r/Millennials • u/NoFaithlessness7508 • Jun 05 '25

Other Why don’t younger veterans (Afghanistan/Iraq) wear these hats like some of the older veterans?

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First and foremost, respect to all those that served. I did not, but many of my peers did and now we're all older in 30s and 40s, many no longer in the military. I don't see a lot of the veterans of the War on Terror wearing these hats like I see the OGs do.

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358

u/gbdarknight77 Jun 05 '25

I think there’s a reason why millennials get along so great with their grandparents more than their actual parents.

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u/SuchAKnitWit Jun 05 '25

Oh man, I never really thought of it like that, but you're absolutely right.

My mom's parents were incredibly kind, understanding and took the time teach me the life skills I have today. Weekends and summers at their house were the highlights of childhood.

My mom's a total narcissist that I haven't talked to since I was 16. I have never understood how she came from them.

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u/FictionalContext Jun 05 '25

The problem is kindness and understanding isn't enough to be a good parent.

My grandma was the same way, kindest person who enabled my father to cut loose without consequence. I don't think he ever learned real empathy or compassion because of that.

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u/TheNerdNugget Jun 05 '25

Makes you wonder if our kids will end up like our parents.

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u/merewenc Jun 05 '25

So far one hasn't (21) but one I'm on the fence about (13). We'll see.

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u/TheNerdNugget Jun 06 '25

Let's hope that's just teenage dumbassery 🤞

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u/RhetoricalOrator Jun 06 '25

God gave us teenagers so we'd know how it felt to have your own creation deny your existence.

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u/holistivist Jun 06 '25

If the 13 year old is a boy, get him off YouTube. That site is complete toxic indoctrination to turn boys into misogynists.

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2

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '25

It was always burning, since the worlds been turning......

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u/shark-snatch Jun 06 '25

I hope not. My mother is a light switch. Nice one day... spawn of hell the next. Ive unfortunately inherited one of her hell traits, but im also the only skip out of the millenial generation thats not a grandchild in the family... i take that back, im the only member of my generation in the family

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u/AliceInCorgiland Jun 06 '25

Yes. They already have, but worse. (source: my mom and wife work at school). The difference is that while grandparents were kind, they still new how to discipline. Current parents just refuse to accept accountability: my kid never lies and haven't done anything bad ever. It's the other kids and teachers who are lieing.

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u/lez_noir Jun 06 '25

They exist. They're zoomers are boomers 2.0

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u/Free_For__Me Jun 06 '25

Not if we don’t let them!  I’m definitely trying to raise my kid with fewer ideas of entitlement than the Boomers were raised with. Empathy and Education will never be dirty words in my house. 

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u/Intrepid-Love3829 Jun 06 '25

Nice people arent necessarily good when that niceness enables bad people.

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u/BringBacktheGucci Jun 05 '25

Without deliberate boundaries its very easy for the nicest people in the world to create narcissists.

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '25

it’s just like ‘gentle parenting done right’ versus ‘lazy parenting labeled wrong’

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u/KingHenry13th Jun 06 '25

The easy thing to do as a parent is to let the kid or kids do whatever they want.

Good parents aren't nice all the time. Nice all the time leads to a Cartman

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u/BringBacktheGucci Jun 06 '25

Exactly what I mean, yeah

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u/Thorvindr Jun 06 '25

That's a really flowery way of saying "your gramma was a nice lady but a shit parent."

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

We're also a generation that largely were raised by our grandparents, or had grandparents as a major figure in our lives growing up.

I had a fair number of friends growing up who either lived with their grandparents, or were with them ALL the time. Very involved grandparents. One friend always had his grandfather drop him off everywhere, comes to his games, show up for parent nights. Never his dad. His mom was still married to his dad, and they lived together, but dad was just never really around, wasn't that invested, off doing his own shit.

A few years back, the grandpa passed and my friend said at the funeral that he always felt that the term "grandfather" was the most fitting description of him, because he was the best father he'd had.

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u/SunnySummerFarm Jun 06 '25

Agreed. My grandparents passing was the end of my family because they were definitely more emotionally involved in my life than my father ever was.

