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What year were you born?

  • 1901-1924

  • 1925-1942

  • 1943-1960

  • 1961-1979

  • 1980-1998

  • 1999-2017


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bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,741
1,922
Lard
I’m with you on the work ethic. I wish some of my younger colleagues had that. With about 1-2 exceptions all the hard workers at our place are 50 plus.
Having two parents who had been in the U.S. Navy made me want to prove that I could work.

Also, had they gone to the department store where I was working from 18-20 years old and seen me not doing anything, they would have called the store manager to make sure I had something to do.
 

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
28,805
26,895
Also, had they gone to the department store where I was working from 18-20 years old and seen me not doing anything, they would have called the store manager to make sure I had something to do.
My one problem with work is those who create work for me. This is a particular hangup of mine that is a direct result of my father trying to control and dominate me by using work as a whipping tool/punishment. My father was emotionally damaged as a child and he brought that along to me.

If he didn't like something I was doing, was in a bad mood or feeling powerless, he would assign work to me and immediately expect me to drop everything I was doing and go get it done. As talking back was verboten I was left with malicious compliance - a thing I did long before the term became popular.

I could have the pool vacuumed and cleaned in 20 minutes and the front lawn mowed in 10 minutes. All properly done, just done at hyperspeed. And then I was right back to doing what I was doing on my time before he assigned work.

It wasn't until later on that I was able to distinguish the assigning of work as anything other than punishment. And this is in large part why I object to doing work for others while on my own time.

I don't think it helped that the US military tends to assign work as a form of punishment; and my dad was military.
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,741
1,922
Lard
My one problem with work is those who create work for me. This is a particular hangup of mine that is a direct result of my father trying to control and dominate me by using work as a whipping tool/punishment. My father was emotionally damaged as a child and he brought that along to me.

If he didn't like something I was doing, was in a bad mood or feeling powerless, he would assign work to me and immediately expect me to drop everything I was doing and go get it done. As talking back was verboten I was left with malicious compliance - a thing I did long before the term became popular.

I could have the pool vacuumed and cleaned in 20 minutes and the front lawn mowed in 10 minutes. All properly done, just done at hyperspeed. And then I was right back to doing what I was doing on my time before he assigned work.

It wasn't until later on that I was able to distinguish the assigning of work as anything other than punishment. And this is in large part why I object to doing work for others while on my own time.

I don't think it helped that the US military tends to assign work as a form of punishment; and my dad was military.
When I was at work, I could find work for myself without any help. It's just that, as the only "foreigner" in the family, my grandmother (adoptive mom's side) would find any reason to embarrass my mom about anything one of her friends saw me doing. Parents found many ways to punish their children, I'm sure.

I remember that my adoptive mom's parents would spring clean like no other family. They would remove all of the furniture and carpets from the house. Then, they would wash the floors, walls, ceilings, and even clean the furnace ducts, as they were burning coal. With 12 at the dinner table, they peeled 10 pounds of potatoes for every meal to stretch the food.

Now, given the younger generations, I can't imagine that they could ever have it so rough, but for the fact that they don't like to work and end up homeless because their parents can't afford them.
 

splifingate

macrumors 65816
Nov 27, 2013
1,248
1,044
ATL
As I've mentioned previously, I'm Gen-X (born 1970). But, amongst other Gen-Xer's I am an oddity. Most Gen-Xer's have Baby Boomer parents, but my parents are from the Silent Generation. They waited until they were in their late 20s and early 30s to have me and my sister.

My P's adopted me, after unsuccessful efforting towards Nat (I can only suppose (we never achieved detailed convo on the nitty-gritty of such matters).

Never at a loss for words, they were anything but silent.

Yay; they carried La Croix Poilue, wore the appropriate clothing and affected 'Beat'.

But . . . they conducted their Studies, achieved their Degrees, paid the bills, and kept their Dream alive (that is, until it All fell-apart).

I was raised with other children who had been blessed with colour in their skin (I was gifted "pink"); their perspectives added to mine, and I can only assume that I added mine, to theirs.

A Nat arrived a year after my adoption, and We were 4.

My Grand-P's on Mom's side were both from 12+ sibling families; Dad's P's were from more minimal stock.

Lots of convoluted 90-deg angles on the familial flowcharts Mom-side. Dad's are quite linear.

I added two lines . . . joined with one 90-deg angle . . . it now extends, but looks to have a definite end-point 🤷‍♂️

This makes my own children oddities as well because my wife and I waited until our 30s and 40s to have our kids. So, Gen-Z kids with Gen-X parents.

In my case, having Silent Generation parents led to what I perceive as being raised quite a bit differently than other X-ers. I was still a latchkey kid, but I got the Silent Generation ethos and not the Boomer ethos.

Ah! Well, therein prob lies why I (and obviously others) appreciate You: "the eyoungren ethos" . . . as singular an Ethos as an ethos gets ;)

Thank you for sharing.
 
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