Panda Express didn’t sign up to represent generational failure
Panda Express and Chipotle have unintentionally become memes for mediocrity and failure. While their food might be unhealthy and has occasionally caused food poisoning, labeling the restaurants as symbols of decadence seems unfair.
Similarly, it was unjust to blame old shows like "Saved by the Bell" and "Boy Meets World" for corrupting white American youth and causing them to fall behind their Asian American peers academically.
Zoomers need to take active steps to improve their own lives. This means putting down the phone, engaging with the real world, and fostering spiritual growth.
This reflects today’s public discourse, which often simplifies ideas into memes for easier, more entertaining consumption. Unfortunately, this approach obscures genuine disagreements and turns clear, reasoned debates into a tangled mess of bad arguments.
In what feels like a sequel to the recent H-1B visa brouhaha, another discussion has emerged that deserves attention. As before, both sides present valid points and would likely agree on solutions. Yet, in the pursuit of content and audience engagement, participants continue talking past each other and trading potshots.
The current debate focuses on Zoomers — those in their late teens and 20s — and their ability to succeed in today’s America. One side argues that this generation faces insurmountable obstacles to success. The side claims the workplace and academia have become toxically feminized, and the gerontocracy leading our institutions suppresses the rise of younger generations.
Demands for ever more credentials have reached absurd levels, while the American dream of a spouse, children, and homeownership has become prohibitively expensive. Adding to this, older conservative voices seem oblivious to these challenges.
As a teacher working with Zoomers, I would add that online pornography and smartphones have taken a massive toll on the generation coming of age. These influences directly affect the libidos and social habits of young people entering adolescence. They have also created an anti-social culture marked by paranoia, crippling anxiety, and self-loathing. Most interactions between young people now occur online, limiting shared realities and empathy. This dynamic has wrecked the dating scene and stifled the formation of real friendships.
In addition to diminishing job opportunities and upward mobility, older generations have left Zoomers with a world of universal loneliness. This began when they handed children tablets and smartphones with unrestricted internet access. While parents rationalized these devices as tools for learning and self-improvement, the reality was far darker. These gadgets acted like a drug, poisoning children’s minds and damaging the culture at large.
The opposing side in this debate contends that a decent life is still achievable if young people were to stop making excuses and put in the effort. This is where Panda Express comes in. A motivated Zoomer could work his or her way up to managing a fast-food restaurant. While not glamorous, these roles offer honest work and could support a family with disciplined, frugal living.
Supporters of this perspective often share testimonials to back their claims. These stories highlight individuals who worked hard, avoided the usual vices, fell in love, started families, and now live fulfilling lives as popular influencers. Their message is clear: If they could succeed, so can anyone else.
To this, I would agree that Zoomers technically have access to all the resources they need to succeed. I’ve seen stumbling blocks turn into stepping stones, helping some of my students become far more accomplished at their age than I ever was. They have the tools to teach themselves nearly anything and engage in discussions once reserved for older generations.
However, what is possible isn’t always probable. Most people aren’t intellectual prodigies capable of instantly achieving fame and fortune. And more importantly, they shouldn’t have to be exceptional just to enjoy the same quality of life their parents once had.
Many Millennials in their 30s and 40s fail to see the significant generational gap between themselves and Zoomers. What was achievable for Millennials no longer holds true for Zoomers, who have borne the brunt of woke ideology and elite mismanagement.
For Millennials, hard work and basic credentials still could guarantee decent-paying jobs. Relationships and friendships formed naturally, and housing was relatively affordable. This is no longer the case for Zoomers, and dismissing them as “whiny brats” who spend too much time online fails to acknowledge the unique challenges they face.
To address or mitigate the struggles of this younger generation, both sides of the debate must acknowledge the validity of the other’s arguments. Leaders should adapt to modern realities by ending the reliance on cheap labor, curbing excessive public spending, streamlining regulations, breaking up monopolies, reforming education, prioritizing American workers, regulating addictive technology and online pornography as public health issues, and incentivizing marriage and parenthood.
At the same time, Zoomers need to take active steps to improve their own lives. This means putting down the phone, engaging with the real world, reading meaningful books, gaining work experience, and fostering spiritual growth. These efforts can help them build friendships, find partners, accumulate wealth, and create stability. While this path may not lead to glamorous jobs or extravagant homes, it is far better than resigning to a life of aimless frustration and online trolling.
Donald Trump’s return to office offers hope for both sides of this debate. If he fulfills his promises, conditions will improve. At the very least, the current decline will pause for a few years, giving Americans time to adjust and steer their course toward a brighter future.
As with the H-1B debate, this conversation is productive. These arguments have long been overlooked, and younger generations have endured the worst effects of this neglect, living in a world filled with unnecessary dysfunction. Beyond sharing memes and entertaining ourselves, we must address these challenges seriously, take constructive action, and leave fast-food chains out of the blame game.
