As a millennial living in the United States, I am constantly ‘fighting’ for recognition and opportunities in corporate America against the baby boomers.
#NoReally
This generational and ideological gap has been highlighted in this presidential election. And what makes it worse is that millennials are the demographic group set apart from the rest, and categorically called “lazy”, “disloyal” and “kaamchors”. Seriously, WTF? But you see, this conclusion is apparently based on research and studies.
#FactsAreFacts
We were also the voters who didn’t choose President-elect Donald Trump – with many of us left distraught on the night of 8 November. According to the early data released by CNN exit polls, 54 percent of voters between the age group of 18 to 29 voted for Hillary Clinton. Since then, we have taken to the streets to protest against – as CNN political commentator Van Jones calls it – an “anti-establishment whitelash” that apparently made Trump the President-elect.
But seriously, what is the point? These protests are much like Kanye West’s endorsement of Donald Trump – too little, too late:
I didn’t cast my vote, but if I did I would vote for Trump.Kanye West
#NoReally
Have we forgotten that nothing came of a petition signed by over four million people demanding that the decision on Brexit be overturned? There is a similar petition urging the Electoral College to vote against Donald Trump in the US. These protests are an absolute waste of time! However, here is what we must invest time in thinking about:
How to be a winner like Trump.
#Bigly #NoReally
Millennials, Be Winners Like Donald Trump
Millennials must stop crying, pondering, analysing, whining, tweeting, posting updates on Facebook and exercising our right to freedom of expression in a democracy about Donald Trump’s victory. We clearly know nothing about “winning” because Trump changed that. We must all concede defeat, move on and accept President-elect Donald Trump with an open mind.
We have to admit that Donald Trump fought hard, and he won the battle gloriously and unprecedentedly.
#Winning
And for those of us who supported Hillary, this is called losing. We must now accept the fact that Donald Trump’s Cabinet-in-waiting will be a largely white group of dignitaries. Except, of course, Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley who has been named the US Ambassador to the United Nations.
#GoIndians.
We must also accept that the White House chief strategist is Steve Bannon, infamously considered a white supremacist and anti-Semite.
Lastly, we accept that President-elect Donald Trump may appoint Supreme Court judges to overturn Roe v Wade – a law granting legal access to abortion for women in the United States.
And, oh how could I forget – we must accept that he will deport up to 3 million illegal immigrants.
#NoIllegalBabies
But who cares? Donald Trump’s winning streak will lead him to this, and he is the embodiment of a winner, which is what we millennials must learn to be.
For Millennial Job Seekers:
Lifestyle expert Martha Stewart called millennials lazy, saying that we are “a self-indulgent generation living off of our parents”.
(Before you lash out, she’s echoing what many studies have suggested so #NoReally)
However going by that, the American economy is doomed because, according to a study done by Pew Research Center, millennials are already the largest share in the American labour force. But wait – a large group of these millennials also happen to be... immigrants! (Gasp!)
#MakeAmericaGreatAgain
Millennials are also famous for demanding promotions! Clearly we must check ourselves before we wreck ourselves, and do exactly what the baby boomers did: Work the hardest, never expect promotions unless they are generously given to us, and pledge our loyalty to a company which may one day tell us that we are being replaced by someone younger and faster. Many of us have seen that happen to our parents and family members, but why should we learn from their mistakes?
So what can President-elect Trump teach us millennial workers?
Donald Trump has been a businessman all his adult life – and his experience in governance is based on how he allegedly avoided taxes, made business deals with politicians and befriended state heads for his business interests. Clearly, we millennials have a lot to learn from him. Most importantly, the right experience doesn’t matter to secure a job.
It all depends on your #WinningStreak. Can someone please explain this to an employer for me!
#Unemployed #HireMe #NoReally
Dream Big!
So here I am. Wondering what it takes to be a winner in a country where I am an Indian immigrant, a woman who believes in Planned Parenthood, supports the LGBT&Q, likes selfies and has the beliefs of a millennial?
I don’t know the answer, but I could take a cue from post-truth politics. Yup, ‘post-truth’ was declared the word of 2016 by Oxford Dictionary. It means a situation where “objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”
Taking off from that, I could probably jump on the #IndiansAreSoSmart bandwagon and go looking for an IT job. Or spelling. We’re good at that too.
#SpellingBee
Clearly, there’s plenty of hope for us millennials.
#Mars2020 #MakeMarsGreatAgain
(The writer is a freelance journalist based in Cleveland. This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author's own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)