CUSPERS….Debra Dickerson points to an essay at CNN.com by Marian Salzman about the end of the baby boom era:
After strutting and tub-thumping and preening their way across the high ground of politics, media, culture and finance for 30 years, baby boomers have gone from top dogs to scapegoats in barely a year.
As baby boomers lose their authority and appeal, generational power is shifting one notch down: to cuspers (born roughly 1954-1965), who arrived in style in 2008 with their first truly major figure, Barack Obama (born 1961).
Cuspers! Hooray! I had always thought of myself as a baby boomer and had become resigned to wearing sackcloth and ashes for the rest of my life. But no. As a 1958 baby, I’m a cusper instead, entitled to hold my head high and sneer at baby boomers just like everyone else. I’m relieved.
Of course, you may be wondering why I should trust Marian Salzman on this subject. CNN provides the answer: “She was named among the ‘top five trendspotters’ by VNU in 2004 and has been credited with popularizing the term ‘metrosexuality.'” Works for me! From now on, I’m a cusper. Bye bye, baby boom.
