By the way, ageism sucks.

[IluvPitties]

People past 60 can be as intelligent, wise, capable, energetic, sexy, friendly, loving, caring, fit, healthy, productive, compassionate, committed, socially active, technologically savvy, great friends, great colleagues, great neighbors, great teachers great family members, great lovers and most importantly, great human beings with still A LOT TO GIVE.... as valuable as any young person.

Our older brothers and sisters are a reservoir of knowledge and perspective. The young have the clean slate and the energy of starting, and the old the medals of having fought the battle.

Look at Bernie, Biden, Liz Warren, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine and all the other active and productive seniors we have fighting the fight for a better America instead of hiding in the retirement community. Be thankful for them, and mindful when you mock or insult an older person. We all will be that person one day, and hopefully society will always give us a chance to be helpful and worthy.

From an 30-something millenial who has a crush on Rita Moreno, a big hug for all of our older DUers!

[Agschmid]

1. It's a bit of a two way street sometimes...

If only millennials weren’t off destroying stuff all the time.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-millennials-killing-economy-avocado-toast-rampell-1210-20181207-story.html

[qazplm135]

2. So does sexism

And 220 years and counting of no female President.
But don't worry odds are pretty damn high that an old white guy will be picked.
Again.

[IluvPitties]

3. Both are bad. Harris is 58.

In two years or so, she will start getting the ageist treatment I am criticizing. It's time we move past sexism, racism, ageism and homophobia in America. We can do it!

[qazplm135]

6. No both aren't bad

We've elected how many old white guys and how many women again?

[Iggo]

16. Ageism isn't bad?

Um-splain, please.

[qazplm135]

20. not the one that results

in something like 40/45 being old white men, no it's not.

[Iggo]

33. I've tried parsing that sentence fragment and I'm really not sure what it means.

Here's what I came up with: "Not the (kind of ageism) that results in something like 40/45 (what? people? presidents #40 and #45? people aged 40-45? 40-45% of...something?) being old white men, (then) no, (that kind of ageism)'s not (bad)."

Am I close?

[qazplm135]

34. really?

45 isn't a special number when it comes to Presidents to you?
Doesn't ring a bell or equate to anything?

[Iggo]

35. Who said it wasn't?

I just said I had a hard time making heads or tails of your word jumble.

And honestly, I'm still not sure what you meant.

[qazplm135]

36. well don't hurt yourself

if you can't figure out something as simple as that.

[Iggo]

39. The only thing that hurts is trying to be nice to you...

...while I point out that what I think you actually said is that ageism isn't bad as long as the result is Reagan or Trump.

[qazplm135]

41. If that's what you think I said

Then I am not wasting my time with you any further.

[IluvPitties]

21. I have seen older, very qualified individuals being denied a job.

Just because of age.

[LibDemAlways]

22. My husband was laid off at age 59,

the year my daughter was applying to college. He absolutely needed a job. He's a skilled, very experienced engineer. Not long after he was let go, he attended a job fair at a nearby company advertising for exactly the kind of work he does. He and the other older applicants were herded into one room and handed applications which were probably shitcanned immediately. Younger job seekers were offered interviews on the spot. The ageism demonstrated that day was demoralizing and demeaning. After six long months, he finally connected with a former coworker who was able to help him get a job at a fraction of his former salary. He's now 68 and will probably keep working until he drops. I care for my 96 year old mother, a completely unpaid fulltime job. No way can we afford to retire.

[qazplm135]

27. for President?

Doesn't happen very often in that case now does it?

Woe to the old white guy running for President...it's SOOOO tough for them to break through!

[Celerity]

23. she is 54, born October 20, 1964

If elected, she would, however, be the oldest elected Democratic president since Truman.

I also do not think anyone has issues with politicians in their 60's per se, it it when you start talking about 80's (Biden would be 86, Bernie 87, in their last year of a 2 terms presidency, which is almost 10 years older than even Trump would be in his last year of two terms) and even 90's that one really starts to roll the dice, both in terms of health and energy needed.

