Susan messages
Discrimination of Age
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Home2b.nl
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.
Job Discrimination
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.
Reproductive Freedom
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.
Loans Denied
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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