The Moral Immaturity of the Millennial Generation

 

This morning in the PIT, I described my commute home last night from work. For those of you that haven’t heard, I recently moved to Portland, OR, where I work at one of the large hospitals downtown. Because of traffic and scarce parking, I take both the bus and the train into work. Last night, I left work about 15 minutes late. This may not seem significant, but when you’re beholden to a train schedule, leaving even 30 second late can put a major crimp in your commute. I was late leaving work because of the flurry of activity that happened with my patients at the end of my shift. One of my patients had come in with recent neurological changes, and after the work up had been done, at the end of my shift this patient was given a new diagnosis of cancer with a very poor prognosis. The family was sweet and understanding and appreciative; all of the things that make nurses remember why they became a nurse in the first place. I sat at the computer outside my patient’s room to chart, hearing the family cry together. I offered my presence and comfort, but it was clear that they wanted to be alone. At the nurses station, we all spoke in hushed tones about how sad it was, and how the worst diagnoses always seem to happen to the nicest people.

As you can imagine would be the case in Portland, my day had consisted of staff lamenting the election results. There was a litany of “I’m so depressed,” “I cried the whole time I was getting ready this morning,” and “I just can’t believe people would vote for him.” That morning, I over heard a woman tell her friend that Max (the light rail in Portland) had to close temporarily around one o’clock that morning because of protests; however, my commute to work was uneventful. I was anticipating an equally uneventful ride home, but that was not the case. When I got off the bus at Pioneer Square to catch Max, police were out securing crowd control barriers, and I could see an occasional “Trump is NOT my president” sign waving in the air. While running to catch the train that was pulling in, I saw a young hipster woman completely topless with anti-Trump sentiments written across her body. I reached the platform in time, but was informed by the police that the train would not be stopping at Pioneer Square because of the protests; I had to walk up five blocks to the next stop. Now, five blocks might not seem like much, but after a 13 hour day on your feet trying to slay the dragons of disease, it’s a lot. As I walked grumpily past all the 20-somthing homeless and protesters, I became increasingly incensed by the childishness of it all. I wanted to run back to find that young woman exposing herself and yell at her, “Showing everyone your tits won’t make a damn bit of difference or make anyone take you remotely seriously!! Put a damn shirt on and go get a job!” Meanwhile, my sweet patient was probably still crying in her hospital bed, coming to grips with her own impending death.

While I am technically a Millennial, I don’t feel like part of the group. The Millennial generation seems to be largely a generation of children who never got past elementary school in their moral development. In psychology we learned about Kohlberg’s stages of moral development: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. Historically, children make up those in the pre-conventional and conventional stages. Adults occupy the post-conventional stage, in which morality is driven by what is best for society or by a higher, empirical moral code. Children are concerned with being a “good boy” or “good girl.” Children see things as being black or white, an eye for an eye, fair is fair. As we mature, we are supposed to come to understand that things are not always fair, and tit for tat is not the best policy for society. Adults realize that our morals come from a higher source, and the rules must sometimes be broken in order to do what is right. The protesters in Portland and those spewing hate and hysterics on my Facebook feed have never grown up. For them, life must always be fair. If Sally gets a lollipop, then Kayla has to get one too. They don’t see inconsistency of their actions as relates to their stated beliefs of tolerance, acceptance, and diversity. They are children throwing a temper tantrum because they didn’t get a lollipop, but the conservatives did. 

The contrast between the whininess taking place in Pioneer Square and the dignified sorrow of my patient and her family was shocking and infuriating. I wanted to drag that topless woman to the hospital and make her work with me for a week, to see the best and the worst of humanity. To see that life is not fair, and the nicest people you will meet are often the ones with the most devastating diseases. I’m not sure how to make the 20-somethings snap out of if. I can only hope that they eventually grow up.

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  1. kylez Member
    kylez
    @kylez

    My dad went up to the San Fernando Valley today, telling me before he left he hopes there won’t be too many “tall toddlers” clogging traffic.

    • #31
  2. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Midget Faded Rattlesnake: It’s even possible a sclerotic society makes things “mushier” even for those apt to “snap out of it” under “crunchier” circumstances.

    Exactly what is happening.

    • #32
  3. kylez Member
    kylez
    @kylez

    “Pioneer Square” named for people who didn’t suffer whiners.

    • #33
  4. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    I am totally enjoying the irony that the protesters are inconveniencing the very people that voted the way they wanted.

