November 9, 2019

'OK boomer' is perhaps the perfect putdown of people - mostly older - who through their silence or their ignorance simply refuse to recognize the climate crisis. Instead of paying lip service, politicians of whatever stripe would be wise not to ignore this increasingly vocal group.

Source: CNN

(CNN) A 25-year-old New Zealand lawmaker giving a speech supporting a climate crisis bill was heckled by an older member of Parliament. Her witty response baffled her audience, to the delight of millennials everywhere.

Chlöe Swarbrick was speaking about the Zero Carbon Bill, which would set a target of zero carbon emissions for the country by 2050. When she was heckled, she casually dropped a sharp-tongued retort — "OK boomer" — and, unfazed, continued talking amid the puzzlement and silence of the room.

The term, a viral meme among millennials and Generation Z, exploded this year on the TikTok social media app, where countless mocking videos are calling out what young people perceive as out-of-touch Baby Boomers and their patronizing opinions.

An article in the New York Times calls the "OK boomer" phenomenon "a rallying cry for millions of fed-up kids." T-shirts and hoodies with the phrase have appeared on online marketing sites.

Today I have learnt that responding succinctly and in perfect jest to somebody heckling you about *your age* as you...

Posted by Chlöe Swarbrick on Monday, November 4, 2019

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