Ageism is not always obvious, and although it can happen to anyone at any age, it seems to particularly affect people at both ends of the age spectrum, older and younger. In our conversation we share times when we suspected ageism was involved like sitting in a queue for surgery or trying to find a job at age 62 and times where ageism was blatant. Often ageism is couched in a safety context, like when our children express concern for the activities we undertake, or when someone insists that we sit on public transit instead of stand. Ageism is built into many institutions, like health care, education, the insurance industry and into workplaces. When assumptions are made that we are vulnerable and need protecting, the wealth of knowledge, emotional maturity and experience that we have acquired is lost. We have all found ways to fight against these assumptions and not let ageism stop us from doing and learning new things every day.
