Suddenly "6 7" isn't so aggravating. It's revolutionary!
Hate the "6 7" meme, but love history? You're in for a treat. Real estate agent and all-around funny guy Bryan Clapper may have just saved all of us old-timers from the dreaded tyranny of brain-rot Gen Z slang by, somehow, making it clever.
In a funny Instagram clip styled like an old-school "The More You Know" PSA, Clapper offers to "translate" Gen Z slang for Gen X or Millennial parents who may feel "confused" when their kids use it.
Clapper playfully argues that, rather than brain-rot gobbledygook, it's a reference to the date of June 7th, 1654, which, "as we all remember from our 400-level French history courses in college," marked the coronation of King Louis XIV. Yeah, that's pretty much common knowledge. Right?
We really wish this were true. via @bryaninmsp/Instagram, used with permission.
So when your teenager says "6 7," what they're really saying is:
"I disagree with the colonial expansion of the French empire and the perceived divine right of kings, but acknowledge its role in creating the conditions that led to the French Revolution and the model for modern democracy that the United States is built on," Clapper says.
Therefore, the best response parents can use to sound cool is "Vive la France!" Truly, any excuse to shout this is welcome.
On the other hand, "Group 7," another bit of youth lingo, has nothing to do with the French Revolution, and everything to do with the 1920s, apparently. As Clapper jokingly explains, the term refers to the famed Canadian landscape painters known as the Group of Seven, founded by Lawren Harris, J. E. H. MacDonald, A. Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, Franklin Carmichael, and Frank Johnston.
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"Anyway, the hip kids love Group 7 because of their efforts to create a truly Canadian style of painting, rooted in deep respect for and connection with nature," Clapper says. Sure, yeah, that's it.
Neither slang phrase has anything to do with Clapper's explanations. "6 7" is intentionally nonsensical. "Group 7" carries a little more meaning, often signaling superiority or eliteness, but it also emerged out of nowhere and spread because of the internet.
But it's much more fun to step into Clapper's reality, isn't it? It certainly stoked the creative fires of other history buffs in the comments:
"Sorry you have misunderstood...6,7 refers to the historic Argentinian colony vote to adopt the crop rotation program for olive farmers in 1906. It was the first breakthrough for environmentally-minded produce pioneers. A historic victory for planet lovers and virtue signalers. And now that you know this, you should respond 'Ohhh-I-live that'. Sounds a little like 'olive that'!!...get it?"
"As a Latin teacher I feel like they're talking about Servius Tullius and Tarquinius Superbus, the sixth and seventh kings of Rome, after whom the Monarchy was replaced by the Republic. It's a commentary on the problems with one person having too much power. Such clever children!"
"I thought they were quoting Chaucer 'to set the world on six and seven' or Shakespeare 'But time will not permit: all is uneven, And everything is left at six and seven.'"
And many parents were thrilled to finally have the perfect comeback for the next time they hear the dreaded "6 7" term:
"I will now scream 'Viva la France' at my teenage kids incessantly. Thank you!"
"Irritating my teenager with 6-7 just got levelled up! Viva la France!"
It seems that in the war of words, the old fogies finally have the upper hand once again.