In a recent "Ask a Climate Therapist" column, therapist Leslie Davenport responds to a millennial frustrated by their boomer mother's pride in cheap Amazon and Wayfair purchases. Davenport reframes the conflict not as who is right, but as an opportunity for intergenerational bridge-building, which she calls crucial to the climate movement.
She explains that boomers came of age during oil-crisis inflation, layoffs, and 18 percent mortgage rates, and were raised by parents who lived through the Great Depression and World War II. Getting more for less was a survival strategy, not just a consumer preference. Davenport also notes that cheap choices aren't unique to boomers, pointing out that a college student shopping at H&M may simply be buying what's within reach.
The column cites King's College London research indicating that roughly 7 in 10 people across every generation, boomers included, think environmental problems are serious enough to justify real changes in how we live. It adds that older people tend to be more consistent voters while younger people are more likely to protest. Davenport suggests starting with empathy, then finding common ground through shared practices, such as asking what the older generation used to make or fix instead of replace.