[Peacetrain]

4. I just self deleted my post on the very same subject.. you and I posted at the same time

Great minds think alike.. thank you for your op..and your support

[Eyeball_Kid]

5. As a retired professional approaching 70,

I have some anxiety over seeing people in their mid and late 70s vying for the office of Chief Executive, knowing that the job is for a minimum of 4 years. We should remember that Reagan had Alzheimer's symptoms (hidden from the public) WHILE IN OFFICE, and had to surrender his decision-making to younger, unelected White House staff. We don't elect people to the status of president so they can mentally decompensate while on the job. Our elected leaders must be mentally alert, have full capacity, and be fully competent EVERY DAY that they are in office. The job is taxing enough for younger office holders. We can see how the job ages presidents while they go through the months and years of extraordinary stress. IMO, it's not for people in their mid to late 70s.

For Christ's sake, we're just human, all with a life cycle that ends in deterioration and death. We slow down, naturally, when we age. We become less agile mentally, as we age. (Why does Trump spend an average of 4-5 hours a day at work? Why is he mistaking his grandfather for his father? Why has he refused to learn the Constitution? Why has he refused to take in PDBs?) Nearly all people do not escape this fact. We must stop perpetuating the myth that age is no factor when electing a person to high public office.

[MH1]

10. You just made a great argument for the importance of the VP position.

Stuff can happen to a President at any age. Undisclosed or undetected diseases can take out someone at a much younger age.

It is crucial that the backup President - the VP candidate - be selected carefully.

If that is done, I don't worry too much about the age of the candidate we nominate for President.

[peacebuzzard]

17. you know what, Kid, this is a cultural class conflict

I am in your age group but not retired. I know many in our age group, active, mentally alert and awesome producers and contributors on our dying planet. I know many of the younger generation group that discriminate based on ageism, indeed it is an unexplored discrimination that currently has a great chasm/abyss among all active contributors in the workforce.

I experience the discrimination often but shrug it off and move on. It is sad, nonetheless.

[JudyM]

43. People can live well into their 90s without getting dementia. Young people can get dementia.

The key is to test for it.

[snowybirdie]

7. Thanks

In my working years, I never had time to focus on politics. Once the now millenial grandchildren started arriving, I became fiercely political. I want their world to be better than it is now. My focus is on their future! Let's all do this together

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Age does not matter, however, someone's inability to think outside their own

generational upbringing would be problematic. So, obviously look for someone who can bridge the age difference.

i.e. autocratic expectations from a leader are a thing of the past.

[UniteFightBack]

9. Even when I was I was young I realized the worth of 'old people'. I've never suffered from this

ageism...I never understood it. I always thought they've seen and lived through things that I haven't..that automatically can make them more interesting!

[True Blue American]

30. I spent every summer

With my Grandparents. They were fairly young, but I loved sitting on the porch with their older neighbors telling me about the past.

[comradebillyboy]

11. As a man in my 70s observing my own body's decline

I'll say advanced age doesn't improve our performance either physically or mentally. I'd prefer someone a lot younger than me. Is that ageism?

[delisen]

12. Science tells us to not generalize from a small sample

I think in terms of the right person for the times.

Kurt Adenauer in his 80's rebuilt Germany and laid the foundation for a unified Europe after a much younger younger man destroyed Germany and much of Europe.

Adenauer was the right person at the right time. He had an institutional memory of Germany that went back past Title; he had a vision for Germany's future as well as his own long experience.

A younger man literally destroyed that country in little over a decade and a much older non-charismatic person galvanized a dispirited people to put it back together better than it was before.

[comradebillyboy]

14. I remember Konrad Adenauer. That is a sample size of one.

[delisen]

15. Touche! But a great sample and so much finer than the younger Adolf.

[Celerity]

28. one of the most effective political posters ever, from 1957, for 'Der Alte'

No experiments.



https://www.dw.com/en/a-history-of-germanys-postwar-elections/a-1659820

1957: "No experiments"

Adenauer's policies were focused on consolidating Germany's market economy and integrating the country into the western camp. A significant step toward this aim was Germany's entry into NATO in 1955.

Voters in the 1957 election confirmed the government, which had run on the slogan "no experiments." The CDU/CSU won 50.2 percent of the votes. It was the only time in German postwar history that a party could gain the absolute majority in parliament in federal elections.

