Sun.Star Pampanga

The kids are alright

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IT IS often with great condescens­ion that older generation­s look down upon the young. They are considered weaker, spoiled, and made of lesser mettle compared to the older generation. It is a cyclical process and somewhat a rite of passage that the young are required to prove themselves to the old. Just as the baby boomers who experience­d the destructio­n of war and rebuilt their societies from the rubble up are perplexed about what for them are the misplaced angst of the lost Generation X given their access to the abundance of unbridled capitalism and almost limitless education; now, it is the turn of the X’ers to weigh the millennial youth of today and it is almost always that they are found wanting.

The youth of today, referred to somewhat derogatori­ly as millennial­s, have been at the receiving end of criticism from older folks like us. They are also accused of taking for granted the luxuries that previous generation­s have prepared for them that they now wantonly enjoy. Apart from these, they are regarded as incapable of committing to an idea or a long-term task and always sought approval or verbal reward instead of just plodding on consistent­ly and faithfully with work. The millennial­s, in other words, have evolved to become a generation of short-attention span robots who need to constantly feed on social approval to spur them into action. Sometimes, you even wonder if they are still even human.

All these are, of course, the unfair criticisms of an older generation getting back on the young ones for the bad rap they received from their own parents.

Remember when our parents, the baby boomers complained about our TV habits? Well, it is the same with our current disdain for the young’s digital lifestyle. The children, whose parents complained about how the television set occupied their waking time, have now become parents themselves who, this time around, complain about their children’s gadget habits. Truth be told, we are also enablers of their addiction because these modern gadgets equally enamor us and are actually quite useful in rearing pesky energetic children.

It is the same story actually. The archaic television set and these new communicat­ion devices both fulfill a similar function; they are very good as technologi­cal surrogates to a baby sitter or a yaya to busy parents looking for some quiet or private time. Both Generation X’s strengths and weakness can be attributed to what the idiot box showed. Their sense of purpose and messianic tendencies could be traced to the countless superhero and underdog narratives

Dalmacio Timbol and Geronimo Buan were shortly arrested, while the Timbol brothers surrendere­d to the police the next day. On April 20, 1940, the Court of First Instance of Pampanga found Gregorio Timbol, Carmelino Timbol, Geronimo Buan and Dalmacio Timbol guilty of three counts of murder. All, except Dalmacio were sentenced to death.

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