Hey Gen Y, how about giving us a little credit?

By Julie Garisto
jgaristo@tampabay.com

I recently encountered a guy at New World who was all aglow from an Urban Outfitters purchase. The 26-year-old, 10 years my junior, showed off vintage Nikes that cost "only" $50.

I related that the green and yellow sneaks reminded me of ones from my childhood, and that they had my elementary school colors. He wasn't much impressed and went back to reading his Jack Kerouac novel.

I thought about his accoutrements later and wondered, "Where were the new ideas, youthful skepticism?"

I know. I sound like that old lady wagging her finger, but people my age popularized thrift fashion and rediscovered beat writers.

We "slacker" Gen-Xers still don't seem to get a whole lot of credit for our ideas and influence.

Yet, it is not such a bad thing to be an underdog. Pathos, after all, breeds character and art.

Case in point: Gen-Xers grew up in the malaise of recession and a crippling gas shortage. The first generation to grow up with divorce as the norm, we learned about sex from stoned-and-out-of-it houseguests.

It was the golden age of Pong, which we were lucky to play at our weekend dads' favorite bar. There were no 500 channels on TV. We played Red Rover outside until dusk with dirty clothes because our working moms didn't wash our Buster Browns.

Our circumstance bred a peculiar mix of rugged individualism, consumerism and Spartan resourcefulness. We spent time loitering in malls but most of it shopping at thrift stores.

This was the beginning of a huge cultural shift. As our elders went to the 100th final Stones concert and gave birth to today's obedient spenders, we galvanized behind the scenes.

Gen-Xers found havens outside mass culture, and as a result caused resurgences and new things to happen. We jump-started the Internet. We opened original, independent stores and businesses that brought back pedestrians to historical districts, like Tampa's Ybor City.

The thrift and do-it-yourself ethic spawned millions of new concepts, furniture pieces and apparel. Those styles wouldn't exist if it weren't for us, the unemployed dropouts who picked through Salvation Army bins.

Now young people, like the guy at New World, are following the creative lead of Gen-Xers and succumbing to the enticements of boomer capitalism.

A recent segment on 60 Minutes helped the sneaker beatnik scenario make sense. It explored economic and sociological data about how today's 20-somethings (and younger) consume more than any other youth culture to date, the first kids to grow up with Internet technology and cable TV. They're also group-oriented, conformist and high-achievers who seek constant supervision and approval. They grew up with attentive parents who kept them safe in car seats and extracurricular activities.

Given these facts, who'll be the next disgruntled movers and shakers behind the scenes? Are they going to have to yank us Gen-Xers out of retirement to do that?

Oh, that's right. We won't have pensions. We might as well.