Daniel Conderman 
Dear Boomers,
First, let us say thanks. Thanks for the records. Thanks for the weird casseroles. Thanks for teaching us how to make a bong out of an apple.
But now that the pleasantries are out of the way…
We need to talk.
You really screwed us over.
You had your Summer of Love. You had Woodstock. You had free love, free drugs, and free time. Then the consequences rolled in — STDs, crack, war, economic chaos — and rather than face them like adults, you slammed the doors shut right behind you and handed us a rulebook soaked in fear.
We grew up being told sex equals death.
We weren’t educated, we were threatened.
AIDS wasn’t just a virus. It was a boogeyman. And you let that happen. You let the media spin panic instead of facts. You let schools teach us that one time without a condom was the equivalent of Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun. You let us suffer under the weight of misinformation — of shame, guilt, and silence — all while you knew better.
Every week in college, someone we knew was sitting on the edge of their bed, trembling, waiting on test results, convinced they were going to die because they had sex — protected or not. Do you have any idea how many Gen Xers walked into adulthood with sexual trauma, not from assault, but from fear?
And did you ever own that? No.
You shrugged and turned up Fleetwood Mac.
Then came COVID.
Once again, panic. Once again, silence. Once again, misinformation, finger-pointing, tribalism, paranoia.
And you — Boomers — you’d seen this movie before.
You were there when fearmongering overtook science.
And what did you do?
Nothing.
You let it happen again. You said nothing. You didn’t speak up, admit past mistakes, or help the younger generations navigate. You just hoarded toilet paper and posted memes about Fauci.
You had a chance to break the cycle. You had a chance to tell us, “Hey — we messed up with AIDS. We won’t let fear win this time.”
But nope. Not a damn word.
We know we’re the middle child generation. We’re used to being ignored. But we’re not kids anymore. And we’re not going to carry your silence any longer.
This is your notice:
We remember.
We see the pattern.
And we’re finally calling it out.
Next time the world gets scary — and it will — do something different.
Tell the truth.
Lead with empathy.
Own your past.
We’ll still be listening.
Gen X
