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Those who say respect is earned are just talking to the air. Instead I would say that everyone should be born respected. Only if you blatantly become a bad actor will you lose my respect. Or you might lose my respect for a moment when you act or speak thoughtlessly. But I start out respecting you unless you ruin that for yourself.
I've got to say I agree with this. Treating everyone with respect should be the default position, until their words or actions cause them to lose the respect of others. If this were the norm, the world would be a better, and much happier, place.
I don't feel disrespected normally. On the occasions that I am, I make my unhappiness about it known to someone who might actually care and be able to act upon my complaint (the boss, the BBB, etc). That usually alleviates the feeling. Complaining to people who have no control of the situation just seems like whining and kvetching, and I don't want to become the "grumpy old woman" who bit*hes about everything.
Because it’s a youth oriented society /culture and ageism is accepted , mostly towards elders.
Not always by the the young but by industry,by doctors, and it manifests its way in insidious ways that seep down to cultural acceptance. It doesn’t help that media exploits it and sets millennials and boomers up against each other, or that some elders assume they are owed respect and don’t bother to show any consideration, compassion or patience for others. https://www.asaging.org/blog/not-doc...ism-healthcare
I don’t think it boils down to just how elders behave, that’s too simplistic.
Well, I wasn’t talking about respect for an individual, in which case you are correct, that respect has to be earned. I am talking about the general respect that the elderly don’t get, for the most part. The elderly are just people who have been alive for what we consider to be a long time, say 70 years or older. What I am referring to is how older people get shunted aside and made to feel that they are just getting in the way.
Maybe it’s just that we haven’t figured out yet how elderly people fit in a rapidly changing time. So much is new, and so much of what is new itself changes rapidly. Elders are slower than their younger counterparts, but as Mahatma Gandhi once famously said “There is more to life than increasing its speed.”
Also, it is a relatively new issue that we have so many people getting older instead of dying at a much younger age. So we have a technological revolution underway that is perhaps more profound in its impact than even the great Industrial Revolution, and at the same time humans are living longer. Now we have old people whose parents are still alive.
But none of this explains why we treat the elderly in such an offhand manner.
Well, I wasn’t talking about respect for an individual, in which case you are correct, that respect has to be earned. I am talking about the general respect that the elderly don’t get, for the most part. The elderly are just people who have been alive for what we consider to be a long time, say 70 years or older. What I am referring to is how older people get shunted aside and made to feel that they are just getting in the way.
Maybe it’s just that we haven’t figured out yet how elderly people fit in a rapidly changing time. So much is new, and so much of what is new itself changes rapidly. Elders are slower than their younger counterparts, but as Mahatma Gandhi once famously said “There is more to life than increasing its speed.”
Also, it is a relatively new issue that we have so many people getting older instead of dying at a much younger age. So we have a technological revolution underway that is perhaps more profound in its impact than even the great Industrial Revolution, and at the same time humans are living longer. Now we have old people whose parents are still alive.
But none of this explains why we treat the elderly in such an offhand manner.
But are they slower than younger counterparts when it comes to technology, that seems to be an old stereotype itself. How older embrace and use technology may be different but the lack of obsessive selfies etc doesn’t mean orders are slower just means they aren’t interested in the same way of using technology.
“As is true of the general public, internet and broadband adoption among older adults varies substantially across a number of demographic factors – most notably age, household income and educational attainment.” Pew Research
62 now, hated old people when I was young. Friend in school wore an Army jacket, his brother was in Vietnam. Died at 58, no cause given. The Archie Bunker era, the commies are coming, those punks need a war to straighten them out.
Old people wanted to draft me to engage in jungle death matches 10,000 miles away. Maybe they found it amusing. All for nothing.
Old people sent my friend to jail for 60 days for selling two ounces of weed to an undercover state trooper. Store up my street is now $99 an ounce, get a 10% veterans discount.
Last edited by CatPeople; 01-27-2019 at 09:46 AM..
Well, I wasn’t talking about respect for an individual, in which case you are correct, that respect has to be earned. I am talking about the general respect that the elderly don’t get, for the most part. The elderly are just people who have been alive for what we consider to be a long time, say 70 years or older. What I am referring to is how older people get shunted aside and made to feel that they are just getting in the way.
Maybe it’s just that we haven’t figured out yet how elderly people fit in a rapidly changing time. So much is new, and so much of what is new itself changes rapidly. Elders are slower than their younger counterparts, but as Mahatma Gandhi once famously said “There is more to life than increasing its speed.”
Also, it is a relatively new issue that we have so many people getting older instead of dying at a much younger age. So we have a technological revolution underway that is perhaps more profound in its impact than even the great Industrial Revolution, and at the same time humans are living longer. Now we have old people whose parents are still alive.
But none of this explains why we treat the elderly in such an offhand manner.
Since I always try to judge and treat people as individuals and not groups, I guess I don't understand at all where you are coming from.
Old people have been complaining about not getting respect for thousands of years. Every generation complains about this. I'm sure your grandparents did as well. This isn't anything new. I'm not even sure what kind of respect people are expecting that they aren't getting. It all seems to be very vague.
Respect and deference towards elders are built into cultures that inculcate honor into their daily lives. Honor is pretty much a "rara avis" in the US.
Maybe it depends on where you live, and with whom you associate. Since retiring, I have not felt disrespected. Waitstaff, shopkeepers, etc are all attentive. Passerbyers on the street generally smile, and doors are often held open for me. I am generally smiling and always say thank you.
I guess this is because Asheville is a happy city.
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just means they aren’t interested in the same way of using technology. 
