What is Ageism? Voices of Senior Citizens & their Advocates

Hear what Ageism means to three individuals in Toronto who are engaging speakers and engaged with seniors issues.

Featuring:
Bea Levis
Mary Ann Chang
Josephine Grayson

Part 1 of 3 videos on Ageism, the emerging Senior Citizen movement, and how you can get involved.

Brought to you by Care Watch Toronto, as part of the research project, Exercising Senior Citizenship in an Ageist Society, funded by The Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council Canada

[paulaannstewartTHANKFUL]

Wonderful video. Im 54 and have grey hair mixed with dark hair, people are treating me differently now. I feel the agism.

[oceanstar]

While 'ageism' is something that does exist, I'm not gonna say it doesn't, however its not something that we should educate towards people or try to fix.

Being old sucks, it truly does. Now I understand that those can be seen as 'trigger words' in a place like this that's against ageism, but its the truth and medical research backs it up. Getting older comes with its own health issues such as loss of hearing, sight, feeling, smell, and taste as well as medical conditions such as a frail heart, weak bones, arthritis, and the worst one of all, altimeter's. Not to mention the older one gets the closer they come to the inevitably, death.

When one looks at all these issues it becomes quite clear why the young and healthy would fear becoming old and look at it as a bad thing. However, that doesn't mean that the young hate the old. In American we pride ourselves on taking care of the old, that's why the elderly receive benefits for being old.

I feel as if we shouldn't give a damn about fixing ageism instead we should devote our time to making the lives of the elderly better because the sad truth is that many old people can't even afford to support themselves and the medicine they need to survive. It saddens me that America can't even protect the old and if we try to 'fix' ageism the attention to fixing the lives of the old will be dismissed.

Also I live with my grandma and everyday she's in immense pain due to the illnesses that come from being old and recently she's started to become a little loopy. The reason I bring this up is because without the support of the young (i.e. me and my family) she wouldn't have been able to make it as far in life as she has now.

"The current generation's purpose is to care for the generations before it, those that molded and raised them into who they are."