I’d say she’s pretty mid-Millennial? I mean, generational divides are kind of whatever, but as someone who generally qualifies as younger Millennial, Leslie (currently) still has a few years on me.
Dean
Millenials Are Killing Arbitrary Generational Divides.
That’s only from July 2017. I’m sure we’ve killed more stuff since then.
Chris
Last I heard, we’re killing economic growth by putting money into savings rather than spending it all immediately.
StClair
no, that can’t be, because when billionaires do that they’re ~creating jobs~.
vlademir1
Sorry, but the “Silent Generation” killed arbitrary generational divides long before they were conceived ;p Strauss & Howe, and many later “generational theory” demographers, attribute cultural shifts that should be rightly attributed to them to either the preceding or succeeding generation as that better fits their model.
Matthew Evan Davis
That seems to be what’s happening to Gen X too. They are almost always left out of the debates, and the Millennials and Boomers lump them in with the other when they’re having their shouting matches.
StClair
“we exist!”
thejeff
Sshh. They’ll notice us.
Michelle J. Caboose
I’ve been noticing that on Imgur. We (Gen X) are far too often referred to as “Boomers.” At least, when we aren’t lumped in with Millennials. (facepalms)
I mean, it’s almost like we have no identity of our own! Seriously, go watch some ’80s movies, guys!
GenX are older than Millennials, and the youngest Millennials are just hitting 20. She’s probably in the middle Millennial range (late 20s-early 30s). MAYBE a Xennial (the youngest GenX – late 30s-early 40s – who have more in common with older Millennials than older GenX.) In 20 years (if the comic’s still going, then) she’ll be smack in the middle of GenZ. (I refuse to call them Zoomers…when I was working with seniors, that was a term for active Boomers. Don’t make things confusing cohort-namers!)
Madock345
The youngest Millennials are 25, not 20. The standard range is those born from 1980 to 1994
Math says the oldest Millennials would be pushing 40 now, putting their kids in college. My kids bridge Gen X and millenials, the oldest is end of Gen X, and the youngest is early Millenial, and there’s one right in the middle between the two.
Jimi
As a 25-year-old millennial, my impression of who is similar enough to me and other people my age to count as the same generation is roughly ages 22-34 or so, which would put it at 1985-1997 I guess. But I dunno how much that counts. I know generations are supposed to be defined as longer than only 12 years. I also know that the Game Grumps and most other people Arin’s age probably have more in common with my age group than Gen X, and yet my range would put them in Gen X. Maybe I should classify millennials as 1985-1997 + people from 1975-1985 who were nerdy enough to have had a similarly internet-and-video-game-intensive upbringing? Hm, but then the political views millennials are infamous for still don’t really include anyone older than 1985…
Generations are arbitrary as fuck I guess.
Jamie
Generations are *supposed* to be arbitrary as fuck. It’s basically astrology, except instead of caring about which month you were born, it cares about what year you were born. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong, but it’s painting with a sledgehammer: the interesting question is what’s left of the canvas, and easel, after you’re done, not what you’ve painted.
Zee
Astrology makes more sense than generations. At least it’s easy to tell what sign you are
thejeff
They’re very broad and there’s definitely blurring around the edges, but there’s still far more to it than astrology. Certainly doesn’t apply in detail to every individual – like every demographic.
But they’re grounded in real differences in shared experience, which is far more influential than “the stars”.
I guess we GenX should be grateful that someone else has taken over as “those damn kids”, but in fact, we’ve finally just become completely irrelevant.
Matthew Evan Davis
We’re not a big enough generational cohort to push against either the Boomers or Millennials.
Chrissy
No one is a big enough cohort to push against the boomers. They’ll successfully drag the country whoever they go.
thejeff
Not for too much longer.
Svata
Hey, some of us born in 1994 are still 24
LeslieBean4shizzle
@Kamino Neko
OH! Huh.
As a very late Gen-Xer, I’ve found it odd for a while that no one seems to talk about my generation BUT that things said about Millennials tend to apply to me as well. And now I know why!
