Discrimination of Age
Discrimination of Age
is becoming stronger and stronger
What is discrimination?
It is a prejudice against some one or some group
that is different from a larger group.
It can be just a thought or it can take an active form
when it is used to keep certain people out.
We all know about the typical discriminations against race,
religion, sexual orientation, and women.
However, there is another one that is surfacing
that is not talked about in any of the major western media.
Today's modern prejudice is age discrimination.
It seems that people who are above 40 and certainly 50
are being slowly kept out. In the ancient Hawaii religion,
people of a higher age are revered and respected.
This is not the case in our current western world.
Forbidden by Law
Some countries have laws against various kinds of discrimination.
However, in article 1 of the constitution of the Netherlands,
every kind of discrimination is forbidden.
Today both men and women are being discriminated
against who are older than say 45 or so.
They are being kept out of jobs. Even the government knows this
as they do not expect people beyond 50 to find a job.
When people are over 50 they have not only a lot of expertise
but a lot of wisdom. A person over 50 years of age has learned
a lot of things in terms of life experience, human relations,
responsibility and in terms of job experience. It would be wise for a company,
organization or government agency to hire someone over 50.
Healthy women over 40 have been discouraged and
convinced that it is not a good idea for them
to conceive and birth children. What kind of nonsense is this?
It may in fact be more healthy, in many different ways,
for her to give birth than to deny that. Today women above 48 are having more
and more children and are glad that they did.
There are now women in their 50s and even 60s who are doing this.
But if a man above 60 marries a younger women and they have a baby together,
they do not critise this at all. You know it is so very easy to critize
but think about it, you who have such easy lives, you who do whatever you want,
you who have children early cannot feel or know what another woman
is going through unless you have walked a few hundred kilometers in her shoes.
So be compassionate to your sisters.
These women who give birth late in life have a lot
to offer their offspring, much more than their younger sisters.
Children have been born into very very sad or difficult situations
where they are not loved and here you have women
who are really ready to share love and wisdom with new offspring
and you are trying to deny them. Shame on you.
If you really want to be helpful, help them to conceive,
to give birth, to give them your time and help
instead of only your criticism. It is so easy to criticise
and so much more difficult to help and support.
Why is that?
There was a couple and they had one child and wanted more.
So the woman took fertility drugs and gave birth to 7 babies.
Did you hear anyone critize that?
No, instead, her whole community got together
and volunteered their time to help care
for all of the children in that family.
So if your argument is that a woman cannot care
for her baby if she is 50 or 60, then look to that woman
who gave birth to 7. And ask all of the grandmothers
who are caring for their grandchildren while their daughters are working.
For heavens sake, do not be so quick to critize.
Sometimes there are women in their 30s who cannot cope with one baby.
Keep in mind it all depends on the health and
on the mental outlook of the woman who is giving birth.
Look at all of the factors, including how much more healthy
a woman at 50 is today than say 70 years ago
and at how much more healthy this baby is making her
because it adds so much more joy to her life. Be understanding and be gentle.
It will only make you more joyful and younger.
Older people are not allowed
to get a car loan or a house morgage.
Is this the correct way to treat people
who are doing their best and have lived out a responsible life?
We, as individuals and institutions such as car companies and banks
treat others as we want to be treated.
Would they like to be discriminated against because their company is too old???
Don't you like to advertise yourself
as being an old and well established and reliable company
who has quality and expertise because of years and years of experience?
So why not put your money where your mouth is
and extend that same motto to older responsible people
who want to own a home or a car???
Insurance - not so Sure
Insurance companies are notorious for either discriminating
against older people by either keeping them out
or charging them very high monthy rates.
Is this how you would like your own parents to be treated?
Or is this how you would like to be treated yourself??
Are you really interested in people and in taking care of them
or are you only interested in making lots of money.
Sure you have a right to exist and even to make a profit.
But there is a difference between making a profit and
making a killing at the expense of human beings.
Where are your values? Where is your sense of responsibility?
Where is your sense of compassion?
Qualified - Disqualified
When a person who is highly qualified
is kept out of a job just because they are over 50,
it is clearly age discrimination.
I think that any company who does not hire
someone because of age should have
a higher tax rate and heavy fines.
I am not talking about small companies who are just starting.
I am talking about well established companies
who already have large or even huge revenues
and still practice discrimination.
Those companies who do not appreciate good employees
with good qualifications and good values
should have to pay large fines and higher taxes.
