Inter-generation Hatred
- Ondy Ho
- Dec 22, 2019
- 4 min read
Every generation has its theme and it seems like most if not all, countries follow the same stages. Here's a list of which describing them in the U.S. Although the years may vary, the world is much affected by whatever happened in the U.S. thus somehow it applies to us nonetheless.
For Taiwan, we do too, had the Greatest Generation which is after the War. The economy was booming mostly because of aid/intervention from the U.S., and this is where our story of generation gap begins.
Have you ever thought or felt that it's really difficult... Allow me to rephrase. It's IMPOSSIBLE to "communicate" with those who are 20 years older than you? You're not alone and it is really no one's fault. Or is it?
Take the Millennials and Baby Boomers for instance. Their world views are drastically different; (generally speaking) Millennials have access to computer and Boomers doesn't; Millennials face the economic crisis and Boomers enter it "from the greatest time"; Millennials were taught to be aware of Global Warming and Boomers are reluctant to believe so; Millennials are open to flexible work conditions(freelance/accountability) but Boomers are installed with the idea that hard work (9-5) guarantees success(retirement+house). The most crucial reason that draws the two apart is that the housing prices grew beyond reach for the Millennials while the Boomers have more than one property and we haven't even got to gender issues(identity...etc.), human rights(death penalty...etc.) or politics.
Our readers are likely to be Millennials and we certainly would feel this gap between us and the iGen-ers at one point. Is it inevitable that we have this gap and fight on ideologies? Unfortunately, we think so. Let's look back a little. Who is at fault, if anyone, for the cause of generation gaps? In other words, who benefits from miscommunication and/or a divided society? If you have read much of Andy's writing, yes, you guessed it.... business! We wish to say that business isn't bad and it motivates us and propel us to a better and innovated society but no. While the description of business above isn't wrong, it serves as a two-sided blade. Yes, it helps us move forward in some ways but we don't believe in the notion that for some to thrive, the others should fall.
What do you think is the most difficult topic to discuss with your parents? Is it "having children/getting married or not", "starting a business/switching to a smaller company or not" or is it "who to vote for"?
For us Taiwanese people, we believe that the three questions are at the same level of unsolvable but since the election (1/11) is coming, let's dive in on "my parents want me to vote for Han, Guo "Fish" but I l like "Coriander" Ing-Wan".
Fish is an excellent example of how business is manipulated for one's own benefit. In this case, he manipulates and forms a collective point of view on benefiting a certain group over the other. His campaign slogan shows very clearly that he wants "Nation Secure; People Rich", "Product Sold; Talents In". That of course, is what everyone wants but not necessarily what everyone needs.
How is it so that some people won't need money or security? In order to keep this writing not too political (although everything is indeed related to politics), we'll be brief and make a quick point.
First, Fish's take on prosperity and security is based on one of the 7 deadly sins, greed. He implies and encourages people for the idea of "not having enough" and therefore they resent one another. "Hate" is a powerful motivation and tool for the worst result. [Think about how Donald J. Trump won the election. Did he not propose the same future for Americans, triggering the people to have the fear for immigrants and African Americans, and "making America great again"?] Thus, people who are in poor conditions and those who don't think they're in good conditions would be attracted to his promise on "good life". The second point is fairly simple to see why it's "fishy(unreliable)"---We never have to worry about if the DPP is aligned with Communist China.
Coriander's campaign on the flip side, focuses on the positive aspects of Taiwan's past, present, and future. Unlike how negative forces draw attention, being positive such as her, makes people want to dig out what's wrong and judge because most of us simply feel that things are "too good to be true".
Back to our topic today, now that we know why there's a gap among generations, who benefits from it and why it continues to occur, the question is how can we handle it or... live with it?
On the one hand, we could just wait until we have financial freedom and go separate ways with the oppressors but we don't think avoidance is a solid way of anything. It's true that at times, confrontation causes more conflict. However, "Rome wasn't built in a day" and all good/right things take time. We could prolong the sensitive conversations in either/both into more frequent engagement or a long period of time. Also, break the intensity of the talk in trivial matters. For instance, if it is difficult to talk to your parents about traveling. Take shorter trips and gradually increase the duration and distance. It takes an awful much amount of time and thinking ahead but that's what it takes to be decent.
Yes. it's easier said than done. Nothing good is ever easy.
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