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"You're young, you'll blah blah blah..."
WARNING: RANT AHEAD!
It's becoming increasingly clear, that many people need to get their heads out of their asses when it comes to the younger generations. I can't make any rational decision without getting this line:
I am an atheist/non-theist. = Oh you're young, you'll grow out of it.
I like and would prefer to remain childfree. = Oh you're young, you'll grow out of it.
I like illegal substances, but don't smoke or drink. = Oh you're young, you'll grow out of it.
Can't a person be young AND intelligent anymore? Yes...I'm young (according to you)..thank you for pointing that out to me. Not only is it dismissive, offensive, and ignorant to assume that my being 21 (or whatever age, it doesn't really seem to matter) means I have no life experience or no intelligence to make life choices, it's also quite annoying.
Now I'm not saying that my generation is the smartest bunch ever (that's clearly not the case), but I am saying that using age as a barometer of how wise/intelligent/experienced a person is, won't apply to all "youths". I could be the wisest mofo on the planet, and you've dismissed me because you deem me to be "young" (which incidentally makes you an ahole in my eyes).
What is being young anyways? What is youth? This short window of opportunity, to make stupid choices and to learn from them without much responsibility? To be naive to the ways of the world? And considering the definition of naive, I know I'd rather not be that..especially if that's what being "young" means. And who has authority to use such a line anyways? Isn't someone always "young" to someone else, no matter their age? My mom is young compared to her mother and father, I'm young compared to all my siblings, and my nieces and nephews are young compared to me.
When does the cycle of ageism and youth discrimination end? (not to sound..melodramatic, lol)
Thoughts, questions, comments, concerns? Post em up!
It's becoming increasingly clear, that many people need to get their heads out of their asses when it comes to the younger generations. I can't make any rational decision without getting this line:
I am an atheist/non-theist. = Oh you're young, you'll grow out of it.
I like and would prefer to remain childfree. = Oh you're young, you'll grow out of it.
I like illegal substances, but don't smoke or drink. = Oh you're young, you'll grow out of it.
Can't a person be young AND intelligent anymore? Yes...I'm young (according to you)..thank you for pointing that out to me. Not only is it dismissive, offensive, and ignorant to assume that my being 21 (or whatever age, it doesn't really seem to matter) means I have no life experience or no intelligence to make life choices, it's also quite annoying.
Now I'm not saying that my generation is the smartest bunch ever (that's clearly not the case), but I am saying that using age as a barometer of how wise/intelligent/experienced a person is, won't apply to all "youths". I could be the wisest mofo on the planet, and you've dismissed me because you deem me to be "young" (which incidentally makes you an ahole in my eyes).
What is being young anyways? What is youth? This short window of opportunity, to make stupid choices and to learn from them without much responsibility? To be naive to the ways of the world? And considering the definition of naive, I know I'd rather not be that..especially if that's what being "young" means. And who has authority to use such a line anyways? Isn't someone always "young" to someone else, no matter their age? My mom is young compared to her mother and father, I'm young compared to all my siblings, and my nieces and nephews are young compared to me.
When does the cycle of ageism and youth discrimination end? (not to sound..melodramatic, lol)
Thoughts, questions, comments, concerns? Post em up!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tom Thompson on -
To be fair, the old were young once and may have a better perspective on how the young will change as they get older. It isn't about wisdom, or intelligence, so much as it is about perspective.
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Permalink Reply by Black Magick Woman on -
I understand that, but not all older people have a good perspective either.
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Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on -
Yep...getting older can sometimes just mean getting stuck in a rut, and some can be so condescending "listen to me, I'm older than you, so I know what I'm talking about" (working with senior citizens I had the lovely experience of a client going on a tea-party-Sarah-Palin-loving-Obama-is-socialist rant). Old people get stereotyped in plenty of ways, but the main stereotype against young people is that they're young and don't know anything.
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Permalink Reply by Black Magick Woman on
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"Old people get stereotyped in plenty of ways, but the main stereotype against young people is that they're young and don't know anything."
Yep, and that's the exact issue here. It's like a knee jerk for people to pull that LINE out of the bag, when they have nothing better to say or contribute to said young person.
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Permalink Reply by Nick Blair on -
That's not a matter of age though, that's a matter of experience...I'm not sure why people seem to think that age makes a person automatically more experienced in every way...
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Permalink Reply by Scot68 on -
That's very true, age does not necessarily mean the person has acquired pertinent experience, or that they have learned anything useful. But speaking as a 41 year old person, it does give a person more chances and opportunities to gain said experience. That said, I still feel like a "young" person.
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Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on -
I hear you, BMW.
Due to my family life/history, and our being poor for part of it, I had been generating my own pocket change since I was in third grade. I was also able to balance a checkbook, do my own laundry, cook, clean, drive a car, plant a garden, etc... by the time I was in college. I kept running into kids my age in college who seemed incapable of doing much of anything for themselves.
It drove me nuts when people would pat me on the head. I never did grow out of being childless by choice. However, I wish I'd been an atheist back then.
Good question, what is "being young"? I keep running into men on OKCupid who only want to make friends with, date, or have sex with women young enough to be their daughter or granddaughter. I guess that's their version of being young.
One connotation of being young seems to be being open to new experiences. By this definition, I know a couple in their late-80s who are young, and some kids who are old. Ever seen how picky some kids are about food?
Yes, someone is always young in relation to someone else. My -tater is 14 years younger than me. It's taken me years to get his relatives not to include me in their phrase "the kids", but I let his grandparents slide on that. Oddly, they don't seem to have much of an attitude about being older than us... it seems to be his parents' generation.
When does the cycle of ageism and youth discrimination end?
Heh. At the time when you start getting discriminated against because you are older. There is no escape! It's time to sing the Doom song!
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Permalink Reply by Black Magick Woman on
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In the words of Bender - We're doomed! *claps hands on face Home Alone style* DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!
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Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on
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Your methods are stupid; your progress has been stupid; your intelligence is stupid!
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Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on
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Speaking of OKCupid Grundgetta, you just had me remembering a 59 year old man who wrote me on OKcupid, saying "don't judge me for my age", and later in the letter (since my profile said "if you are several decades older than me, you might want to check out my mom's profile") "oh, and I don't want to meet your mother. I want to meet you". I don't necessarily care if someone is older, but I was so annoyed that this person was judging women for their age and yet didn't want people to judge him for his.
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Permalink Reply by Black Magick Woman on
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I don't mind older men, however, I do have a line and pushing 60 is definitely past my own line.
Dirty Old Man - Miss Li
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