I Blog Poetry and Prose

International Day of the Older Person

Fiḍál (Grace), 5 Mashíyyat (Will) 176 B.E. - Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Today is the International Day of the Old Person. Since I'm 72, going on 73, I'm sure I'm qualified, and maybe even overqualified, to write about the issues facing people over 60. If you are over 60 you can refer yourself as an older, a senior citizen, and, if you don't find this word offensive, elderly. I seldom us the word elderly because I don't think of myself as elderly. I think of myself as a senior citizen or an older person.

The International Day of the Older Person   is a United Nations day and is intended to focus on the needs of people over 60 years old. There are many problems facing us Senior Citizens, not only here America but, across the world. In many countries you will encounter numerous sexagenarian, but very few septuagenarians, octogenarian, and nonagenarian. That is because of access to medical and other services that assist older people. Because there are numerous inequities afflicting older people the UN theme for this year is "The Journey to Age Equality"1.

Ageism is the prejudice that afflicts those of us 60 and over. Sometimes it is overt and sometimes it is subtle. One of the subtle way it affects us is in the job market. While many companies no longer fire or "retire" people over s certain age, they normally will not hire a person over that age. In America, the company or business won't say that is the reason the person isn't hired, because, if the did, they would face a law suite. However, when you enter a business and the new hires are under 60, you can guess the reason.

If you are interested in reading an article on this subject, I recommend Ageism and the International Day of Older Persons   by Jaellayna Palmer.

Footnotes
1  https://www.un.org/en/events/olderpersonsday/