Why Older People . . .

[Asonokirk V 2.0]

seem either weird, stupid, and clueless or mean, boring, and slow to younger people.

I have a theory about that, and here it is. I invite discussion, of course.

Old People seem "weird"
I actually haven't figured out any theory on this one, yet. I think it is probably more individual specific than age specific, but that is just a casual idea.

Stupid
They are. Not all of them, of course, but what happens (I think) to most people is after they reach their 40's, adapting to newer technology and being directly involved with contemporary culture becomes less desired. The whole concept of "change" is present, here. People seek a comfort level, and when they find it they resist change. Thus they don't make a sufficient effort to adapt and adjust over time. The stupidity part of this would be that change is a constant, and one must maintain adequate contact with changes. Apparently there are quite a few people out there who don't stay connected to their culture.

Clueless
Believe this or not, I suspect part of this is deliberate. I've caught myself acting like I didn't understand something just to get someone else to do it for me because I was too lazy to do it myself. So my theory is that the older you get, the more clueless you appear mostly as a result of your own laziness. Human nature again at work. We're all trying to be comfortable, and the older you get it seems possible that trying to maintain a comfort level supersedes more and more of your concerns.

Mean
This seems obvious. Mean older people are probably that way due to their resentments. Those resentments are developed over the course of their lives and if they haven't, can't, or won't resolve them as they go along, then they fester and you become hateful and cruel. In other words, mean older people are those who failed themselves.

Boring
Part of this results from the health issues that become more and more intrusive on your life as you get older. You start spending a lot of time with doctors, hospitals, medications, etc., etc. People tend to relate to others more easily when they share common experiences. An average 20 year old person has priorities very different from someone who is age 70.

As for the long-winded and repetitive older people, they've probably been like that their whole lives. I know younger people who can go on and on and on, too.

Slow
This might surprise you. It isn't necessarily diminished hand/eye coordination and the physical effects of aging that causes older people to move more slowly. I've noticed the following in myself: Over the years people, on average, accumulate injuries. By that I mean any and all kinds of injuries, from paper cuts to bumps and bruises, to compound fractures. Since injuries occur to people in virtually all situations, you begin to start allowing the memory of an injury to give you pause before you repeat the same activity. Over many years so many things occur to you, that you both consciously and subconsciously begin to hesitate where you once acted.

[TrixieB]

Just a question... how old do you consider to be "old"?

[Bill_the_Pony]

And remember, take into account that 60 is the new 40!



http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b301/En-dough/westsidemotha9dh9qx.jpg

[Asonokirk V 2.0]

Just a question... how old do you consider to be "old"?

Retired persons. I probably should have said "senior citizens" or "retirees" rather than "old."

[TrixieB]

And remember, take into account that 60 is the new 40!

Does that make 40 the new 20? If it does, then I'll be 22 soon!!!

[Bill_the_Pony]

Does that make 40 the new 20? If it does, then I'll be 22 soon!!!


GOD, I hope so!

That makes 20 the new 10, and we know what all 10 year olds need to do! :)


http://myspace-047.vo.llnwd.net/00390/74/01/390111047_m.jpg

[neglet]

Mean
This seems obvious. Mean older people are probably that way due to their resentments. Those resentments are developed over the course of their lives and if they haven't, can't, or won't resolve them as they go along, then they fester and you become hateful and cruel. In other words, mean older people are those who failed themselves.

But are older people really mean, or is that just the egocentric perceptions of younger people who think the world is all about them? One of the great things about growing older, I believe, is learning how not to give a shit about what other people think. I'm not going to dress a certain way or buy a certain car because others might think it looks cool. I'm not going overspend and buy more house than I need because I want to look rich and important. I'm not going to pander to my son by giving him everything he wants because I want to be "the cool mom." I've learned what's important to me, and I'm not going to live my life trying to impress the invisible masses--they're not going to be paying attention to me anyway. I imagine as I get even older, I'll have less tolerance for people who think they have to impress the world. Maybe that will make me look mean. But you know what? As long as I'm living a good life and being a good person, according to my own standards--I don't give a shit if you think I'm mean.:D

[omicron]

Oh, I've said this before. I plan on being an old, crotchety bastard when I get old. I'm going to smoke in public, fart loudly, get obnoxiously drunk, swear at kids, everything. Well, hell, I do that now.....

