10 ms·
Very interesting article, but I was disappointed that the article stated that the millenial only-children of China are "outspoken", "pampered", or "self-centere
by 1_800_UNICORN 8y ago
Very interesting article, but I was disappointed that the article stated that the millenial only-children of China are "outspoken", "pampered", or "self-centered".
I don't believe that any of those terms apply to people who are fighting against working 72 hours per week for low pay. This is a case of basic human rights. The words that come to mind to describe the folks who are fighting this fight are "proud", "resilient", and "hard-working".
- taurath 8y agoAll those adjectives are always applied in relative terms, and aren’t any universal standard!
- Sangermaine 8y agoIt's nice to see that however much America and China might be at odds, they can apparently agree on attacking their young people as lazy and entitled.
- aurailious 8y ago"Millennials are now killing the Chinese manufacturing industry!"
- onlywei 8y agoThe word "millenials" as a classification is not used in China. Everyone gets classified instead as 80后，90后，00后， etc. (meaning born after 1980, born after 1990, born after 2000, etc.). Because of China's rapid economic growth, the difference in attitudes for someone born in the 80s versus someone born in the 90s is actually very pronounced.
- RandomTisk 8y agoCare to elaborate? Does one look down on the other?
- freehunter 8y agoI know nothing about China or how pronounced these differences are, but you see the same thing even in the "Millennial" generation everyone loves to talk about here in the US. You'll find a drastic difference between younger Millennials and older Millennials, to the point where Buzzfeed is writing articles comparing the two. No matter how much people want to pretend that "Millennial" is actually a real thing, it's not. It's entirely made up and the sub-generations inside of the category share very different cultural values and life experiences. It's hard to argue that someone born in 1982 shares much (if anything) in common with someone born in 1998.
- jeffreyrogers 8y agoI think social scientists are now making a distinction between people who grew up with smartphone and without them. There are apparently quite large differences in behaviors and attitudes between these two groups of young people.
- NeoBasilisk 8y agoCompared to someone born in 1950 or 2020, you have a whole lot in common.
- freehunter 8y agoCompared to someone born in 1810, someone born in 2020 and 1950 have a lot in common. Compared to someone born in 1215, someone born in 2020 and 1810 have a lot in common. It still doesn't make much sense to lump them together and generalize their behaviors.
- woolvalley 8y agoIt's like metric vs imperial measurements for generations.
- tribune 8y agoA human universal! http://www.bartleby.com/73/195.html http://www.bartleby.com/73/195.html
- pizza 8y agoThough that quote in particular is attributable to Kenneth John Freeman's 1907 dissertation at Cambridge University, rather than Socrates (as it is often attributed). https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/01/misbehaving-children-in-ancient-times/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/01/misbehaving-childre...
- njarboe 8y agoWhat is universal, evidently, is confirmation bias. From the linked page, "the quotation is spurious." I clicked on the link expecting the Socrates quote and was not disappointed. But, if you read the page through to the end, it seems that this quote was made up in by William L. Patty and Louise S. Johnson and published in "Personality and Adjustment, p. 277" in 1953. It was popularized in the 1960's to trivialize complaints by the older generation against the hippies. I have believed for a long time that this was a true quote from ancient Greece and it has shaped my world view. I have used this quote in many conversations and I still am hoping the quote is authentically from ancient Greece. I'll have to poke around the internet some to convince myself one way or another.
- tribune 8y ago...oh. Forgive me for not reading my own link too thoroughly. Maybe it's not so universal then!
- campground 8y agoThere were a number of similar quotes in a recent review of Bruce Cannon Gibney’s book on Boomers: ‘And way, way before that, a letter published in a 1771 issue of Town and Country manages to sound laughably familiar, in sentiment at least: “Whither are the manly vigour and athletic appearance of our forefathers flown? Can these be their legitimate heirs? Surely, no; a race of effeminate, self-admiring, emaciated fribbles can never have descended in a direct line from the heroes of Potiers and Agincourt.”’
- cwbrandsma 8y agoit is a right of passage for each generation. In your 20s you are called lazy and entitled, then in your 40s-60s you say the same to people in their 20s.
- ben509 8y agoNot quite, we didn't have social media when I was growing up, so we got it from lazy, smug magazine articles. Now you have memes that are equally unfair, but with highly evolved hilarity. And, of course, I'm just on the edge of Gen X while my brother is a millennial, so fairness be damned, you're all whiny hipster SJWs snacking on Tide pods.
- stcredzero 8y agoAs standards of living and society itself improves, dire necessity decreases, and the proportion of the population motivated by necessity decreases. As general wealth increases, the more the general populace feels entitled. Right now, you may well feel more or less entitled to a flush toilet and the ability to access all of the world's information in your pocket. In years past, these things were luxuries. Most of you reading this: Almost everything in your sight was once a luxury. So here's the thing: You are lazy and entitled. That is both a good and bad thing. It's good, because it shows we have made progress. It's good, because you now have the time and resources to do something positive. Where it's bad, is that you also have the choice to do something positive with those time and resources, or not. Where it's bad, is that you will have a harder time understanding the magnitude of the sacrifices that got us where we are. Your choice. It's up to you now.