    • #34
  5. Carol Member
    Carol
    @

    when_everyone_gets_a_trophy_11-10-16-1

    • #35
  6. TKC1101 Member
    TKC1101
    @

    Living just south, I am glad I left the daily commute downtown far behind me. I expect you had the usual hangers on in PIoneer Square and a few of the professional certified card carrying anarchists from the finishing schools in Corvalis and elsewhere on Soros payroll.

    It drives me crazy that a planned . coordinated demonstration in multiple cities aimed at disruption and not just speech is not prosecuted. If I paid for an event that became a nuisance, I would be up to my ears in citations and court dates.

    Let us hope that the Giuliani DOJ uses his NYC tactics and this crap gets real expensive for the funders.

    • #36
  7. Vicryl Contessa Thatcher
    Vicryl Contessa
    @VicrylContessa

    kylez:“Pioneer Square” named for people who didn’t suffer whiners.

    As I drove from Alabama to Portland via the Oregon Trail, the incredible strength of the people that made that journey was not lost on me

    • #37
  8. Ford Penney Inactive
    Ford Penney
    @FordPenney

    Don’t mean to usurp your post but in memory of Adam, here’s Adam’s shark.
    adams-shark

    • #38
  9. Vicryl Contessa Thatcher
    Vicryl Contessa
    @VicrylContessa

    For all my grumbling about Portland hipsters I am on my way to whole foods to get pizza and a happy hour kombucha…

    • #39
  10. Vicryl Contessa Thatcher
    Vicryl Contessa
    @VicrylContessa

    Ford Penney:Don’t mean to usurp your post but in memory of Adam, here’s Adam’s shark.
    adams-shark

    No, usurp away! How cute!!!

    • #40
  11. KC Mulville Inactive
    KC Mulville
    @KCMulville

    Vicryl Contessa: I wanted to drag that topless woman to the hospital and make her work with me for a week…

    You know, talking about unfairness, unlike you, if I  (a 56-year old white guy) dragged a topless woman away and made her work with me for a week, I might just get arrested on a morals charge.

    Life is so unfair.

     

    (Great post, V, I just was channeling my inner-Frank Drebbin.)

     

    • #41
  12. kylez Member
    kylez
    @kylez

    Vicryl Contessa:

    kylez:I love that there are protests. For what? Aren’t protesters supposed to have demands?

    I think they’re pretty much demanding that Trump not be allowed to be president… and now there’s the new push to get rid of the electoral college.

    Of which 3/4 of the states would have to ratify, and all the red states would have good reason not to. The other day California voters passed this idiotic non-binding proposition (which I voted against) to require the legislature to draft some sort of anti-Citizens United amendment proposal.

    • #42
  13. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    The Millenials are not unique. 20-somethings have always been politically foolish.

    The thing is that there are so many Millenials, their foolishness is much more obvious.

    Previous groups of 20-somethings who had much smaller numbers (GenX, for example) could be largely ignored because they really didn’t have very much impact on the zeitgeist.

    You have to go back to the early 70s to find a cohort of 20-somethings with as many numbers as the Millenials. Not coincidentally, that was the last time youth culture was both politically influential and utterly intolerable.

    • #43
  14. Steve in Richmond Member
    Steve in Richmond
    @SteveinRichmond

    kylez:

    Vicryl Contessa:

    kylez:I love that there are protests. For what? Aren’t protesters supposed to have demands?

    I think they’re pretty much demanding that Trump not be allowed to be president… and now there’s the new push to get rid of the electoral college.

    Of which 3/4 of the states would have to ratify, and all the red states would have good reason not to. The other day California voters passed this idiotic non-binding proposition (which I voted against) to require the legislature to draft some sort of anti-Citizens United amendment proposal.

    Of course we could encourage their secession movement.

    • #44
  15. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    I was living in Seattle during the WTO riots in 1999. Walking home (because they stopped the buses) I remember seeing the ignorant youth (including Anarchists who drove up from your Portland) behaving badly. That was disturbing but mixed in the crowd I saw some aging Baby Boomers trying to vandalize whatever they could. I remember seeing a woman who must have been 60 years-old, trying to break one of the newspaper boxes on the sidewalk. As I walked by in my suit and tie, carrying a briefcase, I stopped and asked, “Still sticking it to the man, I see?” Her reply was , “You better believe it!”

