My Insidious Ageism

To show I wasn’t just a stuck-in-his-ways-has-been old man, nor a card-carrying luddite, I asked Claude AI to write a few lines about ageism. Here is what Claude said:

“Ageism remains one of the most socially accepted forms of discrimination, yet it profoundly impacts millions of people across generations. Unlike other biases that society has worked to address, ageist attitudes continue to permeate our workplaces, healthcare systems, and everyday interactions, often going unnoticed or unchallenged.”

“At its core, ageism is the stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against people based on their age. While we typically associate it with bias against older adults, ageism cuts both ways—young people also face dismissal of their ideas and capabilities simply because of their youth. However, the most pervasive and damaging forms of ageism tend to target older populations.”

Couldn’t have said it better (dang it). So, I probably should stop there. Enough said. Yeah…no.

The recorded conversation amongst the three of us Exploracasters has taken me in a different direction in its aftermath. As in the AI summary above, we don’t have to think very long about the subtle and not-so-subtle ways ageism works. We have at all stages of our lives been discriminated against because of our age. And, we have been discriminators. Judging others because of their age. Too young, too old.

But what I left our conversation pondering is perhaps a practice of ageism that may be apparent to the thoughtful outside observer but is often hidden from myself.

It’s the ageism I practice against myself. I’ll bet, if you stop and think about it, you may recognize it in yourself. It’s in the self-talk. The impulse to lessen my expectations for myself, lest I be disappointed. It’s in the limits I set for myself. In reality, it's been a defender of negative self-talk throughout my life. “You’re just a kid; you shouldn’t expect to try that, or be that, or say that.” “Hey, stop expecting so much, you’re an old man.” I excuse my own behavior, intellectual laziness, resistance to risking getting involved – too old.

I need to do more introspection and name the ways I discriminate against others based on age, young and old. But I also want to spend more time in being honest with myself about how to loosen the grip of internal ageist messages that I use to…what? Lessen guilt, excuse behavior, refuse risks, minimize myself…?

We’ve heard said, “Age is just a number”. And it should never keep us from embracing life with all the courage, grace and hope that we can muster, wherever we are on that journey.