Wednesday, August 16, 2017

ABOUT LABELING
While traveling by car recently, I was half listening to talk radio. I perked up however when the announcer who was discussing a local incident referred to a 66-year-old woman as elderly. The remark made me scream: What!
            From the sound of his voice, I was certain the man was young and of the opinion that anyone over 50 is disgustingly old. I couldn’t blame him too loudly because I remembered that I felt the same way at some point. When my dad passed away at the age of 55, I was 14. Relatives and friends all seemed to make the same remark: He was so young! I couldn’t understand that. To me, he was simply old.
            But then life happened and my perspective changed. I suppose it’s the same for everyone, and that young announcer will surely realize one day soon that not everyone over the age of 65 is elderly, and that being a senior does not necessary mean being elderly. If a 66-year-old is elderly, what do you call a person in their 90s? I say Young at Heart.
            Anyway, why is it that we feel to need to categorize age. Some people are children, some are adolescents, and the rest are adults. And if we mention a person’s age, there is certainly no need to qualify it. Some people are old at 40, while others in their 70s are full of joy, vitality and optimism.
            In my view, labeling people for whatever reason can be misleading. For example, I object to hearing the label “women’s issues.” Shouldn’t they be people issues? After all, whatever affects women, also affects the family, the community, the workplace, etc. To me, the moniker women’s issues simply perpetuates men’s long-held social attitude of the not-so-distant past that being female means being somewhat apart, inferior in some way.
            It’s the same for age. By qualifying a person’s age, we detract from the essence of the person. In fact, we declare that that person is somewhat inferior in some way. As people get on in age, they may face physical issues that slow them down, but they are still simply adults who have acquired wisdom and enrich all other adults.