What is the ONE underlying reason that people fear old people?

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   gmwilliamsposted 9 years ago

   What is the ONE underlying reason that people fear old people?
   
   

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2. 69

   wrenchBiscuitposted 9 years ago

   It appears that people are simply afraid of living! Getting old is a part of living and so is dying, but something has happened to people during the last 30-40 years. They are living in denial of life. They have all subscribed to trans-humanism, and the irony is that a majority have never heard of the term. Old people remind us of reality. They show us where we are all going, and many people cannot face it. But I will be famous in whatever nursing home I end up in. I will find as many old women as I can who are willing, and we will make good use of whatever time we have left.

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      gmwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It sad that so many people have a sense of arrested development as far as age goes.  No one stays young forever.  Many people want to remain in their 20s.  Egad, I joyfully embrace becoming older.

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3. 83

   tsmogposted 9 years ago

   One? Egad is there only one? I giggle + giggle as surely many discover we are not only young, we are old. At question may be defining that line while how wide that line may be. Or, with jest being in the gray. With humor I have had gray hair since my thirties and now am 60, so does that mean I have been in the gray area for some thirty years? I now ponder.
   
   What a really curious question prompting interest. One may begin by asking at what age does one 'fear' old people, where within the learning curve does that lay, and at what point does it become a realization? I can see how that would be very subjective and also discovery may be able to draw parallels through objective thought offering societal good since the question asks of people, yet people remains undefined.
   
   I would think there may be a great impact firstly with family followed by culture with its subcultures, and then lead onward to societal while again defining society may require being specific rather than generalized.
   
   Personally I do not really fear old people as they are the keys I seek for becoming older with grace and dignity. I have a thirst to understand while also seeking empathy as they too contemplate the question proposed. Interesting to say the least.
   
   I was once asked a question to ponder by my grandfather when I was near high school age and he in seventies if I remember rightly. It goes like this. Today at 11AM a  man is sixty-nine years old. Also, at 11AM a baby was born. One year later the baby is one year old while the man is  now 70 years. The question is "who lived the longest for that year?"
   
   One may ponder and ponder and ponder. The obvious is the man has lived seventy years while the baby lived only one year. That was the premise I shared with my grandfather. He smiled to me saying "That is a good answer" while today I realize he did not say it was the correct answer. Then he shared with me saying "the baby had lived the longest as it had lived a lifetime. The man had only lived 1/70 of a lifetime."
   
   I still ponder that answer from time to time, yet try not to dwell too long on it :-)

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   Stargrrlposted 9 years ago

   I don't fear old people, but I am not necessarily looking forward to growing old.  My parents may not be around, and I will all wrinkled and not able to get around.  I only hope that I am well taken care of.  I think most people fear growing old, but I have never heard of anyone actually being afraid of an old person.

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   dashingscorpioposted 9 years ago

   I've never been afraid of old people.
   However I suspect most young people would not call a day of hanging around a nursing home a blast.
   It's the illness, the smells of waste in the air, sleeping in wheel chairs lined up in the halls with their heads titled back and mouths wide open snoring, knowing the only way they're leaving the building is to either go to the hospital or the morgue. Some cry out in pain from loneliness and feelings of abandonment as they stare out the window.
   Each passing week, month, or year they lose more and more independence until they reach a point where they're pressing a call button waiting for a CNA to come change their wet crappy diaper or have someone spoon feed them.  Physical appearance and hygiene take a back seat to looking forward to meal time, watching Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune along with the Food Network. The realization that they are simply marking time while waiting for the ‎Grim Reaper.
   The young person isn't afraid they're "uncomfortable" watching people deteriorate physically/mentally and become helpless. If there is any fear it's the fear that one day if they live long enough they too will be in the old person's shoes. The only alternative to old age is death!
   Most people are more afraid of death than getting old.
   So we wait our turn to hear younger people talk to us in a melodic high pitch voice the way we initiated conversations with children.

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      Say Yes To Lifeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I FULLY agree! I'm a CNA who works with the elderly. What you describe is merely the surface; underneath is FAR worse. When I reach that stage, I'm cutting to the chase!

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   2. 78

      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Say Yes To Life, "I'm cutting to the chase" - Too funny!
      Sometimes nursing homes can be "hell on earth" depending on the facility and staff. Contrary to what a lot of people believe most of those living there do have children!
      It's a sad end.

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   daydreamer13posted 9 years ago

   This is interesting to me to read the answers to this. I never feared old people. I always thought of them as the wise people. They are the ones to go to with fears and questions because they have the answers. What different places we live in gmwilliams.

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7. 79

   Say Yes To Lifeposted 9 years ago

   
   
   American culture is EXTREMELY ageist; in fact, it is one of the few forms of prejudice that is totally acceptable.  Check out the birthday cards at any store, and insert race wherever they make a comment about age.  Anyone who did that would be sued BIG TIME!
   Not all cultures are ageist.  Asians greatly revere old age, associating it with wisdom.  Check out this story; the old man knew what to do because he was the oldest in the village, and this had happened when he was a little boy:
   http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/134/stories-f … ce-fields/
   Here is another link to several stories of why the elderly are no longer killed; most of them are European stories.
   http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0981.html#serbia1
   Regarding American ageism, we need to consider these facts:
   1) Only 15% of the elderly wind up in nursing homes.  Most live perfectly productive lives, either alone or with family.
   2) Riotous living (free sex, drugs, excessive alcohol) speeds up the aging process.  People typically reach their physical endurance peak at 40, but if they've been abusing their bodies, that's when they start paying for it.  Life really does begin at 40, unless you've been killing yourself the whole time.
   3) People reach the Age of Wisdom at 50; the accumulated life experience enables them to assess situations in ways younger people can't.  Those who are "doddering old fools" most likely brought it on themselves by wasting their learning opportunities.
   4) Though I still haven't figured out how long people can hold on to their peak, I have reason to believe it's past age 70.  My father will be 79 this year, and he still makes regular visits to the gym.  Sure he has health issues, but many are brought about by his smoking and alcoholism - still, he has handled these extremely well.
   5) Aging doesn't necessarily make people uglier.  Some improve with age!  Aging shows what kind of life you lived.  Check out this photo of Barbara Stanwyck, at age 60.

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   1. 85

      gmwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Good answer, Barbara Stanwyck aged like wine, she became MORE BEAUTIFUL as she got older!

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8. 57

   feenixposted 9 years ago

   
   
   How could anyone be afraid of this hip and cool old dude?

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   1. 85

      gmwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      ++++++++++, right on!

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   tamarawilhiteposted 8 years ago

   Fear of being asked to do something they don't want to do but will feel guilty if they don't

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