I learned the eenie meenie rhyme with the original wording. I am a boomer from the midwest so I would guess that was the norm. I've also heard it as catch a monkey by the toe.

I forget, what's the boomer generation? My mom was born in the early 40's, my sister and brother 1959 and 1960 respectively and I just squeaked into gen-y in 1975. Mom remembers the original and we're all from MA and NH.

@LittleCrit said:

I forget, what's the boomer generation? My mom was born in the early 40's, my sister and brother 1959 and 1960 respectively and I just squeaked into gen-y in 1975. Mom remembers the original and we're all from MA and NH.

Boomers are 1946-1964. I always thought gen y were 1980-1990, and 1965-1979 are gen x.

Not sure if my siblings were taught the original, but I do believe that they had traveled South at some point where segregation hadn't really happened yet. Wish I knew them better...

@LittleCrit @Pandora78 Its been awhile, but I seem to remember that monkey gradually replaced the other working. I guess that could be viewed as rascist as well, just not as in your face. Pandora, your dates are pretty accurate, except that I think gen y goes past 1990.

@Pandora78 said:

@LittleCrit said:

I forget, what's the boomer generation? My mom was born in the early 40's, my sister and brother 1959 and 1960 respectively and I just squeaked into gen-y in 1975. Mom remembers the original and we're all from MA and NH.

Boomers are 1946-1964. I always thought gen y were 1980-1990, and 1965-1979 are gen x.

I meant gen-x for myself. I was always told that if you could see the original Star Wars in the theatre, you were gen-x.

@jonnieblack I could see how some people could say "monkey" would be racist. As far as I remember, it was "tiger" and that's how my 13yo and 12yo learned it.

@LittleCrit I saw the original star wars in the theater and I am a boomer. Not nitpicking though.

@jonnieblack I know I think it was meant to be a cutoff point. I usually don't look at age so that's probably why I'm clueless about the different generations. I forget my siblings were a different generation than I.

@LittleCrit said:

@jonnieblack I know I think it was meant to be a cutoff point. I usually don't look at age so that's probably why I'm clueless about the different generations. I forget my siblings were a different generation than I.

Where generations begin and end is arbitrary. It's like looking at the cultures of different decades; 1979 didn't abruptly become "the eighties" at midnight on December 31st. We humans like to organize everything so we give names to "generations" as a rough measure of people born around certain recent time periods. Don't attach too much significance to it.

@chrisjdel said:

@LittleCrit said:

@jonnieblack I know I think it was meant to be a cutoff point. I usually don't look at age so that's probably why I'm clueless about the different generations. I forget my siblings were a different generation than I.

Where generations begin and end is arbitrary. It's like looking at the cultures of different decades; 1979 didn't abruptly become "the eighties" at midnight on December 31st. We humans like to organize everything so we give names to "generations" as a rough measure of people born around certain recent time periods. Don't attach too much significance to it.

I usually don't. My siblings are older than I, my mom was always the older one among my friends' moms, I grew up in ballet and on the stage and I always had a bunch of older friends. Even now, my friends' ages are very diverse because of my and my bf's hobby. I may be getting older, but I refuse to grow up!

it'd be nice if everyone didn't take every darn thing so personally. i feel like absolutely nothing can be said anymore without someone being offended.

@tristavv said:

it'd be nice if everyone didn't take every darn thing so personally. i feel like absolutely nothing can be said anymore without someone being offended.

I don't think that part has changed. What's different these days is that the offended feel like they have a right to shut you up, scream and yell and boycott until somebody censors you. And the number of organizations that just bend over backwards apologizing when they shouldn't be doing any such thing is discouraging. There is no Right Not to Be Offended. There isn't even a Right to Feel Safe (for those who complain that offensive speech makes them feel threatened). Freedom of Speech though, that's an actual right. I read it in the Constitution or someplace. More people need to grow a pair and stop pandering to the crowd whose sense of humor has been surgically removed and treat every little thing like a matter of life and death. They have a right to speak their minds, but so do those who disagree with them, and that's that. It needs to be pointed out publicly and often because right now this isn't being said frequently enough.