I was reading an article the other day about how companies accomodate the rebellious spirit of Baby Boomers- those born between 1946 and 1964. They will be approaching 65 soon and entering into category called the young old. This made me to think of every montage in present day movies that give us a feel for what this generation is supposed to be about. Images of of the 1950's, MLK, integrated crowds, the Kennedy's, Vietnam, the pill, acid, cocaine, and the pot smoking free love key party-er all dance across our minds in 30 seconds of footage. It makes me wonder, how long does rebellion last? Boomers are getting old, don't want to see themselves this way, and protest even more when it seems the world isn't offering them a youthful delusion to hold on to.
Previous generations of seniors, now described in developmental text books and journals on aging as the "old, old," those between 75-84 years and "oldest old" 85+ don't seem to be as resistant about the aging process as Boomers.(Counseling and Human Development, 2001.) An active for her age 94 year old told me, that younger people (anyone younger than her),complicate things by not being who they are, and accepting life's highs and lows. I've talked to people considered the oldest old who will tell you that life is good but they wouldn't want to live forever; that needing more help in the world is just a part of aging. There's a kind of pay it forward attitude I feel from this group. Glasses, incontinence garments, hearing aids, hand rails, comfy shoes, and pills are a part of getting old for most at some point. So, what the hell is it with Boomers that makes them feel that they have to be rebellious til death as if getting old is something only weaker generations before them did??
Personally I think such rebellious spirit can take away from the goal of aging gracefully. No one wants to be treated like an invalid as they age; they want respect, empathy, and compassion in your dealings with them. I sometimes think that these trendy Boomers fearful of losing some sort of hypothetical ground can forget the reciprocal nature of human interaction. Have you ever had a young old threaten you? Or have them treat you as if you know nothing because they have more life seniority over you? Have you ever had your head bitten off by someone in their sixties after offering a helping hand or suggested a device that might acutely address a problem they are having? Well it sucks!
Some Boomers want all of the benefits of being a senior citizen: discounts, preferential treatment, seating, help in terms of having someone to run errands, to go fetch/run/get for them. They want to be viewed and treated as knowledgeable -even sagacious, sometimes taking on a been there done that attitude (whether they actually have or haven't, whether they were ever considered smart when they were younger or not). But no doubt, people can become wiser from living for a long time. Most people, I would hope would do many of these tasks for the elders in their lives anyway.
In contrast, some Boomers know they are in their sixties but don't think of themselves as such, becoming distressed by everyone else. Examples: 1)a women who started flying in her 20's, now in her sixties gets on a air plane but is nervous & attitudinal about the flight because the pilot in his early 40's is too young. -Pilots didn't get younger you got older. 2)Repeated frustration with poor/over-processed elaborate hair-du's and refusing to have it done hair professionally feeling it would bring attention to obvious vision problems. Solution: expecting those near to finish/improve the job as she complains about them correcting it incorrectly. 3)Trusting younger people to read/filter/ interpret long arduous instructions/medical/legal paper work etc., then not wanting the reader in your business or acting as if the reader is too ignorant to understand the nature or ramifications of what was entail in the document. There is a large degree of unrecognized adaption & accommodation that others are providing for this generation.
Even advertisements geared toward the old often feature people in their late 40's acting as if they are in their 60's. There's nothing wrong with improvement or accommodation, but now we are moving from illusion to delusion. It's like society is conspiring to treat old people like we forgot that they were old because we don't want to make them feel old. After all we don't want to be labeled as jive ( or any other old people diss) and feel the wrath of their indignation. Then the Boomers in return treat younger people as if this is normal and is expected, starting the cycle of bull shit all over again.
Instead of a paying it forward kind of attitude there's a greater sense of entitlement. Sound familiar? Is this the same entitlement syndrome Boomers accuse those generations younger than themselves (X and Y) of having. Hmmmm, wonder where they got it from. There's nothing wrong with getting old. Everybody get a grip!
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