- mywittyname 8y agoChina and the USA share a many values. I think in many ways, China in the USA are more closely aligned vis-a-vis values than the USA and Western Europe are.
- ekianjo 8y ago> This is a case of basic human rights. There's no such things as "human rights standards" for how much you should work per week. For most of human history people lived in abject misery and precariousness and in comparison 72 hours a week and most folks having all the comfort of modern city life is not as bad as it sounds like.
- GW150914 8y agoYou’re not wrong, but for most of human history I could declare that you offended me and challenge you to fight to the death. “Most of human history” is a bad standard and is essentially hypocritical to raise selectively. People don’t compare their lives to those of ancient barbarians, they look around themselves today and they look to the future. Few people will be convinced by the argument that they have it better than a serf who died at 30, or s hunter-gatherer.
- ekianjo 8y ago> “Most of human history” is a bad standard and is essentially hypocritical to raise selectively. I made that point because someone referred to "human rights" when it comes to working hours. There is just no such thing and there has never been.
- watwut 8y agoArticle 24: Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay. http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/ http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
- lovich 8y agoThere's no such thing as "human rights" in general by that standard. You can't point to a physical object or some quantum of energy and say, that's a human right that you can measure. Human rights are something we decide on as a society, and if society decides that there is a human right to a set amount of working hours, then it becomes a human right. The argument that there never has been such a thing is basically arguing that we should stop all progress. That nothing that doesn't already exist should ever be created
- mc32 8y agoI think one has to contrast that with the historical conditions for workers (even in a socialist country) as well as the differences between sweatshop factories versus white collar workers. My take is while the sweatshop workers are the ones putting in extraordinary hours, it’s the white collar workers fighting against useless overtime pretend work in offices.
- josefresco 8y agoThe comment about how they are outspoken and pampered was a general statement about the generation, not a reaction to them wanting better working conditions/wages. The mention of "self-centered" was a direct quote. I do agree however that the author should have been more careful with their choice of words.
- avcdsuia 8y agoCollectivism is hard coded in Chinese public education, kids are encouraged to hard work and make dedications to their native land in schools. The gov make idols to worship like Jiao Yulu(焦裕禄) way before this working overtime issue (and Jiao died from overwork and liver disease) and making tv shows Touching China，a mandatory learning section for middle school students. With this premise it's not odd to me that criticizes are made.
- 8u23u0893290u 8y agoCulture should be defined by the conversations and efforts of people applying their agency when and where they see fit Not forced by top-down elected officials put in office by wealthy elites If humanity wants to be lazy and not provide for each other, that's it's prerogative. And what's the point of doing all that if only other people are benefiting while you're toiling 72 hours? Nationalist pride "culture" is authoritarianism with a soft touch
- stcredzero 8y agoHere's what my Chinese wife says about all that. People go to a monthly meeting. You hear a "sermon" and sing some patriotic songs. Then people go on with their lives. Not everyone who goes to church necessarily really believes. Not everyone necessarily believed even in the 1800s. That said, the social/theocratic hegemony of western Christianity wasn't all good, but it also wasn't all bad. The same probably goes for the secular ideological "religion" you see in communist countries.
- supertiger 8y agoI grew up in China. What 'monthly meeting' (where 'you hear a "sermon" and sing some patriotic songs') is your wife talking about? That sounds bizarre
- stcredzero 8y agoShe's from Fujian. It was some kind of communist party community meeting.
- NyrIsNotDead 8y agoYou filthy american can suck my cock
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- thisisit 8y agoI think each generation thinks the next one is the worse. I just hope these guys are not treated unfairly at their workplace. Couple of years ago, I had raised staying late in office as a big concern at my workplace. My manager told me a story about how his daughter will not eat certain food items. He said he would killed to have those food in his plate. But now, he has to strong arm his daughter into finishing her plate. Next thing I know I am rated as a under-performer because I don't "stretch" enough hours like rest of the team.
- googletazer 8y agoI had the same type of imbecile as a manager. You are not alone Im afraid
- stcredzero 8y agoMy manager told me a story about how his daughter will not eat certain food items. He said he would killed to have those food in his plate. But now, he has to strong arm his daughter into finishing her plate My mother told me something similar about never having enough mung bean sprouts.
- internetman55 8y agoWhether those things are true or not, I'm always wary when employers or managers or things from their perspective use words like "outspoken", "pampered", "self-centered". If you subject your other employees to ridiculous nonsense overtime, poor direction, and expect them to make up for it with extra unpaid hours and killing themselves but I think that I could easily get another job and have a huge nest egg because I live with my parents, I can refuse to "play ball". But I'm not really sure that's me being self-centered versus market forces acting normally. It reminds me of the "nice guy" phenomenon where stereotypically unkempt, rude, socially inept men berate women for not wanting to date them and then accuse them of being rude or stuck-up for not accepting their advances. It's not rude and I don't really view myself as self-centered, I just don't think that you're offering anything that I need from you, and it's really self-centered for you to expect me to randomly go against my own interests for your sake in a business setting.