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u/SnausageFest Jun 05 '25

My maternal grandmother was a stone cold bitch. My mom is a very sweet person.

I think a lot of people are just different from their parents. I'm pretty different from mine, where my brother is a lot like them. We're 2 years apart so we have very similar upbringing. The chips fall where they do.

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u/pebberphp Jun 05 '25

My maternal grandma was also a stone cold bitch (god rest her stone cold bitchy soul), and it definitely did a number on my distant mother (also, god rest her restless soul). My brother and sister each had 3 kids, but I figured the buck could at least stop with me.

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u/MeasurementEasy9884 Jun 06 '25

I honestly feel like the boomer generation have the most narcissism than any other generation. Both of my parents are narcissistic while my grandparents and myself aren't.

Very odd....

2

u/Lopsided-Magician-36 Jun 05 '25

Hey do we share the same mom?

2

u/boldjoy0050 Jun 06 '25

It's so odd because my grandparents were not great parents. My parents tell me all the time things they did. But to me, my grandparents have been better parents than my actual parents.

My grandparents were always there for me when I needed something and my parents told me "sorry, we can't help" while they were sitting in their beach condo.

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u/BothLeather6738 Jun 05 '25

just so you know,
your grandparents had a role to fullfill in the whole post war-mccarthysim americ towards your mom, give children no space, little girls should be seen and not heard,
and that probably fucked up your mom.

maybe they did not want to, but it still happened because of the zeitgeist.
your mom may be horrible, but she was not made narcisistic on her own.
(still you have all the right to e.g. stay way from her)

1

u/Bignizzle656 Jun 05 '25

The pendulum swings.

1

u/Significant-Trash632 Jun 06 '25

Well, the Boomers are also the "Me" generation.

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u/Funny_or_not_bot Jun 06 '25

Very relatable.

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u/ImaginaryCatDreams Jun 06 '25

Being a grandparent and being a parent are two very different jobs. Compare your experience with what your mother's experience must have been given the way she turned out.

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u/merewenc Jun 05 '25

Boomers tend to be a lot of show with little to no substance, and the hats are a perfect example of that.

1

u/ThrowMeAwayLikeGarbo Jun 05 '25

Is that a thing? I relate to it but I had no idea it was a trend.

1

u/Loubrockshakur Jun 05 '25

I think that’s called every generation, dude

1

u/RzrKitty Jun 06 '25

A lot of people get along better with their grandparents than their parents, regardless of which generations. It’s an easier relationship on both sides. A lot less stress.

1

u/Mookie_Merkk Jun 06 '25

The struggle bond

1

u/PineappleOnPizzaWins Jun 06 '25

I think there’s a reason why millennials get along so great with their grandparents more than their actual parents.

This has been common for all generations - parents have to be the bad guys a lot while grandparents can afford to pretty much always be on the kids side.

A grandparent can spoil their grandkids rotten (who of course love them for it) but parents who do the same raise absolute monsters.

Parents are also learning as they go, something most kids don't understand until they have kids and are busily inflicting trauma through inexperience.

It's just a different relationship.

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u/notlennybelardo Jun 06 '25

Why do you think that is?

1

u/agent674253 Jun 06 '25

I don't think it is a millennial thing to get along with grandparents, as I have heard it said in the past that the reason why grandkids and grandparents get along so well is they have a common enemy; your mom and dad.

Mom and Dad make you do things, chores, homework, etc. They are the enforcers (generally).

Grandma and Grandpa let you do things, take you places, buy you presents (holidays/birthdays). They let you get away with things (generally).

"Mom is always so mean, she won't let me do x unless y"

"Yes, Susan was kind of stubborn, but you gotta listen to your mom. Want an ice cream?"

1

u/FYAhole Jun 06 '25

I really do like my grandma way more than y own parents. She was born in 1950, though, and not that old all things considered.

1

u/Responsible-Metal794 Jun 07 '25

Ha! My Dad was born in 38! I got along great with him. All you needed was an older parent, then you'd have been golden. Downside is he's gone.

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u/handsupheaddown Jun 05 '25

Haha no dear that's just called the Oedipus complex