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LOL, I picture poor OP working at a senior facility, at low wages, with old people that have been warehoused. How happy would you be, changing wet bed sheets all day long, for old people complaining of bed sores.
I worked in an "old people's home" many years ago and I loved the residents, even the grumpy ones �� Used to sing or dance with them, and the bedridden with bed sores got a song or a story.
If someone is that miserable in their job they need to go work somewhere else
Ha, at least he still had a good water stream, not so much for some of us.
He was hosing at full force, for sure. I like to think he pees all over the toilet seat and his wife admonishes him. "Why ya gotta pee all over? Can'tcha aim no better'n that, for cryin' out loud? Go outside and hose the yard."
It sounds a lot like you (OP) are mad at somebody very specific and came at older folks in general. Which is no worse than an older person coming after my entire age group based on a few (20-so shove me wherever).
I personally like being around older people. I'm young and inexperienced, they're older and experienced. They can teach me stuff and I hope to teach them. A few years ago, before my great grandmother passed, I'd go see her in her retirement home. Her neighbors were so nice and I'd play chess with one man every time I saw him in the morning and we'd just talk. We'd compare schools then and now, the traffic, the weather, the seasons, animals, jobs, and just the day even. I'd teach him what I was learning in Spanish and it turned out he knew some German and was beginning to teach me! Unfortunately my great grandmother died and I stopped going but I regret it.
Honestly I just enjoy talking to them and they seem to enjoy the company. I'm young and healthy and can help them get around, if they want the help, and just sit there as company. The ones I've met are usually very thankful for the talk and assistance and liked the visits. I'm actually in the process of finding a community to volunteer at. I liked it when I was young and I miss the connection.
I do urge you, OP, to realize they're just the same as a toddler, child, teen, young adult, and grown adult at heart. Just an older body with a crap ton more experience and wisdom than you and I have at our younger states. You might meet some mean ones, and trust me I've met a lot (one who was positively stuck in 1920s racism!), but it's not fair to judge them all as a group.
That and this country already doesn't respect our elderly nearly enough, so I can get where some bitterness might reside from.
I do urge you, OP, to realize they're just the same as a toddler, child, teen, young adult, and grown adult at heart. Just an older body with a crap ton more experience and wisdom than you and I have at our younger states. You might meet some mean ones, and trust me I've met a lot (one who was positively stuck in 1920s racism!), but it's not fair to judge them all as a group.
That and this country already doesn't respect our elderly nearly enough, so I can get where some bitterness might reside from.
the OP did a hit and run, joined, posted once and hasn't been back since, or posted elsewhere.
The majority of old people sound like a broken record, complaining about how they get no respect, how they don't feel valued.
It's sad, but most old people of today aren't valued but its their own fault, it's because they have nothing valueable to offer.
I do not expects old people to keep up with the latest trends, to know the latest technology, to be hip with the latest entertainment, to keep up with the pace of globalization, to do physically demanding tasks, to even be able to work a job, to even be able to take care of themselves.
But what I do expect from old people is that when they had the ability to do these things, that they lived their life to the fullest, faced adversity, and ultimately came out of this experience with a level of ACCEPTANCE.
Some things went right, somethings went wrong, but ultimately they learned to accept themselves for who they are and found that all the external stuff is not important. They learned to be happy with life on life's terms. And having found themselves, they have a sense of SERENITY.
I expect old people to have something that young people do not yet have, the ability to LIVE LIFE ONE DAY AT A TIME. And that is a wisdom that I can appreciate in old people. That is an energy that I want to be around. I want to be around wise old people who because they can accept themselves for who they are, can accept me for who I am.
I don't need someone telling me what to do or how to do it. I don't need advise. But what I do need is someone who can accept me and encourage me. Someone who believes that I have the tools within me to figure it all out.
But the old people I come in contact with are bitter. They are complaining. And the very fact that they have so much anger, so much discontent, tells me that they have not found acceptance. That they have not found serenity. That in their 60+ years of life they have not mastered it.
It makes me feel that instead of facing their adversity, they instead numbed themselves with alcohol, television, unhealthy relationships, drugs, etc. And as a result they did not grow. They stayed adult children. And now in their old age they have no more wisdom than an 18 year old.
