COVER STORY
The age of dissent Baby Boomers, unlike their parents, are not about to accept stereotypes, assumptions, attitudes and wisecracks about their age. SCOTT DIXON investigates the growing awareness of ageism and what it means for this generation.
T
hey’re the Grateful Generation – those who took on the tough times, facing a depression and seemingly endless wars with admirable stoicism. Even as they edge closer to the end, they’re still taking it on the chin, suffering in virtual silence about ageism — the negative prejudice against older people that experts say is becoming as widespread as racism. Ageists be warned ¬– there are new kids in town who are not afraid to stand up and be counted. That’s the bold hope of Aged and Disability Advocacy Australia chief executive Geoff Rowe, who sees the advancing years of Baby Boomers as a force for positive change in our society. He points out Baby Boomers have runs on the board for changing their world. “The current demographic of older people, by and large, are what we call the grateful generation,” Rowe says. “The generation who have grown up through the wars, through the Depression. They’re a population that doesn’t expect a lot and are fairly grateful for what they get. They’re reluctant to complain.” Rowe reckons the negative attitudes to age are about to crash head-on with the Baby Boomer generation, “and no one ever described them as being grateful”. “They’re a generation who saw things they didn’t like and they demanded change. I’m curious to watch as a society how we deal with ageism going forward because there’s a whole lot of people who won’t roll over and say, ‘Yeah, I’m happy to be treated as a second-class citizen, or a non-citizen. I’m happy to be invisible’. That won’t happen.” Baby Boomers live for change. They’ve
stopped wars, led the charge against racism and revamped social mores from the cradle to the grave. As one example, Rowe recalls the days when fathers stayed home or went to the pub while mothers were giving birth. “Now you can have the whole neighbourhood there if you want. How did that happen? That was driven by the Baby Boomers who said ‘I want my partner there, I want people who are important to me there. I want people to share that experience with me. “I guess the optimist in me believes that going forward we’ll see the whole notion of ageism being challenged. “We don’t call it out and that’s part of the solution. This where the Baby Boomers will come in. They’ll say, ‘I don’t want to be treated like an idiot. I might have had a birthday and gone over a certain age but I’m essentially who I am. I’m bright, I’m contributing … I’m as valuable a member of society today as I was 12 months ago.” Rowe is far from alone in his view of ageism as a negative issue that’s “across society”. So, what is ageism? Ageism against older people is prevalent in how society talks about ageing and what it means to be older. Older people are regarded as out of touch, frail, forgetful and, in extreme cases, worthless. Examples include losing a job because of age, being refused credit or insurance, being ignored in a shop or restaurant, or being refused membership to a club. Many older people get rightly annoyed when younger folk insist on helping them to do something they’re perfectly capable of doing or if they presume that they’re computer-illiterate.
One quick – and fun – way to test whether your attitudes qualify as ageist is to visit everyagecounts.org.au and take their multiple-choice quiz. Spoiler alert: The answer to “An older driver has had a minor car accident. What are you likely to think?” is not “He probably had a senior’s moment on the way to lawn bowls”. Every Age Counts also features a short, call-to-arms video narrated by evergreen actor Bryan Brown, who describes the ideal situation in which getting older will feel like an achievement, not something to be hidden. “Older people who are pains in the bum
will be treated the same as younger people who are pains in the bum. No-one’s asking for special treatment, just equal treatment,” he says. Brown deftly uses his everyman appeal to start the conversation and get Australians thinking about a difficult issue. But, humour aside, the rising tide of ageism is becoming a serious global problem. Rowe describes ageism as “dehumanising”. “It takes the human out of the picture and allows elder abuse to happen. People being invisible, people losing human rights – there’s a whole lot of things that flow on as a result of our ageist society.
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