    Anyway, so while I share your concern about Millennials, Baby Boomers are still worse ;)

    • #45
  16. Doug Watt Member
    Doug Watt
    @DougWatt

    It might be time to call in the RRT, Rapid Response Team of the Portland Police Bureau if things don’t calm down. They carry pepper spray in the Party Can as this photo from the Occupy protests shows in Portland when protestors blocked the light rail tracks. No need to yell at the protestors.

    portland-pepper-spray

    • #46
  17. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Ford Penney:Don’t mean to usurp your post but in memory of Adam, here’s Adam’s shark.
    adams-shark

    Did I mention that this is the kind of post that brings out the best of Ricochet?

    • #47
  18. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    Misthiocracy:The Millenials are not unique. 20-somethings have always been politically foolish.

    The thing is that there are so many Millenials, their foolishness is much more obvious.

    … You have to go back to the early 70s to find a cohort of 20-somethings with as many numbers as the Millenials. Not coincidentally, that was the last time youth culture was both politically influential and utterly intolerable.

    Yet when Nixon won in 1972, the youth didn’t do what the youth are doing now. AND there’s a Moveon.org petition asking the electoral college to give the election to Hillary. There’s something different about it this time. Something more orchestrated or something.

    • #48
  19. Vicryl Contessa Thatcher
    Vicryl Contessa
    @VicrylContessa

    Misthiocracy:The Millenials are not unique. 20-somethings have always been politically foolish.

    The thing is that there are so many Millenials, their foolishness is much more obvious.

    Previous groups of 20-somethings who had much smaller numbers (GenX, for example) could be largely ignored because they really didn’t have very much impact on the zeitgeist.

    You have to go back to the early 70s to find a cohort of 20-somethings with as many numbers as the Millenials. Not coincidentally, that was the last time youth culture was both politically influential and utterly intolerable.

    I think another thing that adds to their seemingly large numbers is the amount of exposure they have with social media. Never before this generation have 20 somethings had such an enormous platform

    • #49
  20. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    Vicryl Contessa:

    Misthiocracy:The Millenials are not unique. 20-somethings have always been politically foolish.

    The thing is that there are so many Millenials, their foolishness is much more obvious.

    Previous groups of 20-somethings who had much smaller numbers (GenX, for example) could be largely ignored because they really didn’t have very much impact on the zeitgeist.

    You have to go back to the early 70s to find a cohort of 20-somethings with as many numbers as the Millenials. Not coincidentally, that was the last time youth culture was both politically influential and utterly intolerable.

    I think another thing that adds to their seemingly large numbers is the amount of exposure they have with social media. Never before this generation have 20 somethings had such an enormous platform

    Yes, and Facebook and Twitter skew the effect by promoting their memes and opinions while squelching conservative ones.

    • #50
  21. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    portlandia

    • #51
  22. Vicryl Contessa Thatcher
    Vicryl Contessa
    @VicrylContessa

    Misthiocracy:portlandia

    I love it!

    • #52
  23. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    kylez: Of which 3/4 of the states would have to ratify, and all the red states would have good reason not to.

    Not true. The National Popular Vote (NPV) movement is taking advantage of the constitutional clause that lets the state legislatures decide how to apportion their electors (Maine and Nebraska divide theirs, e.g., while other states are winner-take-all). They’ve passed an interstate compact in several state legislatures that would have these states apportion their electors based on the NPV, should enough states sign-on. It would basically nullify the electoral college and it would be totally constitutional.

    NPVIC

    I’ve written about this before on Ricochet, but I’m the only one who seems to be worried about it. If AZ, MI, MO, and PA sign on (legislation pending), the movement will be up to 242 EVs. This is one of those issues of “fairness” that a lot of well-meaning people will happily sign onto without understanding the ramifications. I could easily see this “succeeding” prior to the next presidential election.

    • #53
  24. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    RightAngles:

    Misthiocracy:The Millenials are not unique. 20-somethings have always been politically foolish.

    The thing is that there are so many Millenials, their foolishness is much more obvious.

    … You have to go back to the early 70s to find a cohort of 20-somethings with as many numbers as the Millenials. Not coincidentally, that was the last time youth culture was both politically influential and utterly intolerable.

    Yet when Nixon won in 1972, the youth didn’t do what the youth are doing now. AND there’s a Moveon.org petition asking the electoral college to give the election to Hillary. There’s something different about it this time. Something more orchestrated or something.

