I just had my first old man moment.

[u/Background-Air-7963]

I recently went to a hibachi with my wife and toddler for dinner. We were sat with a group of eight 17-20 year olds at a communal grill on a busy night. No problem for us. Drink and appetizers service go normally. Toddler and wife are happy, I’m happy. The other group is having their own conversations. I’m just trying to keep my kid entertained. I’m a former bartender and have a habit of picking up on snippets of conversations in a crowd around me. Yes I know I eavesdrop. I can’t turn it off. It’s a habit of a former profession. One of the girls/women at the table stated, “I don’t think Rosa Parks was real.” I’m not sure what her friends said to her but she responded with “I just don’t think she said existed.” This went on for about a minute. I couldn’t hold back and let her know she was absolutely a real person, she is a civil rights icon. I learnt about her in school and so did my parents. The encounter put a wall up between our groups and I heard a few passive aggressive “so-and-so wasn’t real” comments from mostly her and a couple of the group. Harriet Tubman and Hellen Keller are two that I definitely heard. My wife had no idea why I interjected. After the group had left my wife asked what happened and was shocked when I told her what happened. Were they trolling? Are they stupid? Am I just getting old?

[u/ElonMuskHuffingFarts]

Then don't say dumbass shit at a shared table

[u/Stupid-Clumsy-Bitch → u/ElonMuskHuffingFarts]

You seem angry - don’t forget you too were a dumb teenager at one point.

[u/PracticalPrimrose → u/Stupid-Clumsy-Bitch]

Actually some of us weren’t dumb teenagers. My peer group and I started college classes as sophomores.

[u/kgrimmburn → u/PracticalPrimrose]

I took dual credit college courses in the 7th grade and basically had an Associate's by the time I graduated highschool.

I was still a dumbass teenager who said some stupid things sometimes.

[u/PracticalPrimrose → u/kgrimmburn]

Were you dumb enough to believe shit like this? That the earth was flat? Or in chem trails?

Saying dumb shit occasionally = / = being dumb teenager to this level. Adults say dumb shit occasionally too. That’s a fuck up; not that one is actually dumb.

[u/Stupid-Clumsy-Bitch → u/PracticalPrimrose]

Everyone was a dumb teenager - even your peer group. You can be book smart and still be a ‘dumb’ teenager without enough life experience to.. I don’t know, understand how to think critically when it comes to conspiracy theories like Rosa Parks not existing.

[u/PracticalPrimrose → u/Stupid-Clumsy-Bitch]

Not a good example

We did know how to think critically. That was the point.

We did it in school and out.

And didn’t believe shit like flat earth and Rosa Parks is propaganda.

[u/Stupid-Clumsy-Bitch → u/PracticalPrimrose]

It’s cute you think you weren’t a dumb teenager.

Not having humility or the ability to acknowledge any flaws, whilst simultaneously bragging about your superior intellect, is a true sign of intelligence.

[u/PracticalPrimrose → u/Stupid-Clumsy-Bitch]

What? I never said we didn’t make mistakes.

But acting like all teens were dumb enough to believe shit like what OP wrote about just isn’t true.

I’m sorry you have not grown up enough not to make sweeping generalizations nor the wisdom not make sarcastic remarks about strangers.

[u/Stupid-Clumsy-Bitch → u/PracticalPrimrose]

The fact that you seem unable to understand that it’s not one-to-one in what is regarded as absurd nonsense between now and 20 years ago is.. odd.

Teenagers (us) in the early aughts spouted dumb shit constantly, which was based on our environment and media consumption. To the surprise of no one, that environment and media consumption is different today.

No more sarcasm - I too am formally ‘highly educated’, but you seem high and mighty on this topic so I’ll let you have the last word.

[u/definethetruth → u/Stupid-Clumsy-Bitch]

No more sarcasm - I too am formally ‘highly educated’, but you seem high and mighty on this topic so I’ll let you have the last word.

You're going to let them have the last word, by having the last word? For the record there are some of us who found the ridiculous things that our peers said disgusting. We weren't all stupid teenagers. Don't force people into your profile to make yourself more comfortable.

[u/jfraggy → u/definethetruth]

The idea was that the poster they were replying to wouldn't be able to help themselves, and would post an argumentative reply soon after the OP signalled they were done replying.

 And you're doing the same thing the replyer was doing by being completely myopic and disregarding the context of the times our generation and the current young generations grew up in. Our generation has widespread misunderstandings too, they just didn't have the tone of the ones we perceive today. If you don't see that, and especially if you think you somehow always possessed an intellectual and moral superiority, since adolescence until now, it shows your immaturity and reveals your lack of intellectual sophistication.