The ‘olds’ had a good run. It’s time to make way for Kamala and the KHive | Opinion

Quick question: Did you draw a blank when the “kids” — meaning anyone under 40 — called presidential candidate Kamala Harris a “brat”?

I did.

Here’s a confession: I initially thought “brat” was a reference to Bratz dolls, rather than to pop star Charli XCX, a 31-year-old Brit who is responsible for something called “brat girl summer” and for making lime green cool again. Charli declared Harris an official “brat,” which is expected to win the vice president all kinds of votes come November.

It’s also helping to grow the KHive — a reference to Kamala’s fan base.

Apparently, a lot of older folks are as clueless as I am, judging by social media posts like this one on X:

“Can someone please explain what brat Charlie xcx summer coconut trees are to a millennial reporter following politics who is so so tired?” Robbie Gramer posted. (Robbie, a reporter with Foreign Policy magazine, actually looks quite young. Maybe he’s just out of the popular music loop?)

Look, I don’t want to scare you into thinking you are totally irrelevant if you don’t get this whole brat/KHive thing. This is not some kind of litmus test. It’s just another one of those signs for boomers like me that yes, we are old and growing more out of touch by the day, and it really is time to start thinking about passing that damned torch.

Luckily, now we have a role model we can follow in President Joe Biden.

Sure, he waffled for a while, but ultimately he did the right thing — thank you Joe! — and for that, he should be celebrated, even venerated.

Maybe Charli should make him an honorary brat boy?

Keep on dancing, Mick

Mind you, this is not a call for older folks to retire en masse.

Some of us can’t afford to. And anyway, it’s good to have some age diversity in the workplace. (Given the advanced age of their cult leader, even MAGA world — which wants to end all diversity, equity and inclusion programs — would have to agree with that.)

Besides, some of us are more than capable of carrying on indefinitely.

Look at Mick Jagger. And Martha Stewart. And Anthony Fauci. (Technically speaking, they all belong to the Silent Generation, which preceded the Baby Boom. Also technically speaking, Harris, 59, could be considered a Baby Boomer herself since she was born in 1964 — the cut-off year for the boomer generation. But look at the woman! Does she read boomer? No, she does not.)

If you can dance like Mick, cook like Martha and doctor like Fauci — or do the equivalent in your chosen line of work — you would be crazy to hang it up before you’re ready.

But when it comes to governance — particularly the presidency — leaders should be at the top of their game, physically and mentally. And is it too much to ask that they have firsthand experience of life as it exists today — not 40 or 50 years ago?

Think about it. The world today is a very different place compared to what boomers experienced when coming of age.

Most of us never had to go $100,000 or more into debt to get a college education.

We could buy a home for less than $200,000 — even in California.

We couldn’t fathom the idea that mass shootings — in schools, no less — would someday be commonplace.

And when we studied climate change in school — if we studied climate change in school — it was something that seemed to be in the far distant future, rather than an existential threat that could change life as we know it. And it wasn’t referred to as “climate change.” It was the “greenhouse gas effect.”

Bridging the divide

Sure, we can empathize with younger people — just as they can empathize with us. But inasmuch as our life experiences shape our beliefs and values and focus, we may not share their priorities. Boomers may, for example, care more about keeping Social Security whole than forgiving student debt. And vice versa.

What we need is a candidate who can bridge that divide between generations.

Bonus points if that person can also inspire young people and hopefully convince them to get out there and vote.

With all due respect to voters who regret that Biden left the race, please recognize that our 81-year-old president did not have that ability. Many voters — both young and not-so-young — were despondent over the lack of choice on the ballot.

That’s changed overnight.

What we’re seeing now — the brat memes and coconut trees and the general air of KHive giddiness — is like a joyful sigh of relief, especially from generations that felt unseen and unheard.

Granted, it may not last; even brat girl summer is already starting to wilt under overexposure.

“Kamala Harris can’t be ‘brat’ because ‘brat’ is dead,” huffed a headline on a Mother Jones piece.

The article also makes this astute observation about the impermanence of trends: “Anytime a mainstream outlet writes about something, it’s over.”

Ah well.

Brat girl summer, you were fun while you lasted, even for us “olds” who had never even heard of you — until now.