A couple friends of mine posted this article earlier today with some varying feedback about it. The younger friend had commentary about how this list resonates so much with a lot of people she knows. The older friend, who is still several years younger than me and still living in that "millennial" generation posted a bit of a rant about how this sounds like a list of things people like to tell themselves when they can't get their shit together. I lean toward my older friend's attitude on this, because this list just made me roll my eyes. I think my problem is that the article and the list implies that by being "subversive" these people are somehow fighting the system when really all they're doing is slacking and feeling a sense of entitlement. So, because I'm a snarky bitch, I decided to post my own rebuttal for the items on the list that I took umbrage with.
1. We play by our own rules. - That's awesome. I hope those rules include paying your rent, not getting arrested, and living a life that somehow contributes to the betterment of society on the whole, otherwise you're just an asshole.
2. We don’t take the first answer given to us. - Yet you will believe any bullshit you see on tumblr or youtube, without substantiating anything via research and verification? Really?
3. We don’t care about getting into trouble. - This implies a lack of ability to take responsibility for your actions. You do things that get you in trouble but don't care about the trouble it causes so...basically I have to assume you believe those consequences are because of something someone else did wrong, not you?
4. We’re willing to work for nothing if it means being happy… Despite being in debt. - Debt isn't glamorous. It's crippling and limiting to your abilities to do things you may actually want to do. Feel free to work for nothing, but also feel free to suffer the consequences of that choice.
5. We know how to beat the system. - That's cute. No you don't. You have to understand the system to know how to beat it, and you don't understand the system because you insist on living outside of it. But keep thinking you know how to beat it.
6. We’re always trying to change the game. - Then why do so few of you actually do it?
7. We have social media on our side. - So does the rest of the world.
8. We like a good fight. - That's only effective when you have a solid point to make and are able to substantiate it.
9. We don’t care about the perks. - That's a great "for now" strategy, but at some point in your life you'll be sick of working 7 days a week, multiple jobs, not being able to go on vacation etc. and you'll wish you cared about the perks a lot sooner.
10. We hate that “old boys club” sh*t. - So do a lot of people who are older than you.
11. We’re not about climbing the ladder, we’re about circumventing it. - Again, you have to know how that works to actually do it.
12. We ask for what we want rather than implying it. - This is actually great, more people should do it. But you should also be sure you actually deserve what you ask for.
13. We’re not afraid to quit if we don’t like what’s going on. - I hope you are also not afraid to be homeless when you can't find a new job right away and have no way to pay your way through life. Plus, quitting does no good. Fine, you quit. What did that do? It got you out of a situation. If you're so passionate and love a good fight and whatever else, why not work to change the things you don't like instead of being a lazy slacker and just walking away?
14. We’re not on that suit and tie. - Neither is most of the workforce. A lot of employers have stopped requiring ridiculous dress codes, which you'd know if you were working a real job.
15. We’d rather start work at 10 and finish at 10. - You'd rather have a 12 hour work day if it means you start a couple hours later? Who actually wants to work 12 hours?
16. We’ve got youth on our side. - For now.
17. We don’t have a chip on our shoulders. - Yes you do. And a ridiculous sense of entitlement.
18. We know technology a hell of a lot better. - Do you really? Better than who? Anyone born during the rise of computers is actually pretty tech savvy. Tumblr doesn't make you awesome with technology.
19. We’re more educated, by the book and the street. - Most of the youth I know are fairly privileged and don't know a damn thing about "the street". You're also part of a generation who reads less than almost every generation prior to it.
20. We’re not interested in office politics. - No one enjoys office politics. The thing is, that political game happens EVERYWHERE, not just the office. It happens in your friendships, your relationships, and if you were working a "non office" job you'd still have politics.
21 . We have less to lose and everything to gain. - That remains to be seen.
