--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dear Angry Older People, over 21-ish…" description: "\"“Dear Angry Older People, over 21-ish, anyone who considers themselves an adult, still bitter: Next time you're wondering what wrong with kids today, y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/buddy-wakefield-8386_anger_dear-angry-older-people-over-21-ish-anyo_779553.png" --- # Dear Angry Older People, over 21-ish, anyone who considers… ![“Dear Angry Older People, over 21-ish, anyone who considers themselves an adult, still bitter: Next time you're wondering what wrong with kids today, you might wanna check the examples you've been giving us to work with. Because if you ever want to make sense of us, you’ve got to make sense to us…” quote by Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/buddy-wakefield-8386_anger_dear-angry-older-people-over-21-ish-anyo_779553.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/buddy-wakefield-8386_anger_dear-angry-older-people-over-21-ish-anyo_779553.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/buddy-wakefield-8386_anger_dear-angry-older-people-over-21-ish-anyo_779553.png) > ““Dear Angry Older People, over 21-ish, anyone who considers themselves an adult, still bitter: Next time you're wondering what wrong with kids today, you might wanna check the examples you've been giving us to work with. Because if you ever want to make sense of us, you’ve got to make sense to us, without telling us you’re too old to walk that far. You’ve got to try to understand why we like looking like rag dolls, why we like looking like the way we feel, and why we keep our senses floored when it’s you behind the wheel. And if you ever really do want to understand why we seem so angry, well for one, you told us we could be anything we wanted to be, but right now, we’re a little busy dodging bombs.”” [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wakefield calls younger generations to reflect on how adult attitudes shape youth behavior, urging empathy and mutual understanding. **In simple terms:** Adults should consider how they influence kids. Key Takeaway Listen to each other's perspectives. Themes generational conflict empathy identity Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational dialogue When to use this quote - family discussions - education reform - community dialogue - mentorship Key Concepts social conditioning communication Questions to Reflect On - How can we bridge generational gaps? - What actions show respect across ages? A Different Perspective Older generations may feel defensive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Next time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-time/) [Older people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older-people/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't want to understand anything now. I want to stick to the fact. I made up my mind long time ago. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky-karamazov-bothers/i-don-t-want-to-understand-anything-now-i-want-to-stick-to-the-fact-i/) Dostoevsky - Karamazov Bothers > [“I want to be with someone who understand me, who at least cares enough about me to try to understand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-k-burke/i-want-to-be-with-someone-who-understand-me-who-at-least-cares-enough/) [Rachel K. Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-k-burke/) > [You don't understand what you're angry about as a young man. You have those young man blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/you-don-t-understand-what-you-re-angry-about-as-a-young-man-you-have/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [You stood over me and you made a promise to me, as sacred as any vow. And I can understand why you're angry, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/you-stood-over-me-and-you-made-a-promise-to-me-as-sacred-as-any-vow/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“If I don't understand you, I may be angry at you, all the time. We are not capable of understanding each other, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/if-i-don-t-understand-you-i-may-be-angry-at-you-all-the-time-we-are/) [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [“I understand that you are angry. I'm angry too. But that does not justify your risking not only your own life but the life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hess/i-understand-that-you-are-angry-i-m-angry-too-but-that-does-not/) [Donna Lynn Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hess/) > [Maturity is when a person hurts you and you try to understand why they act that way towards you. As the result, you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maturity-is-when-a-person-hurts-you-and-you-try-to-understand-why/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When so many people misunderstand you, you learn not to try and explain yourself and wait for the people who actually try to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-hanthorn/when-so-many-people-misunderstand-you-you-learn-not-to-try-and/) Morgan Hanthorn > [Historically, it is important to try to understand your adversary in order to figure out how they are thinking, what they will be doing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/historically-it-is-important-to-try-to-understand-your-adversary-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Maturity is when a person hurts you and you try to understand their stand, rather than hurting them back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/maturity-is-when-a-person-hurts-you-and-you-try-to-understand-their/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [Try to be positive about every human being and try to understand their problems by being in their shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/try-to-be-positive-about-every-human-being-and-try-to-understand/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't try to understand me, it will just leave u more confused than what u assumed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabmello/don-t-try-to-understand-me-it-will-just-leave-u-more-confused-than/) Kabmello > [I try to understand people who aren't as smart as me and not be hateful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-coleman/i-try-to-understand-people-who-aren-t-as-smart-as-me-and-not-be/) [Gary Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-coleman/) > [“The more greedily you try to understand people, the less you understand them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takahashi-takako/the-more-greedily-you-try-to-understand-people-the-less-you/) Takahashi Takako > [We are different. We are equal in every way but our voices are important to each other and our need to want to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-ullmann/we-are-different-we-are-equal-in-every-way-but-our-voices-are/) [Liv Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-ullmann/) ## More by Buddy Wakefield > [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [Make love to me like you know I am better than the worst thing I ever did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/make-love-to-me-like-you-know-i-am-better-than-the-worst-thing-i-ever/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [If we really do get what we give then I give up, so I can get up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/if-we-really-do-get-what-we-give-then-i-give-up-so-i-can-get-up/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [I don't care to be good, Sheriff. I care to be whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-don-t-care-to-be-good-sheriff-i-care-to-be-whole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [There are moments of clarity daily. They open me up with a breath and keep me calm. They feed me the answers. And they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/there-are-moments-of-clarity-daily-they-open-me-up-with-a-breath-and/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [Listen, I’m not entirely comfortable being human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/listen-i-m-not-entirely-comfortable-being-human/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [We are the fed up grass roots movement of goose flesh, hell bent on living this one life by the way we feel our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/we-are-the-fed-up-grass-roots-movement-of-goose-flesh-hell-bent-on/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [If we were created in God’s image, then when God was a child he smushed fire ants with his fingertips and avoided tough questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/if-we-were-created-in-god-s-image-then-when-god-was-a-child-he/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [Everybody knows that smiling is for little girls, the gays and certain kinds of fish who are smiling by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/everybody-knows-that-smiling-is-for-little-girls-the-gays-and-certain/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [If hearts really did break, every time we fell from love, I’d be able to offer you confetti by now. But hearts don’t break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/if-hearts-really-did-break-every-time-we-fell-from-love-i-d-be-able/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [Everything is out there. That's why they call it everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/everything-is-out-there-that-s-why-they-call-it-everything/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [“I'm gonna roll outta here one day, I just might not get to drive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-m-gonna-roll-outta-here-one-day-i-just-might-not-get-to-drive/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [The future gets no say in who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/the-future-gets-no-say-in-who-we-are/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [And I know I’m not perfect. But I believe I was meant to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/and-i-know-i-m-not-perfect-but-i-believe-i-was-meant-to-be/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [Lord, let me write, leave me autistic and typing until my windows bust into a thousand silver doves and I know the poem is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/lord-let-me-write-leave-me-autistic-and-typing-until-my-windows-bust/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) [Explore all 81 Buddy Wakefield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Dear Angry Older People, over 21-ish, anyone who considers themselves an adult, still bitter: Next time you're wondering what wrong with kids today, you might wanna check the examples you've been giving us to work with. Because if you ever want to make sense of us, you’ve got to make sense to us, without telling us you’re too old to walk that far. You’ve got to try to understand why we like looking like rag dolls, why we like looking like the way we feel, and why we keep our senses floored when it’s you behind the wheel. 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