permaculture

[Jacque Greenleaf <jacque@book-woman.net>]

This is a gross overgeneralization. 

First of all, most boomers were not countercultural. I graduated from a 
fairly large high school in 1965, and I would bet that the wildest things 
most of my classmates ever dreamed of doing was smoke a joint or two (and 
then spend years hiding that fact from their kids) and have sex before 
marriage. To be fair, that was indeed extremely wild, if you were the child 
of midwestern or southern depression babies, believe me. Families fractured 
permanently over these actions.

For the minority of us who were genuinely countercultural, we thought 
changing the world completely would only take a decade or so. Wrong then, and 
still wrong. 

I personally have never stopped working for the values I espoused when I was 
young. I was a huge disappointment to my right-wing mother until the day she 
died. It didn't stop me.

I'm really curious, what experience have you had with people my age that has 
led you to be so sour and judgmental?





On Aug 25, 2010, at 5:11 PM, Steven & Margaret Eisenhauer wrote:

> 
> Boomers sold out.  They did not demand the kind of change they really wanted
> and settled for the status Que. As a reward they have been ripped off and
> side lined, ultimately settling for rank materialism and prescription feel
> good drugs.  The boomers should get off the couch, get their heads out of
> their behinds and work for the values they espoused as young people. Or
> perhaps they can't remember what it was they wanted.  Or have the real
> visionaries been liquidated? Have the rats ate the grain and all that is
> left is the chaff?
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Rain Tenaqiya
> Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 2:15 PM
> To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: [permaculture] Nicholas permaculture generation gap
> 
> Thanks, Nicholas, for one of the more thoughtful and solution-focused
> messages of late.  I have been thinking about the generational differences
> between Boomers and younger folks, especially as they relate to permaculture
> efforts, and I do feel they are significant.  I largely agree with your
> analysis, however I feel there is one important aspect that you left out. 
> Boomers may have had it easier in some ways, but many were truly
> hard-working pioneers in other ways, creating options for later
> generations.  We now have easy access to vegetarian and vegan food,
> renewable energy, ecobuilding techniques, community land ownership models,
> permaculture design, etc.  Many also worked harder than I think most younger
> folks are willing to work.  The stories I have read and listened to about
> the original back-to-the-landers make me feel like a wimp.  The current
> generation has a sense of entitlement and an expectation that things should
> be easy.  They are
> also even more alienated from physical labor.  I speak from personal
> experience.  Younger people also have more educational, entertainment, and
> other opportunities and the society is more mobile, so it is hard to get
> younger folks to commit to a place or project.  Whole segments of society
> seem adrift. 
>  
> Your comment about rent-seeking retirees seems right on, however.  I feel
> too many otherwise progressive folks too easily accept the idea that it is
> okay to take money you didn't earn yourself.  The lack of questioning of the
> capitalist, class-based system makes me squirm.  On the other hand, I cringe
> when I see how few of my well-intentioned friends have means to create
> sustainable systems without using the property they have access to to
> generate money through renting it out.  We need to come up with more ways to
> raise immediate funds while still giving equity to those paying "rent."
>  
>  
> Rain
> 
> 
> 
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