I got annoyed the other day when someone whose writing I usually admire noted on social media that she had once thought of a particular older man as “jovial and harmless”.
While it turned out that this bloke was a complete [insert preferred expletive here], I remain unsettled by the writer’s initial comment, and what it says about the way some young people perceive their elders.
To me, “jovial and harmless” may as well mean “impotent simpleton”. OK, the bloke in question turned out to be very nasty and deserving of our contempt, but I’m talking about the “before” scenario.
My concern is that older people (and that can mean people as young as 40) are too often written off as impotent – in the dictionary sense of “unable to take effective action; helpless or powerless” – and a bit silly.
At some point certain adults cease to be seen as complex, unique individuals and become cartoon characters. Highly educated and vastly experienced people suddenly get less respect than “influencers” whose only ability is to be photogenic while mooching of gullible businesses.
If we’re going to fight stereotypes based on gender, ability, faith, size, sexual preference and identity, and other criteria, then we must resist those related to age as well.
And that means not casually lumping all older people in the “useless” basket.
But I’m not optimistic.
As a fat, bald, 58-year-old bloke, I suppose I’ve got at least three strikes against me. I may as well just crawl into a hole somewhere with all the other “jovial and harmless” types and never bother polite society again.
