You may have heard Gen Zers are “addicted to technology and can’t handle face-to-face interactions,” Millennials are “entitled and lazy,” Gen Xers are “cynical and disaffected” and anyone over 65, well, we’re all set in our ways, lead inactive lives, and aren’t interested in technology.
These are all examples of ageism: “The stereotypes (how we think), prejudices (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or oneself based on age,” as defined by the World Health Organization.
To draw attention to the existence and impact of ageism in our society, particularly for older adults, the American Society on Aging (ASA) is celebrating Ageism Awareness Day on Oct. 9.
“We live in an aging society, which is a wonderful, remarkable thing,” says ASA’s President and CEO Leanne Clark-Shirley. “However, too many of us view aging with fear, denial and even hostility. We are all growing older. We can’t afford to limit ourselves and other people with such negative and harmful views, and why would we want to? Let’s lean into the opportunities, diversity and full range of experiences that come with aging.”
Although we know all too well that we do slow down, it may be more difficult to carry that 30-pound bag of bark mulch, and we may not be as mentally sharp recalling information, most of us older adults are mentally and physically active and wiser, with a great deal to contribute. But societal norms that see us and old age as a stage of decline can create obstacles and barriers robbing us of financial income, independence, and dignity — negatively impacting the quality of our lives.
Worse than societal ageism is when we internalize the ageist stereotypes and start losing confidence in ourselves, start depending on others more than necessary and stop taking the initiative and responsibility for our own lives — to our detriment. However, there are many recent examples of older adults living rich and meaningful lives.
Locally, at the second annual Conference for Older Adults in the Gorge at One Community Health in Hood River, it was inspiring to see the older adults recognized for demonstrating how to stay active, engaged, and healthy as they grow older — and you probably know many more.
Then there is actress Jean Smart who, at the age of 73, won another Emmy Award for best lead actress in the comedy series Hacks. Series Co-creator Paul W. Downs, during his comments, pointed out, “About 20% of our population are over 60-plus, but they’re only 3% of those characters on television.”
You also may have heard about 81-year-old South Korean fashion model Choi Soon-hwa who competed in her country’s Miss Universe pageant.
As she told the Associated Press, “I want people to look at me and realize that you can live healthier and find joy in life when you find things you want to do and challenge yourself to achieve that dream.”
Ageism can be found everywhere in society: Our workplaces and health systems to stereotypes we see in entertainment, advertising and the media. And it affects all of us from how we feel about ourselves to how we feel about younger generations. So, let’s ignore the ageist beliefs and instead treat all ages from 9 months to 99-plus years with understanding and respect.
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Brain Tease. Here is one for you who miss your high school math classes.
“Use all the digits from 1 to 9 to complete the equation ??? x 3? = ????”
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The next question for your “Soul Portrait:” What are your pet peeves?
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The name of the 1961 game show that consisted of two teams of two players trying to guess a given word from one-word clues was Password. I received correct answers from Bruce Johnson, Eva Summers, Judy Kiser, Kathy Bullack, Keith and Marlene Clymer, Rhonda Spies, Lana Tepfer, Dave Lutgens, Donna Mollet, Doug Nelson and Melissa Hayes, this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket.
This week you can’t go wrong! During high school, dating wasn’t easy for me. But to assist in that extracurricular activity, I would wear one of the popular colognes. For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was your favorite cologne or perfume you wore during high school or college? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788, or mail it with a bottle of Jade East, my favorite cologne.
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Well, it’s been another week, spending too much time looking for the delete key. Until we meet again, as Rob VanCleave once told me, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”
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“Life is an improvisation. You have no idea what’s going to happen next and you are mostly just making things up as you go along.”
— Steven Colbert
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Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) — Wednesdays with music on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays; Mt. Hood Townhall (541-308-5997) — Tuesdays; Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333). For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services: Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068), and in Skamania County call Senior Services (509-427-3990).
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