Things Older Men Should Avoid When Talking to Younger Men

[rvwnsd]

This list seems like common, or should I say uncommon, sense. Thoughts?

[MikeBiDude]

Interesting list...I’m happy to report I don’t think I’ve ever said one of those 7 lines to a younger guy. I work with a lot of young people in my job, I think that 40 years of experience nice been helpful to me when chatting up the younger set.

[+ freecahill1965]

I cant say that I have said any of those either, thank goodness.

[Bearofdistinction]

This list seems like common, or should I say uncommon, sense. Thoughts?

 

And == You know at my age when I cum I fart toxic waste

[Rudynate]

I treat younger men as my contemporaries. Just today, at the gym, I talked to a young guy I have been eyeing. He is pretty beefy and is probably college-age and I first noticed him because he has a very big personality and talks kind of loud. He knows a lot about lifting and really enjoys coaching his friends. I thought it would be fun to work out with him. Today we introduced ourselves to each other and he gave me a guy hug, and I told him I would like to work out with him. He seemed really flattered and said, in his loud voice,"I'm totally down!" He spotted me on bench presses - I thanked him and said, "You're a good man" and he acted sort of "Aw shucks," and said "I really like to see people achieve their goals."

[amused1]

A younger guy recently asked me for my phone number. All I could think was "The sweater I'm wearing is older than you are." I had the good sense to keep it to myself. And no, the sweater wasn't purposely vintage. And yes, I gave him my number.

[MichBoyBlake]

I agree with this list, but I feel like these are mostly just sorta offensive, patronizing things to say in general, regardless of the gay or "daddy" angle the article talks about them from.

I mean if you're 30 or 40 and a 60 or 70 year old starts talking about how "you have it easier than he did" it'd still be kinda offensive I'd imagine. Except for the couple of sex ones these apply in plenty of other contexts. The worst professors are often the ones that think this way, simply because this kind of mentality blocks off a lot of communication and relatability between generations.

Younger people are also sometimes guilty of the same sort of mentality but in the opposite direction.

[Rudynate]

I agree with this list, but I feel like these are mostly just sorta offensive, patronizing things to say in general, regardless of the gay or "daddy" angle the article talks about them from.

I mean if you're 30 or 40 and a 60 or 70 year old starts talking about how "you have it easier than he did" it'd still be kinda offensive I'd imagine. Except for the couple of sex ones these apply in plenty of other contexts. The worst professors are often the ones that think this way, simply because this kind of mentality blocks off a lot of communication and relatability between generations.

Younger people are also sometimes guilty of the same sort of mentality but in the opposite direction.

This list seems like common, or should I say uncommon, sense. Thoughts?

 

Occasionally, younger men want to know what it was like living through the epidemic. They can't imagine it and they want to hear it from a veteran. I like to tell them about how quickly the landscape changed with protease inhibitors and triple-combination therapy.

[+ sniper]

Yeah, I don't think anything can really convey what it was like to come of age just at the time it looked like that was going to mean an early, ugly death if you ever acted on your desires. There's a pretty sharp line between people who came up before and after the mid-90s. There's nothing wrong with talking about it, it's just generally not cool to dismiss other people as having no problems because they didn't experience your biggest one.

[marylander1940]

Yeah, I don't think anything can really convey what it was like to come of age just at the time it looked like that was going to mean an early, ugly death if you ever acted on your desires. There's a pretty sharp line between people who came up before and after the mid-90s. There's nothing wrong with talking about it, it's just generally not cool to dismiss other people as having no problems because they didn't experience your biggest one.

 

Not everything in life is about being safe coming out or not. For example when it comes to jobs now a days it's very competitive out there, renting, college debt, etc. Besides now a days with social media you can't just hide, folks will know your successes and failures.

[rvwnsd]

Occasionally, younger men want to know what it was like living through the epidemic. They can't imagine it and they want to hear it from a veteran. I like to tell them about how quickly the landscape changed with protease inhibitors and triple-combination therapy.

I have been asked the same on many occasions.

[rvwnsd]

Not everything in life is about being safe coming out or not. For example when it comes to jobs now a days it's very competitive out there, renting, college debt, etc. Besides now a days with social media you can't just hide, folks will know your successes and failures.

That's an excellent point. I joined the professional workforce at a time when salaries were low thanks to the various crises (S&L, stock market crash, etc) but at least there were jobs. Internships were paid. I interned at a CPA firm and made roughly $9/hour in 1984. The problems are different, but there are still problems.

[+ sniper]

I did not mean to imply that other things weren't worse. The job market for "kids today" is two-tiered. Either something that gives you a shot at a pretty good life or something that guarantees you will be in near-poverty forever. Couple that with the fact the cost of college has been bid up and many of them are saddled with the equivalent of a mortgage in unsecured debt that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy and I'm happy to have grown up when I did.

[MikeBiDude]

This list seems like common, or should I say uncommon, sense. Thoughts?

#8 “Where were you when you heard that JFK had been shot....?”

[marylander1940]

#8 “Where were you when you heard that JFK had been shot....?”

 

Oh.... I remember when this area was segregated.

 

Also don't mention: W.A.S.P. because they don't know what that is.

[Rudynate]

We have a new one, "Where were you when the towers fell?"

[+ friendofsheila]

Things Older Men Should Avoid [saying] When Talking to Younger Men

 

"I've got hemorrhoids older than you."

[rvwnsd]

I did not mean to imply that other things weren't worse. ..

I didn't take it that way. I was trying to say that I agreed with you. The notion that internships today are generally unpaid is shocking to me, as they were typically paid years ago.

[+ harey]

This list seems like common, or should I say uncommon, sense. Thoughts?

 

Yikes.

 

7 is my usual opening line. It always wins people over.

[+ oldNbusted]

What, you mean I should stop giving this at a first meeting?

 

[+ quoththeraven]

I did not mean to imply that other things weren't worse. The job market for "kids today" is two-tiered. Either something that gives you a shot at a pretty good life or something that guarantees you will be in near-poverty forever. Couple that with the fact the cost of college has been bid up and many of them are saddled with the equivalent of a mortgage in unsecured debt that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy and I'm happy to have grown up when I did.

This song says "there's already a mortgage on my future." Yikes.

Watch this and "Bapsae/Silver Spoon" mirrored dance practice by the same group and in 6 minutes you will understand the economic woes of millennials. Now the members of the group are all well off, so it doesn't actually apply to them anymore, but it used to apply to some of them, like Suga, who used to have to choose between buying lunch or taking the bus home.

[rvwnsd]

What, you mean I should stop giving this at a first meeting?

 

Only if you have not read the book and don't practice its advice daily.

[+ oldNbusted]

There is always this oldie from the last century:

 

[rvwnsd]

There is always this oldie from the last century:

 

Which is taken from a column written on June 1, 1997 by the Pulitzer Prize winning Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich.