Americans have a real problem with older people and the concept of aging. The culture is rife with ageism.
It’s going to official bite us in the ass if we don’t address it. Wow.
I come from a culture (this part of me is VERY Nigerian) where “respect your elders” is pounding into your psyche. I’m glad.
I watch the way people talk about older people. The way we treat getting older, the fear, the denial, the sadness, the envy, 😮💨, it’s such a problem, smh.
We saw a nice dose of this in the US during the height of the pandemic when people didn’t care if the elders died. How they are useless, vapid and have no purpose, by definition. “Get out of the way, make room for me, a younger person”. Our elders!
Remember?? I do.
Note: My mother is journeying through Alzheimer’s and the jokes I’m hearing about the disease enrage me. 🖕🏾🖕🏾
I also know what it looks like. That’s not what I see with Biden. I see an old slower man, who still can and is willing (for some reason) to work, even if he has his moments.
And some of you hate that he is just old because you hate older people. Period. You need to address that with yourself NOW. And some of you are weaponizing the fact that he’s older in an awful way (while ignoring that Trump is, too, just in a different way).
NOTE: I’m not a democrat (I’m an independent who leans faaaaaar left on most issues…fuck a label, though. And I don’t move with a herd…sometimes that sucks, but it’s the way I am. I like my freedom and space) and I’m not a fan of Biden, though I respect (not agree with all!) his decades of work.
in the us
at least with me
probably others
age doesn't equate reason or wisdom or responsibility
age equates a steadfast affinity for ego and lies and undeserving authority
isnt mere disrespect for snark's sake
doesn't mean elders are my enemy, just that age has never been inherent virtue
T is older in ways:
-biologically way older because of poor diet + movement
-emotionally older for lack of loving connection, positive thoughts, and optimism
-Alzheimer's in heritage, his father specifically
-no governing in LTM as Biden does
Joe Biden has been in US govt since age 29.
I've been appalled by the number of people who I thought knew better than to make an amateur armchair diagnosis, when experts who study aging & cognitive impairment all say, "this is not CI".
I am so sorry for her and for all of her family. It’s a terrible disease. I hope you all have support to deal with the changes, and can enjoy the good days when they happen.
It was mostly those elders being ignorant pieces of shit refusing to vaccinate or mask. Old people are disproportionately stupid shitty bigots. But sure let’s put them in charge.
I don't think it's what she was referring to. I was also stunned at the time of how many people simply didn't care that people were dying of C19 when they were old or already sick (i.e. the young and healthy thought they were safe, and that's all they cared about).
The young & healthy chafed at the restrictions/precautions because why should they limit their lives, since C19 kills only old people, who cares about those?This was the discourse for a while, & it happened before the vaccine too, when getting sick as an old person actually could have meant death.
As I watch my parents age, and remember my grandparents aging before them, and as I age myself. The ageism in the US annoys me more and more. Especially because the people espousing it seem to imagine that they’re somehow immune to time.
ANY one who is less desirable was thrown to the curb and is still being thrown to the during this current pandemic...
Old or Disabled .
it does not matter.
The lens of others see it as the same... an inconvenience...
I never heard that one, but 🤮 indeed. They think they will never get old themselves, and I bet they will be unpleasantly surprised in a few decades at how the society they built will be treating them too.
This is the cultural difference I’m talking about. For me, it’s not a choice. That leads to a very different worldview and way of addressing things. 🤷🏾♀️
This isn’t ageism. I’m sorry about your mother, I truly am, but she isn’t currently enabling a genocide, enabling police brutality, destroying lives of immigrants, worsening the climate, perpetuating wealth inequality, and doing nothing to care for the elderly and poor in her care. That’s Biden.
I'm voting for Biden so Trump doesn't win. Women deserve choice. Equality for women and lgbtqi and minority. Experts are important and should be listened to, osha, EPA, dept of education should have experts at the helm, not people who want to dismantle them. NATO is important, Ukraine must win.
I dont disagree with your aims but Biden’s had 4 years to do anything at all about all of those and if anything, he’s lost ground. What are 4 more years going to do? Keeping Trump out, ok, but doing nothing while our lives get worse just strengthens the case of the next Republican, right?
Death, too.
Take it from a chaplain, Americans are terrified of death. Especially Christians.
Unfortunately, that means we lose out on things that can help, like acknowledging the aging process, and working toward a Good Death.
It leads to a LOT of suffering.
Counterpoint: America is aging, and tensions are rising between the cryptkeepers refusing to let go of power, and everyone else (who then get accused of ageism).
I am genuinely curious if OP thinks there is a perfect way to deal with dementia & our gerontocracy *without* appearing ageist.
That’s interesting: most of the agism I see is anti-young people. There is open discrimination against young people in housing, public programs and employment. People openly express contempt for anyone under 50, and work to keep them out of their neighborhoods.
This is NOT ageism. Ageism is hiring a 25 yr old for a job a better qualified 50 yr old can do, and it can be a bias against young people from old people. The issues Bidens debate performance opened are particular to him, not generic. If they were, it would be about both. It's not. I'm 76
As I settle into middle age myself I have been thinking about the damage this does to all of us: fearing our own natural stages of life, terrified that we will be sidelined, neglected, ignored, put down (in two senses).
1) We, as Americans, are unbalanced when it comes to aging. On one side, we say we love our parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts etc cetera. On the other side, it's a fast moving culture that's in love with the new, often to the point of rejecting the old, the classic and tradition.
2) This causes us to be fearful of older ideas, and people who hold them. I'm not smart enough to really understand how we got here. It does make me sad and worried, not having an anchor keeping us from drifting apart.
Theres antagonism baked into US old/young ppl relations, remarkably cyclic and mutually resentful. Definitely full of ageism, but uniquely "fuck you, got/didn't get mine," very generationally stratified.... Also distinctly leveraged for class warfare and to maximize the destruction of covid
The ick I’ve received since reposting yr thread is wild. Mention ageism and you will be told A) there is no such thing B) it’s only now an issue bec Biden C) you’re being ‘touchy’ bec you’re ’in denial’ abt ‘being in decline’ D) most of it is towards young pple E) it’s justified bec gerontocracy
🤷♀️
Do you believe that ageism affects younger people in politics as well? And if so, is the age limit (at least 35) on becoming a candidate for president influential?
