Ageism is a form of discrimination and prejudice against older people. It’s everywhere, from the workplace to healthcare to entertainment to education. You may not even realize you’re being affected by it because it’s so ingrained in our culture, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore its existence.
It hurts the economy; it’s unfair to you and your children. Ageism is killing humanity one person at a time.
END AGEISM! This can be done by raising awareness about ageism and educating people about how they can prevent it from happening in their own lives and society at large. We need more positive images of older adults that show them as active participants in society instead of just older people who sit around all day doing nothing but waiting for death to take them away. If everyone did their part, maybe someday, your children could live in a world where no one has to suffer through this kind of discrimination ever again.
We must all stand up and say, “I will not let my children be discriminated against because of their age.”
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Timestamps:
[00:00]
Pre-Intro remarks from Ashton Applewhite
[02:19]
Walk us through your career and how you ended up focusing a lot on aging?
[04:39]
Can you remember the first time you dealt with ageism in your own life and how it made you feel?
[06:05]
Why do you think ageism is such a big problem in our society in America? What is it about this country specifically? And do you think it has something to do with a very individualistic culture?
[11:30]
How can we begin to shift our culture to one that is more respectful and of elders and value them a lot more?
[13:25]
Why do you think people justify discriminating on the basis of age, but discriminating on the basis of gender, religion, ability, sexual orientation is looked at so differently?
[19:06]
“Silver Tsunami” – I just want that word to be gone.
[22:36]
Who do you think has the responsibility to cut down on aging? Is it the younger people since they are the future of our culture, the middle-aged people to set an example for younger generations, or is it the older generations who are being discriminated against?
[32:32]
Do you have, or what do you think of some of the short and long-term solutions slash movements to help us combat aging?
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Bio:
Author and activist Ashton Applewhite is the author of “This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism” (Celadon Books, 2019). In 2016, she joined PBS site Next Avenue’s annual list of 50 Influencers in Aging as their Influencer of the Year. Ashton has been recognized by the New York Times, the New Yorker, National Public Radio, and the American Society on Aging as an expert on ageism. She blogs at This Chair Rocks, has written for Harper’s, the Guardian, and the New York Times, and is the voice of Yo, Is This Ageist? Ashton speaks widely, at venues that have ranged from universities and community centers to the TED mainstage and the United Nations. She is a leading spokesperson for a movement to mobilize against discrimination based on age.
This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism
https://thischairrocks.com/book/
TED talk: Let’s End Ageism
https://www.ted.com/talks/ashton_applewhite_let_s_end_ageism
ThisChairRocks.com
https://thischairrocks.com/
YoIsThisAgeist.com
https://yoisthisageist.com/
