Oct 11, 2019 | 2020 Election, Ageism, Democrats, Elections, Politics, Something. To. Say. |
Hello Everybody. I have something to say about old presidential candidates.
“Age ain’t nothing but a number,” is a song popularized by the late singer, Aaliyah.” The phrase has particular relevance today when voters are beginning to focus on the ages of the frontrunning candidates for President. It hadn’t been talked about too much, until Bernie Sanders suffered a heart attack on the campaign trail. His image as a robust, energetic 78-year-old was shattered in 24 hours. He’s the oldest candidate. Joe Biden is 76, Elizabeth Warren is 70. And Donald Trump is 73. Never before have so many septuagenarians run for president.
I think ageism is likely to become a factor for each of them, because we in America think old people aren’t physically or mentally capable of being president. But do you have any idea of how many sick younger men were president and had serious health problems?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt came down with polio at age 39 that left him paralyzed in both legs, but he hid his condition from the public.
Dwight Eisenhower, while he was in office, suffered a heart attack, a stroke and Crohn’s Disease.
John F. Kennedy was only 43, but he kept secret his Addison’s disease, chronic back pain and addiction to painkillers.
(Photo) Nobody knew Ronald Reagan was unhealthy, but he had bad arthritis, and while occupying the White House he had surgery for skin cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. And he was shot in the chest. He also began showing signs of Alzheimer’s at the end of his second term.
Young or old, people have health challenges, but should that rule them out for America’s top job? Don’t we care about intelligence, open-mindedness, compassion, and honesty in candidates? I think we do. Age ain’t nothing but a number.
Until next time.
Jul 22, 2019 | Ageism, Something. To. Say., Technology |
Hello Everybody. I have something to say about the incredibly popular FaceApp.
You’ve probably heard about the FaceApp…the mobile phone application that will show what you’ll look like when you when you get older. Now there’s widespread concern about people sacrificing their privacy to use the application and they’re being urged to delete the app from their phones because the Russians developed the program.
Well, I have a concern too…that the FaceApp is promoting ageism. I understand that people are anxious to see how they will look at 75 or 80. Younger folks probably look at themselves and laugh at their white hair, and wrinkles, and saggy jowls.
But later, on reflection, they probably think, “Oh, my God, I’m going to look like that. I don’t want to look like that. Then, I’m going to be sick and then I’m going to die. Oh, no.”
So younger adults will avoid older people because they don’t want to be reminded of what may befall them. They won’t hire older people or socialize with them or live next to them. And that’s just wrong. So I say delete the FaceApp from your phone for the privacy reasons and for my fear that it is increasing ageist attitudes.
We all have to stop worrying about what will become of us. That is in the future. All of us need to live the best life we can live, NOW. Tomorrow is going to take care of itself.
See you next time.
Jun 4, 2019 | Ageism, Something. To. Say., Women |
I have something to say about fashion.
I was browsing through a women’s magazine and came across an article and photos of what women should be wearing during different decades of their lives. There were clothes for women in their 20’s—very hip, very trendy. For those in their 30’s, really cool casual and workout clothes. For women in their 40’s, the fashions shown were for evening, with short skirts, lots of skin and stiletto heels. And in their 50’s, there were professional clothes, suits and dresses and lovely.
I turned the page and there was nothing else. The article ended—no clothes to look at if you are in you are in your 60’s, 70’s or 80’s. Those age groups seem to be non-existent to the fashion industry.
My son is getting married this year and I went on line looking for a mother of the groom dress. They were hideous. Evening gowns with jackets in ugly lace designs and gruesome colors like gray, and beige, and dusty rose. I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those mother’s wedding dresses. I want something in hot pink.
But designers either think we older women don’t want flashy clothes or worse they don’t think we should be seen in them. Well, listen up clothing industry, 20 percent of the population is over 60. That’s millions and millions of women who need clothes, and will spend millions of dollars to buy them. We are still working and going places, and meeting people, and we want to look good, too.
