Hey Washington Post, can you stop tearing Millennials apart?

I know it makes you feel better, but a debate about cereal?

Ryan Pouncy-Unsplash

It all started with a quick perusual of the top headlines on Twitter and suddenly I am waist deep in sentimental Baby Boomer comments on the laziness and annoyance of the generation that followed them. My Internet perusual led me to a article written by The Washington Post titled “The baffling reason many millennials don’t eat cereal” and my thumb hovered over the link a desperate moment where I had to decide whether I wanted to click on it or not.

I did. And I regret doing so. My general rule for news online, even if it is The Washington Post, is to take it with a grain of salt and try not to get upset over some author writing something about someone. I especially try to avoid anything Trump related for obvious reasons. Nonetheless I found myself reading about how annoying Millennials are and how they just cannot be bothered to do something mundane as eat cereal.

I highlight this specific article because this is just one of the 10 or so articles I have read in the past 2 or so months where The Washington Post is mocking Millennials and berading my generation for being so darn lazy and entitled.

The argument is not old, I have heard it almost daily from several people. I just have to ask, Mr. Ferdman author of this particular article, what is your point? Do you get some sort of satisfaction out of degrading the X Generation because *laughs* we can’t even be bothered to clean our cereal bowls?

This cannot be real. I live for cleaning dishes.

Here’s the reality: we Millennials are currently swimming under the weight of $29,000 on average of student loan debt, we are juggling 15 credits and three jobs just to pay rent (or car insurance, gas, electricity, college textbooks), and even worse we are tired of editing our resumes to impress some $200,000 a year earning executive of some company so that we can get a job post-grad.

I don’t have time for cereal. I don’t have time for this breakfast choice for several reasons:

1. Have you seen the price of a box of cereal these days? Who in their right mind drops $4 on a box of cereal?
2. Is there anything nutritious or of substance in that cereal box? I can’t even pronounce the first few ingredients on the back of a cereal box.
3. Since there is practically no nutritional value in that box of cereal what makes you think it will tide me over until lunch? Not only that, but I barely have time to eat a filling lunch because I am running to work from class.

So Mr. Ferdman, it is not because I am too lazy to pour the cereal and milk, clean my bowl and spoon, or put it in the dishwasher- I have no desire to stuff my face with something that resembles sugar. So, can we please move on from this war on Millennials and try to talk about something that actually matters-like refugees being forced out of the only homes they have?

I mean really? Should I be “whining” about cereal or doing what I can to help out with refugee assistance?

• J.

Thanks to Dan Murphy, Brenda Brewer, Ana Mason, and Michelle Lenzen.

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Defending my generation on Twitter

Posting un-related cereal images on Instagram