Age Discrimination II

Further on aging, I hasten to say that it's like any other time in life: just as challenging and varied. To make statements that generalize about a race or gender or age is quite simply prejudicial. Because one sees  elders with certain behaviours, doesn't mean all aged persons possess them. It seems that cartoons are drawn, photographs taken and attitudes formed about the aging state that not only lack generosity but are blatantly, flawed. We dare not paint all teenagers with the same brush about their "angst" and that same democratic approach also applies when we refer to aging. We've been brainwashed into thinking that elders fear change, can't adapt to the electronic age and have nothing more to contribute to society. Yes, they use cell phones and computers, continue to work and volunteer. The kind of negative attitude about aging, that is rampant in many societies must stop. It's called age discrimination and is of the last and worst kind. There is no authority to prove that all elders are on a dysfunctional path. Naturally, some of our elder population does not want to engage in the computer age and may even bitterly oppose it. The operative word is "some". One ought not to generalize about any age group. Truly, there are those elders who are ill but illnesses affects both the young and the old. Some, but not all elders are inactive due to physical factors but they, just as any other individual with a handicap, rely on the latest mobility aids. There is no shame at any age in using mobility carts, wheelchairs or any other devices. The sad part is that far too many older people feel pressured, whether by their peers or those close to them, to bend to stereotypical means. They are told to give up their independence and either go to live with their children or to enter a second rate facility that caters to the elderly. The reasons are not always diseases and afflictions that some elderly  suffer. Many of these lovely people comply with the pressures put on by their advisors because it's an easy solution or they are told by "experts" that it is the right thing to do. "Everyone else does it" is the argument. That argument is just not reliable nor is it true. Entering a senior's residence is not what it used to be, however, if a good one. Many facilities do not force deadly routines on people or subject them to childish crafts classes and exercise routines that are embarrassing to thinking people. Residents may  keep their cars, have their own wifi and come and go as they please. It is not true that all old people cannot function on their own. It seems there are factions of our society that continue to harbour elder prejudices. Elders are not children to be pushed around because they fear the embarrassment of fighting back. They need to maintain the same dignity we all expect, alongside a natural need to make independent decisions without the antiquated stereotypical pressures put on by those ignorant of our rights.