OK Boomer, or an Okay Boomer

We were discussing demographics and generational differences and similarities in my advertising class. One student asked, Has anyone said OK Boomer to you?”

“Not yet,” I replied. “But then I’ve never been a ‘well back in my day’ or ‘get off my lawn’ kind of Boomer.”

“My parents were both Greatest Generation. They lived through the Great Depression and World War II. I respect what they did.”

“At the same time, I wanted to make my own choices, as all people do. It would be hypocritical of me to not recognize and respect that same need in subsequent generations. And I learn a lot from students.”

“So you’re an okay Boomer then,” said a student.”

“Ha! That’s good,”I replied. “I hope so.”

“I have been called a hippie though.” They laughed. “Mostly by people who don’t know what a hippie was; they just wanted to live as they chose, creatively and kindly, without needed to conform to the rigid and arbitrary social standards of dress and taste of the 1950s.”

“Oh my G-d,” exclaimed one student. “I’m a hippie.”

We all laughed. _____ Okay Boomer J.Radding _____

I don’t say, “Well back in my day…” I don’t tell you to, “Get off my lawn.” I don’t complain about your clothing and music the way our parents criticized our long hair, jeans, and rock and roll. I do teach you about the past so you can use that knowledge to inform your future. I do share my experiences so you can learn from my mistakes and surpass my successes. I do respect your enthusiasm and energy, your challenges, and your desire for a better world, just as I respected my parents' struggles through the Great Depression and World War II. I do respect your need to make your own choices just as I demanded to make mine, free of the rigid conformity of my parents’ and grandparents’ generations. And I do learn from each of you every day. I hope that makes me an okay Boomer.