BY RAYLENE FLORES

While giving a speech about increasing climate changes, 25-year-old New Zealand lawmaker, Chlöe Swarbrick was jeered at for her seemingly young and inexperienced speech she was delivering. The insults and reactions came from an opposing spokesperson, Todd Muller. In video footage, Muller was interrupting Swarbrick during her comment on the Zero Carbon bill.

She took his remarks to great offense since she is passionate about the subject and has centralized her career around global and political issues. The centre-right opposition National party, 50 year-old Todd Muller, only waited 40 seconds into Swarbrick’s speech before verbally heckling her. This reaction was ignited from Swarbrick’s statistics on the current average age of the representatives currently in the parliament. While delivering her message, she implied that people who are much older than her, are doing nothing to solve the crisis. Her comment was enough to make Muller jeer a response, which Swarbrick countered with, “Ok, boomer.” The silence in the room was broken by a faint chuckle from the man sitting behind her. Unfazed, she followed through her speech, only to get backlash later on Facebook.

To many, Swarbrick’s response was heroic and comical, since millennials have adopted the phrase to emphasize baby boomer’s increasing unawareness of challenges new generations face. However, baby boomers have taken the phrase in offense, and believe they shouldn’t be represented by this expression, because of their age.

While Swarbrick had a valid reason to fire back at Muller’s remark, she should have known that her insult would offend many. “Boomer,” may seem appropriate for Muller in the situation, but it does not define every baby boomer in society. Therefore, many have felt that the phrase was a direct insult towards their age.

The increasing comments and responses to Swarbrick’s response, drew attention to her diverting mistake. She replied to the media, addressing that she might have taken Muller’s comment to far. However, she claims that it should not be a big deal if she was simply responding with actual facts. Muller was older, so she was addressing him with the correct terms, which should not be offensive. Nonetheless, Swarbrick should have thought about the effects of her response and taken into consideration that there are many other people who are not defined by the phrase.