Smashed avocado millennial debate takes a turn for the ridiculously ironic

"Brunch is the opiate of the masses."
 By 
Jerico Mandybur
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

It's OK millennials, Australian cafes have stepped up to help you save for that ridiculously expensive house you'll probably never be able to afford.

After The Australian columnist and voice of the baby boomer generation Bernard Salt complained that millennials could buy houses if only they stopped eating $22 smashed avocados at hipster cafes, the debate has basically melted the internet like a cheese toasty under the hot grill of generational scorn.

Not only are a bunch of Melbourne and Sydney cafes now offering cheeky discounts on overpriced smashed avocados and christening them with names like "Home Savers," but the internet's also taking pre-orders on Trump-inspired smashed avocado merch.


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Think the conversation on housing affordability and the unsteady national job market has taken a turn for the stupid? It totally has.

But if young Australians have little assurance of a job or a nest egg to call their own, the very least they can have is a moment to celebrate green, mushy deliciousness.

As The Guardian's Bridget Delany put it, "Brunch is the opiate of the masses. We are not going out for brunch instead of buying houses: we are brunching because we cannot afford to buy houses," she wrote. "What do you do when you can't afford to buy somewhere to live? Well, you decide to live."

And live we shall! With the help from some sardonically named dishes. For example, "The Retirement Plan" at Melbourne's Little Big Sugar Salt forgoes expensive food items and simply offers a meal of avocado, Vegemite and tomato on toast for 10 bucks.

Other cafes are offering dishes with names like "The Baby Boomer," "Avonomics," "The Millennial" and "Corn-tract of Sale."

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

You can always count on those financially irresponsible young folk to bring the irony.

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Jerico Mandybur

Jerico Mandybur is the editor of Mashable Australia. Previously, she worked as a digital editor at SBS, Oyster Mag, MTV and ASOS. Tweet her at @jerico_m.

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