Omicron

[KingVoyeur]

Blind man: I was hit-and-run grannies' next target
Cops on women's trail feared he might sign his life away

Thursday, May 25, 2006; Posted: 3:16 p.m. EDT (19:16 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Undercover detectives watched the blind man climb into the suspect's car and start writing on document after document. They worried he was signing his life away.

As 74-year-old Josif Gabor would later tell it, he was walking to the bank when a woman he had met briefly before offered to drive him and translate some banking documents into his native Hungarian.

Once inside, Gabor thought the woman was just trying to be helpful when she asked: Could she buy him some life insurance?

The woman, 72-year-old Olga Rutterschmidt, is now accused with a friend in a macabre scheme to befriend vulnerable men, insure their lives for millions of dollars and then cash in after they died in mysterious back alley hit-and-runs.

The women have been charged with insurance fraud in two cases involving homeless men -- and police are investigating whether they played a role in those two deaths and duped a half-dozen other men who are still alive.

In an interview translated by his neighbor, Gabor said he has been afraid to leave his apartment since last Friday, when Rutterschmidt and 75-year-old Helen Golay were arrested and a police detective came to his door.

Full Story @ CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/25/hitrun.grannies.ap/index.html)

[Bill_the_Pony]

Oh, I've said this before. I plan on being an old, crotchety bastard when I get old. I'm going to smoke in public, fart loudly, get obnoxiously drunk, swear at kids, everything. Well, hell, I do that now.....

Omicron

Ohh, come on. :o You've already been doing those things all along, now, haven't yooooou? :hugs:

[Bill_the_Pony]

But are older people really mean, or is that just the egocentric perceptions of younger people who think the world is all about them? One of the great things about growing older, I believe, is learning how not to give a shit about what other people think. I'm not going to dress a certain way or buy a certain car because others might think it looks cool. I'm not going overspend and buy more house than I need because I want to look rich and important. I'm not going to pander to my son by giving him everything he wants because I want to be "the cool mom." I've learned what's important to me, and I'm not going to live my life trying to impress the invisible masses--they're not going to be paying attention to me anyway. I imagine as I get even older, I'll have less tolerance for people who think they have to impress the world. Maybe that will make me look mean. But you know what? As long as I'm living a good life and being a good person, according to my own standards--I don't give a shit if you think I'm mean.:D



:hugs: Thank you, Neglet! :hugs:


BTW...Kids are pretty fucking mean, too.

[kah]

seem either weird, stupid, and clueless or mean, boring, and slow to younger people.

I have a theory about that, and here it is. I invite discussion, of course.

Old People seem "weird"
I actually haven't figured out any theory on this one, yet. I think it is probably more individual specific than age specific, but that is just a casual idea.

Stupid
They are. Not all of them, of course, but what happens (I think) to most people is after they reach their 40's, adapting to newer technology and being directly involved with contemporary culture becomes less desired. The whole concept of "change" is present, here. People seek a comfort level, and when they find it they resist change. Thus they don't make a sufficient effort to adapt and adjust over time. The stupidity part of this would be that change is a constant, and one must maintain adequate contact with changes. Apparently there are quite a few people out there who don't stay connected to their culture.

Clueless
Believe this or not, I suspect part of this is deliberate. I've caught myself acting like I didn't understand something just to get someone else to do it for me because I was too lazy to do it myself. So my theory is that the older you get, the more clueless you appear mostly as a result of your own laziness. Human nature again at work. We're all trying to be comfortable, and the older you get it seems possible that trying to maintain a comfort level supersedes more and more of your concerns.

Mean
This seems obvious. Mean older people are probably that way due to their resentments. Those resentments are developed over the course of their lives and if they haven't, can't, or won't resolve them as they go along, then they fester and you become hateful and cruel. In other words, mean older people are those who failed themselves.

Boring
Part of this results from the health issues that become more and more intrusive on your life as you get older. You start spending a lot of time with doctors, hospitals, medications, etc., etc. People tend to relate to others more easily when they share common experiences. An average 20 year old person has priorities very different from someone who is age 70.

As for the long-winded and repetitive older people, they've probably been like that their whole lives. I know younger people who can go on and on and on, too.

Slow
This might surprise you. It isn't necessarily diminished hand/eye coordination and the physical effects of aging that causes older people to move more slowly. I've noticed the following in myself: Over the years people, on average, accumulate injuries. By that I mean any and all kinds of injuries, from paper cuts to bumps and bruises, to compound fractures. Since injuries occur to people in virtually all situations, you begin to start allowing the memory of an injury to give you pause before you repeat the same activity. Over many years so many things occur to you, that you both consciously and subconsciously begin to hesitate where you once acted.

