Prejudice & Discrimination - Essay Example

Introduction Prejudice is an absurd suspicion or dislike of a specific group, race and religion for personal reasons. Discrimination on the other hand is a behavioral act of passing unfair judgment to a person because of their race sex and age. Ageism can be defined as an attitude, action or human structure which makes a person or group feel less important due to their age or any assignment roles in the society strictly on the basis of age (Traxler 1980 pg.4). An aspect of ageism is prejudice against elderly people. Ageism indicates that as soon as a person can be described as old they are automatically separated into the following categories: They are a burden on the society. The perception of slow, deaf and majority of stupid elderly is common. Separated physically from children. They are of little value which means instead of one to be able to count on them for assistance it is the elderly ones that would depend on the younger ones. They are dependent on the economy and interpersonally. All of the reasons stated above could eventually lead to a vicious circle of dependence. Ageism is easily noticeable (Fiske 1998). A person’s interaction with an elderly person can be easily affected consciously or unconsciously. From a person’s perceived age social and cognitive competencies, political and religious beliefs and physical abilities are assumed by younger people, these assumptions help people know how to act and look for the right information and remember. Ageism is something that everyone if lucky would eventually join. It would not be surprising and inherently offensive when one notices a person’s age early in a social encounter, the way at which this information is taken can be destructive to the older person. Ageism, racism and sexism eventually becomes institutionalised which would then affect hiring decisions, medical care and social policies (Butler 1980). Most people get scared of approaching old age, becoming old was once upon a time seen as a natural process, but in recent time ageism is seen to be a social problem. The media shows only 1.5 per cent of the elderly people and most of which the majority of them are in minor roles (Zebrowitz and Montepare 2000). After the Industrial Revolution swept through the world more individuals lived longer. This was due to more food production, better medical care, and other advancements that allowed workers to live longer. As workers lived longer, the need to have a retirement for the retiring elderly became a necessity. The reality of industrial economy was each generation now supported themselves. That included the elderly generation. This became a problem when the elderly retired. How to support them became an issue. Children become resentful when having to take care of parents. The elderly could not work to support themselves as they grew feeble. The need to have an income after retirement started state run and individual programs to set aside money for retirement. As people began to live longer into their 60’s, 70’s, and longer more money had to be put aside for retirement. Pensions and retirement plans started to become a necessity. Younger workers started taking more jobs with pensions and lower pay, than without and higher pay. Workers were starting to look into the future. The public assistance for the elderly began to grow as well. Today most of the elderly are covered by private or public retirement plans. This does not stop the younger generations being resentful toward part of their taxes going to the elderly. As the younger generations grow older attitudes tend to change toward the support of the elderly. Today’s job market has also changed. Technology and customer service jobs have created jobs that are not as physically demanding. This allows workers to retire as early as 64. Retirement pensions and public support now have to support a growing elderly population for a 1/3 of their whole life. This creates a strain on the younger generation, especially due to the dwindling numbers of babies being born due to birth control, abortions, and couples choosing not to have children. The problem becomes when the elderly outnumber the working. Taxes will have to fund an overburdened younger generation, while cuts to the retirement pensions will harm the elderly. Society has dictated how the elderly are treated. An example would be most feel that children should play, adults should work, and the elderly should be able to rest. This was a necessity in previous centuries due to the hard back breaking work. The elderly were in no shape to work due to injury and illness. All of these societal needs were for the past. The societal needs of today have not been considered. Today play is seen in all stages of life, work can be done by adults and the elderly, and only the medically ill need to rest. A more realistic societal model needs to be developed. A model where older people can still work and volunteer as long as their health holds out, where adults can go to school without guilt, and where children help take responsibility around the house needs to be considered. The government is spending a lot of money on elderly care and is trying to cut back by trying to encourage the elderly people to stay at home and allow their families look after them this way they see it as a cheaper option. The elderly people would want the chance to make. The healthy life expectancy table shows the amount of time women can expect to live in poor health, this increased by 15% to 11.6 years from 1981 to 2001. It got worse for men; the length of poor health rose 34% to 8.7 years. Health workers think that patients are too old to learn, to understand, to make decisions about their care or too old to be responsive to the environment. Other people see them as a burden on society because they are unproductive increasingly frail and vulnerable with their decreasing ability to perform activities of daily living and frequently poor mobility. Ageism decreases social status and diminishes contact with younger people. How it affects health Ageism affects the health care of older people by influencing the attitudes of health care professionals and policy makers towards aggressiveness of diagnosis and treatment of the elderly. They see the elderly people as not being able to contribute to the society. Ageism denies people fulfilment of their potential as human beings throughout the life course. As they lose their independence they also begin to lose their self esteem and start to see themselves as worthless, useless and feel unappreciated or unnecessary Ways in which prejudice against older people can be combated: Make older people part of cycle: realize that older people are part of the cycles of life and they should not be compartmentalized. Health promotion: make sure that health promotional efforts focus on healthy aging. Give importance to the setting in which individuals age these would help to determine their health status in old age. Know gender difference in both health and ways of living. Emphasize strategies that maintain bonding between generations. Conclusion It is very shameful that the society judges the elderly in a negative way; they are the keepers of history and knowledge. They have so much to share with the world if only younger individuals would listen to them. Read More