Age UK and Helen Mirren challenge Government to tackle ageism

Age UK and its Ambassador, Helen Mirren, claim that successive governments have ‘kicked down the road’ actions to tackle the ageist attitudes that are damaging older people’s lives. They insist that dismantling ageism is key to ending discrimination and introducing practical changes. But ageism is flourishing, despite the $billions being spent on different strategies and initiatives by the WHO and others. The challenge is that ageism is as invisible and infectious as the Covid virus, and there is no saliva test to reveal it. Carriers are not aware that they have it. A former trainer of prison officers tells how he recognised this and how his thinking changed after reading a book. Many people start their later lives less resilient than they could be because they haven’t corrected their thinking during mid-life the report notes. It calls for a radical ‘sea change’ in how we think about older people and about ageing – including our own. Helen Mirren is known for speaking out against ageism. She insists, ‘At every age, you lose some things, but you gain other things. That’s the kind of magic that happens, so deal with it. You either die young, or you get old’.

A friend’s two sets of grandparents are a classic example of the effects of ageism. One couple has a positive view about old age and enjoys trips out and activities in church, but the other, who have always had a negative outlook, are largely housebound and uninterested and their health is not as good. Staying curious and involved is one of the golden rules for a contented old age. Prejudice against the elderly is the ‘only bigotry directed at the inevitable future of the bigot,’ wrote another campaigner against ageism, prize winning author Francine Prose (77). In an article in a national newspaper she said, ‘Few misogynists, I imagine, fear that they eventually will turn into women, nor do racists worry that the passing decades will radically alter their ethnicity and the colour of their skin. But the young will get old, if they’re lucky.’

How can you tell if you are suffering with the agism virus? I use the word ‘suffering’ deliberately. Anything that devalues your view of yourself is harmful. Do you ever tell someone that they are looking good for their age? Think about it! What you are really saying is that your age is bad, but that you don’t look it! Click here for a quick quiz that can reveal your attitude.

Experts say that ageist attitudes are absorbed from the age of four and become embedded in our subconscious, influencing how we see things and our expectations. We become ‘conditioned,’ in much the same way that we become ‘conditioned’ to behaving in ways that fit our culture. At the Christian Resources Exhibition, I gave a talk on ‘Enabling and Empowering’ Older People,’ presenting older generations as an asset, planned on purpose by God. Copies of my book, ‘What’s Age Got to Do With It?’ were on our Pilgrims’ Friend Society stand. A few days later, I received an email saying,

‘I was a prison officer for many years involved in the sex offender treatment programme. Conditioning is a big part of the offenders’ behaviour. Towards the end of my service, I was involved in training officers in how high security prisoners, such as terrorists, condition officers to achieve their aims. So having now read "What's age got to do with it,” I now realise that I have allowed politicians, public opinion, and the media to condition me to believe that we are a burden on the economy. Thanks for waking me up.’

He added that he runs a fellowship group for the over 50s, so there will be some ‘reconditioning’ there, too!

Not everyone reading this article will have ageist beliefs. But if you have friends and dear ones who do, why not send them a copy of ‘What’s Age Got To Do With It?’ as a Christmas present? If it helps them recognise it in themselves, it could also be the gift to them of a good old age. You can purchase it from Amazon or through us, Pilgrims’ Friend Society, by clicking here.

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