Okay Boomer
“OK, Boomer” made its first appearance in the Supreme Court Wednesday, invoked by baby boomer Chief Justice John Roberts 12 days before he turns 65.
The meme is a favorite of younger generations and Roberts used it in questions in a case about a Sacramento employment age discrimination lawsuit in the workplace.
“The hiring person, who’s younger, says, ‘OK, Boomer,’ once to the applicant,” Roberts said as he conjured a hypothetical exchange to try to figure out when an older federal employee might be able to win a lawsuit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
It was the first time, according to databases of high court arguments, the somewhat pejorative phrase used by younger people to criticize the less flexible, tolerant and tech savvy ways of their elders has been uttered in the Supreme Court, where the nine justices range in age from 52 (Neil Gorsuch) to 86 (Ruth Bader Ginsburg).
The meme is a favorite of younger generations and Roberts used it in questions in a case about a Sacramento employment age discrimination lawsuit in the workplace.
“The hiring person, who’s younger, says, ‘OK, Boomer,’ once to the applicant,” Roberts said as he conjured a hypothetical exchange to try to figure out when an older federal employee might be able to win a lawsuit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
It was the first time, according to databases of high court arguments, the somewhat pejorative phrase used by younger people to criticize the less flexible, tolerant and tech savvy ways of their elders has been uttered in the Supreme Court, where the nine justices range in age from 52 (Neil Gorsuch) to 86 (Ruth Bader Ginsburg).
“Let’s say in the course of the, you know, weeks-long process, you know, [there is] one comment about age,” the chief justice says. “The hiring person is younger, [and] says, you know, ‘OK, boomer’ … once to the applicant.” The courtroom erupts in laughter. A dozen or so high school students in the second and third rows of the public gallery perk up and nudge each other over this au courant phrase. Some internet sources say the riposte has been around for several years, but it clearly gained traction with a 2019 TikTok video responding to a baby boomer who had complained online about millennials and Gen Z having “Peter Pan syndrome.” The retort has also been lobbed in the chambers of the New Zealand Parliament.
