Assumptions in Article Offended This Gen-Xer

I was highly offended by the first paragraph of the June 17 Money Make-Over article, “Out of Gen-X Formation.”

As a 25-year-old--therefore, Generation X--professional educator, I am absolutely livid that insulting statements such as “Many Generation Xers still haven’t figured out what they want to be when they grow up” and “For most 24-year-olds, financial planning is an alien concept” were printed in The Times. Where, may I ask, did Jennifer Pendleton acquire the data to arrive at such conclusions? Whom did she talk to? Certainly not to anyone I know.

I myself am a full-time teacher for 10 months of the year; I practice emergency medicine as an EMT during the summer. My 27-year-old sister and her 30-year-old fiance are molecular biologists at UC Berkeley. My closest friends from high school and college--many of them married now--are professionals living and working in different parts of the country.

I strongly recommend that your writers conduct their research more thoroughly and avoid such nasty generalizations.

S. DANELLE TRUDEAU

Los Angeles