Apathetic Generation: Who's to Blame Response by Raisa Tuzo

While I did find Charise comments interesting, and can completely relate to the conversation she had with her grandmother and her grandmother’s best friend, I do not believe this is we are an apathetic generation. Instead, I believe we are a generation MISEDUCATED from birth. An important thing to keep in mind while reading her article is that she was conversing with people from 2 generations before ours. 2 people from a generation rather different from ours, raised during much different times from ours, and a generation that struggles to find ways in which they can relate to much of the things our generations consist of technologically, politically or ideologically. I can agree that our generations don’t care about the same things, but to say that this generation doesn’t care at all is rather farfetched.

True say, we haven’t had the equivalent of the Million Man March or participated in as many sit-ins, mainly because we are of the generations that reap the benefits of what past generations fought for. The problems they faced, and the problems we face are very different types of problems. Should our generation march in honor of parents that work 2-3 jobs to keep single parent homes above poverty? Should we march for children orphaned, abused or neglected by their doped out parents? Should we march for ignorant people that are raised to know nothing but Dolce & Gabbana or Botox while others die daily from starvation? Should we march because the education systems found in Black communities don’t teach us things we need to know or supply us with tools we need to succeed? Should we march because Spelman cost $30,000+ and most struggle to afford it? The marching would never end… Am I saying don’t march? No! But do we deserve to be ridiculed because we haven’t marched? No! Especially since our history books rob us of any in-depth knowledge about such subjects.

We are the generation Miseducated, preceded by generations either miseducated like us, or uneducated altogether and we have somehow earned labels like generation “X” or the apathetic generation when it’s not our fault. It’s one thing to be allowed no access at all to equal education than allowed access to a system that you don’t know is miseducating you. Society has changed, societal constructs have changed, morals have been changed and/or been lost and the general focus of society today is a different one from “back in the day”. Images of racial segregation, the holocaust or world wars have been replaced by images of life when you’re rich and/or famous and Soulja Boy’s and Weezy’s have replaced Marvin Gaye’s and Al Green’s. We are simply not dealing with the same things anymore. We weren’t born this way; we learned to be this way. When society paints the picture that its more important to be rich, than equal, this is what happens. When we have learned to be selfish, instead of selfless than this is what happens. When the principle of being “my brother’s keeper” is no longer taught or seen, this is what happens. If we are not taught to do so, we won’t do it. If all I see is sex, drugs and money, than that is all I will know. Is it my fault that this is what now plagues our environments? No. When the pursuit of equality has been replaced by the pursuit of personal riches, what should anyone expect?

We’ve become the spoiled generation if anything, not apathetic. We care, just about completely different things than generations before us thanks to those same generations. We’re the generation where more negativity is heard about it, than positivity. If all we hear is that we are lost causes, doomed, misguided, ungrateful and dysfunctional what does anybody really expect? If 50% of young voters weren’t taught to value their voice, themselves or their vote, why would they care enough to vote? If they have learned systems are designed against them, and nobody tells them anything in the contrary, why would they be voting? If anything, we are the generation FAILED, because they forgot that morals are not innate but learned. It’s so easy for grandmothers, and great grandfathers to say what is wrong with our generation. My question is, what was wrong with theirs that has resulted in us being this way?