How Ok Boomer moved from TikTok into the real world to become the battle cry of a whole new generation dying to be heard, writes Neha Pant
When Chlöe Swarbrick, a 25-year-old member of the Green Party in New Zealand addressed the Zero Carbon Bill which would set a target of “0 per cent carbon emissions for the country by 2050,” she was heckled by older parliamentarians. Swarbick chose to shut out the noise by firing back, “OK Boomer” and continued with her speech unfazed. While the majority of people lauded her witty comeback, many accused her of ageism but Swarbrick has refused to back down and calls the ageist acquisitions. In a Facebook post, she wrote “Today I have learnt that responding succinctly and in perfect jest to somebody heckling you about *your age* as you speak about the impact of climate change on *your generation* with the literal title of their generation makes some people very mad. So I guess millennials ruined humour. That, or we just need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and abstain from avocados. That’s the joke.”
Chloe Swarbrick
So What Exactly is Ok Boomer
Like almost all recent social media trends, this too originated on TikTok, the closest equivalent of it IRL would be an eye roll specifically directed at someone older. Someone from the Boomer generation, which is people born towards the end, or the decade after the Second World War. Much like the term Millennial, the Boomers also come with their set trends, culture and values that they personify. According to John Kelly, senior research editor at dictionary.com, “We’re not using ‘boomer’ per se to take down people who were born after World War II in the baby boom. We’re using it in an ironic, often humorous, though sometimes malicious way as a catchall or stand-in for a set of attitudes. A ‘boomer’ [in this case] is an older, angry white male who is shaking his fist at the sky while not being able to take an insult. They have close-minded opinions, are resistant to change — whether it’s new technology or gender inclusivity — and are generally out of touch with how their behaviors affect other people.”
Image courtesy: @maazequalsmango/instagram
Young People are Tired of Being Shamed for Things They Aren’t Responsible for
When people complain that Ok Boomer is ageist and targeting a particular generation, they ought to be reminded that no one has been as hated and as ridiculed as young Millenials, who have shouldered responsibility for the mistakes of the past generation. From global recession to the climate crisis, the Millenials have been given very little to work with and have been ridiculed in the process for standing up to their beliefs. The Gen Z which is even more PC faces further backlash and incredulity from the Boomers who refuse to see the world as it stands today. After years of being bullied, not being heard and being told their problems are trivial, the younger generation finally gave it back in the form of Ok Boomer and now they are being used accused of Ageism.
Typical, shall we say?
