Have you ever wonder what your life will be like when you're old? It has a big difference to your life in younger years, right? In my very young age, I already had this observation based on what I witnessed regarding ageism. But before considering my experiences, it is useful to describe in more detail the definition of ageism.
Ageism refers to the stereotyping of and discrimination against individuals or groups because of their age. It is a set of beliefs, attitudes, norms, and values used to justify age based prejudice and discrimination. This may be casual or systematic.
There are many stereotypes regarding the aged people। The role changes among aged are markedly influenced by the cultural stereotypes of old people, which in turn have led to unfavorable social attitudes toward them. Because of this unfavorable social attitudes, a lot of people in senescence stage often feel useless and unwanted.
Let me share one situation with you:
I witnessed myself one remarkable incident regarding ageism. On my way home, one Thursday afternoon, I passed by an accident scene: hit-and-run. I saw a bloody old lady lying on the right side of the highway. I decided to lend some hand to the victim and take her to the nearest hospital but someone volunteered to do that job. As I observe and look around the accident area, I saw a teen-age guy taking pictures and making fun of it. I looked at them seriously and sighed. I wanted to ask them, “Do you think it's funny?” but I faltered. A moment ago, I heard a group of middle-aged woman gossiping. “Why should you bother and waste your time bringing her to the hospital?! She will die then. She's too old and she'll never survive. If I were you, I'll just take her straight to the funeral home...” Ridiculous.. That is the only word that came into my mind after that certain situation. Where is the socio-cultural values of people? I asked myself. What if our country President was the one hit by the car? Or an affluent and bountiful business man? Or a famous show business celebrity? Or what if it was your mother? Maybe they would have an immediate action instead of looking and gossiping around the accident. Maybe the police or the ambulance would respond in just a minute.
Picture this: What if your mother was the victim and nobody was looking after her? Nevertheless, the policemen's attention are all focused to the person who hit the victim. Nobody cares if your mother is dying and just let her lying on the ground with blood coming out on different parts of her body while some bystanders are feasting their eyes on scenes and taking photographs. What would you feel?
After the incident, I realized that everything is measured in wealth, education, background, status, appearance, race, and age.... You will get the respect and assistance of people in society if you have these qualities... Negative as it may be, but it's the reality.. We have to deal with it..
As you noticed, I have a great affection to people who are in senescence period.. My parents are part of them too. As of now, they are considered as senior citizens in our country. They also witnessed and experienced age discrimination and I was sometimes present in that situation. This is the reason why I'm blogging this topic. I just want to share my thoughts, expressions, and beliefs. Anyway, let's go back to the topic ageism.
Commonly, people in old age were treated negatively in society. They had been slapped and scorned. Not only by the other people, but their family itself. Aside from this, there are many stereotypes of the aged. First, many depict old people as wick and cruel, especially women. Second, the elderly are often characterized unfavorably in literature as well as in the mass media. Third, stereotypes have been reinforced by the scientific studies of the aged. We all know that the period of old age is characterized by certain physical and psychological changes, and the effect of these changes on the individual determines, to a large extent, whether he will make good or poor personal and social adjustments. They are also characterized in period of decline wherein the cells of their body change because of the aging process. It is not surprising that the results of the scientific studies support the popular stereotype.
"Difficult for anyone to see aging as anything but negative phase" (Chown and Heron, 1965)
The common stereotype of the aged people is that they are the one who is worn out physically and mentally; who is unproductive, accident-prone, crotchety, and hard to live with because his useful days are over.
It's unpleasant when young people disrespect or mock old folks. After all, aging is inevitable, no matter what you do to stop the time, no matter how many face lifts you can afford, and no matter how many organ transplant you take for you to survive, in just a few decades, you will be either old or dead too.
All I can say is.. be nice to them and don't forget the values you've learned from your mom.. values you learned from school... and the values you've learned in your experiences..
Help him/her cross the street
Help him/her do the chores
Old people always say hi and I love you
always give half of their bread/meal to share with you
Old people always care and give you a warning
whether it's good or bad
Now, think how many young people knows to use those words and deeds seriously
Old people are the only people who will chat till you drop
Who can be patient in all your disrespect
Even when you're making fun of them by taking some videos and photos of their slips and falls, they can still give you a smile
And one day you'll be in their shoes
You may either feel the worst or the best in your life when your hair starts to gray