Needfuldoer
I guess I’m a ‘Xennial’ who was late for the bus (mid-late 80s), I understand and was there for a lot of the shared Millennial experiences like being pretty much the last cohort to grow up before the current social media hell, but at the same time I hate getting lumped in with all the “hurr durr avocado toast” nonsense.
We should start a support group, “Milennials With Mortgages”.
I sincerely hope that Becky will take the time to apologize and talk to Leslie. However I’ll keep my expectations low, wouldn’t want to be disappointed right?
Becky take any olive branch and burns it with a smile. When Dorothy gave her an opening to avoid more conflict with Roz Becky continued being a jerk. I doubt she will apologize immediately to Leslie, and will instead try to justify herself with something like “I didn’t want to be a burden to you”.
Thank you for enabling us, and also curse you for enabling us.
This strategy is disturbingly effective, and I consistently employ it to great success. Sometimes I wish it was a little less effective, frankly… but not enough to make myself stop.
Related: How long til my husband’s grandparents realize every life update since we move is about the weather, our kids and my dog and never me at all except in the most superficial way
I’ve been sharing pro-lgbt memes for years on my facebook, aggressively, and my mother was still shocked to learn I’m “still bisexual” since getting married.
Could having an encyclopedic knowledge of coping mechanisms be in itself a coping mechanism?
Secondly, “An encyclopedic knowledge of coping mechanisms” is unfortunately too long to be a successful band name. And I am saddened by this realisation.
I didn’t know Elon Musk was musing on droneships or that he’d pinched the names from Iain M. Banks culture novels. But you’re right, that would be a PERFECT name for a culture warship.
It is definitely a coping mechanism. After all, “it takes one to know one” – those of us who have a variety of obscure coping mechanisms tend to be very tuned in to when others use the same ones.
Thanks for the response and confirmation. It definitely tripped a “that doesn’t sound good” flag here, and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just my mind being strange.
Oh I don’t know if it’s two long. Two of my favorite bands are Pathetic Use of Potential (albeit, shortened to PUP) and I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME
Alternatively, you could be like an early to mid 2000s emo and use it as a song title
Apparently I can do that (mixed with some genuine ‘well I’m not feeling this emotion RIGHT NOW so I don’t remember feeling it two hours ago!’ that makes monitoring my mood trends pretty hard,) but I’ve tried not to since the last time it failed ended with my mother driving an hour and back on a Monday night since I wasn’t answering my phone, hadn’t showed up to any classes or appointments, and she was genuinely concerned I was dead.
… As ever, academic-based anxiety death spirals mixed with chronic depression: They are not fun.
YES. It’s just like they say for like TV personalities, leaders, teachers, and basically anyone with consistent contact with the public in a professional role – you choose which parts of yourself to present. That doesn’t mean you necessarily lie about who you are; it just means being selective about which you(s) you show the world, and sometimes adjusting the intensities of various components. How am I? Not bad. I am getting up in the morning, going to work, helping people, and smiling, therefore I can’t be doing bad. On the other hand, (for example) my pet is dying, (for real) I am practically flunking out of grad school, and (dealer’s choice) I am slowly filling with a sense of creeping dread that nothing I do will ever be as good as what is done by those around me – not because I’m incapable, but because I simply don’t have the work ethic – and I am doomed to repeatedly let down all my loved ones for the rest of my life. …BUT… none of those other things are things I am currently panicking about at this exact moment, regardless of the anxiety attack I just had in the bathroom. Therefore, not only will I tell you I am doing great if you ask me, but I will say it with a genuine smile, and I promise that in that moment I will believe it just enough that you will too. #FakeItTillYouMakeIt, LOL!1!!
AaaaAAAAaaaah, I got to the sense of creeping dread and you have phrased very wonderfully the very horrible feeling I’ve been struggling with. Some of that might be part of trying to maintain healthy work/fun/sleep boundaries for the sake of self-care that are kind of…maybe impossible to maintain when breaking into and working in career fields that are built on trampling down those boundaries. Even idolizing it.
