Boomers in the 80s and 90s were fucking depressed. They described their lives as a boring, soul-crushing existence where they did the same hollow shit day in and day out. They hated their bosses, they hated their jobs, their kids, their wife/husband. People had "Mid-life crises" where they tried to fill the void with "a fast car and a young hot fling." things capitalism told them would make them happy. It didn't.
Seriously listen to any media made by boomers when they were in their 30s-50s. It's all jokes about how fucking mundane life is.
Even at its peak, life under capitalism was hollow and soul crushing.
They were basically taught "as long as you keep your head down and play the game, we won't hurt you financially"
Sure, (if you were white and male) you had money, but it took everything else away. Community, friendship, family. Trapped them in a gilded cage. Having to watch their children having even that promise of financial stability ripped from them. And don't get me started on how terrible it was if you weren't a white dude.
I have to wonder if the "selfish, childish boomer" stereotype is something of a coping mechanism. Maybe some boomers are like that because thats their jokerfication.
My parents and their friends can't shut up about how great the 80s were.
Even older leftists I've met have expressed some 80s nostalgia. Heck I'll be honest, even as a child of the 90s there's some shit about the 80s that seems cool. A lot of my favorite movies and music came from the 80s, and being able to buy a house with a job you could get straight out of high school probably rocked!
I think maybe we're actually talking about the 90s more than the 80s here. In the 90s the cracks on the system started to show more and while things were still good for kkkracker middle class kids it was becoming clearly how a lot of it was build on bullshit. There was rebelliousness in the 80s but it was always more cartoony and bohemian.