I am not a fan of so-called “generational analysis”. It has as much credibility as astrology which basically asserts there are only 12 kinds of people on the planet…and some are fish and bulls and such. Likewise, generational analysis suggests that there’s basically five types of people whose grouping is predetermined by the year in which they were born. If you were born on December 31, 1964, congrats…you’re a boomer! January 1, 1965? Just one day later and you’re a Gen X’er. One day you’re a crab, and the next day you’re a goat.
In general, whenever someone starts asserting something they know for sure about a person based on which of the 5 groups that person was born into, my eyes glaze over, my brain shuts down, and I’m scanning the room to find a more interesting person with whom to chat. Short of that, a dog or cat will do.
Last Saturday, however, I was trapped. While sitting in the field house at Syracuse University waiting for the commencement ceremonies for my stepson Cooper to begin, I was wedged into a seat next to a couple just a bit older than me (Boomers) as they talked disparagingly about today’s youth (Gen Z’s). The couple was primarily focussed on campus protests over Israel-Palestine. They prattled on about how inconvenient these protestors were making it for everyone else. They claimed that these lazy kids were just trying to get out of class while at the same time claiming that most of the demonstrators are not even students but are “outside agitators.” (Don’t ask me to defend the logic of their rant; I’m just the messenger.)
I leaned over to my wife and said “I think we have to move.” But the place was packed, so I was stuck.
What I really wanted to do was to engage. I wanted to ask these Boomers about a little history. I wanted to ask about the power of the voice of the people in forming this country and in making it better. I wanted to ask why anytime a group of people stood up for what they perceived as an injustice their activities are blamed on outside agitators as if it’s impossible for people to organically perceive an injustice and then act upon it.
The conversation died down just as I was about to engage, so I grumbled to myself and re-read the program for the 8th time. A few minutes later Mr. Boomer turned to me and tried to recruit me to his side of the discussion. Since we were both born before 1965 he had every right to feel I would naturally agree with him. But as a Capricorn maybe I don’t get along with a Leo or something, because I told him I didn’t have a problem with people from either side of the debate making their voices heard. He was a bit taken aback and tried to make the case that he was ok with demonstrations too as long as they weren’t disruptive. I shot back “Aren’t those the only kind that actually work?” Now it was his turn to grumble.
I think there are just a handful of defining moments in our country’s history that got us closer to fulfilling the promise of the Declaration of Independence. The Enlightenment ideas embodied in Jefferson’s masterpiece have always been the goals of the new republic despite the many self-inflicted obstacles we have put in our own way. (e.g, slavery, wars of imperialism, Jim Crow, restrictions on women, etc)
Each time we have overcome these obstacles, it has been because people took to the streets and demanded change. The Boston Tea Party was a demonstration. It was disruptive. It also helped ignite the passions of the people to move more decidedly towards independence. Abolitionist demonstrations helped turn the tide in the North towards the end of slavery. Demonstrations and other job actions during the Progressive Era ended the monopolies and the brutal exploitation of workers. When women took the streets in the late 19th and early 20th century, one small bite out of the patriarchy was made possible and soon women could finally vote. Marches on Selma and Washington DC undoubtedly changed the trajectory of the battle for basic rights for people of color. And even if the Boomers next to me wouldn’t acknowledge it, countless lives, both American and Asian, were saved because people took to the streets to oppose American imperialism in south-east Asia. In more recent years Black Lives Matter took a huge dent out of police brutality in this country. We have a long way to go on many of these issues, but only demonstrations that disrupted our comfortable routines and our contentment with the status quo, regardless of how racist, sexist, or brutal that status quo was, brought much needed change.
It shouldn’t matter one bit on what side of the Israel-Palestine issue you sit. Both Israel and Palestine face literal existential threats, and both have committed unspeakable atrocities in their efforts to survive. I’m not going to solve that issue here. What does matter a lot is that the voices of those who want to influence U.S. policy must be heard…even if it makes Johnny late for class trying to get across campus.
Change is always inconvenient to those in power…that can’t be part of the calculus. As long as violence is not the tool of the demonstrators, colleges should not be restricting the rights of students and their outside agitator handlers from making their voices heard. And Boomers sitting at a graduation ceremony should sit back and let today’s young people have their shot at change.
Now I need to go find a Millenial to buy me a $9 cup of coffee while we commiserate about the decline of Dungeons and Dragons as a cultural icon.
The Grumblings 
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