Sorry to be harsh, but its' their own damn fault that they have no value. And it is not too late for anyone to start facing the negative within them instead of spraying it all over the place.
With all due respect, counterpoints have to be made. From the view of clinical epidemiology, this is a case of (1) selection bias and (2) observational bias. It may be true that the 60+ elders you met are not technically up-to-date. But as an experienced software tester, I can vouch for the fact that the best database ETL developer at my job is in his mid 60s. He routinely points out mistakes made by junior developers in their 20s and 30s. As a software tester, I revere the insight. But he is blatantly aware of ageism. It's common in the software industry - a bias that older people are "too outdated". However, that is definitely not the case with some (not all) elders. There are software gurus out there. I knew one medical device expert in Florida who had over 30 years of experience and knew 30+ programming languages up to the most recent (e.g. Java 8, etc).
In terms of sports, a large marathon race (e.g. Chicago, Miami, USMC DC, etc) with thousands of runners usually has participants beyond 60+ who are able to finish under 4 hours. They are not immobilized or feeble. The triathlon events are the same way. So, there are elders out there who are very physically active.
Plus you define old as 60+. In Tallahassee, the hyper-youth culture of the undergraduate campus at FSU defines as old as 23+. The undergraduate clubs are blatantly exclusive of graduate students older than 23. The resentment is obvious against those "old graduate students" beyond the teen years. Once you turn 23 at FSU you are most definitely "old" by their hyper-youth mindset. Imagine how out-of-place older graduate students look in their 30s at FSU in a place like the gym or the student union building. The ageism is rampant. To be "18-21" is where it's at over there. https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/161...1-EUCHPJL2.jpg
But the mindset of ageism and blatant disrespect against older people is self-defeating. Everyone ages. Back in 2007, Mark Zuckerberg claimed that 22 year old programmers are just smarter than those older. But now he is in his 30s. Some of the young undergraduates who had been 18-21 just 5 or 10 years ago are aging rapidly. I noticed a variation: pre-mature graying, balding, weight gain, divorce, wrinkles, etc. Time does not stop for someone 18-21. The 21 year old undergraduates I witnessed who ostracized graduate students in their 30s back in 2008 at FSU are now 30 themselves. Someday, the young adults will be elderly too. Time keeps moving into the future.
I do agree with one premise you made - it's best to make the best of our aging selves rather than complain and be bitter. That is a very good point - make the best of it whether if one is 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, etc. Many of the mountain races at high altitude in Colorado are won by older runners in their 40s and 50s. This woman still competed in triathlons into her 80s. https://www.today.com/news/iron-nun-...s-race-t101950
I respect anybody older than me. Period. I was brought up to be respectful to my elders. I will respect older people and assist them when I can. You , who started this thread appear to have no respect whatsoever for your elders. That's a shame.
I respect anybody older than me. Period. I was brought up to be respectful to my elders. I will respect older people and assist them when I can. You , who started this thread appear to have no respect whatsoever for your elders. That's a shame.
Some people are not worthy of respect, and may have lost the privilege to be respected by their peers. For instance, I don't respect Bernie Madoff just because he's older than I am.
When I was young I loved being around my grandparents and their friends. . . they always had fun, could laugh at just about anything, and were excellent resources for me to learn a lot of history from them since they lived it first-hand. They were never stressed out and very laid-back (that would make sense since they were well past their working years).
Now that I'm in my 70s (and definitely don't consider myself 'old') I spend time with others in my age group and many who are in their late 80s. . . none are complainers or tedious to be with. One lady I talk with who is 102 years old is as mentally sharp as a tack and a fun person to converse with.
Have to feel sorry for the OP - sounds like a lot of bitterness that is nothing but a waste of time.
Humor us, Happy - just exactly how old are these "old people" you're talking about?
According to OP's post stated, I suppose he's talking about 60yo and above.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Left-handed
Some people are not worthy of respect, and may have lost the privilege to be respected by their peers. For instance, I don't respect Bernie Madoff just because he's older than I am.
Well, maybe not all welcoming respect. Even with the worst elderly folks, you have to respect the fact that they made it this far in life, that is value there even if you might be amazed at their discreditable life.
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I like to think he pees all over the toilet seat and his wife admonishes him. "Why ya gotta pee all over? Can'tcha aim no better'n that, for cryin' out loud? Go outside and hose the yard."