Grad school is notorious for overworking students and depriving them of sleep in order to keep up and excel, and that’s even held up as a feature instead of a bug. Then we wonder why amphetamine abuse is so high, or why such smart, hard-working people would burn out or die so young from heart disease. I’m sorry you’re being put in such a hard position. If someone is living by 1850s garment factory hours, that’s not a feature to celebrate, it is a flaw in the system and in the people encouraging it.
107 thoughts on “Everybody everything”
Ana Chronistic
“I mean, when did she tell you she was a lesbian, immediately once she knew?”
“…shit”
Stu
Well, she KINDA did – she just didn’t know for sure until after she and Joyce were separated.
Doctor_Who
Volume II: Fatalistic Humor and You (the Millennial Method)
(Not actually sure how old Leslie is, guessing Millennial)
GoblinScribe
Currently Millennial (but definitely on the younger side). In twenty IRL years or so, she’ll be Gen X.
Madock345
Oh my god I’m the same age as Leslie
A character I first read in like middle school
*crisis intensifies*
Yumi
I’d say she’s pretty mid-Millennial? I mean, generational divides are kind of whatever, but as someone who generally qualifies as younger Millennial, Leslie (currently) still has a few years on me.
Dean
Millenials Are Killing Arbitrary Generational Divides.
Needfuldoer
Millennials have the longest kill list since the Greatest Generation.
Keulen
That’s only from July 2017. I’m sure we’ve killed more stuff since then.
Chris
Last I heard, we’re killing economic growth by putting money into savings rather than spending it all immediately.
StClair
no, that can’t be, because when billionaires do that they’re ~creating jobs~.
vlademir1
Sorry, but the “Silent Generation” killed arbitrary generational divides long before they were conceived ;p Strauss & Howe, and many later “generational theory” demographers, attribute cultural shifts that should be rightly attributed to them to either the preceding or succeeding generation as that better fits their model.
Matthew Evan Davis
That seems to be what’s happening to Gen X too. They are almost always left out of the debates, and the Millennials and Boomers lump them in with the other when they’re having their shouting matches.
StClair
“we exist!”
thejeff
Sshh. They’ll notice us.
Michelle J. Caboose
I’ve been noticing that on Imgur. We (Gen X) are far too often referred to as “Boomers.” At least, when we aren’t lumped in with Millennials. (facepalms)
I mean, it’s almost like we have no identity of our own! Seriously, go watch some ’80s movies, guys!
Kamino Neko
GenX are older than Millennials, and the youngest Millennials are just hitting 20. She’s probably in the middle Millennial range (late 20s-early 30s). MAYBE a Xennial (the youngest GenX – late 30s-early 40s – who have more in common with older Millennials than older GenX.) In 20 years (if the comic’s still going, then) she’ll be smack in the middle of GenZ. (I refuse to call them Zoomers…when I was working with seniors, that was a term for active Boomers. Don’t make things confusing cohort-namers!)
Madock345
The youngest Millennials are 25, not 20. The standard range is those born from 1980 to 1994
Opus the Poet
Math says the oldest Millennials would be pushing 40 now, putting their kids in college. My kids bridge Gen X and millenials, the oldest is end of Gen X, and the youngest is early Millenial, and there’s one right in the middle between the two.
Jimi
As a 25-year-old millennial, my impression of who is similar enough to me and other people my age to count as the same generation is roughly ages 22-34 or so, which would put it at 1985-1997 I guess. But I dunno how much that counts. I know generations are supposed to be defined as longer than only 12 years. I also know that the Game Grumps and most other people Arin’s age probably have more in common with my age group than Gen X, and yet my range would put them in Gen X. Maybe I should classify millennials as 1985-1997 + people from 1975-1985 who were nerdy enough to have had a similarly internet-and-video-game-intensive upbringing? Hm, but then the political views millennials are infamous for still don’t really include anyone older than 1985…
Generations are arbitrary as fuck I guess.
Jamie
Generations are *supposed* to be arbitrary as fuck. It’s basically astrology, except instead of caring about which month you were born, it cares about what year you were born. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong, but it’s painting with a sledgehammer: the interesting question is what’s left of the canvas, and easel, after you’re done, not what you’ve painted.
