In my estimation the root cause of ageism is mainly the elderly and their stereotypes. When we think of an elderly person we think old, out of date, slow and handicapped. Fortunately that’s not the case for every elderly person. It’s clear that ageism is mainly to do with the elderly and no other age group. Ageism has definitely more to do with looks rather than the number in years. By looking at someone you can’t always tell how old they are, but if they look old then you assume they’re elderly and people apply all those stereotypes to them. Honestly I think I’m an ageist in the slightest way. I obviously respect elderly and I’ll help them when they need help. The only case where I can be seen as an ageist is with my patience. In the video Once We Young, a young teen in a grocery store had absolutely no patience for an elderly lady and rudely spoke up and asked to pay first because the elderly lady was taking so long. I would never do such a thing, but when an elderly person is taking so long or even driving several miles under the speed limit I get frustrated. I feel a lot of people get this way; some people speak out and show they’re frustrated and some don’t. I’m definitely a person to not show it but I’m still discriminating them in my head which is still wrong. Just like race and sexual orientation, people can’t help their aging. I feel that ageism is talked about so seldom in our society because most people don’t realize that it’s actually a problem. Honestly before watching the videos I never thought ageism was such a problem or it was affecting anyone. Clearly after watching these videos it does. Elderly are discriminated for their age in employment as well as driving skills and ability to do things. Once again we can’t judge a book by its cover. Our society runs off of judgment; elderly can be just as intelligent and they aren’t “slow” as everyone seems to think they are. Most elderly people are lonely and feel that they have nothing to live for so we shouldn’t let ageism bring them down anymore than they already are.
I think pretty much everyone gets frustrated when someone is driving really slowly behind you....don't feel bad!
ReplyDeletePerhaps our society is too focused on doing things "fast" -- like we have to have the latest gadgets/the newest things since those run the fastest. Since older people do things a bit more slowly we start to get really frustrated if we arrive 5 minutes late to our destination or whatever.
I know when I use an older computer and it takes a few seconds for a webpage to load I get a bit impatient. I'm not really sure how to slow down this impatience and just sit back and enjoy life.....do you have any suggestions?
I think if we videotaped ourselves or recorded what we said in situations of impatience than we could see how ridiculous we can be. I mean I do get irritated with people who are slow, but I generally stop (because I have been working on this whole patience business for a while) and realize how unreasonable I am being. I also think it is a lot of thinking before you act or speak which is sometimes easier said than done...
ReplyDeleteI think this unit on ageism is interesting, as I like you, didn't realize ageism was that big of problem until now. This is probably because I'm so consumed with my life that I don't take the time to think of what life could be like when I'm older or what life is like for people who are older. I think everyone gets a little impatient, especially if an elderly person is being extremely slow, and I feel selfishly thinking that I hope I am never like that. I guess I should feel more sympthatic to their lives, and this unit on agesim I will be.
ReplyDeleteElderly stereotypes also apply to the young. I think about how parents say “you’ll understand when you’re older.” That really got under my skin when I was young. Or the desire to be eighteen in high school or twenty one in college so could go out to the bars with my buddies. I feel like there’s always a plus and minus with being a certain age.
ReplyDeleteStruggling to be patient with the elderly is a relatable challenge. Though I always think about what I would do in that slow old person’s situation if life ever got that rough for me. I’d get a wheel chair. And possibly see if I could do some wheel chair races with some person running on a bike path. Iknow it souds a little crazy, but I just can’t imagine a life with out some sort of out door activity: something that gets me moving.
I think everyone does get angry when someone is taking a long time, and unfortunately it's usually an elderly person. I think people, like you said, really need to talk about the situation because agism is becoming a BIG situation in our country. I really agree how you said most elderly people are lonely. Many people have lost loved ones and elderly people would be much happier if they had someone. So... if we all were nice to elderly people maybe they wouldn't get so upset and be "mean" and be stereotyped against.
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