Assumptions

While I was visiting Monty on Saturday, his mother stopped by. She's an interesting individual to say the least. Through her visit, she mentioned that she and her husband wanted to see the new Star Trek movie and invited Monty's father-in-law to come along. I told them that I had seen it, and that if they liked the original Star Trek, the movie would not disappoint.

Monty's mom replied with a snitty, "the original was in the 1960's."

Um, yes, I know this. Just because I wasn't alive when they first aired doesn't mean that I didn't spend quality time with reruns.

I seem to often run into this problem with older people assuming I know nothing about things that are older than me. I remember standing in line at a store once singing along to Don McLean's American Pie that played over the store radio (this was before Madonna's crappy version, if you might think I knew it from that). At the end of the song, the older gentleman in line behind me said, "you're not old enough to know that song!" I smiled and told him my father raised me right.

Sure, there are some things that maybe a younger generation would not know. For example, Sunflyr and I had to explain what "Beta" was to Phoenix once (and why a Betta fish named Rewind was funny). Technology is one of those things that a younger person may not be exposed to. But, when we're talking about what is essentially permanent media (like an old TV show, movie, or song - especially in this Internet-age where you can find almost anything) there is no reason to assume that a younger person could never have been exposed to it. That's why most people know the theme to Gilligan's Island.

In the interest of diplomacy, I chose not to reply to Monty's mom's assumption. I was just a little bit insulted. I'm sure she took my silence to mean I was surprised that TNG was not the original Star Trek.

This is what happens when one assumes.