Millennials clap back at reference calling them ‘kids’

Q I read your response to a complaint about millennials causing problems on bike trails during the COVID-19 crisis as they try to get outside, but violated basic trail rules. You told “kids to pay heed.”

Millennials are not kids or spring breakers or the youth disregarding other’s safety. I am a millennial and I am nearly 30 years old. The youngest millennials are 24-25 while many are in their 30s. We are adults struggling with student loan debt and a crashing job market. We aren’t disrespectful kids, or even teens, out behaving badly on trails.

— Melanie Vega

A This hit a sore point. Reader Gary Linford wrote: “Millennials are causing problems on our bike trails during the COVID-19 scare. On two trails that don’t allow dogs, they were hiking with dogs. Perhaps not a huge deal except one had a fairly long leash, which can make passing difficult, especially if encountering a mountain biker. And millennials are parking cars where no parking is allowed and hiking in big groups blocking the entire road with dogs and then later hiking on private land.”

Some use the term millennial to cover anyone under 50, but many millennials are part of Gen Z, the under 25 crowd born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Q I found myself offended, annoyed and irked by Linford’s repeated use of millennials to describe groups making his hiking and biking challenging. I am a baby boomer with a touch of Gen X, born in 1958. What is up with that labeling? It is accurate if only kids are doing what he is describing, but my guess is baby boomers and Gen X-ers are doing it as well. — Sue Kensill, San Jose

A Baby boomers? Tell me it’s not so.

Q Millennials (born 1980-1996 roughly) are in their late 20s to late 30s. We aren’t exactly kids anymore. Some of us aren’t taking shelter-in-place seriously, but most are, as we tend to be a generation characterized by anxiety, seeing as most of us graduated college into a recession. The “kids” right now are zoomers/Gen Z. But every generation has groups of people who refuse to take it seriously, and everyone needs to pay heed.

— Mylissa Malley

A I couldn’t agree more.

Q I’m a millennial. I’m rather critical of my generation that’s overly sensitive. But I hear nothing but crying from boomers, who helped get us into the recession, added $10 trillion of the national debt, and are responsible for raising these millennials they cry about.

— A.C.

A And …

Q Be better, Gary (and Gary). We wouldn’t want someone writing in and saying all people named Gary don’t follow the rules of the road, would we?

— Devin F., Fremont

A Perish that thought.