Newest Way to Discriminate
In the past companies used to put in
their job advertisements certain ages.
It was very clear that they were discriminating against people over 50.
Today there is a new way to do this since they can now get
into trouble for age discrimination. If you pick up a newspaper or
comb the job data bases, you will now notice
the new way companies or institutions discriminate against age.
They do this by stating:
Wanted manager with 2 - 3 years of experience.
This means that they want someone
who is between 25 to 35 years of age.
Be assured that people over 50 have usually had
between 10 to 20 years of experience.
They have enough experience to either get your company
to become successful OR to continue to be successful or
to complete that project correctly, within budget and on time.
But instead of going for quality, they go for hiring
someone at a cheap salary to save money and
then they wonder why they did not complete the project
in an efficient and competent way.
How could they with someone who has so little experience?
Highly Qualified Manager
I know someone who is highly qualified in management,
projects, and security who has many university degrees,
is active in outside organisations and
has had years of experience in large well-know and
successful companies, completed many sensitive and
successful projects some of which operated
outside of normal working hours.
This man did so well that once when a boss disagreed with him
and fired him, he had a new job the next day and
during that time the boss of his ex-boss ordered him
to re-hire this man.
But since he had already found another job, it was too late.
Now this same man who was so much in demand
cannot find a proper job because he is considered too old.
He is just well-seasoned and experienced.
Would you want this to happen to you or someone you feel close to?
Once when he was tested for his loyality in the job he had,
he passed and some were jealous of this.
It was clearly more important for him to operate with integrity
than to be weak in his job performance.
He helped initiated a new way of thinking,
created a computer landing program for a major airline,
was part of a team that invented LCD screens and more.
Yet because his hair is waneing he is being passed by.
Would you want to be passed by because of your age?
The Throw Away World
It is all a part of the way this world is going.
It happens to women too.
It is a throw away world that is forsaking
its best assets in order to be cheap and
reap in more and more profits.
But is it really working?
Afraid To Look At
Perhaps they are afraid to see these people
in the workplace because they feel uncomfortable
about aging themselves.
It seems that the world tries to hide,
keep away or do away with those it feels
uncomfortable to look at for some reason.
Everyone is Aging
What these age discriminaters do not realize is
that they too will be aging and
may well be the subject of age discrimation in the future.
So it would be wise for them speak up now
for those who are standing before them.
If we want to create a better world,
we want to be loving and respectful toward all facets of society.
No matter what colour you are or
what spiritual practice you follow,
you will inevitability age. Do you want to be valued and
respected as you age past 50, 60 or beyond?
Should you stop voting because you are past a certain age?
We all have something to contribute to our world.
We all want to be loved and valued and respected.
Why not let all who want to "chip in", do so?
When you devalue people, they become sick and desolate and depressed.
When you value them, they stay healthy and flouish.
This is then magnified on many levels in society.
Our Changing Times
When the 1900s began people were
only living until their 40s or 50s.
By the end of the 1900s people were reaching their 90s.
More and more people are living until 100 and above.
A 90 year young man won a marathon.
A 60 year young women gave birth to a healthy baby.
A 70 year young woman graduated from university.
People between 40 and 60 are considered middle-aged.
Middle means that there is still a long way to go.
Do you want to be put out to pasture before you are ready?
You never know what wonderful discovery
someone over 50 can make.
So why not give them the chance to do so?
Afraid of Better?
Of course those bosses who do not hire older, wiser people
could be afraid that they will be outshined and
look incompetent themselves.
On the other hand they could look very smart to have
a wise, experienced talent on their team.
It all depends on their own capabilities and emotional make up.
Fear is not the best asset for management.
A wise manager looks for those who will add value to the team
even if that talent looks more talented them her/himself.
Value Seasoned Citizens
Please keep your mature brothers and sisters in mind
- as you too will be one day wanting
to be valued for what you can still give to the world.
Many of them cleared the way for you
in terms of women's rights, fair wages, rights for people of colour,
better working conditions, pensions, birth control
and a new way of being open and speaking up.
Age discrimination only encourages
the idea of every man for himself.
Is this the message that we wish to pass along to our children?
Or do we want them to value and respect age,
wisdom, experience, compassion and someone with a broader perspective?
It all depends on the kind of world
we want to create!
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Updated July 22, 2011
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CopyrightŠ2002-2011 by Susan and Robert