"When I Was Your Age"

I got a little sick of being told shit like "I was at Woodstock when you were in diapers" when I was young by older people. Now I'm the age that they were, their lives aren't that enviable but you don't see me being condescending to people young or old about their experience.

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Really? Are you sure?

Jun 25, 2019 at 5:25pm

You mean like how you are now? Smug and obnoxious?

Meh

Jun 25, 2019 at 5:27pm

Social cred is a funny thing. The venue-du-jour is Burning Man, but it has long since become commercialized as just another "Disneyland for adults". Yawn.
Cannes, SXSW, ComicCon, even stuff like Mardi Gras...it's a long list of franchised, sponsored, overpriced, crowded, badly ventilated and unpleasantly illuminated (in all senses) events. With mediocre service (at best) and uneven quality. I've attended talks and industry conferences that were better run.
As you can tell, I'm not big on modern "cultural" offerings, either. Nor do I enjoy the smell of stale sweat and sewage, and Woodstock strikes me as the sort of setting that had lots of both, piles (literally) of junkies and more besides. And terrible sound quality, to boot. Not exciting. I usually prefer studio recordings or DJ sessions, anyway. Live performances rarely impress, unless it's classical or jazz - rehearsed unto death, or so improvisational that it can't go wrong (given sufficient talent and experience).
And if I sought dysentery and cholera, I'd visit Yemen. Also to see the American and Canadian weapons the Saudis use to wreck the place. That seems fun...for some people.

I'd rather experience the Louvre, Angkor Wat or the Great Barrier Reef (while it's still around). Someone can speak of that, and I'll listen all day. And ask questions, too.
Woodstock. Bah. Dangle that at me and I'll question your taste. Or suspect early-onset dementia. Or both.

When You Are My Age...

Jun 25, 2019 at 5:29pm

...you will be saying When I Was Your Age.

Anonymous

Jun 25, 2019 at 6:24pm

I love it when some older fella is giving them advice on this or that while a young person is doing the research on Wikipedia or a website operated by multiple experts on the subject and peer reviewed to limit any errors possible - on their phones! I'm not saying the old fella is wrong but by viewing peer reviewed research it limits mistakes to zero and maybe a young person learns a newer more efficient way to do that task. I'd feel bad for the old fella but for the fact that he's so smug about it. He's been waiting for this moment for 20 years because some old dude did it to him when he was a kid. That 'you kids today' attitude makes me kind of glad he's becoming invisible. Show some humility. You might be wrong.

@meh

Jun 25, 2019 at 6:34pm

I went to the first Vancouver Lollapalooza and got heatstroke. My first and last outdoor music event. Music should be indoors and after the sun goes down. Anything else feels unnatural and weird.

Totally agree

Jun 25, 2019 at 7:26pm

I never look down on those younger than I. For some reason, a lot of older people enjoy looking down on me and younger people. I always think they must be lacking in some ways in their life to want to feel superior to others. Obviously, age does not always equal wisdom. Treat others how you want to be treated. Nobody owes you respect just because of your age.

@meh

Jun 26, 2019 at 1:54pm

Wear a hat and lots of sunscreen, not brain surgery.

For Me,

Jun 26, 2019 at 4:44pm

with the millennials, it's been "I've been WORKING since you were in diapers", but then they would figure out how old I really am.

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Gen X perspective

Jun 27, 2019 at 11:34am

I find it hilarious (if it weren't so sad) to watch Millennials obsess over the same stupid crap the Boomers were doing in the 70s, and acting like they had invented it themselves.

Even if it didn't make so many of them look ridiculous [cough - hipsters - cough], they're just so bloody *precious* about it. "Look at me! I'm KNITTING!" Yeah. So did my grandmother. Sheesh.

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Perspective

Jun 28, 2019 at 8:14am

Just because someone says “when I was your age”
doesn’t mean that they’re being condescending. They may just be explaining how things were for them. You come across as being very defensive and as having a big chip on your shoulder. Perhaps you might learn something new if you lose that attitude and open up your mind. Of course I’m just an old person with 7 decades of life and the experience that comes with that; what do I know?

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