The ugly truth about ageism: it's a prejudice targeting our future selves

We love the elders in our lives and we all hope to grow old, so why does this personal interest not translate to public policy?

You see them in most aged-care facilities, seated on pastel-coloured lounges, being babysat by a TV they are mostly not watching. Some are asleep, some are sedated, some are cognitively impaired. Seeing them like this, it’s hard to remember they were once young, vital and independent. What’s harder is thinking that it might one day be you.

“The staff call them the Os and the Qs,” says a seasoned nursing home visitor, describing residents with their mouths hanging open and those with their tongues hanging out.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MzjhEG
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