Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: "OK Boomer" wins Public Address Word of the Year: Services alerted

27 Responses

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  • John Farrell,

    Fine - but what does it mean? Confused of St Kilda.....

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 499 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to John Farrell,

    Just ask the nippers, John. #righto

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • James Ting-Edwards,

    It means roughly... well you can read this Vox explainer but you might not get it.

    I kid, I kid! (I millennial actually, which in my case means closer to 40 than 30).

    Since Aug 2015 • 14 posts Report Reply

  • Bruce Thorpe,

    do not like the term its implications of age war.
    I am way too old to be a boomer, but I guess my kids fit the bill.
    It is so sweepingly inaccurate. Rachel Carson was author of book of the month when I was still at school.
    It is not about age or generational culture. It is about greed and capitalism.

    Hokianga • Since May 2007 • 52 posts Report Reply

  • Rob Stowell, in reply to Bruce Thorpe,

    It is not about age or generational culture. It is about greed and capitalism.

    It's tough to have yr generation (well, mine anyway) tied to a meme about greed and capitalism.
    Sadly, we've earned it.
    I'm assuming most of us here didn't vote for any of the political bs (let's blame the 'great generation!' - anything to avoid the b-b-b- blame!) Many worked against it.
    But we failed.

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Bruce Thorpe,

    It is not about age or generational culture. It is about greed and capitalism.

    And to be fair, that's usually what it really means when it's used. It's about the blitheness of people who don't have to worry.

    I'm comfortable with the young folk expressing their frustration in what is really a pretty light way.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • tussock,

    I wish it was Climate Emergency, that we were treating it like an emergency and governments of the Anglosphere were doing anything at all. Forbearance to the odd regional authority that's doing their best despite the high ups..

    Then, I think, well, the bushfires in Oz, and how their PM is treating that emergency, by, you know, ignoring it completely, not too fussed at all about the firefighters who can't pay the rent or feed their families, and realize we basically are treating it like we treat emergencies.

    Since Nov 2006 • 611 posts Report Reply

  • Moz,

    Did I miss the change when "they both win" referred to each person individually winning a separate thing? In my day that referred to team efforts towards a single prize. #grumpyoldman

    Sydney, West Island • Since Nov 2006 • 1233 posts Report Reply

  • Moz, in reply to tussock,

    the bushfires in Oz

    There are a lot of angry people. Only now it's the green and some of the left displaying the sort of anger more commonly seen from right wing outrage media types. Also the welcome surge in attention to the opinions and thoughts of young women (rather than just their appearance - who would have thought the most famous young woman in the world in 2019 would be so for wanting world peace or some such thing)

    Sydney, West Island • Since Nov 2006 • 1233 posts Report Reply

  • linger, in reply to Moz,

    And yet “win-win” and “everybody wins” typically don’t refer to all parties sharing a common prize, merely everyone receiving some outcome beneficial to them.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Russell Brown,

    And to be fair, that's usually what it really means when it's used. It's about the blitheness of people who don't have to worry.

    I'm comfortable with the young folk expressing their frustration in what is really a pretty light way.

    I've taken to using "OK gammon" as a more laser-guided version of "OK boomer".

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    Where did gammon come from? Seen it in last few months.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Sacha,

    Where did gammon come from? Seen it in last few months.

    It's a British term originally attributed to Charles Dickens, and started becoming common in the early 2010s. The Brexit hubbub saw it greatly increase in use, and not surprisingly it's a counter-response to labels like "cuck", "SJW" or "soy boy".

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    The Guardian explains "gammon" here and here

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • linger, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    So, basically it’s now a term directed at those that
    (a) have the highest degree of privilege (because of a combination of nationality, race, class, generation, and gender); and
    (b) are largely oblivious to that fact: they have been surrounded by it their whole lives, and see it as normal; and (in consequence)
    (c) assume either that the same is normal for everybody, or that anybody not experiencing the same benefits from society “doesn’t deserve it”.

    Truly these are special individuals….
    which makes the reverse epithet “snowflake” especially ironic.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to linger,

    Truly these are special individuals….
    which makes the reverse epithet “snowflake” especially ironic.

    Especially when enough snowflakes get together...

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Bill Hitchens,

    Boom Boomers.

    Portland, OR, USA • Since Jan 2020 • 1 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Of course no two snowflakes are the same...
    ...while yer gammon or jambon is just dressed ham
    - smallgoods on the buffet of intolerance.

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Armstrong,

    Fascinating how an ad hominem has won – a perverse celebration of the new power of stupidity. Commercial cannabis and medicinal suicide here we come.

    New Zealand • Since Jan 2015 • 81 posts Report Reply

  • John Farrell, in reply to Simon Armstrong,

    Oh, I don't know, Simon....there's nothing new about stupidity. And then there's Dunning-Kruger.

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 499 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Armstrong, in reply to John Farrell,

    Thanks John. With my new awareness of the Dunning-Kruger effect I feel even more superior but can't help thinking I should feel less.

    New Zealand • Since Jan 2015 • 81 posts Report Reply

  • Strypey,

    > Commercial cannabis and medicinal suicide here we come.

    We can but hope. We're all aware of the plethora of prohibition-related harms that disappeared when alcohol was legalized and the market in it regulated, and no surprises that we've seen the same thing in jurisdictions that have legalized and regulated the cannabis market. As for the assisted dying debate, those looking for a moral compass could do worse than Archbishop Desmond Tutu:
    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/oct/07/desmond-tutu-assisted-dying-world-leaders-should-take-action

    Ōtepoti • Since Aug 2012 • 9 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Armstrong,

    I keep telling myself “chill boomer” – when your inner dialog reads public address – matariki is in the sky and on the rise.

    New Zealand • Since Jan 2015 • 81 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic,

    Once again, would the targets of "OK Boomer" prefer to hear "OK Gammon"?

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • linger, in reply to Simon Armstrong,

    We shouldn’t feel superior as a result of the Dunning-Kruger effect. One reason it applies so universally is that everyone is “less competent” than others in some domain. Kruger & Dunning themselves (1998: 1132) even express some unease about possible meta-implications:

    Although we feel we have done a competent job […], our thesis leaves us with one haunting worry […] that this article may contain faulty logic, methodological errors, or poor communication

    as, according to their own findings, they wouldn’t be aware if that were the case.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

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