What follows is a short essay on Ageism in society. Because it is a little longer than a normal post, it will be truncated part way down on the home page. Please click the "Read More" button at the bottom to read the full article. Also I have no idea why the font changes. Please bear with it...
Ageism is the most prolific kind of discrimination, period. I am hard pressed to think of a time in history when this was not the case. Most cultures have it hard wired into themselves to be ageist, that is, the treatment of someone of a certain age differently than someone of another age. Particularly in East Asian cultures, the elderly are revered at the expense of the young; in some other cultures the old are discarded as invaluable and a strain on society.
But the reality is, ageism is more important than ANY OTHER KIND OF DISCRIMINATION, mostly because it is so ingrained into the fabric of our society that it is never challenged and we never seem to talk about it. So let’s talk about it!
Now I understand that Ageism goes multiple ways, but I think there is a substantial argument that the main disadvantaged group with regard to age discrimination is those of young age. This is not to diminish the ageist struggles of the elderly, but I feel that young person discrimination is more often ignored. I write from the standpoint of a young person, so I can only argue what I know and have experienced.
Let’s start off with the basics.
