Generation k6
an17...@anon.penet.fi
Copyright 1994 The Washington Post
The Washington Post
December 25, 1994, Sunday, Final Edition
THEY TELL us we're apathetic, spoiled and shallow. They say we
have no heroes, no culture of our own. They point to studies showing
that we fear long-term commitment, and that our attention spans are as
limited as our sense of history. They say we're a bunch of whiners.
But we are not, we are not, we are not.
We are Generation K-6, the generation currently in kindergarten to
the sixth grade, born roughly between 1983 and 1989. Too young to have
benefited directly from the economic boom of the Reagan years, but too
old to fly for free anymore, we are a generation caught in the middle.
Successive generations have been in control -- Baby Boomers,
Postboomers, Tweeners, Generation Xers and Screenagers -- and all
they've left is a monumental mess. Well, now it's our turn.
What is Generation K-6 besides a clever media label aimed at
defining a long-ignored segment of the population that is slowly
gaining power? Beyond a love of Sega Genesis, the Mighty Morphin Power
Rangers and "The Lion King," what is it that unites us?
We are a generation with an uncertain future and very little past.
We long to make our own decisions, but many of us don't even choose
which clothes to wear each day. We are routinely paid subminimum wages
under the guise of calling it an "allowance." We have the lowest
literacy rate of any generational group -- shockingly, some of us
can't even write our own names properly. We are rapidly becoming a
Lost Generation, and there's no one to announce our names over the
P.A. system so someone can collect us.
Unlike our more repressed elders, we K-6ers aren't afraid to show
our emotions. If so moved, we may burst into tears and refuse to be
consoled for many hours. We don't have to reclaim our inner child,
because we never lost it in the first place. We still retain a natural
curiosity that makes us ask "Why?" over and over and over again until
someone tells us to knock it off. We're looking for real answers, and
we're no longer satisfied with "Because I said so."
We are dismissed by those in power as a generation that won't look
up from its video games long enough to read a book or newspaper. But
do those same critics have any idea what it's like to reach the fourth
level of Mortal Kombat where you gain Super-Invincibility and
unlimited reloading capability? Would they even know what to do when
the aliens in Galaxy Defender are coming at you in the advanced play
mode and you're down to your last Battalion Blaster?
We K-6ers are often portrayed as a bunch of spoiled brats who
spend our lives running around getting our new clothes dirty, lusting
after cool new video games and stuffing our mouths full of candy. To
these gross generalizations we resoundingly reply, "Nuh-uh."
Instead of encouraging us, adults seem intent on breaking our
spirit. Every sentence addressed to us seems to begin with the word
"no." "No, you can't stay up late" and "No, take that thing out of
your mouth."
We want to say "yes" to so many things, but no one will let us.
We're resigned to being short, but we refuse to be sold short. We look
at the world we're inheriting -- the federal deficit, the
deteriorating job market, environment and family unit -- and we want
another choice. And we want it now.
The state of America's elementary schools alarms and saddens us.
Too many teachers are old or just plain mean. The school day is too
long, there's too much homework, the requirement that parents sign
report cards is unnecessary and the stress on computer literacy,
frankly, bores us. If you ask us, it's the teachers who need to become
computer literate. We already know what we're doing.
We're also concerned about safety in the schools. There needs to
be a mechanism by which bullies are removed from the classroom
permanently, something like a "three strikes and you're expelled"
rule. There are enough scary things in life -- snakes, the Bogeyman,
Jason from Friday the 13th and that dark space behind the water
heater in the basement, for instance -- without adding school
to the list. We support teaching values in school, but we oppose laws
mandating a moment's silence in the classroom. We already have enough
people telling us to keep quiet.
Perhaps most unfairly of all, we K-6ers have been tagged as a
generation of complainers and crybabies. Okay, some of us are
crybabies. But we have a right to complain. Doesn't every generation
make its demands known by repeating them over and over again in a
singsong voice until someone gives in? Our time has come. We want
what's coming to us. And we're prepared to hold our breath until
we get it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about the anon service, send mail to he...@anon.penet.fi.
Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized,
and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned.
Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to ad...@anon.penet.fi.
Geenius at Wrok
> Copyright 1994 The Washington Post
> The Washington Post
> December 25, 1994, Sunday, Final Edition
> THEY TELL us we're apathetic, spoiled and shallow. They say we
>have no heroes, no culture of our own. They point to studies showing
>that we fear long-term commitment, and that our attention spans are as
>limited as our sense of history. They say we're a bunch of whiners.
> But we are not, we are not, we are not.
