I was thinking about…

WE DON’T CARE

By Andy Lee

Attention Gen Zers and Millennials – we need to have a real talk courtesy of Generation X. I recently discovered the 👍🏻 emoji is now considered offensive to you whippersnappers. Well let me be the crusty old voice of my generation with some blunt truth:

WE DON’T CARE.

That’s right, we simply DO. NOT. CARE. If that little thumbs up icon somehow damages your precious self-esteems and sensibilities, then get used to having your feelings hurt, cupcakes, because WE DON’T CARE if they are.

See, we Gen Xers came up in an era when actively trying to hurt each other’s feelings ranked among our favorite recreational sports. Hurting feelings wasn’t just unavoidable collateral damage – it was half the fun! And you know what happened when inevitably our own egos got battered too? Nobody rushed to start support groups or demand accountability from offenders. Nope, we got told the same thing:

“Suck it up and do something about it.”

Either we fought back with acidic insults, sometimes we even settled scores with fists too. Or we channeled anger into zinging the culprit’s deepest insecurities next time they slipped. But regardless how heated feuds escalated, 9 times outta 10 we ended up remaining friends after declaring temporary victory. Because ultimately, WE DIDN’T CARE about holding petty grudges either.

The point is, hurt feelings weren’t a criminal offense meriting disciplinary hearings back then. They represented an inevitable side effect of interacting with beautifully flawed humans living unapologetic lives. Getting emotionally skinned happened, so we embraced the sting and kept persevering.

And let’s be real – WE STILL DON’T CARE if you find our coarse irreverence offensive today. Because no matter how militantly you lobby to eradicate aggressive conduct, you’ll never purge society of situations leaving you fazed somedays. Hurt feelings come with the territory called life, young’uns!

So you’d better get comfortable processing emotional discomforts, because WE DON’T CARE if you have valid reasons for your feelings being hurt. Sure, sometimes folks take cheap shots too far or needlessly cross boundaries. Those merit calling out and recalibrating norms.

But ultimately, WE STILL WON’T CARE when somebody on the internet uses the wrong emoji, misgenders someone, or says something unintentionally insensitive that somehow crushes your whole vibe. Because life keeps dishing out uncomfortable moments requiring thick skins and quick rebounds. And if that’s too much reality for you precious treasures?

Then you’d better tell the universe it needs to stop periodically bruising your sensibilities. Because WE DON’T CARE if reality remains harsh sometimes. That’s just the way it is kids!

Stay thick-skinned, keep brushing it off! 💪