Zee
Astrology makes more sense than generations. At least it’s easy to tell what sign you are
thejeff
They’re very broad and there’s definitely blurring around the edges, but there’s still far more to it than astrology. Certainly doesn’t apply in detail to every individual – like every demographic.
But they’re grounded in real differences in shared experience, which is far more influential than “the stars”.
Needfuldoer
If you listen to the news (and boomers), millennials still are the 18-24 year old college kids.
StClair
and always will be.
I guess we GenX should be grateful that someone else has taken over as “those damn kids”, but in fact, we’ve finally just become completely irrelevant.
Matthew Evan Davis
We’re not a big enough generational cohort to push against either the Boomers or Millennials.
Chrissy
No one is a big enough cohort to push against the boomers. They’ll successfully drag the country whoever they go.
thejeff
Not for too much longer.
Svata
Hey, some of us born in 1994 are still 24
LeslieBean4shizzle
@Kamino Neko
OH! Huh.
As a very late Gen-Xer, I’ve found it odd for a while that no one seems to talk about my generation BUT that things said about Millennials tend to apply to me as well. And now I know why!
Needfuldoer
I guess I’m a ‘Xennial’ who was late for the bus (mid-late 80s), I understand and was there for a lot of the shared Millennial experiences like being pretty much the last cohort to grow up before the current social media hell, but at the same time I hate getting lumped in with all the “hurr durr avocado toast” nonsense.
We should start a support group, “Milennials With Mortgages”.
ensiform
I’m not a millennial. You’re the millennial.
Romanticide
She is certainly older than 20 and surely younger than 40 so she has to be a Millenial.
Kyrik Michalowski
I sincerely hope that Becky will take the time to apologize and talk to Leslie. However I’ll keep my expectations low, wouldn’t want to be disappointed right?
abysswatcher1993
Becky take any olive branch and burns it with a smile. When Dorothy gave her an opening to avoid more conflict with Roz Becky continued being a jerk. I doubt she will apologize immediately to Leslie, and will instead try to justify herself with something like “I didn’t want to be a burden to you”.
CJ
Even if she just said that, it would help Leslie. As long as she occasionally keeps in contact.
LeslieBean4shizzle
Giving off the impression that you are more open and outgoing that you actually are.
Yeah, sounds familiar.
Danielle
….. huh
Delicious Taffy
Look, you don’t have to call me out like this, in front of all these people.
ValdVin
I’m the person who is not even able to give off that impression, and believes those who use that coping mechanism.
vitalProximity
Thank you for enabling us, and also curse you for enabling us.
This strategy is disturbingly effective, and I consistently employ it to great success. Sometimes I wish it was a little less effective, frankly… but not enough to make myself stop.
Needfuldoer
I’m in this comment and I don’t like it.
Woomy
I wish I had a coping mechanism that made me seem like a good person
Madock345
“An encyclopedic knowledge of coping mechanisms” would be a fantastic book title
Deanatay
Leslie’s Coping Mechanisms Encyclopedia, Vol I: Tell Everyone Everything Immediately All The Time, Except DON’T
Ana Chronistic
If it’s not a DoA book title I’ll revoke my regular Kickstarter top tier pledge
…ok no I won’t, but I’ll be mildly disappointed
Sunny
Why not “The Bean Encyclopedia of Coping Mechanisms”?
Madock345
The book titles are always direct quotes from the strip
Sunny
I meant for when Leslie gets around to publishing it.
Stephen Bierce
Today’s strip is sponsored by a State Farm ad–in CHINESE.
FLUFFYWOLF
*Looks at myself doing exactly that*
…shit
AY
add me to the tags ’cause… ouch.
Jamie
Apparently there’s a “yup, I do too” train going, so I’ll just hop on aboard.
Nomad
Choo choo!
All-Purpose Guru
Walky is still rockin’ that free pizza.
Robbie
Related: How long til my husband’s grandparents realize every life update since we move is about the weather, our kids and my dog and never me at all except in the most superficial way
How obvious is it, I wonder??
vitalProximity
2) Probably could only be more obvious if you explicitly pointed it out to them, and 1) Probably forever.
