Getting Old is Contagious
No one wants to be reminded where life is taking them
As I watch the days and years tick past, for a long time I struggled with the prevalence of ageism, particularly in the world of work.
We are all getting older and should consider it a gift. The is only one alternative, and while no one wants to get old, we really don’t want the other option.
We are all getting older and should consider it a gift
Given that fact, it seemed obvious to me that making age a factor in things like hiring decisions was in some ways worse than other prejudices. If you’re a racist you don’t fear a change in your ethnicity — other races will always be different. Racism — while despicable — has a certain logic.
Logically then, since we all hope to live a long time, and that means getting older, then we should look at older people as an example of who we can be. They are only different from us now — in the future, they will be us.
Today the flaw in that logic finally struck me: it’s exactly that connection — that likelihood — that makes ageism so common. Older people represent what you are headed for, if you’re lucky and make it that long.
Few people like to ponder their own demise — it’s in the (hopefully distant) future. Being around old people brings thoughts of that demise too close to home. It’s like working with someone who has covid, except you can’t ward this off with social distancing and a good mask.
Older people represent what you are headed for
Younger people don’t want old people around because they see themselves in those older people, and the idea scares them silly. Old people are scary because they represent our future selves. Who wants to be reminded of that all day long when trying to get some work done?
In the novel “Gulliver’s Travels,” author Jonathan Swift tells of creatures called struldbruggs,” who look like everyone else but are immortal. The downside to that is that they continue to age, and are eventually deemed useless. At age 80 they are declared legally dead but continue to exist forever.
That’s a fair depiction of how the young view the old: legally dead but still requiring care. It’s made worse by the certainty that this same future awaits everyone. Denial reigns.
