The Tolerant Generation*
I had a conversation with a family member a few years back that’s
stuck with me since. I was telling him how proud I am of my generation for
being so accepting of people regardless of their race, sexual orientation, or
socioeconomic class. His response: It’s easy to be accepting when you have no room
to judge. Translation: Millennials are losers so if your generation condemns
others then you are essentially condemning yourself.
As much as we highlight the negatives, in my lifetime I’ve
seen tremendous progress. I believe my generation has been critical in the push
for gay marriage and opening up dialogue about other kinds of inequality. If being “losers” is the reason we are
accepting of others, if that’s the characteristic that’s enabled Gen Y to
continue to fight for equality for all then call me a loser.
Baby boomers paved the way for us to even be in the position
we’re in. They lived through the civil rights era. But millennials are tolerant
because we’ve learned from the baby boomers, the very same people who think we
are losers, that social change requires dissatisfaction.
Our dissatisfaction keeps us from being complacent with the
progress we’ve made. My generation is accepting because we won’t settle for
“kind of equal” (there’s no such thing). We’ve been nicknamed the Me Generation
because of how we are perceived to value ourselves highly, but we place the
same value on others, which is why we are sympathetic to their needs. Gen Y’s
tolerance for others is not for any deficiency, nor is it a claim to
superiority over past generations. We have benefitted from history and have had
the opportunity to build on the strides towards equality made by past
generations.
The accepting attitude of my generation stems from our
strong sense of individualism – we like our wants and needs as individuals to
be recognized. As a social strategy, whether done knowingly or not, we have to
consider where others are coming from in order for the same courtesy to be
extended to us.
I’m not at all claiming that my generation is noble or
better than any other, but I stand by what I told my family member years ago:
I’m proud to be a millennial because we are progressive and accepting of people
from all backgrounds.
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