> We are Generation K-6, the generation currently in kindergarten to
>the sixth grade, born roughly between 1983 and 1989. Too young to have
>benefited directly from the economic boom of the Reagan years, but too
>old to fly for free anymore, we are a generation caught in the middle.
> < rest deleted >
I'd think this was funnier if ... well, if it were funny. It just seems
mean-spirited to me. Am I just getting oversensitive to this stuff or what?
--
Keith Ammann is gee...@prospero.ip.portal.com
DNRC Lord High Geenius and Minister for Vegetability
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
"I don't know that it will make a difference in the end, but it's important
to object to abuse even when bullies continue to impose their way." --S.W.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Dig my home page: http://comp.uark.edu/~sommer/geenius.html
T-shirts for sale! E-mail me or see home page for details.
amanda wilson
>In article <235402Z...@anon.penet.fi> an17...@anon.penet.fi
writes:
>
>> Copyright 1994 The Washington Post
>> The Washington Post
>
>> December 25, 1994, Sunday, Final Edition
>
>> THEY TELL us we're apathetic, spoiled and shallow. They say we
>>have no heroes, no culture of our own. They point to studies showing
>>that we fear long-term commitment, and that our attention spans are as
>>limited as our sense of history. They say we're a bunch of whiners.
>
>> But we are not, we are not, we are not.
>
>> We are Generation K-6, the generation currently in kindergarten to
>>the sixth grade, born roughly between 1983 and 1989. Too young to have
>>benefited directly from the economic boom of the Reagan years, but too
>>old to fly for free anymore, we are a generation caught in the middle.
>
>> < rest deleted >
>
>I'd think this was funnier if ... well, if it were funny. It just
>seems mean-spirited to me. Am I just getting oversensitive to this
>stuff or what?
i wouldn't say oversensitive as much as i would say insensitve.
everybody's got a gripe ... i'm sorry, i don't wanna hear it! the _post_
is what passes for my daily paper. those kids are millennials. they're
not all boomer spawn, but some of them are; just as some are welfare
babies and some are the children of the procreative religious
right. (which scares me more than i can say.) by the time they get to
college, there's a chance -- just a chance, mind you -- that the powers
that be will have figured out a way to make higher education accessible
and/or affordable. so whether or not they got the fruit of the reagan
era is of little consequence, imo. besides <polishing x-reputation>
we'll be teaching them, they might *learn* something!
aside from that, i doubt the piece was written by anybody born between
'83 and '89, it seems that somebody wanted to see his or her name in
print. happy now? plus, i hate that cheesy first plural ... the cheesy
we. yuck!
and i'm just blowing off steam, i guess.
-- amanda (thought every would-be op-ed writer had read howe and strauss
by now ... guess not ... next please)
Confusion Incarnate
[snip of Washington Post article]
For the first couple paragraphs, I was unsure whether to be laughing
hysterically or just offended by this article. Then I came to this:
> We are dismissed by those in power as a generation that won't look
>up from its video games long enough to read a book or newspaper. But
>do those same critics have any idea what it's like to reach the fourth
>level of Mortal Kombat where you gain Super-Invincibility and
>unlimited reloading capability?
Here, it becomes obvious that the writer is being nothing but a smartass.
I've played two games of Mortal Kombat in my life, and I know that there
is no such thing as a level, nor Super-Invincibility, and since no one
in the game uses a gun, where does unlimited reloading capability come from?
The writer and wise-ass boomers would say that I just proved his point,
but I disagree. This person obviously has absolutely no respect for either
Xers or K6ers. This glaringly obvious gaffe told me that the writer is
not interested in constructing a well-argued piece of satire, but instead
is just grabbing at random concepts, as he or she grabbed at random
video game names, to put together a smartass piece on "Generation X."
My guess is that the writer is either an Xer who insists he or she is
not a part of our generation, or a white male hack columnist between 35
and 55. Of course, I could be wrong.
.atlemar I showed this card to Kiwi before mailing it.
james v. geluso He agreed with me, feeling like he wanted to be
st...@jetson.uh.edu in a glass house on the southern tip of New Zealand's
houston.grand South Island, with nothing in between himself and
rapids.washington Antarctica.
Jason Kodish
or am I just a chump?
--
____________________________________________________________________________
Jason Kodish, | R - 1/2 g R =T
University of Alberta | un un un
Department of Gravitational Engineering |(Einstein Field Equation)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On boxing day sales: "It's guerilla shopping at it's finest" -Local store
manager
Jason Scott Williams
: Well, I thought it was kinda funny. Are we all getting too sensitive here,
: or am I just a chump?
Just a chump.