Jan 28, 2012 | Ageism, Women |
Who would have thought 14 million viewers would tune in to NBC’s broadcast of the Betty White Special celebrating her 90th birthday. The endearing “Golden Girl” was feted by some of the most popular stars of the day, as well as the President of the United States.
It was suggested to me that older women perhaps are finally coming into their own. Actress Cloris Leachman was 82 when she danced the light fantastic on “Dancing With the Stars.” Barbara Walters continues to land the big interviews for her TV specials, still appears daily on “The View” while also hosting a satellite radio talk show. She’s in her 80’s and had open-heart surgery not long ago. Diane Sawyer, who anchors ABC’s “World News Tonight,” is nearing 70. Lesley Stahl, long time co-host of “60 Minutes,” is already 70. This all sounds pretty good considering the fact women in television were warned in the 1970’s, by men of course, that their careers would be over after they turned 40.
Betty White can attract an audience because people love her. She’s warm and funny and a little raunchy. The other women I mentioned are exceptional at their jobs. Does that mean elderly females are gaining acceptance in our society? Absolutely not. They are the least of us as a people.
Older women in America say they feel invisible. Ordinary people don’t respect them; men don’t seek their company, no body cares about their opinions. Their children are grown and gone. They are often widowed or divorced and living alone on meager incomes. In fact, they are among the poorest in the population. They suffer with the ailments of old age. They are fearful of being attacked. They slowly and quietly await death. There is nothing else to look forward to.
Old ladies long for the days gone by when men turned their heads to steal a glance at them. Then, their bodies were firm and curvaceous; their hair thick and lustrous; their faces smooth and free from imperfections.
How do I know, you ask? Because I am a septuagenarian. But like many of us at this age I am an exception, too. I have a full-time job. I teach college journalism. One of the courses I am now teaching is reporting on diverse and minority groups. Among those, is the aged. I told my senior and graduate students I was going to write a piece for CNN about older women. I went to the whiteboard with a marker and wrote down their answers to my question: “When you think of old women, what comes to mind?”
The answers from the twenty-something’s were what I expected. Here are just a few: “Wrinkles, whiskers on their face, too much makeup, smelly, tacky clothes, ugly shoes, walkers, lonely, repeat themselves, lots of cats, hot flashes, shrinking bodies, go to the bathroom all the time, knick knacks, don’t have sex, always complaining.”
If that’s what young people think of older women, is there any wonder they don’t want to spend time with them or respect them?
I have international students from India, China and Nigeria, who said that in their countries, young people had to bow and even kiss the feet of their elderly relatives. The women, they said, are always consulted for advice because they are viewed as wise in the ways of the world. People listen to what they have to say.
My sister passed away last summer at age 78. She lived in California so I didn’t see her often. She was Exhibit A, I’m sorry to say, of the plight of older women. She was a widow and never got over the death of her husband. She became clinically depressed. She lived alone with her four cats and lamented that her children and grandchildren, who lived nearby, didn’t call or visit. She “let herself go” and often needed money. I remember her telling me how rude people were to her and how a teenage girl pushed her out of the way and snarled, “Move it, grandma. You’re in the way.” My sister was so unhappy death was probably a blessing.
Our outlooks on age were vastly different. While she succumbed to it I have been fighting it all my life. As a broadcast journalist I had to work hard, sound good, and look good. I watched my weight and struggled to manage stress. I even had plastic surgery when the chin and eyes began to sag on camera.
Now that I am teaching, I am trying to change young people’s perception of what it is to be an older woman. I don’t leave the house without being dressed appropriately and made up with hair groomed. I laugh heartily at my students’ jokes and the YouTube videos they want me to see. I seek out fun and look for all the little joys in life like popcorn and Junior Mints at the movies. I try not to complain about every ache and pain that strikes. I mentor my students and now they seek me out for advice on matters professional and private.
I think there are growing numbers of older women of my generation who are turning outward instead of inward and showing society that we have value, wisdom, and a love of life. Maybe we will make the difference and achieve what has eluded elderly females for way too long: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
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