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NYT profiles an example of 24-year-old entitlement FAIL

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Double Down, Jul 7, 2010.

  1. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    You all have to understand that the Times never writes "trend" or "social issue" stories that aren't aimed at people making $100,000 a year or more. Which I'll bet is where this kid's parents are at. This story is to make old rich people feel good about the gumption they had when young, whether they actually had any or not.
     
  2. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    I get the sense that you're wishing him Ill, Mil.
     
  3. MileHigh

    MileHigh Moderator Staff Member

    Cut the kid a break. There's a high cost of living in Boston.
     
  4. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    Or, as I've wondered a few times in the past few years, here and elsewhere: What the hell are we all going to do in the brave new world?

    Outsourcing is fine, mechanization is fine, but at some point we -- and by we, I mean most of the Western world, not just the U.S. -- have to come to grips with the fact that the world doesn't need 100 million project managers.

    I spent eight months looking for a job after I made my big move, and I was able to do that only because I had some parental support. Bit of an ego blow at my age, but to my mind, you can only take advantage of the opportunities you're given, and you don't slam the door in the face of the ones that do come along. And yeah, I specialized my search, but I also had interviews at eight different places before I got anything, and I had to rule out two or three things that looked promising in the ads because they turned out to be pyramid schemes or other scams.

    And as I've pointed out before, it's easy to say get a job digging ditches or flipping burgers or what-have-you -- and it's a little less true for this kid because he did turn something down -- but it's not as though there's not competition for those jobs too. A lot of people are out of work right now, and this mentality (always from people who HAVE jobs, mind) that "there's work out there if you want it" simply isn't true right now. If it were, the unemployment rate wouldn't be 9% or whatever the hell it is.
     
  5. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    $40K a year for an entry-level job in a really nasty recession = the American dream is elusive?

    I don't know who I wanted to yell at more. The kid -- who is just clueless. The grandfather -- who has no clue what it is like in Europe. Or the parents -- who spoiled and sheltered their son, and continue to, to the point of him losing his survival and competitive instincts. Or the reporter (and the editors who saw it) -- who took a set of interviews and facts and came up with the one thesis for a trend article that gets it all wrong.

    Ugh. Just ugh.
     
  6. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Yes it is. Horatio Alger would have spit on that crappy "opportunity" and held out for a corner office.
     
  7. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    Typical NYT. Talk to one cartoonish character worthy of the worst kind of reality show, and use it to define a trend. Last year they did 'Pampered Wives Fleeing Broke Husbands Who Lost Everything on Wall Street.' Then there was 'New Mothers Demanding Outrageous Gifts After Childbirth!' Pick a nut, write a smug story. Ugh, indeed.
     
  8. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    Its a good point, and one I said when talking to my brother in law... I'd rather see some effective research on what is happening rather than one anecdote.
     
  9. IllMil

    IllMil Active Member

    This kid is such a spoiled snob, I can't get over this story. I've forwarded it to my entire family and just read the entire thing through. My job search has been such a complete nightmare over the last year and a half, I just want to meet this fuckdick and pound him in the face. Everything about him screams entitled snobby bitch. I hope he lands his dream job tomorrow and then gets hit by a bus.

    Almost equally baffled by how the NYT used this as its representation of my generation's struggle.
     
  10. Double Down

    Double Down Well-Known Member

    I think the trend stories the Times does -- where they take (usually) three examples of something, throw in a paragraph that says "there is now way to know how many people out there are doing (thesis), but many observers say it's part of a growing trend...." and turn it a TREND STORY -- represent the absolute worst of the NYT.* You can see why REAL, salt-of-the-earth reporters with obvious talent like Molly Ivins and JR Moehringer never felt like they fit in at the NYT and had to leave. Because there is an obvious detachment from reality among the editors.

    *(Starting wars based on anonymous, one-source lies being the obvious exception.)

    However, this story made me laugh because my sister went to Colgate. (She's doing fine, thanks.) And this type of mentality is not limited to this douche amongst its alums. At her graduation, I attended a party with her where a 22-year-old douche much like the one featured in this article said, without a bit of irony, that he was "too rich to drink the shitty beer" being offered at the party. Instead of punching him in the face, someone rushed to find him something better. His dad probably holds the marker on my house, so I suppose he wins.

    I'll have to send this to my sis and report back with her take.
     
  11. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    This.

    Is there a certain cognitive dissonance with this generation (I guess I come in at the high end of the "millenial" age range) as they find out that they can't cruise to their parents' success? yes.

    Did they intentionally find a caricature that would outrage people who like getting outraged about "Kids these days!"? Yes.
     
  12. bumpy mcgee

    bumpy mcgee Well-Known Member

    Much like every 60 Minutes hatchet job on younger generations. I'm surprised the BBs haven't dropped dead from patting themselves on the back.
     
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