I'm
going to be really honest. My
generation is getting a really bad rap due to the actions of a select few
people who happen to be a part of it.
Unfortunately,
these people also happen to be some of the loudest and self-absorbed people to
ever grace the public eye.
And,
well...as much as I hate admitting to partaking in hypocrisy, in this case, I'm
going to have to make an exception. I
hate giving these people more publicity but at the same time, I can't help but
give examples - just to prove to everybody that not all people who were born in
my generation are like this.
The
generation, of course, is the Millennial Generation. And I suppose in some way, I fit the description of a millennial
- a person who grew up around technology for most, if not all their life and
who values the need for social networking and flexibility in jobs to find what
best suits them. Typically speaking, a
Millennial is the son or daughter of parents who were a part of the Baby Boomer
generation - or, in my case, parent. My
father was one of the first Baby Boomers, born in 1946. Mom missed being a Boomer by two
months. Though, given that 2001 seems
to be the end date of the Millennial Generation, I suppose some can claim to
have parents from Generation X as well.
(Well,
technically, I'm kind of on the cusp between Generation X and the Millennial
Generation. Most sources list the end
of Generation X as 1980 and the beginning of the Millennial Generation as 1982,
meaning that the year I was born (1981) is kind of like that delicious cream
filling inside of a generation gap Oreo.)
Anyway,
there's been a lot of talk over a couple of separate, but unrelated news
stories that despite their differences have one thing in common. The main subject in both articles are women
who are part of the Millennial Generation.
The
first tale we'll talk about is the story of ESPN reporter Britt McHenry (b. May
28, 1986). Or, I guess I should say
"suspended" ESPN reporter.
But
what could she have possibly done that could have gotten her suspended from the
job she has worked at since the spring of 2014?
Well,
give this video a watch.
Now,
I should probably clarify that this video does appear to be edited, as we don't
really see any clips of the person behind the service desk of the towing company
that this was filmed at. But either
way, the one thing we know is this. We
know that McHenry knew that she was on camera after the attendant pointed it
out to her. After all, we saw the
gesture.
And
we also know that despite knowing that the camera was on her, she continued to
behave in a condescending manner towards the person behind the desk, even going
so far as suggesting that her job is something that she should be ashamed of
and even takes pot shots at the person's looks. Again, it would be nice to see the other side of the tape so that
we know what could have sparked these comments, but regardless of which, she
had absolutely no right to take on an aura of superiority towards someone else
who is trying to earn a living.
In
fact, watching that video made me cringe.
I can't believe that anyone would act that way and treat someone else
with such disgust just based on where they were and who they are. It's so foul.
Now,
to McHenry's credit, she later issued an apology towards the woman at the
towing company. Time will tell whether
she has learned anything from this. I
certainly hope she has.
At
the very least, I have more faith that she would have learned a lesson from her
tantrum than story number two...a story that is more chilling and disgusting
than the first. And surprise,
surprise...the star of this tale is a member of the Millennial Generation.
Now,
the first thing you need to learn about Kristen Lindsey is that she is a
VETERINARIAN. She is a medical
professional whose job includes taking care of sick animals and bringing them
back on the road to recovery, or if the animal is too sick, her job is to put
them to sleep in a HUMANE manner.
Remember this for later.
The
second thing that you need to learn is that Dr. Lindsey has a side hobby of
archery. Or, at least she owns a bow
with several arrows. And that's
perfectly fine. Lots of people practice
archery and lots of people do target practice in a safe area to enhance their
skills.
And
the third thing you need to learn about Dr. Lindsey is that she apparently has
no idea how to tell the difference between a feral cat and a domesticated
cat. And that she apparently has
keyboard diarrhea.
You
see, the good veterinarian decided that she would practice her archery skills
on an orange and white cat that she claimed was a feral cat, and when the arrow
made contact with the cat, she couldn't resist...ahem...bragging about it.
And
no...I will NOT include the image. It
is disgusting and makes me want to vomit.
Actually, the first reaction I had when seeing the photo was pure
sadness.
I
mean, it would be one thing if the cat was known to be a rabies carrier, or was
infested with other incurable diseases.
That would be the only way that this would make a lick of sense
whatsoever. And even so, using a bow
and arrow seems to be one of the least humane ways to kill an animal. Mind you, guns and bear traps are definitely
more brutal, but a bow and arrow to kill a cat? Come on.
And
the photo showed her taking pleasure in holding up the arrow with the cat still
attached to it with a great big smile on her face and exclaiming that she's the
best vet ever. Oh, yeah...did I mention
that she's a VETERINARIAN?!? How would
you feel knowing that your vet that took care of your dog goes around shooting
random cats that pass by her yard? It
sort of develops a conflict of interest, doesn't it? Especially when she takes so much pleasure in bragging about how
"the only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through its head".
The
picture was just the disturbing, tainted cherry on top of the ice cream sundae
of blood and disgust.
In
this case, the vet was let go from her position - despite her claiming that
nobody could get rid of her because she was "awesome".
Oh,
yeah. You're "awesome" all right. And the tragic part? The cat she murdered wasn't a feral cat at
all. In fact, it could have belonged to
a family in Dr. Lindsey's neighbourhood whose cat went missing TWO DAYS BEFORE
SHE POSTED THE PICTURE ON FACEBOOK!
So,
why do these two stories rile me up so much (aside from the self-entitlement
and psychopathic tendencies that were displayed in each story)? Well, I found both of these stories on my
Facebook News Feed, and sometimes when I see a story that interests me (or in
this case, shocks me to the point where I can't believe there are people who
really are this vile), I take a look at what some of the comments are
underneath.
And
well...what made me mad was that some people were commenting that because of
these two women, an entire generation of people were rude, crude, sociopathic,
idiotic, and not even worth knowing.
They did everything they could do say that the Millennial Generation was
the worst generation ever born.
To
which I say...hold up. These two people
are NOT a true representation of us.
Believe
me, I've heard it all before. A couple of years ago, I used to
belong to a website forum where there was one person who consistently insulted
everybody on the board who happened to be born after 1980. And when I say insulted, I mean they really
raked us over the coals and made cruel jokes at our expense. I took it for a little while, but eventually
I had to ignore this person's garbage entirely because I could not stand his
negative attitude towards an entire group of people based on the actions of a
select few.
See,
I don't take kindly to people who make preconceived judgments on a whole
generation of people just because they don't like one or two people within
it. That would be like me declaring
that every single man born in 1964 is a serial killer and rapist because Paul
Bernardo was born that year. It sounds
absolutely silly when I put it like that, right?
And
it sounds really silly to judge the Millennial Generation negatively because of
two women who clearly didn't act too swiftly or professionally. Truth be told, I've known a lot of fellow
Millennials who have gone on to do some fantastic things and who have shown
that our generation does have a place in the world and is capable of creating
some great things to make the world better.
So, stop judging us because of the actions of a couple of people.
And
for that person who kept insisting that people born after 1980 were useless and
not worth knowing? Yeah, keep in mind
that those people are going to play an integral part in your golden years from
filling prescriptions to serving you coffee to even giving you life-saving
surgery to keep you alive.
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