In deference to Jerry Lewis and The Beastie Boys, FiftyNotOut also shouts out, ‘Hey Lady’, to Ashton Applewhite, author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism and the Q&A blog, ‘Yo! Is This Ageist?’.
Ashton is out there and making things happen. And having fun with it – while at the same time, making a serious point about ageism – and frankly, what we can do about it. According to Ashton, there are a few antidotes:
1 Awareness: acknowledging our own prejudices about age and ageing. Then we can start to see that “personal problems”—such as not being able to get a job or being belittled or feeling patronized—are actually widely shared social problems that require collective action.
2 Integration: connect with people of all ages. An equitable society requires intergenerational collaboration. (Have you noticed that most ads, when featuring ‘older people’, have only old people in them? Is there some parallel world out there where only old people exist – and no one else is allowed in? Except maybe a grandchild?)
3 Activism: watch for ageist behaviours and attitudes in and around us, challenge them, and create language and models that support every stage of life.
‘Hey Lady’, indeed!
Check out the website … and buy the book on Amazon.
Ashton Applewhite’s site: This Chair Rocks