I’ve been meaning to write about aging for several months. I’ve hesitated because I didn’t want to write a standard-fare piece portraying the wonderful beauty and wisdom of age and all that barf. Then, a couple of days ago, someone posted an article about a 75-year-old woman who “accidentally” crashed through a liquor storefront. I’m posting it here so we’ll all be on the same wavelength for the rest of this piece. Of course, this unleashed the usual plethora of comments in support of testing “seniors” annually to make sure they’re competent to drive. The age at which this testing should begin, however, varied greatly depending responders’ ages and definition of “senior.” So, first I’ll lay out some subjective thoughts I have about age. They’re subjective, so your mileage may vary. And, that’s fine with me. I’ll finish this piece with what I think of those willing to mandate a yearly competency test for old coots. It won’t be subjective, either. The numbers tell it all! I want everyone to understand that I have no problems with the terms, “senior,” “senior citizen,” or “elderly” when people use them in a logistical sense. All of these are legitimate demographics. This notwithstanding, I view old age as a club with ONE simple standard for admission. All you have to do is live long enough! I don’t remember the name, but several years ago, an interviewer asked the late Katherine Hepburn if she thought old people were more interesting than young people were. Essentially, she told the interviewer that she didn’t think there was anything particularly interesting about old age; “either you’re interesting at any age or you’re not.” For me, this sums it up nicely. The telltale signs of advancing age are not particularly inte... ... middle of paper ... ...I’ll do it right AFTER all of you 25 to 54-year olds take YOUR tests. Jointly, you folks are far more of a road hazard than is MY 70-year-old ass. The reason that we read about 70-year-olds crashing into storefronts is that it serves to increase the level of national emotional tenor. It sells more newspapers and TV/radio advertising than say a headline showing that out of every one hundred 70-year old or older drivers, 96 of them did NOT crash into any storefronts during any specific period under question. People with 3-digit IQs understand that not a single, legitimate, empirically based inferential statistic justifies singling out ONLY “old” people relative to re-qualification for the retention of driving privileges. This is a fact, but the problem is that facts always confuse the hell out of the stupid—including the crowd that thinks “40” is almost dead.
According to ALFA ageism is the discrimination of a person based on their age and it robs seniors of their independence (website at bottom). Not only are these stereotypes negative to the elderly, but it may also shorten their lives.(dittman) In Levy’s research she found that older adults who had a more positive perception of themselves lived 7.5 years longer than those with a negative perception. (dittman) Carl was perceived as a grumpy old widower and a menses to the community because of his seclusion and unwilliness for change. Because of this the judge decided he would be best off in a retirement home. It’s that assumption and attitude that Carl was too old to continue to take care of his home and be a productive citizen that creates this stereotyping. (paper) It can be assumed that Carl quit his job willingly to retire with Ellie so they could travel to South America, but unfortunately she passed. It is likely if Carl wanted to return to work that he would be turned away due to age. Okinawan people believed that retiring early made for an early death and even to this day they don’t have a word for retirement 75(book). Even young Russell displays ageism in UP, when he specifically chooses Carl to achieve his assisting an elderly badge because he assumes that because Carl is a senior that he in fact needs help. Russell would soon realize that Carl has more spunk and push in him than he first
" Web. The Web. The Web. 15 Mar. 2010. http://www.idebate.org. Gregory, Ted. A. Should 16-Year-Olds Drive?
certain age. Studies of ageist attitudes tend to focus on negative aspects and also have a positive
There is a great debate on whether or not the elderly should be able to drive. Most people who have had any encounters with terrible elder drivers would say no way. This is because they have had that one or maybe even two experiences with a not so cautious elderly driver. This experience has caused them to put a stereotype on all elderly people and their driving abilities. After reading and analyzing all four of the elderly women from the four works in A Writer’s Reader. The authors of each have included many different stereotypes of elderly women. Just like the elderly driving ability stereotype is not true for all elderly drivers. The Authors stereotypes are not always true for every elderly woman. The authors are just informing their readers on the many different stereotypes that are floating around.
The cars swerved left and right causing My head to smash against the window with force. The car then bounced over the curb then smashing us down making me noxious. finally, “splat.” The squirrels guts splattered everywhere leaving its cute innocent body laying their drowning in his own blood. “Grandpa stop” he slammed on the brakes, and I never got in the car with him again. Within 3 minutes, my grandpa served up a curb and hit a squirrel, and the worst part is he did not realize that he hit the squirrel. Senior citizens have way too many health problems to drive,Their crashes cost money, and They crash a lot. Because senior citizens are a menace to society and should be required to retake their drivers test after 70 years of age.
"Don't Raise Driving Age." McClatchy - Tribune Business News. 15 Sep 2008: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 06 Feb 2012.
In today’s society, what was once said to be true and taken as fact regarding older people is no longer the whole story. As Laslett states, “At all times before the middle of the twentieth century and all over the globe the greater part of human life potential has been wasted, by people dying before their allotted time was up.” (1989a), and to a great extent a lot
Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence most people over the age of 65 are not Senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994). This change in perspective led the investigation of the other side of the coin. Ageing is seen as health, maturity and personal Royal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generatively, coping and acceptance of age-related constraints (Birren & Fisher, 1995). Psychological und...
Everyone will grow old, as the aging process of the human body is inevitable. However, each day in our life can bring on new adventures, new friends, and knowledge of the world around us. Yet, many people have negative views towards those who are considered older adults and thus, have a negative belief in the aging process as a whole. Throughout the quarter, COMM 119 has taught us why there is this negative stigma around the aging process and especially, on older adults as a group. This paper will address my stereotypical views of the aging process before COMM 119, the effect of improperly discussing death and dying, as well as what it means to be a successful ager.
Theories concerned with ageing are constructed in an attempt to objectively satisfy the inquiries that arise after studying ageing and to provide evidence based clarifications. In the context of this essay, they allow troubleshooting regarding issues around the type of support would be expected to be needed by Betty and her son. Bengtson et al, (1999) accepts the potential pragmatism of the theories nevertheless he argues that they can be generalised and unimaginative. The controversy regarding theorising ageing becomes especially relevant when they are applied in isolation failing to address that “the science and positivism are severely limiting… for understanding aspects of ageing.” Bengtson et al (1999)
According to DeBrew, author of “Can being ageist harm your older adult patients?” stereotypes and discrimination are evident in various aspects of patient care. “Ageism [is] defined as stereotyping or discrimination aimed at older adults and a lack of knowledge about normal changes of aging and presentation of illness in older adults (. . .)” (DeBrew, 2015). DeBrew (2015) states, “research findings suggest that ageism is common in healthcare” (DeBrew, 2015). Ageism is not only an issue in the healthcare setting, but also among older adults as well as their families. When ageism is present in the healthcare setting it poses
Late adulthood should be a time in a person's life where they feel fulfilled. They can look back on their memories and be happy with the way they have lived their life. Now, too many elderly people are not satisfied and look at this stage as depressing. Most fear death of either a loved one or for themselves. This topic is interesting to me because elderly people should make the best of their last stage of life. This topic discusses about getting older, the life changes that they go through physically, emotionally, and mentally. We should know more about it so that we can help our family and friends get through one of the best, yet toughest part of our mortal life.
The Web. 3 Mar. 2011. The. Davis, Robert. The. Is 16 too Young to Drive? Growing Numbers Think So.” USA Today.
Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, & Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging.
Rubin, Rita “Report Makes a Case for Raising Driving Age” 09 Sep 2008: n. page. Web. 27 Oct.