In article after article, the press and other opinion writers
wring their hands about the millennial generation. They complain that the
people in this generation are wimpish, selfish and spoiled. I don’t recognize
these characteristics in my daughters or other people I know. The people who
have these characteristics are I believe, a very vocal and politically savvy minority.
That said, the minority should be listened to and treated as adults even if at
times they act childishly.
Safe Rooms & Triggering in Colleges
In the articles criticizing millennials, this hot topic has been Exhibit A
in showing that this generation of people are weak and are demanding to be
treated as children. Say a so called “triggering” insult to my kids and they
will respond directly and I guarantee you will not like it. As their parents, this is what we taught our
children to do. We didn’t tell them to find a safe place and play with dolls or
color. We taught them to stand up for themselves, to think for themselves and
to have a work ethic. At no time did any of my daughters complain to me that it
was racism that prevented them from accomplishing their goals. They adapted and
overcame whatever obstacles they encountered. It is beyond belief that my
children are in the minority in this regard.
Lazy Millennials
I look to my daughters, now 27, 29 & 30 and recall that
they all were working babysitting jobs in their early teens, worked at stores
or restaurants in their late teens, worked their way through college and now
work full time jobs. When I go to stores, offices, factories, coffee shops
etc., most of the people working are young. Many of them work 2 or 3 jobs. One
such person I know, works at a juice bar, a coffee shop and as a security
guard. With the money she earned, she bought herself a car. She is learning to
do her own car repairs. She is 21 and grew up without parents. I dare you to
call her lazy.
Selfish Millennials
Look at any website and do some research on who set it up.
Chances are real good, it was a group of millennials. This would include websites
such as Fundme and the like. It’s all well and good for billionaires to donate
to charity, its quite another thing to help others when you have little income.
In addition, most of the members of the Military are millennials. I would call
these people unselfish given that they are risking their lives for something
other than their selves and often doing so for people who are suffering. When
the next natural disaster strikes, take a good look at the volunteers who are
cleaning up the polluted water or are gathering food and water for people who’ve
lost their homes. To call millennials selfish is a lie.
So if I’m correct that the majority of the people in this age
group aren’t being wimpy, selfish or spoiled, why then are they described as
such? My theory is that:
(1) Power is gained
by college administrators by promising to address this so-called problem
and they use it to enlarge their budgets and justify higher tuition costs.
and they use it to enlarge their budgets and justify higher tuition costs.
(2) The
administrators fear losing their jobs because of a vocal minority. This is a
reality and face it, academics rarely have spines of
steel.
(3) Anger of the
students who see a bleak future for themselves and need someone to blame. Some people have always blamed their poor
choices on others and see themselves as victims.
This has nothing to do with which generation you were born into.
(4) Some so-called
adults want to deny that the college students complaints have some validity. It’s a lot easier to tell
someone to shut up then it is to sit down with them and listen. It’s also difficult to have empathy for someone who
is screaming at you.
How to Respond
If I were a college administrator, here’s is how I would
respond to the students at Missouri. First, I’d meet with them and listen.
Second, I’d make it clear that while I will take their complaints seriously, in
order for me to take them seriously, they need to act like adults and not
children. tantrums are not convincing. Third, I would bring in outside people
to get some independent opinions on the complaints. Finally, I would act on
those complaints that are legitimate and explain respectfully why other
complaints are not legitimate. All meetings would be recorded and made public.
So stop the hand wringing
We older people should take a good hard look at ourselves and
stop pointing fingers at the millennials. After all, they are our children,
grand-children, nephews, nieces etc and WE KNOW our family members aren’t lazy,
selfish or wimpish, right? Stereotypes are always the tool of the lazy or the
media wanting to sell newspaper or attract an audience to their shows. Let’s
not fall into that trap. Baby boomers, Gen X-ers and Y-ers are labels too. Don’t
be a label, be an individual and treat others as individuals too.
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