A Green Party MP who was blasted for using "OK, Boomer" in a tweet has defended the use of the phrase and says it's simply a descriptor.
The Greens announced Ricardo Menéndez March as the party's spokesperson for senior citizens on Monday, and he took to Twitter later that day to express how he hopes to represent this age group in the role.
"As the senior citizens portfolio holder I'm ready to ask 'are you OK, Boomer'," he wrote. "Hardship grants for senior citizens have increased over the past few years, with growing inequities for our migrant, Pasifika and Māori senior citizens. Everybody deserves to grow old with dignity."
His tweet received mixed reviews, with some calling it "disrespectful" and "derogatory", and others saying it was misinterpreted.
Menéndez March said on Tuesday the backlash has started conversations on the divide he says exists within the Baby Boomer generation.
"While there is a nugget of truth in the fact that there is a generational wealth gap, we can't ignore the fact that, again, not all senior citizens are given the resources or have existing resources to get old with dignity," he told Magic Talk host Sean Plunket.
"While there may have been outrage on Twitter around a comment that uses the term 'Baby Boomer', actually it talked about the socio-economic divide within our senior citizens.
"The fact that I'm able to have these lengthier conversations about what are some of the challenges I fear senior citizens have, that's part of the benefits of being able to instigate some of these conversations."
He said there are useful terms to describe generations, such as Millennial, Generation X, Baby Boomer, and sometimes people react negatively towards words that are descriptors.
"I would contest the idea that 'Baby Boomer' is a slur and the idea that that specific generation faces such systemic discrimination to the point that other generations have. I've been quite appalled at some people calling it the 'B-word' as if it was an actual slur," he said.
Instead, he wants to "flip the script" on the 'OK, Boomer' narrative, which he said is about "pitting one generation against another".
"Independent of the backlash around the specific term, what I'm very clear to do is that, as I have done for many, many years, is to continue building relationships with senior citizens."
He said his previous job involved working with senior citizens, which is something that drove him to request the portfolio.
