Before taking any social work classes I never really thought that older adults were discriminated against on a regular basis.
However, looking back at my experiences I noticed how often I assume things about older adults.
When I was younger and riding in the car with my family, I never quite understood what my dad meant when he said, "Get out of the way Grandpa!" I would usually crane my neck to see if in fact it was my grandpa driving the car infront of us. It took me years (sadly, up until mid-late teenager) to figure out that he was making fun of the driver, and that it was not one of my family members.
When I started driving a few years ago, I noticed I would do about the same thing. If I saw a car that 'looked' like an older adult would be driving it, I did my best to make sure that the driver didn't pull out infront of me. This is a total hypocritical thing for me to do, considering I drive a large, older truck, with handicap plates, so I'm sure people think the same thing about me when I'm driving.
"Old people need to take a drivers test at like 50 to see if they can still drive! If not they should not be allowed out after dark!"
This is what I saw when I logged into facebook one day. One of my friends, who was in my graduating class at high school posted this as his status. Maybe if I was still living at home and never experienced 'the real world' I would share that opinion (but I seriously hope not). Age 50, really? That's not old at all. My mom is in her mid 50s and drives just fine. Without this experience and learning about these different types of oppression and discrimintation, I would not be as aware of the discrimination and oppression that occurs every day in our society.
Adrienne, I think the same as you. I feel like my family primed me to do the same now that I drive as well. I have no patience for the older drivers but then I catch myself and think that the road is not restricted to just me! Yes, that Facebook comment really upset me, that age is totally fine if anything tests should be taken by everyone who holds a license. One group should not be labeled that way.
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Adrienne, thanks for sharing your story. I think it's cute that when you were little you actually checked if your grandpa was on the road! It's sad that we make comments like that which we take lightly but really are just reinforcing oppression. The other day I was watching a commercial where an older lady did the splits and I was surprised because she was successful. I felt bad after realizing that I was only surprised because of her age and I somehow felt that after a certain age you can't do certain things and that's not true at all. We stop seeing people for who they really are.
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