Why we must stop treating the elderly as a separate species.

On a television panel shown here in the United Kingdom some time ago, a group of comedians were discussing a badger cull taking place in some parts of the country.

One of the comedians, a young woman, likened the characteristics of the badger to old people. Her joke was “They are the elderly, we don’t need them” suggesting that old people should be culled by shooting them.

I am glad to say her so-called joke, received a muted response and the odd groan.

However, this focused my mind on how older people are perceived in this country, and I am not entirely innocent here.

At the time, my elderly mother-in-law was in poor health and suffering from the onset of dementia.

While I was on the phone discussing her plight with a member of the medical staff caring for her, It occurred to me halfway through this conversation that we had been referring to my mother-in-law and old people in general as “they” as if they were a separate species from us.

These are fellow members of our race who have trodden paths most of us will follow.

These paths vary, as do the destinations. Some of us, the lucky ones, will enjoy robust health and keep all our faculties until the end. Others will suffer ill health, and some will disappear into the lost world of dementia.

Whatever path is chosen for us, these elderly people have paved the way.

They have not turned into a mutated version of humanity.

This is no reverse metamorphism, where a butterfly turns into a caterpillar.

They were once one of us.

We will one day be one of them. If we live long enough.

They deserve our care and our respect.

©2023