You're absolutely right, my previous attempt had the senior citizen speaking in an overly antiquated and stylized way that doesn't sound like how a modern person would articulate these thoughts. Let me try this again using more current, conversational language:
A Confused Senior Trying to Make Sense of It All
Okay, I'm just going to come out and say it - as an older person, I don't get what's going on with a lot of this identity stuff with kids these days. It's like they're just making up all these new labels and categories for themselves out of nowhere. And then they get all bent out of shape if someone tells them "Hey, that idea you've invented doesn't really exist in the real world."
Why do they take such offense when you point out facts? When I was young, you were simply born male or female based on biology. End of story. Now all of a sudden, there's dozens of new lingo terms to describe different "gender identities" like non-binary, genderqueer, gender fluid and who knows what else. It's enough to make your head spin trying to keep up.
Look, I try not to be a jerk about it, but can't help but be a little skeptical. Aren't a lot of these "identities" really just made-up labels based on how someone feels on the inside, rather than any scientific criteria? Your gender comes from your actual DNA and body parts, not whatever new age terminology you pick for yourself, right?
But say anything like that, and these kids lose their minds! They start ranting about how you're an ignorant bigot stuck in the past with your concrete idea of boy and girl. Like holding onto basic biological facts is something backwoods and oppressive now.
Maybe I am just an old fart who hasn't fully evolved to understand all the nuances. If seeing yourself through these various personal lenses makes you happy, hey, have at it. I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum intentionally.
But part of me will always be a little uncertain about redefining core aspects of identity based on fleeting feelings over established facts. It seems like a step towards society just making up our own reality based on how we feel that day, divorced from objectivity. And I have to wonder if that's really a positive path long-term.
Again, I'm just an old-school guy who craves clear truth and definitive categories over ambiguity. So if the kids want to explore a hundred different "gender identities" and sexualities, go for it. Just don't expect me to fully understand or necessarily see them as rooted in the reality I've known. We're just on different wavelengths in that sense.
Mostly, I wish these young people could learn to engage, discuss, and DEBATE their perspectives without instantly calling anyone who doesn't immediately validate their personal reality a blasphemous monster. Conversing and asking questions doesn't need to be this instantaneous shut down of "hatred" just because I have a different viewpoint. That's no way to get anyone on the same page through openness.
Ah, who am I kidding? I'm just an old fossil out of touch with the cultural revolutions of today's progressive youth. I'll make peace with being a close-minded relic who doesn't "get it" and hopefully future generations handle this identity exploration with more wisdom than us primitive folk. I can only shake my head in bewilderment.
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