Abstract
Ageism is a term that will be forever be in our choice of words, but it is up to our society to create a new choice of words to get rid of that one. In order to do that, we need help on educating us what is considered to be socially acceptable. The author of the Huffington Post article, Brendan Hale, does an exemplifying job in instilling that hard knowledge and bluntness that is needed for us to help the older generation feel more a part of our society. He uses three main sociological theories that help what we need to do step by step to ensure age equality. This analysis essay will support his side on ageism and how to overcome it.
Huffington Post: Ageism and It’s End
“Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think…show more content… This article, “Ageism and It’s End” does a great way in explaining this. The situation is that ageism is very relevant and in this article highlights the author Brendan Hale’s personal experiences of aging and how it is time that the term “ageism” be demolished. The author reflects on how he has been victimized by our media, his family and friends, and society. The challenges that he has faced has been going on since his retired age of sixty-six years old. In the article, Hale often refers to the term “Silver Tsunami”, which Americans defines as, “…the rise in the median age of the United States workforce and the projection that by 2020, 25% of the workforce would be made up of workers over the age of 55” (Ryders 2010). With America approaching this new transition in the workforce, Hales believes that this will ensure that aging citizens will now be a part of the working class in society. The author wants to spark interest in the event to create a change and new mindset on whether or not someone is socially acceptable due to their age. He believes that once we overcome the stereotype of ageism, the older generation and make a change, we will become a unified country. Defeating ageism will be a tough challenge to overcome but with the right education and tools, this transition will be…show more content… Hale uses these theories in his article, Aging and It’s End, to educate others on the discrimination of aging citizens. When people become older they are trying to fit in our socially acceptable society, which Hale believes is, “In America -- youth-worshipping, plastic-surgery-tweaked America” (Hale 2015). Living in this type of society causes people to become close-minded because they are only being in the environment of their age group and excluded from other social groups. The subculture theory has been criticized because it has been ignored by society by pushing one age group together. For instance, “Our society has tacitly segregated ourselves on the basis of age. We are educated alongside people who share our birth year. We spend our working lives with people who are, in most cases, about our own age, or within a decade or two of it” (Hale 2015). With this theory used among our society it has divided the people into two categories; young and old. The discrimination of older people are being publicized in various ways, “Everyone, it seems, indulges in it, even the most conscientious among us. It's reflected in our workplaces, courts, laws, and public policies. In movies, on television shows, and on the nightly news” (Hale 2015), this causes strain on the older people because it makes them believe that they do not have the same resources as