22. We don’t pursue the paycheck, we pursue the passion. - Why can't someone do both? Oh wait....you could.
23. We have that “f*ck you” attitude. - Yes, and it's not endearing.
24. We are trying to beat the system, not just work with it. - You keep using the word "trying".
25. We don’t have to go to college to get ahead. - College isn't about a job. I hate when people tell me that college isn't worth it because you pay more for your degree than the job it eventually gets you will yield. College is about EDUCATION. It's about exposing yourself to ideas and viewpoints that are different from what you experienced in your upbringing. You learn as much from just interacting in class as you do from a professor or a text book. It also teaches you some time management skills. You need these things. You need to be educated regardless of whether it just gets you a job.
26. We’re getting married later and working younger. - Married later, yes. Working younger? Not necessarily. Generations before you began working steadily at 12 or 13 years old. Some of you didn't start until you were over 16.
27. We’re listening to our women. - This is actually a good thing.
28. We want freedom more than anything else. - You want freedom but are comfortable with having debt? That's contradictory.
29. We would rather die a slow death than sit in cubicles. - Have you actually worked in a cubicle? You have this image of being some sort of cube drone that isn't necessarily accurate. There are tons of cubicle based jobs that involve collaboration, vibrant ideas, and are nothing like the horror stories you seem to be picturing.
30. We know they need us more than we need them. - This attitude makes you an asshole. For each one of you who has this attitude there are 3 who realize they need a job and that no employer HAS to hire them. They will have a job. You will not.
31. We distribute the news, not the other way around. - I think the word "news" should be used loosely. You distribute what you perceive as news but it's just as skewed and biased as your parents news.
32. We don’t care as much about profit as we do the product. - That's great. I actually don't have an issue with this one.
33. We’re willing to listen to one another. - Yes, but not to those older than you who have more experience, knowledge or understanding of the world at large. This is your folly.
34. We understand whom we’re talking to. - No you don't. You understand each other. You do not understand anyone else.
35. We don’t do drug tests. - I'm not a fan of drug tests either, only because it's an invasion of some privacy, and your personal life does not become property of your employer. My problem here is that I think you are only against it so that you can be high all the time.
36. We’re open to any gender, sexual orientation and race. - Awesome.
37. We know what makes us happy. - As a generation of people with more anxiety and depression problems than generations prior to yours, do you really?
38. We know what doesn’t make us happy. - If this list is any indication, being a productive member of society is what doesn't make you happy.
39. We learned from our parents mistakes. - No you did not. If you're totally comfortable with working for peanuts and being in debt, you have learned nothing.
40. We’ve defined them, they haven’t defined us. - What does this even mean?
41. We’d rather travel and be poor than be rich and never see the world. - This is hilarious. If you are poor, you don't travel. End of story. It takes, at minimum, $2000 to fly to another continent. You don't get to do that if you're poor. You can try to live your bohemian lifestyle and hitchhike across the country or whatever, but true travel comes when you have the means to do it. You don't have that when you're poor.
42. We don’t take life too seriously. - That's fine, but I feel like there are a lot of things you don't take seriously enough.
43. We understand we’re all going to die someday. - Everyone understands that. You are not a unique and special snowflake in this.
44. We’d rather have experiences than bank statements. - You can't have experiences without the money to fund them.
45. We refuse to hate what we do. - Yet you don't refuse to hate pretty much everything else.
46. We know there’s always a better way. - I feel like, in this point, the word "better" is a substitute for "easier".
47. We want careers, not jobs. - And yet you are willing to work for nothing, which indicates something is a "job" not a "career". You don't get a career without the drive and motivation to work toward one, and going into a world thinking they need you more than you need them doesn't get you a career.
48. We have passion. - You also have a lot of apathy and slacktivism. Passion is only good when you have drive to see it through.
49. We have morals. - So do older generations, asshats.
50. We have each other. - Which you'll probably need when you need couches to sleep on after quitting whenever you don't like what's going on.
So there you go. My take on this list. Essentially, I think it's bullshit.
