Millenials

"Oh, my goodness, they're such whiners! All they ever talk about is what offends their sensitivities. They have a serious problem with everything this entire generation does. I mean, seriously! What is their problem?"
That would be someone griping about... us. Many of us whine about millenials. I might cause a few people my age to wonder what Kool-Aid I drank. Set your mind at ease. I'm not encouraging buttercup muffins to continue to whine about inconsequential inconveniences. What I do believe is that insults do not encourage growth. I also hold that overriding statements about an entire generation are false... as in lies. Reality check; we're whining about the whiners. Why does it bother us so much? Are they offending our generation's sensitivities?
There might be a higher percentage of whiners among millenials than in previous generations. I honestly don't know the stats. If there is, what are they complaining about? Where does it come from? What generation fed them the lines, "You're special so you are entitled," "You can do aaaaaanything!" and "Go out and get whatever you want!"? That would be our generation. We lied to them. You cannot do absolutely anything, and what you do get will come at a great cost of time, effort and often money. They know that now. Some of them are pretty annoyed with those from our generation that offered up butterflies and rainbows when what they really needed was tools. I know very few millenials who expect life to be handed to them on a crystal platter. Most are working more than one job and depriving themselves of sleep and down time just to make ends meet.
It all makes me wonder if we even have the tools needed so we can pass them along. Do we know how to pass along the skills and mindset that's needed to survive, let alone thrive? If we're so fixated on our superiority, perhaps we need to step down off of our soap box and walk with them. They're asking us to. Have we listened? Are we prepared to make the investment in the generations to come?
My challenge to both millenials and middle-agers is to stop whining and work together.