A new generation war is a-brewing, and for once, the Boomers aren’t to blame.
Recently, millennials on TikTok and Twitter have been up in arms about Generation Z trying to “cancel” some of the biggest celebrities of the early aughts…namely Eminem.
It’s debatable whether there is actually any major movement to cancel the rapper, seeing as the majority of content I’ve seen online is of millennials defending Eminem, not Zoomers canceling him.

Regardless of how fictitious the drama may be, Zoomers have jumped at the chance to make fun of the videos of millennials rapping in support of Eminem to reclaim him from Generation Z.

It isn’t the first time that Zoomers have cringed at millennials — Harry Potter houses, the words “doggo” and “adulting” and “don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee” are all unforgivable and distinctly millennial interests in the eyes of Generation Z.

The fierce discourse between millennials and Gen Z is befuddling. The most generous definitions place millennials between 25 and 40 years old and Generation Z 6 and 24 years old, meaning that in many cases, people only a few years apart are blaming each other for their respective generations’ mistakes.

At least the long-standing feud between Boomers and millennials makes sense. Boomers are old enough to be the parents or grandparents of most millennials, came of age in an era of American prosperity and retired comfortably amidst economic downturn, just as millennials were transitioning into adulthood and struggling to attain the same standard of living. Add to this the constant and often unjustified anger at millennials in the media, and you create fertile ground for deep-seated generational resentments.

The current warring between millennials and Generation Z is less rooted in genuine anger and frustration.

It more closely resembles a younger sibling making fun of their older sibling for having uncool music tastes or boring friends, and the older sibling retorting that, actually, it’s the younger sibling who doesn’t understand what’s cool yet.

Millennials aren’t becoming the new Boomers; they’re just following the time-worn script of growing older, ridiculing teens’ interests and gatekeeping the artists of their generation. They’re yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off their lawn. 

I understand that taking the side of my generation against millennials is dangerous, and my words will surely haunt me when Generation Alpha grows up and starts mocking Gen Z for TikTok dances and cottagecore.

To be clear though, I don’t fault millennials for anything serious. Our generations have similar political and social views, and I genuinely believe the majority of millennials do not actively wish to make life worse for future generations.

Both millennials and Gen X’ers are well aware that we have inherited a world wherein rampant income inequality and the looming threat of climate change have made the future look bleak. A pandemic stole over a year of social promise and mobility from us, and we could do nothing but bunker down as older politicians dragged their feet. 

No matter how often Zoomers try to cancel Eminem or how many millennials identify as a Ravenclaw, I have faith that the two generations will always side together when it matters. Ultimately, both generations are unified in wanting to create the most equitable future for all.

Cécile Girard is a 21-year-old psychology junior from Lake Charles.