Nick Gerlich, a professor of marketing at West Texas A&M
University,
posted in his blog a discussion of the Amarillo Millennial Movement, comparing these
youth to the Baby Boomers who protested the Viet Nam War. Gerlich portrays these
youth as victimized by the older generation because the some of their elders
are not taking them seriously.
But, Gerlich is as misguided as this youthful friends.
Herewith is a deconstruction of his blog post.
A Different Voice
I am a Baby Boomer. Born in 1959, I was one of the later
ones to call this cohort mine. We were a rambunctious group of ne-erdowells. We
played our music loud. We protested the View Nam War. We indulged in the
free-loving culture of the day. And we wore our hair and clothes in ways that
made our parents cringe.
I am a pre-Baby Boomer, technically,
with a 1945 birthday, but see myself more of a Boomer than a pre-Boomer. That said,
Nick, I also didn’t like the Viet Nam War (maybe the View Nam War refers to it
as the first real war brought into the nation’s living rooms on TV. Quite the Freudian
slip for you.) However, wearing clothes and listening to music that outraged
our elders was not the exclusive domain of Boomers. It’s always been a
generation thing. Do study history.