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The children now love luxury; they have bad manners and contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.
- Socrates quote circa 400BC.
This ancient quote has been recycled for generations- the older generation complaining the next generation will be the downfall of civilization. Disdain for younger generations is not a novel idea. As I settle into the middle of my 40s, I accept that people half my age are now fully formed adults known as Gen Z. Overall, they seem pretty cool and chill. Unlike the other two obnoxious much larger generations that Gen X is stuck between- the aging Hippies and Yuppies that make up the Boomers and those Avocado Toast eating Hipster Millennials. (Just kidding, Mom and Dad and younger sister!)
My queer experiences coming out around Y2K vary significantly from a member of Gen Z born twenty years after me in the same regional and socio-economic upbringing. I will try to keep my pearl-clutching to a minimum; most changes are for the better. Here are some observations made about the…
