Are YOU an AGEIST?
It’s not a long time ago that I first noticed that I am behaving as an Ageist. I didn’t even know what that meant, actually I had never heard about it before.
But then, yes, Ashton Applewhite made it very clear to me, that AGEISTS are not only the others but we older people, too. I am not excluded.
So what is AGEISM? It is discrimination of people because of their age. Ageism expresses itself when youz need to be 55 to enter into a retirement community, or when you need to be under 30 to be considered for a certain job, when you tell to a child that it is too young and too stupid to understand or do certain things or when you negate your grandpa to take care for himself instead of being constantly monitored by the relatives.
Ageism is a problem, like Sexism and Racism.
Ashton Applewhite giving her presentation at the UN
We don’t recognize it so clearly as we, ourselves, have bought into the story our societies have told us for a long time: young people are good, old people a burden (and many variations of that)
Ashton Applewhite will be our first guest in the upcoming series CONSCIOUS AGEING. She lately gave a talk at the UN. Watch it here Ashton’s contribution begins at 28:18.
It is amazing how AGEISM pervades our lives. You will be shocked when you begin to think about it and observe yourself and others. It happened this way to a woman in her 30ies who we have invited to join us in the series next March. Miriam Van Groen
We are looking forward to hearing all these amazing people give their contribution for creating a better life – not only for older people but for all people of all ages.
Ashton was the first to make me aware that Ageism was a POLITICAL issue, not simply a personal concern. Now more that Racism or Sexism are merely personal issues. It’s strange but i actually had, in a dimly unconscious way, seen my advancing years as my personal problem that i would have to manage and navigate much as I had wriggled through earlier issues, love, relationships, work, family, children, real estate, etc. Essentially on my own, being tested against the “realities” as they presented themselves, as a lone ranger! She helped me see that something was fundamentally wrong with how our advanced industrial capitalism had categorized us into value streams as producers and/or consumers so that in our “retirement years” we with reduced incomes and with no “jobs” became of little interest to “real” buying and selling adults. Invisible and solitary in our powerless, we faced the last 3 or so decades without much structure, without much self-worth, without any essential purpose.
But we are well educated, healthy and long lived so we can take charge of our own “post-adult” decades and no longer need to depend on what younger experts decide is best for us old dears! It charges me with energy to consider the possibilities!