But 1957 also marked the beginning of the SPD's rise in support, which continued to 1972.



more background

https://web.archive.org/web/20131002194827/http://greeklish.info/en/aristotelis-kallis/139

[murielm99]

25. I am seventy,

and I agree with you. I do everything I can to stay mentally and physically fit. I still notice the decline.

You and I are both still worthy people and there are many things we can do. I want to be realistic, and not disrespected.

[True Blue American]

31. No, I think

We need young,energetic people to take us into the future.

We need to get rid of hateful old men stuck in the past like Trump, McConnell, Grassley, Graham and that senile old fool John Kennedy.

[TruckFump]

13. Same for those past 70 and I say this because I am...

...one of those elderlies!

[world wide wally]

18. Just don't forget, you whippersnappers!

WE are the generation that ended the War in Vietnam, pushed through civil rights, got rid of Nixon, and brought you The Beatles for starters. There is a wealth of progressive thought among us.

(we won't bring up Trump right now in order to save some of us the embarrassment)

[FailureToCommunicate]

19. Thanks for that perspective (not that I'm one of THEM, dang it!)

Old, and gray, and only in the way:

[BlueStater]

24. I think 80 is too old to be president.

If that's ageism, so be it.

I'm supporting 68-year-old Jay Inslee in spite of this statistic, but this country historically hasn't had the best track record with older presidents (William Henry Harrison, James Buchanan, Ronald Reagan, Drumpf). Sure, I think Hillary Clinton would have made a great president, but we typically seem to only send the worst senior citizens around to the White House.

[Martin Eden]

37. Me too

The job of president (unless you're a con man who doesn't give a shit) is very demanding both mentally and physically.

A man or women would have to be incredibly exceptional not to have declined by 80.

[Tarc]

26. that's nice, but I think we're done with old, white males for president for now

We're a diverse nation, House Dems made huge strides in 2018 with Reps who reflect that.

Onward!

[TreasonousBastard]

32. It does, but at the age of 72 I find certain physical and mental limitations to be...

far too limiting to do a job as critical as the presidency.

I used to have an almost photographic memory, but now I can't remember the last paragraph I read. Part of this is more problems concentrating now, but a large part of it is retention. Worse is that I too often remember things inaccurately.

Physically, aside from diabetes, I'm in pretty good shape but do not have the strength or endurance of even a few years ago. I suppose, though, that if one can survive a year or two of campaigning, it means something.

Having said that, I have known people my age and older who have been extremely productive, but far more who were not.

[Exotiki]

38. Media portrays older voters are inferior

You're correct.

[IluvPitties]

40. I just want to clarify something- this is not a thread in support of Biden.

It is a thread honoring our older population, who seems to be underestimated in our society. Obviously, there is an issue of the age of our presidential candidates and our politicians, but I am just happy to see that there are so many people that still have valuable things to offer at an advanced age, and it's important that we as a society value our elderly more.

I am also glad that 50 yrs old today is not even close to what it was 20 or 30 years ago. It speaks well about how we are doing as a society that many of our politicians, innovators, media icons, sex symbols and productive people overall are hitting 50 or past it. It sends a great message to the younger generations to envision their lives as a long journey that doesn't become stale after 60 or 70.

[floppyboo]

42. Yes - ageism sucks!

It's IMO largely a media construct trying to sell anti-aging products - a denial of mortality that is a pretty basic instinct.

In the academic field, it is plainly obvious that age is an asset - it's always been harder to get into the courses led by Leaders. And its not just for nostalgia's sake.
In the arc of our lives, middle age is that great time when we are feeling immortal enough to take great risks. I think this is important for personal growth - but for leadership? Not so much.

Of course there are exceptions. I am still baffled by the cult of Trump. A man who never stopped taking risks, never took responsibility for himself.

And there are exceptions with younger people too. I find Buttegieg mature beyound his years, for example.

All labels suck. But they are seemingly inevitable in mass media and moreover in social media culture. I was horrified when 'tribalism' began creeping up in conversation and book titles a couple of years back. We have to use our judgement. The labels more often than not used to highlight negative aspects. These aspects are real, but should never be generalized.