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Millennial blame game getting old

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Before the COVID-19 pandemic came about, another contagion spread around the world unchecked. It wasn’t deadly. It was just annoying.

I’m referring to the international media trend of blaming everything on millennials — the demographic born between 1981 and 1996 (according to Pew Research) whose alleged laziness and entitlement, we were told time and time again, preceded the downfall of a host of baby boomer-backed norms from paper napkins to beer to racist jokes.

I’m intimately familiar with the “millennials ruined X” narrative because as a columnist who belongs to the demographic, I’ve been asked or compelled to write in its defence more times than I can remember. That is until the spring of 2020 when COVID-19 hit and suddenly the millennial grievance news cycle went on sabbatical.

This made sense as news outlets had more important and, frankly, terrifying things to write about. But now, nearly two years on, thanks to vaccines, COVID-19 has been partially defanged. And in turn, it seems the fangs are out once again for my generation.

For example, the Chinese government is reportedly deeply perturbed that Chinese millennials are abandoning the institution of marriage.

Director Ridley Scott is deeply upset millennials didn’t care for his latest movie (he recently blamed cellphone-obsessed millennials for its poor performance at the box office).

And Bill Maher is reportedly outraged that “younger generations” are fans of vapid celebrity Kylie Jenner because we should be out saving the world.

And yet, we are. Or more accurately, we already did.

Alas, I am compelled to defend my generation once again — hopefully for the last time.

Because if anything should snuff out the blame-a-millennial-reflex once and for all, it’s this demographic’s invaluable role in fighting COVID-19 and making life throughout it bearable.

If the millennial generation didn’t quite save the world from the virus, it certainly pulled its weight and then some. Ever heard of Kizzmekia Corbett?

The 35-year-old American viral immunologist can gush over Kylie Jenner until the end of time if she so chooses, or pan every Ridley Scott movie ever made, because Corbett — a millennial — conducted groundbreaking research that contributed to the development of COVID-19 vaccines.

According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where Corbett is an assistant professor, in early 2020 she and her colleague Barney Graham “designed the structure for a vaccine that would form the backbone of many COVID-19 vaccines in use today, including the Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax vaccines.”

And when baby boomer and Gen X politicians in Canada and Ontario proved utterly incapable of getting those vaccines into arms in the early days of the rollout, who stepped in to simplify the process and connect Canadians to shots?

Vaccine Hunters Canada, a team of tech-savvy volunteers founded by 33-year-old Torontonian Andrew Young and composed heavily of other altruistic millennials. It’s estimated that more than a million Canadians are vaccinated because of these volunteers. In other words, Toronto’s incredible vaccine uptake can be attributed in part to a bunch of millennials on phones.

In similar fashion, when public health institutions appeared hopeless in their efforts to challenge vaccine hesitancy where it often takes root (online), who stepped in to debunk internet myths and share facts with social media users? Thirty one-year-old Samantha Yammine, a.k.a. “Science Sam,” the U of T grad with a PhD in molecular genetics whose easily digestible content about COVID-19 is viewed in the millions.

Panning out, who bagged your groceries and delivered your food in the dark days of the pandemic winter?

According to career data website Zippia, the average age of a grocery clerk in the United States is 39; according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average age of a food prep worker is 29. And according to a survey conducted by restaurant supplier U.S. Foods, the median age of a food delivery person is 31. Millennials. All of them.

Anecdotally, every PCR test I’ve received in the past several months, not to mention each dose of vaccine, was administered to me by a person in their thirties.

According to the Ontario government, “the average age of registered nursing staff within long-term care is 42.4 years old.” The oldest millennials are turning 40 this year. They are the present and future of longterm care in this province.

Finally, they are not the young whippersnappers their critics think they are. Millennials are over the hill. They have kids and wrinkles. They wear sensible shoes.

If they didn’t turn out to see a very long Ridley Scott movie this year, it’s not because they have short attention spans. It’s because they’re busy. And burnt out.

Now lay off — for good.

NEWS | GTA

en-ca

2021-11-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://torontostar.pressreader.com/article/281651078376937

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