boomer good things

Boomers get a bad reputation for not understanding how expensive the world is today and for not being present for their children. When it comes to those that fit into the age category of boomers, the complaint list is so long you'd believe that they've never done anything good. Surly the people starting to settle into retirement or at least the idea of it have contributed something to the younger generations.

While it may be a trend to dunk on boomers, as a generation they did some pretty cool things. They put the first man on the moon. Many of the older boomers were the college kids protesting for civil rights and against the Vietnam War. They were part of the hippie movement which probably gave way to legalizing birth control for unmarried women in 1972. Boomers were the generation that saw women get the right to open a bank account without their husband or father's signature.

So clearly they folks younger generations like to poke fun at did some pretty amazing things but what good things did they teach their children? Millennials have spoken.

In a Reddit group dedicated to Xennials, the micro-generation between Gen X and Millennials, posed the question, "what do you think was your best lesson learned by being raised by Boomers," and they answered.

"I’m 41. My parents were both born in ‘48. They have always been fairly liberal, artsy types. The best thing I learned from them is that racism, sexism and homophobia is wrong and we should all actively work to make the world a better place. Also, that societal expectations are arbitrary and that you should carve your own path and be yourself," one person writes.

"I was born in ‘79 (mom 1955 and dad 1949 so both boomers). The best thing I learned from then was to not make excuses and be independent. They were not neglectful but they weren’t helicopter parents and let me suffer the consequences of my actions when I messed up," another says.

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"Boomer parents taught me about cool hippie era counter culture stuff and gave me a leg up on having music, literature, and film nerd cred," someone shares.

"My parents very much taught me how to do things for myself. I knew how to fix the minor things on my car, basic plumbing, electric, obviously I could mow a lawn and grow some plants. They taught me to cook more than just the bare bones, but tasty stuff. I could do laundry the right way. And my mom actually took time to teach me how to learn. Back in the day you needed to know how to use encyclopedias and librarians. She told me I needed to know how to ask the right questions to learn what was necessary. I think they did a great job with these," one commenter responds.

For a generation that gets a lot of criticism, they did some pretty cool things and their children taking a moment to recognize the positive things about being raised by them is a positive change.