    I suppose it’s true that the youth riots protests in 1968 were nastier. I guess we should be thankful that at least no presidential candidates were assassinated this year.

    By comparison, 1972 was downright sedate. Just Hunter S. Thompson publishing Fear And Loathing On The Campaign Trail.

    1972 also had this:

    fonda

    And this…

    April 22, 1972: Protestors demonstrating against war in Vietnam clog Wilshire Blvd. as they march toward MacArthur Park where a rally was held. View is looking west from Ambassador Hotel. This photo was published in the April 23, 1972 Los Angeles Times.

    And this…

    1972d

    And this…

    us-protests5

    But I concede those were all before Election Day, not after. The kids of that era preferred to go nuts at the conventions, not on E-Day.

     

    • #54
  25. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    Western Chauvinist:.

    NPVIC

    I’ve written about this before on Ricochet, but I’m the only one who seems to be worried about it. If AZ, MI, MO, and PA sign on (legislation pending), the movement will be up to 242 EVs. This is one of those issues of “fairness” that a lot of well-meaning people will happily sign onto without understanding the ramifications. I could easily see this “succeeding” prior to the next presidential election.

    This is frightening. First of all, Hillary (or Gore) wouldn’t have won the popular vote without all the illegals, dead people, and people voting more than once. It’s not a joke. This is standard procedure for the Democrats, it’s what they do.

    • #55
  26. Dick from Brooklyn Thatcher
    Dick from Brooklyn
    @DickfromBrooklyn

    Douglas:1, it sounds like you miss the South as much as the South misses you.

    2, if it’s any comfort, just remember that Baby Boomers went from naked, stinky hippies rolling in mud and %$#& at Woodstock, to voting for Reagan twice.

    Eh – many voted for B Clinton and Sanders too

    • #56
  27. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    Midget Faded Rattlesnake: For example, though it’s unrealistic to expect life to be completely fair, it might also be unrealistic to expect conservative habits to develop in an environment where everything was unfair – where all incentives were perverse.

    Well said.

    Sadly, I think an increasing number of Republican voters fail to balance “fairness” with fiscal reality. Thus, whatever replaces the ACA will probably maintain coverage of pre-existing conditions. I can only hope Republicans are honest enough to make it a new entitlement program (How’s that for low expectations?) so that the medical insurance industry can be a genuinely private and free industry again.

     

    • #57
  28. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    Misthiocracy:

    RightAngles:

    Misthiocracy:The Millenials are not unique. 20-somethings have always been politically foolish.

    The thing is that there are so many Millenials, their foolishness is much more obvious.

    … You have to go back to the early 70s to find a cohort of 20-somethings with as many numbers as the Millenials. Not coincidentally, that was the last time youth culture was both politically influential and utterly intolerable.

    Yet when Nixon won in 1972, the youth didn’t do what the youth are doing now. AND there’s a Moveon.org petition asking the electoral college to give the election to Hillary. There’s something different about it this time. Something more orchestrated or something.

    I suppose it’s true that the youth riots protests in 1968 were nastier. I guess we should be thankful that at least no presidential candidates were assassinated this year.

    Well there were protests against the war in Vietnam, but nobody called for the nullification of Nixon’s election to the presidency.

    • #58
  29. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    RightAngles:

    Misthiocracy:

    RightAngles:

    Misthiocracy:The Millenials are not unique. 20-somethings have always been politically foolish.

    The thing is that there are so many Millenials, their foolishness is much more obvious.

    … You have to go back to the early 70s to find a cohort of 20-somethings with as many numbers as the Millenials. Not coincidentally, that was the last time youth culture was both politically influential and utterly intolerable.

    Yet when Nixon won in 1972, the youth didn’t do what the youth are doing now. AND there’s a Moveon.org petition asking the electoral college to give the election to Hillary. There’s something different about it this time. Something more orchestrated or something.

    I suppose it’s true that the youth riots protests in 1968 were nastier. I guess we should be thankful that at least no presidential candidates were assassinated this year.

    Well there were protests against the war in Vietnam, but nobody called for the nullification of Nixon’s election to the presidency.

    Well, not for another couple of years anyways…

    • #59
  30. Dick from Brooklyn Thatcher
    Dick from Brooklyn
    @DickfromBrooklyn

    Another great epistle, my nizzle.

    • #60
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