Tag Archives: Respect

Ten Misunderstandings about the More Mature

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A couple of months ago I mentioned to a young man – who is in his late teens – that my 87-year-old mother has a Facebook account. His response startled me. It was something like “That’s just sick.”

This is how I interpreted his response: “I can’t believe I would enjoy anything an old person would enjoy. Facebook is for the young, so an old person on Facebook is just not age-appropriate.”

Misconceptions. I extrapolated that reaction into attitudes a lot of us may unwittingly hold, no matter how many years we have lived. As I consider the aging process and observe those who are decades older than me, I am becoming more aware of misconceptions about those we would call elderly. Continue reading →

Making Fun of Old Age

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We would not dream of kidding someone about looking Hispanic, because that would not only be insensitive but would indicate we think there’s something wrong with having dark eyes, dark hair and bronze skin.

We would not kid someone about looking obese or walking like they had multiple sclerosis, because obesity has negative connotations, and we recognize multiple sclerosis as a debilitating and incurable disease.

Yet we think it’s funny to laugh about getting old. If it’s okay to be old, why laugh about it? If it’s not okay, then should it be funny? Continue reading →