In the most recent cycle of news trying to distract us from the painful reality of actual news, we have Mr. Michael Rotundo. Maybe you saw a little of him and his magnificent mane on CNN in an interview with Brooke Baldwin, who looked like she was trying very hard not to sigh. Maybe you heard the story from your mom warning your sister it was time to get out.

Well, here's the deal. Michael Rotundo is a 30 year old man who is living with his parents. He does not pay rent. He does not help around the house. He does not have a job. His parents told him two months ago they wanted him out of their house. They sent him five official notices with suggestions and advice, even giving him over $1000 to find a new place to stay, but he would not go. After so many attempts, the parents finally took him to court, where he showed the utmost belligerence and disdain towards his parents who not only raised him for the legally required 18 years, but 12 more years after that as well. He claimed he placed no burden on his parents, that they had unrealistic expectations, that they harassed him, even using a lost custody battle with his son as a pity card. (The way I see it, maybe you lost your son because you don't have a job to support him? Just a thought.) His situation is absolutely ridiculous. And yet. I see people defending him.

One tweet in particular irked me. It said: "when you're a boomer + you need the court system to protect you from a lifetime of consequences due to ruining the economy + your ineffective parenting bc you broke a verbal contract #MichaelRotondo "

I sat at the laptop for three full minutes, just staring. What? Somehow, this is the parents' fault because they're boomers?

I've seen the millennial//boomer banter for years. Boomers say that millennials are all shallow and entitled. All they care about is avocado toast and social media. Millennials claim boomers ruined the economy, making it hard for them to find jobs and buy houses. And unfortunately, while I do think the entitlement argument is a bit overdone, I have to side with the parents on this one.

Listen. I'm not even a millennial. I'm younger than you, and even I know this isn't an unfair game. Things may have been cheaper in the previous generation, but what happened happened. You want to claim the boomers ruined the economy? Fine. But that's not going to fix your problems at all. I disagree with a lot of ideologies from the baby boomer demographic, but some things never change. Hard work always beats the odds. It is tough, there's no denying that. But complaining about it isn't going to make it easier. If you work hard and learn the skills necessary to get hired, the economy won't be a problem for you. If you can be more qualified than your peers, you won't have a problem earning a stable income. Here's the bottom line - if you work hard enough, you won't have to complain about these things. This is common sense. This is natural selection.

I realize how heartless this sounds, maybe even naive. I know circumstances are different. Some people simply have the advantage, natural talent, endless funds. But here's the thing, I have no sympathy. I am not naturally smart. My family is not rich. I don't even want to ask my parents to buy me a graphing calculator. My parents care about my grades, but don't push me academically. But here I am. I recognized what I would have to do to be successful in life, and then, I worked my ass off. I'm at the top of my class. When I want to go to a camp or join a team, I apply for scholarships. I think about my future. I plan. I budget. I have clear goals and take steps to attain them. I won't have anyone tell me that I can't be successful just because a generation before me "ruined the economy". That's bullshit, and it's the stupidest excuse I've ever heard.

So whenever I see tweets or hear conversations about how boomers prematurely ruined your life, I just have to take a moment. Because no, they didn't. Sure, they made rent more expensive than it was in their day, but they didn't make it hard for you to pay your rent. That's on you.

It absolutely isn't his parents' fault that Michael Rotondo is still living with them. They're not hiding behind the court system because they messed up the economy and were ineffective parents. He was the one who didn't do what it took to be successful, and his parents were kind enough to take him in. Those were his choices, nobody else's. And what happens to him next is his choice as well.