Comedian Jason Salmon Nails the Gen X Mindset in Just Three Words

Comedian Jason Salmon has a surprisingly sharp grasp of what makes Generation X tick, and he proves it with a simple three-word attitude that sums up the entire generation: “I don’t care.”

Salmon, whose promotional YouTube page jokingly describes him as being “like getting the best advice you’ve ever gotten from the dumbest guy you know,” leans into Gen X’s signature blend of humor, humility, and healthy skepticism.

In his stand-up special Biscuits and Gravy, Salmon asks the crowd if any Gen X-ers are present. When a few people cheer, he immediately responds, “Yeah. I don’t even care. That’s how Gen X I am. That’s a calling card to our generation.” He also jokes about how unlikely it would be for anyone in Gen X to feel offended: “That’s not even dismissive to a Gen X-er. It’s like ‘I don’t care.’ ‘I don’t care, also. Nice to meet you.’”

Throughout the show, Salmon uses quick audience interactions to paint Gen X as the masters of nonchalance. At one point, he points at a person and asks what generation they belong to, but before they can reply he cuts himself off: “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care. That’s the beautiful thing.”

His attitude is clear—if someone in the audience doesn’t like the joke, well, that only strengthens his Gen X credibility: “If y’all don’t like this joke, guess what—you’re only giving me more cred as a Gen X-er. You’re only making me more powerful.”

Gen X has long carried the stereotype of being the apathetic, ironic, and carefree generation. Pop culture in the ’90s didn’t help: films like Reality Bites and references like Richard Linklater’s “slackers” label reinforced the idea that Gen Xers were detached and uninterested in fitting into society’s expectations.

The generation was famously skeptical, suspicious of the status quo, and allergic to anything that looked like trying too hard. Nothing was less cool than sincerity, and nothing was more catastrophic than being called a sell-out.

But not everyone agrees with the outdated labels. In an article titled 8 Things That Gen X Gave the World, published on The Arrow and shared via AARP, writer and radio host Dave Holmes challenges the assumption that Gen X hasn’t contributed much. “Generation X is exactly like corn,” he writes. “We’re largely ignored in the broader culture, disregarded in polling, a demilitarized zone between the boomers and the millennials.

But we’ve actually contributed a great deal to the society that has spurned us.” You can find the piece on AARP’s website.

Holmes highlights major Gen X contributions: blogs, alternative comedy, the rise of comic book culture, and yes, the Internet itself. He shares a personal story from 1994, when a friend showed him the Sony Music website and opened Netscape to type in a moment that made Holmes suddenly grasp the vastness of the new online world. “Search for anything,” his friend told him. “Anything?” Holmes asked. “Anything at all.”

While Gen X may not fully deserve its apathetic reputation, Salmon’s comedy captures something that Gen Xers proudly recognize: a uniquely wry sense of humor about themselves. Even in the comments under Salmon’s videos, Gen Xers play along. One viewer joked, “Why is Gen X trending so much lately? Are we finally getting the recognition that we don’t care about?”