Sorry, dude. :\ Especially if they’re his blood/childhood family, not yours.
Odditude
You husbands grandparents don’t know you are together? Even though you have kids? 🙁
yamikuronue
I’ve been sharing pro-lgbt memes for years on my facebook, aggressively, and my mother was still shocked to learn I’m “still bisexual” since getting married.
DaveM
Could having an encyclopedic knowledge of coping mechanisms be in itself a coping mechanism?
Secondly, “An encyclopedic knowledge of coping mechanisms” is unfortunately too long to be a successful band name. And I am saddened by this realisation.
Delicious Taffy
A bad band name, but an excellent album name.
Chris Phoenix
It sounds like a good name for one of Elon Musk’s droneships. (Yes, I know where those names come from, but I’ve never read one of the books.)
DaveM
I didn’t know Elon Musk was musing on droneships or that he’d pinched the names from Iain M. Banks culture novels. But you’re right, that would be a PERFECT name for a culture warship.
vitalProximity
It is definitely a coping mechanism. After all, “it takes one to know one” – those of us who have a variety of obscure coping mechanisms tend to be very tuned in to when others use the same ones.
DaveM
Thanks for the response and confirmation. It definitely tripped a “that doesn’t sound good” flag here, and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just my mind being strange.
Needfuldoer
Sounds like a good name for the DoA book box set.
vitalProximity
Oooooh, agreed!
CJ
More likely the result of trying to get better.
Zee
Oh I don’t know if it’s two long. Two of my favorite bands are Pathetic Use of Potential (albeit, shortened to PUP) and I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME
Alternatively, you could be like an early to mid 2000s emo and use it as a song title
Regalli
Apparently I can do that (mixed with some genuine ‘well I’m not feeling this emotion RIGHT NOW so I don’t remember feeling it two hours ago!’ that makes monitoring my mood trends pretty hard,) but I’ve tried not to since the last time it failed ended with my mother driving an hour and back on a Monday night since I wasn’t answering my phone, hadn’t showed up to any classes or appointments, and she was genuinely concerned I was dead.
… As ever, academic-based anxiety death spirals mixed with chronic depression: They are not fun.
vitalProximity
YES. It’s just like they say for like TV personalities, leaders, teachers, and basically anyone with consistent contact with the public in a professional role – you choose which parts of yourself to present. That doesn’t mean you necessarily lie about who you are; it just means being selective about which you(s) you show the world, and sometimes adjusting the intensities of various components. How am I? Not bad. I am getting up in the morning, going to work, helping people, and smiling, therefore I can’t be doing bad. On the other hand, (for example) my pet is dying, (for real) I am practically flunking out of grad school, and (dealer’s choice) I am slowly filling with a sense of creeping dread that nothing I do will ever be as good as what is done by those around me – not because I’m incapable, but because I simply don’t have the work ethic – and I am doomed to repeatedly let down all my loved ones for the rest of my life. …BUT… none of those other things are things I am currently panicking about at this exact moment, regardless of the anxiety attack I just had in the bathroom. Therefore, not only will I tell you I am doing great if you ask me, but I will say it with a genuine smile, and I promise that in that moment I will believe it just enough that you will too. #FakeItTillYouMakeIt, LOL!1!!
EmCaCo
AaaaAAAAaaaah, I got to the sense of creeping dread and you have phrased very wonderfully the very horrible feeling I’ve been struggling with. Some of that might be part of trying to maintain healthy work/fun/sleep boundaries for the sake of self-care that are kind of…maybe impossible to maintain when breaking into and working in career fields that are built on trampling down those boundaries. Even idolizing it.
Grad school is notorious for overworking students and depriving them of sleep in order to keep up and excel, and that’s even held up as a feature instead of a bug. Then we wonder why amphetamine abuse is so high, or why such smart, hard-working people would burn out or die so young from heart disease. I’m sorry you’re being put in such a hard position. If someone is living by 1850s garment factory hours, that’s not a feature to celebrate, it is a flaw in the system and in the people encouraging it.
Ohmsford
I am in this picture and I don’t like it
Miri