Guacamole dispute apparently prompts customer to shoot Chipotle employee: 'This is a first'
An employee of a Chipotle restaurant in Michigan is recovering from a gunshot wound he sustained after a disgruntled customer shot him, apparently over an issue with guacamole.
Around 7 p.m. on Friday, a violent scuffle erupted inside a busy Chipotle restaurant located in Southfield, Michigan, a city just outside Detroit. According to witnesses, a customer became so enraged about something that when the employee assisting him went into the back area of the restaurant for a moment, the customer walked behind the counter and began placing his food items into a bag.
The 21-year-old employee soon afterward returned to his station, and the two men apparently began fighting. The New York Post reported that the customer "flashed" a firearm as the employee grabbed his shirt. Moments later, a shot rang out.
Grainy, unsteady cellphone video, likely filmed by another patron, captured some of the altercation — as well as the sound of the gunshot:
— (@)
The victim was taken to the hospital for a non-life-threatening wound to the leg. He is expected to recover, though whether he remains in the hospital is unclear.
Meanwhile, the suspect, identified only as a 32-year-old Detroit man, apparently had no sense of urgency about the incident. One witness even claimed the man lingered inside the restaurant for at least 30 seconds after the shot was fired. "I was in my car, and I saw him just walk out to his car, close the door, and just drive off — he didn’t speed off or anything," the witness said.
The suspect was later located in a nearby parking lot and arrested. He remains in custody.
A woman accompanied the suspect to the restaurant, but she is not currently facing any charges. Police also recovered the weapon used in the shooting.
Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs officer for Chipotle, issued a statement:
Our thoughts and prayers go out to our team member who was injured by the senseless act of violence that occurred inside our Evergreen Road restaurant in Southfield, MI.
We are working cooperatively with the authorities handling this investigation and hope justice will be served for the individual responsible for this crime.
When asked about a possible motive for the shooting, police indicated that the men were arguing over guacamole.
Such a seemingly insignificant issue leading to such a violent outburst that endangered many lives left even seasoned reporters stunned. "You know, we've been covering the news for a long time," stated Camille Amiri of Fox 2 Detroit, "but this is a first: a shooting over a guacamole."
One day after the shooting, a prospective customer drove to the Chipotle location, only to find it still closed. "It’s guacamole," she later told WXYZ. "I love guacamole personally, but I would never shoot someone over it. I don’t know why someone would do that."
Whether the restaurant has yet reopened is unclear. A call made to the location late Monday afternoon resulted in an automated response claiming that the location was not currently accepting online or phone orders.
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California’s Disastrous Minimum Wage Hike Offers A Cautionary Tale To Congress
Higher prices and layoffs will accompany the new statewide restaurant mandate, just as they would if Congress accedes to a national minimum wage hike.Consumer Group Exposes Deluge Of Corporate Money Going To Dangerous ‘Pride’ Group
The Trevor Project lists nearly 200 of America’s most recognized brands as current partners devoted to advancing the group’s agenda.Chipotle CFO admits $15 minimum wage means higher menu prices, predicts all restaurants would pass cost onto customers
Chipotle chief financial officer Jack Hartung admitted last week they would be forced to raise menu prices if the government mandates a $15 per hour minimum wage.
In fact, Hartung said most restaurants would not absorb the costs of forced increases wages, but pass them onto customers.
What are the details?
While speaking on a quarterly earnings call last Wednesday, Hartung said Chipotle executives would raise menu price to "offset" the costs the restaurant would incur if the federal government forced them to pay each of their nearly 90,000 employees at least $15 per hour.
"We're not that far off of like for example, a $15 number. But let's say, for example, that there's going to be an across-the-board 10% increase in our wages," Hartung said, Business Insider reported. "And that would, to offset that with menu pricing, that would take us 2% to 3% price increase."
Hartung said forced wage increases — amounting to an average of 15% overall — and increased menu prices would be "very manageable."
Business Insider reported, "For customers, this could mean about a 20¢ to 35¢ additional charge per meal, as the average person spends about $11 for a burrito or other meal at Chipotle."
What about other businesses?
Hartung predicted that Chipotle would not be the only restaurant to raise menu prices if the government forces an increased minimum wage.
"We think everybody in the restaurant industry is going to have to pass those costs along to the customer," he said. "We think we're in a much, much better position to do that, than other companies out there."
As Insider reported, Texas Roadhouse and the Cheesecake Factory are examples of two such restaurants that raised menu prices after being impacted by forced wage increases.
Raising menu prices is, at this point, a tried-and-true response to minimum wage regulation for many restaurant chains. Executives at Kura Sushi, The Cheesecake Factory, and Texas Roadhouse all said in recent calls with investors that, when states and cities raised minimum wage, the chains responded by raising menu prices.
"I would say there is a short-term shock," Texas Roadhouse CEO Wayne Taylor told investors in late October. "And then long term, there's an adjustment, both on our side and the guest side."
Democrats promised they would raise the minimum wage once they gained power of the White House and Congress.
They attempted to pass a federal minimum wage hike in President Joe Biden's COVID economic relief bill, but the effort ultimately failed.
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