Special Agent Urban Dictionary reporting for duty
Every generation seems to have a bubble surrounding them. It provides a comfortable feeling of solidarity.
And, boy, do Baby Boomers love their bubble. After all, we were raised to believe it was our destiny to rule the world without making the mistakes our parents made. And hey, we haven’t blown up the world … yet.
If you follow Boomers on social media, you’ll see posts with a similar theme: “Share if you survived riding in a car with no seat belts, didn’t worry about wearing a bike helmet or drank from a garden hose.”
Yeah, we did all those things and lived to tell about it.
Certainly, no music measures up to ours. Name a band better than the Beatles, Rolling Stones or Beach Boys.
Being in the Boomer Bubble allows us a chance to poke some fun at Millennials for not being able to drive a stick shift, needing “safe spaces” and wanting to turn the world into a place populated by rainbows and unicorns.
I spent most of my life in the Boomer Bubble. During college, military service and a law enforcement career, I was surrounded by fellow Boomers. We had a common culture, and I had no desire to leave.
Sure, I had an inkling that Boomer ways were less than effective. I got frequent reminders from the growing numbers of Generation X and Millennials filling the ranks of the police department. But it was still far short of an epiphany.
After I retired from law enforcement and went to work at a state agency, I was again surrounded by Boomers. It was nice being back in The Bubble.
Then I made a fateful decision; I enlisted in the Army Reserve to complete a military retirement. I’d left the Army as a major 11 years prior. I returned as a buck sergeant.
Boomer Bubble burst.
While some things in the military never change, like saluting and having to wait in line for just about everything, I had to wrap my head around an entirely new world. I wore an unfamiliar uniform, learned the meaning of a boatload of new acronyms, and at age 55, had to do sit-ups again.
But the biggest difference was that my new leaders and peers were almost all Gen X or Millennials.
Although respectful of my Cold War service, many of these young warriors had completed one or more combat deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan. I had yet to earn a combat patch, so I was rightly viewed as another slick-sleeved rookie, which was kind of tough to swallow.
I was immersed in an unfamiliar culture. It was like the first time I visited Japan; customs, etiquette, music, movies, jokes and even sex references both confused and intrigued me.
My new teammates led me into a world where Google Translate was replaced by the Urban Dictionary.
(Here’s a pro tip: Never look up a new term in the Urban Dictionary during the staff meeting where you first heard that term, unless you can be sure you won’t exclaim, “Oh, my Gawd!” when you read the definition. Or you don’t mind being nicknamed “Special Agent Urban Dictionary.”)
But there’s a lot more to leaving a bubble than picking up new expressions. You’ve got to truly understand the younger generations. You can’t just be superficially accepting or parrot their language.
A year deployed to Iraq working side-by-side with these young pros confirmed my first impressions: Millenials may not speak the same slang, but they are every bit as hard working, competent and dedicated as the finest Boomers ever were. In fact, I prefer volunteering with newer veteran service organizations like The Mission Continues because of their passion for commitment and creativity.
To my fellow Boomers, I highly recommend seeking ways to venture outside The Bubble. Before throwing shade, discover just how “sick” the younger generations can be. And do it before they take over the country.
Dave Hall of Steilacoom is a former soldier, retired cop, and full-time golf enthusiast. He’s one of six News Tribune reader columnists in 2019. Email him at dave.hall058@gmail.com
This story was originally published March 1, 2019 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Special Agent Urban Dictionary reporting for duty."