Millennials. What are they really? According to the dictionary, a millennial is a person reaching young adulthood around the year 2000; a Generation Y-er. Ultimately, we are the youngest generation as of today and technically, the ones who will be held responsible for our country’s condition when we are old enough to make a change (not to say we can’t do it right now: GO OUT AND VOTE IN THIS YEARS ELECTION EVERYBODY!). But according to the baby boomer generation, or those who are between the ages of 52 and 70 years old as of 2016, us millennials are lazy, entitled, spoiled, technology obsessed, and most of all, uninformed. When speaking of millennials, Ben Shapiro of Breitbart News said, “Well, there may be a few things we [millennials] can’t solve. Like simple reading comprehension problems, for example. And how to stop living in mom’s basement… Truth be told, millennials are the least useful generation in America. By a long shot”.
Millennials are not surprised by these judgements anymore. We’ve had these insults shoved down our throats for years, but we’ve never accepted them as the truth. In fact, it’s been proven wrong many times. For example, many baby boomers enjoy calling millennials lazy when in fact a majority of millennials work at least part time or full time jobs and not even for their own spending money. They work to pay for their insane college tuitions. As of 2016, the average tuition for an in state college with room & board is about $20,000. Julie Mack, a journalist from MLive and a baby boomer herself, wrote, “I entered Jackson Community College in fall 1977, where my tuition was $15 a credit hour, about $58 in today's dollars. When I transferred to Michigan State University in 1979, my tuition for the year was about $1,500, or about $4,900 adjusted for inflation”. That’s a $15,000 difference. Millennials are consistently trying to pull out facts like these to defend themselves, but the unfair judgments never seem to end.
As of late, there have been many horrible things happening around the world that all of us must witness on the news on loop. Police brutality, homophobia, transphobia, gun violence, terrorism, etc. I stated earlier than many baby boomers like to refer to millennials as “misinformed” and I also mentioned Ben Shapiro’s comments about us being “useless”. Well, the article I quoted of Ben Shapiro’s was titled “7 Reasons Millennials Are The Worst Generation” and what was his second reason? “They Don’t Know Anything About Politics”. With all of the political madness and election talk swarming the internet, I thought I might put my generation to the test. How much do they really know about what’s going on in today’s society? I decided to ask some of them about one of the world’s most talked about issues on the news, Black Lives Matter.
Many older, white people (to be specific) have many things misconstrued about Black Lives Matter. Some say Black Lives Matter has no respect for elders or queer/trans lives and they hate white people, which is far from the truth. Altogether, this issue is about racism and inequality. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have A Dream speech, which was given in 1963, he speaks about Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves, and he says, “One hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” To think 53 years later, we are still fighting the same fight. That’s 153 years of racism and discrimination. There is a reason Black Lives Matter exists.
Instead of asking black people about these issues that pertain to them, I decided to do the opposite. I wanted to know what white people had to say about this popular movement. Were they really educated in the cause? I was unsure of the kinds of answers I would hear (but don't worry, I talked to black people as well, just about a different political issue. More info on that at the end of this article...). I posed the question, “In your own words, what is the Black Lives Matter movement and do you stand with those in the movement? Why or why not?”. And here’s what happened. Hopefully this will prove the older generation wrong:
Thoughts on Black Lives Matter
“Black Lives Matter is a movement for POC that is long over due. We often think that racism and segregation is over because of civil rights and all of those laws that were made to "try" and create equality. But we are clearly still in a state of immense inequality among white humans and black humans. The Black Lives Matter movement is happening to bring awareness to modern day racism that happens in our everyday lives that we don't notice, unintentionally or not. I stand with this movement loud and proud because every single human deserves equality. Because they are human. Race, color, ethnicity, nationality does not mean automatic oppression. It means difference, uniqueness, quality. I stand with it because those who have privilege need to use their power with POC, not power over.”
- Megan, 19 years old
“I mean, really BLM is about black people in America pushing for their rights to be alive and be happy in a country that has never really guaranteed either of those things for them. It's about destroying those double standards and putting a stop to unnecessary police brutality. I most definitely stand with BLM. It's extremely important to me that any and all forms of racism are eliminated. Not because it negatively affects me, I recognize the privilege I was born with, but because I realize how disgusting it is that such a giant part of our country's population is fighting for rights that should be a no-brainer. It is laughable to me that some white people believe they have the ability to define what does and doesn't count as racism, because they aren't the ones on the receiving end. This is about love and about making sure that everyone in this country is getting equal opportunities.”
- Katherine, 19 years old
“The Black Lives Matter movement is the demand for equal treatment and justice for those who have wrongfully been hurt and even killed due to discrimination and the deep rooted racism that is embedded into American culture. It's a reminder that racism is NOW and not behind us. Of course I stand with everyone involved, however, it’s not my movement. Therefore, I will be there when/if it's necessary but that's it.”
- Jennifer, 19 years old
“To my knowledge, I know the Black Lives Matter movement to be about raising recognition not only for the excessive amount of police brutality that black people experience, but also a call to action about the general oppression faced by people of color in this country. And I completely 100% stand with those in the movement because I understand that the movement isn't trying to say that white lives don't matter, like many #AllLivesMatter advocates, but that it's focusing in on a specific group of people that have been marginalized for so long and are working towards a more equal society. And why wouldn't you want to stand for that?”
- Alexandra, 19 years old
“BLM was a response to the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Their goal is to respond to and point out how the police, the law and public perception marginalizes the black community. I 100% support BLM because they're empowering their communities whom otherwise might have been voiceless and are pointing out the racism within the justice system and society's negative perception of black people”
- Tyler, 19 years old
“I would define the BLM movement to be an organization of people who believe in trying to correct injustices being brought upon black people. While I have done nothing officially associated with this movement, I would say that I support their efforts. I am a firm believer in individual rights including the right to live a safe and happy life.”
- Kevin, 19 years old
When reading through and reviewing these comments, I was overwhelmed with the intellectual and meaningful thoughts that came out of my peers. These are the young adults who are labeled as lazy. Labeled as entitled. Labeled as spoiled. Labeled as MISINFORMED. We know nothing about politics, right? Wrong. We are the ones going to peaceful protests, rallies, and voting booths. We are the ones fighting to change the world so our children and our children’s children won’t have to go through another 153 years of this. If any of you want more information on this issue, please visit blacklivesmatter.com. There, you can learn more about the cause and even donate to help out those who are in need of basic rights. If you liked this article, please check my page next week for a 2nd part to this, where I talk to black people about white privilege. Until then: Do not allow our generation to fall into our negative labels. Stand up and make a change.
