COUNTERING THE PREJUDICE FACED BY OLDER PEOPLE
U.S. President Joe Biden might be just the guy to bring back dignity and appeal
The pandemic has let loose some of mankind's darkest instincts. And I am not talking about the drive to hold parties with 50 of your best friends the same day the premier, for perfectly good reasons, declares them verboten.
When it became apparent last spring that COVID -19 would become a mass killer of older folks, social media was abuzz with scorn. “Why bother keeping them alive, they're nearly dead. Save the medical resources for younger people.” “Old people are more demanding than youth: it's costing more to society without any return down the road. They'll be dead anyway.” My favourite: “Lock them up and let the rest of us live normally.”
These days, elderly people are viewed with viral suspicion and envy because some unkind souls think they are getting preferential treatment. Witness the now completed vaccination campaign in CHSLDS. Not everyone viewed this small victory with glee. It seems everybody has a good reason to think they should be first in line.
My lifelong love of the Rolling Stones allows me to tap into Mick Jagger's treasure trove of meaningful lyrics without having to look them up. Not only did I listen to the songs, they were part of my repertory when I was busking on Ste-catherine and Mansfield streets circa 1967.
In 1966, the Stones released Mother's Little Helper, which chronicled the crazy lives of early-1960s mothers who would gobble down Valium, Librium, Phenobarbital et al., just to stay borderline sane while telling us to say no to drugs.
The opening line to the song, written by a young Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, goes like this: “What a drag it is getting old.” I quickly learned to play this song on my guitar. I loved the fact that it mentioned pills my mom and aunts kept in their bathroom cabinets, but I had no idea what he meant by “old.”
None of us baby boomers would ever get old.
Now, close to official retirement age — which I plan to ignore — sometimes I feel “de trop.” As if there's a proper age to leave the stage, an age after which you start sounding ridiculous, peddling old ideas.
Just ask Joe Biden. The Trump campaign never missed an opportunity to remind Americans of his age, calling him Sleepy Joe, passing the remnants of his childhood stuttering as proof he was going gaga. Well, being accused of being an old, dithering fool with nothing new to contribute did not stop Biden from being elected president.
Maybe, just maybe, on top of getting rid of COVID -19, fixing the environment and boosting the economy, Biden might just be the guy to bring back dignity and appeal for older people. When he flashes his big smile, Ray-ban sunglasses on his nose, walking hand in hand with his wife, he is ageless. And should the body not follow the mind, Kamala Harris is standing by.
What's wrong with that picture? Nothing.
I listened with intent to his inauguration speech. In front of us stood a wise man, not an old man. And certainly not someone with evil on his mind, like his predecessor who spoke of “American carnage” during his inaugural speech.
There was no carnage when Trump took on the mantle of the presidency: it was carnage all the way up to the Capitol when he left.
Superstar Quebec sexologist Jocelyne Robert will be publishing a new book next month, called Vieillir avec panache (Aging with panache). Knowing Jocelyne, who has written 15 bestsellers, it will be provocative. Now in her 70s, she once said “Life's too short to be small.” And meant it.
The pandemic has shown us that the elderly face discrimination and intolerance, as if their lives do not matter. Time to fight ageism, she says.
As for Mick Jagger and his life-damaged yet active sidekick Keith Richards, I'm sure by now they realize it's better getting old than not.