This post is a rant, but it highlights some very real observations and a true problem in our society — that one generation seems to benefit at the expense of others.
As we’ve dealt with the pandemic over the last year, the baby boomers (age 57 and up) seem to have put their selfishness toward younger generations on full display.
I draw this article from statistics and personal experiences.
In March 2020, when many states instituted a lockdown and we had doubts about whether we could still buy essentials, boomers went shopping. We saw countless images of them buying a grocery basket full of water bottles, piles of toilet paper, and all of the meat that they could stuff into their garage freezer. This contributed to the supply shortages we experienced for a few months.
In my own family, relatives from the boomer generation were posting pictures online of the crates of food and toilet paper that they stocked up on. They would brag about their prowess to hoard these supplies. They bought much more than they could possibly use at the expense of others who got to stores too late and no longer found supplies.
Then came senior grocery store hours. For the most part, boomers didn’t have much control over the schedule. Senior hours weren’t scheduled in the middle of the day on Wednesday when most people who have kids or a job work and could be excluded from grocery stores without impact. They were mornings, evenings, and weekends — right at the time that those who work and watch their kids all day on Zoom could find it convenient to go to the grocery store. However, the sense of entitlement for these hours at the expense of others who might need to go shopping at that time was obvious. I witnessed seniors yelling at others during multiple occasions — some at the right time but wrong day for senior hours — about leaving the store during senior hours.
They shamed younger generations. I witnessed the finger-wagging and tsk-tsking at parents with small children who socialized with other families in pods. Once students couldn’t handle the isolation and needed socialization they gathered, like generations before them. Boomers blamed these college students for closing their own colleges to in-person education. There wasn’t a lot of thought about the well being or mental health of younger people who are unlikely to get sick and need the socialization. I even witnessed a post on Nextdoor from an older woman who chastised people walking maskless down the street near her home, saying that they didn’t have the right to walk on her street.
When vaccinations started rolling out, boomers had to be first in line after medical professionals and those in nursing homes. It makes sense to vaccinate the most vulnerable of our elderly. They don’t have mobility or a choice to isolate. Yet as of this writing, most jurisdictions still require people to be healthcare professionals or 65 and over. Never mind that kids hadn’t been to school in a year and were suffering through difficult instruction and lack of socialization. We couldn’t vaccinate teachers and get the peace of mind to send kids back to in person schools before the 65 year old who sits home all day has her Covid shot.
Offering vaccination only to people over 65 is age discrimination and ignores a large portion of the population who should have a say in who benefits. The 65+ crowd wouldn’t give up their place in line until every last boomer has been vaccinated. In the county I live in, vaccination stations and lines are empty and vaccines are sitting in freezers unused because there are no more residents who are over 65 who are waiting for a vaccine. Yet no one else is getting the vaccine and everyone is waiting.
Here’s a quick look at the numbers that drive this conclusion. Recently, in my county there were about 310,000 first doses administered. There are somewhere between 200,000–220,000 residents who are 65 and over. There are about 100,000 healthcare workers, including those who aren’t clinical workers (like hospital IT support). This means that almost every person 65 and over has been vaccinated based on these numbers. We all know there are some people that have been vaccinated that are neither a health care worker or over 65, so these numbers aren’t exact.
These numbers are probably representative of a cross section of counties across the country. So while those under 65 wait and parents are taking on double duty for work and school, those over 65 demand that every last one of their cohort be vaccinated before everyone else gets some relief from the pandemic.
There are seniors who need the vaccine. Those living in community living were rightly first in line. They have the most interaction with people and are the highest risk group. Their younger peers often have the ability to choose to stay home, get groceries delivered, and restrict their interaction with others. Yet they vocally assert that those younger than them — who often must interact with other people ever day — don’t deserve a vaccine before they do.
It takes a crisis to see what people are really made of. Some people step up, help others, and contribute to society. From stockpiling supplies when they were most scarce to chasing younger citizens out of the store during senior hours to pushing out younger generations from vaccination, the baby boomers of this country have often showed us that they don’t care about others.
Younger generations who shoulder the burden of showing up at the grocery store to stock food, teaching our children, and delivering packages to those who place online order are disproportionately hurt by boomer behavior. Those under 65 make up 70% or more of our population, but they seem to get less than 70% of the say on these choices and policies. They must be thinking “I work hard and pay more taxes that help support those older than me, but I’m last in line for the vaccine”. Why can’t it be more measured and fair?
