’s like Boomers and AI advertisements. They can’t see the extra finger on the fella trying to sell them a $900/month Grocery Card).
2. The Boomers know time in control is fleeting and, for many, their only comfort/flex is to live in total luxury until their final breath.
3. Millennials, Gen X, and older Gen Z are (typically) harder to trick.  

So…what is left to do?

Convince young Gen Z that Millennials are the true enemy, so they don’t look at the obvious mess that’s been caused by the Boomers.

“Millennials won’t let you into the job force, not us. Sure, we control the stock market, and the media, and Congress, and every corporate industry, but seriously, we’re the good guys. It doesn’t matter if our policies and our behavior pushed them into unpayable student debt, they’re the financial oppressors. Sure, we own everything, but, for real, the true villains are the Millennials. They’re Captain Hook, they hate you. We’re Peter Pan, we just wanna have fun and live forever.”

Am I wrong? Maybe…could be…I don’t know…but something seems fishy.

It’s gonna backfire though.

Millennials have become immune to senseless criticism. It doesn’t affect us anymore. We’re so used to being blamed for EVERYTHING that we expect it. We don’t like it, but we don’t lose sleep over it. It just makes us go “Oh, great, I’m talking to a child.”

Don’t get me wrong, we accept constructive criticism. But it has to make sense. If it doesn’t, it’s in one ear and out the other.

That said, Gen Z…we’re not against you. We feel your pain. In fact, we get it. Gen X gets it too.

And yes, obviously, I see the irony. I’m criticizing a culture that openly mocks an entire generation of people by…openly mocking an entire generation of people. Hilarious, and hypocritical, sure, but there is some validity in what I’m saying. I don’t think every Boomer is wealthy, that every Gen Z kid is gullible, or that every Millennial is full of wisdom, but…I am pushing back against the narrative and challenging you to do your own soul-searching because…there is obviously a divide being pushed amongst the flock.

Just cool it with the blame game, Gen Z, and maybe put your phone down for a few hours. Go outside, read a book, let your bare feet touch grass, then go to an antiques store and study the ancient ways. Touch a rotary phone, learn how a VHS tape works, try recording music from the radio onto a cassette tape, try doing math without a calculator. If you can, try to live outside of the internet.

Because I have a feeling, a lot of that old stuff may come back sooner than we realize.