OPINION:
I just spent two weeks living as a Boomer, and loved it. Some people dismiss senior opinions with an "okay Boomer" or a "shut up granddad". Not me. No one chooses when they were born. We should judge on individual character not age or any other trait outside a person's control. If you're young and envious of the old, you don't understand how lifetimes work. No matter how well off a 75-year-old is, they would give it all up to be 25 again. Property is no replacement for the possibilities available to the young. Enjoy your youth privilege while you have it. Use your energy to build your own life. Don't waste it hating on Boomers. You'll be old and unpopular soon enough.
I prefer to celebrate Boomer culture. After two weeks living with my dad, I have distilled the best parts into five categories: e-bikes, tucked-in underwear, Brokenwood Mysteries, manicured lawn sports, and whisky.
I used to get triggered by battery-powered wimps passing me on hills. I believed in human pedal power. Everything changed last week when my dad put me on his e-bike and sent me around the peninsula. Dunedin was 27C with nary a cloud in the sky when my father started his 30-minute e-bike safety briefing. "It's not a 747 Dad," I complained. Eventually he handed me a humiliating skid lid and a ridiculous amount of reflective gear: "I look like a Christmas tree dad." It was all worth it when I passed my first group of self pedallers. I blasted those losers from behind with the bell then left them in Dad's three rearview mirrors. Didn't even get a sweat up. By the time those slowmos got to Portobello Cafe, I was halfway through my second ice cream.