Mumsnet paused a “boomer” thread this morning, and…

And is that what I’d be doing if I posted about my run in with a Year 10? I’m genuinely asking, because that did happen and I did get a load of abuse because of politely asking a fourteen year old to move along!

I don’t think that’s because of inherent prejudice and I don’t believe most posts that dissolve into chaos because they mention someone’s age are either. Nothing wrong with being old, or young. Something very wrong with being rude or ignorant or unhelpful,

The term itself is not derogatory.
People's usage of it often is.

There's a difference.

I saw it but didn't bother responding as the OP just seemed to be a goady twat.

I agree @CurlewKate. I am by definition a Baby Boomer. My DC are Milleniels and Gen Z respectively. My mum and MIL are the Silent Generation.

I don't see people refer to "Mills", "Zedders"n "Silents" etc, with the same degree of implicit venom

Likewise, replace DD with DC and Aldi with supermarket and man with person.

I do actually agree that describing someone’s race is likely to be rooted in prejudice or at least ignorance (and the two are interconnected) but there does come a point where in order to explain something a certain amount of detail is needed for the story to make sense.

So if I say I was verbally abused by a teenage girl on Friday (I was; I’m a teacher!) am I prejudiced against teenagers, or girls? I’m not intending that aggressively or in an arsey way as it happens - it’s a genuine pondering sort of question. If someone says that a group of women were rude to them or that a group of men were belligerent and overbearing that isn’t assumed to be rooted in prejudice and I don’t honestly think the age descriptions are either.

I think if someone is saying ‘all old people are horrible and smelly’ that is ageist but I don’t see that. I do see posts about old people describing them as such that become chaotic because people think calling them as such is in itself ageist and it’s that I disagree with.

Well yes but then often their sex is irrelevant, so is the car or colour of the top or whatever.

So a post like ‘AIBU to be annoyed at this old man at Aldi? He was reversing out in a fiesta and I was in a bigger car and he shouted at me and called me an entitled cunt in front of my two year old DD!’ - there’s all sorts that’s irrelevant there but it doesn’t make it prejudiced. I think that’s my grouch really. Something can be descriptive without being biased in any way.

So racism, ableism and any other discrimination can't exist on an internet forum? Is that what you're saying. Or is it just ageism that gets a free pass?

It does happen on threads though, not necessarily this one. Things like ‘AIBU to be annoyed with this old man’ can quickly dissolve into chaos!

@aspirationalferret "tbh I never realised it was a derogatory term. I assumed it was the same as Gen Z etc?"

Unfortunately not. It's almost invariably used as a derogatory term. You instantly know that if a post contains the word "boomers" it's going to be negative and even offensive.

Fair enough, I’m probably being grumpy as a lot of threads do go a bit chaotic if someone who is, well, old, is described as such!

That's not what happened on the thread being discussed here though.

I acknowledged it would be unpopular but honestly, what do people think will happen if someone aged over seventy is described as an elderly lady?

What a stupid post.

It's a rage bait ageist thread.

MNHQ don't seem to mind those sort of threads though. Lots of clicks.

My honest and probably very unpopular opinion is that ageism doesn’t exist and it’s just something people whip themselves into a froth about.

Yes, of course in a work situation or other contexts ageism can exist but an internet chat forum?

That's like saying you've found loads of posts by disabled people making derogatory comments about the able-bodied.

tbh I never realised it was a derogatory term. I assumed it was the same as Gen Z etc?

wont this be deleted though as it’s a Thread about a thread?!

I agree. The moderating on here is wildly inconsistent. It’s disappointing that it’s not taken seriously.

The only thing I liked about the thread was discovering Generation Jones (i still identify as Gen X tho)