Maybe that's the way it is in California, but if you ever came out to Wisconsin and talked to our elders or about our elders that way, you will regret it. Your "observations" above make me think you never spoke to your grandparents, or that you've never taken the time to help an old lady across the street. One of the most important things my parents taught me was to RESPECT MY ELDERS, and I think you are being incredibly narrow-minded and self-centered if you actually believe what you just wrote. Try going into your local diner some time, around 7am. Find an old man who's just sitting around, drinking coffee, and start a conversation. You would probably be enthralled with all that man has to tell, of the life he has led.

And if he's an ass-hole to you- good for him. It's people like you who treat our elderly like they are slow, mean, STUPID, and clueless, that make them act that way.

RESPECT- Learn it, earn it.

[Asonokirk V 2.0]

Maybe that's the way it is in California, but if you ever came out to Wisconsin and talked to our elders or about our elders that way, you will regret it. Your "observations" above make me think you never spoke to your grandparents, or that you've never taken the time to help an old lady across the street. One of the most important things my parents taught me was to RESPECT MY ELDERS, and I think you are being incredibly narrow-minded and self-centered if you actually believe what you just wrote. Try going into your local diner some time, around 7am. Find an old man who's just sitting around, drinking coffee, and start a conversation. You would probably be enthralled with all that man has to tell, of the life he has led.

And if he's an ass-hole to you- good for him. It's people like you who treat our elderly like they are slow, mean, STUPID, and clueless, that make them act that way.

RESPECT- Learn it, earn it.

I said the word "theory" and I was discussing the fact that retirees exhibit certain behaviors that not only have I observed, but everyone else I know shares the same observations. Nothing you are saying is incorrect, but it isn't necessarily relevant to my post. I don't disrespect older people, hell I'm 54, I just notice things and try to understand them. That is done through theorizing about what I'm observing. It doesn't mean I'm right about anything, it just means I have a theory. Discussing theories, analyzing them, and putting them to the test is how one proves whether they're right or wrong, or both.

[kah]

I said the word "theory" and I was discussing the fact that retirees exhibit certain behaviors that not only have I observed, but everyone else I know shares the same observations. Nothing you are saying is incorrect, but it isn't necessarily relevant to my post. I don't disrespect older people, hell I'm 54, I just notice things and try to understand them. That is done through theorizing about what I'm observing. It doesn't mean I'm right about anything, it just means I have a theory. Discussing theories, analyzing them, and putting them to the test is how one proves whether they're right or wrong, or both.


The problem here is that you will never be proven wrong or right, because you are dealing with human beings here, and there is no status quo. You are welcome to make an opinion about our elders by observation, but I doubt your ability to make theories about their personalities in such a way. If you actually sit down and talk with them, you will find that they are just like the rest of us, except that a large part of our society treats them like lepers. Most younger people wish their elders would live on an island somewhere, where they didn't have to deal with their driving, shopping, slow walking, etc. That way, they could visit, or not, as they choose, and act like people over 70 don't exist in everyday life.

I just think it is all very, very sad. I had my great grandmothers in my life until I was 12. They made it till their late 90's, only spending the last couple of years in the nursing home, where we visited at least once a week. I think I would've missed a lot if I hadn't known them. My grandmother will be 84 this summer. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about 2 years ago, but with her medication, she is the same woman that has loved me all my life. She repeats herself a lot, but it bothers her more than it does the rest of us. The way you seem to be dismissing the elderly is terribly sad. Imagine you could no longer walk tomorrow, or had a stroke that paralyzed half your body. I would bet that your anger with your own weakness would be awful, both on yourself and on everyone else you came into contact with.

Put yourself in their shoes, just for a little while, and see what they live with every day. Then make observations about why they might appear to be slow, mean, or stupid to use your words.

[kah]

Stupid
They are. Not all of them, of course, but what happens (I think) to most people is after they reach their 40's, adapting to newer technology and being directly involved with contemporary culture becomes less desired. The whole concept of "change" is present, here. People seek a comfort level, and when they find it they resist change. Thus they don't make a sufficient effort to adapt and adjust over time. The stupidity part of this would be that change is a constant, and one must maintain adequate contact with changes. Apparently there are quite a few people out there who don't stay connected to their culture.



You mean like all those guys who haven't cut off their mullets?