By the time you’re reading this I’ll be in London on a four day, four event trip during the UK’s LGBTQ History Month. I’m also 72 and it will be the second such trip I’ve done already this year. What makes me write this is that it seems many believe, or hold the prejudice, that we seniors just can’t match the energy of you juniors.
The jokes about seniors are abundant, especially on late night TV, made by satirists whom I truly admire. The two most notable who I watch almost regularly are Stephen Colbert and Seth Myers, and they both feature President Joe Biden as the butt of their ageism jokes. Both Colbert (58 years old) and Myers (49 years old) likely have more years behind them at this point than they have in front of them. They are in mid-life and close to being seniors themselves. Are they in mid-life crisis?
Judging from their shows and their social media, they are both liberal are also mostly supportive of Biden, but the agism they utter to get a laugh, often multiple times a week, has ripple effects on any of us who are of a certain age.
I heard similar jokes where we as LGBT people were the butt of the joke; mostly they were stereotypes, such as the way we walked, talked, our mannerisms or our masculinity or femininity. We see the same stereotyping at play in the agism jokes. Biden’s memory, mannerisms, or his ability to handle the task of being President. Say it enough and people continue to believe that the same is true with anyone who is a senior, and why hire someone like that?
It was true about the media stereotyping the LGBT community and it’s now true about the media stereotyping seniors. And for the former, it continued until we fought back.
I’m one of those who became angered and decided to fight back against the media over their treatment of the LGBT Community, and I must admit that I’m beginning to feel that way as a senior.
To Colbert and Myers: feel free to make a joke about the President, but don’t use his age as the butt of every joke. Come on guys, I know you can do that. You’ve both done that already with the congressional liar in chief George Santos. While you know he’s openly gay (but hey, is that even true?) you haven’t made his sexuality the butt of the joke. You’ve actually found brilliant and creative ways to avoid making his sexuality the joke.
A middle age relative recently told me that he saw Steven Spielburg’s film “The Fablemans” and said “how talented for someone that age.” Shouldn’t it be how talented from such an experienced film maker? Words have effects; they kept my community in the closet way too long and they are now keeping people believing that seniors can’t have the same vitality as those younger folks.
Let me give both of you an age/memory test. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you both at different times. Can you recall where or when? The reason I ask is that a couple of weeks ago I had a photo op with President Biden and Vice President Harris. When I approached President Biden for the photo op, he recalled our last meeting in 2019, and leaned over to the Vice President and gave her details. And just to be clear, there was no one behind him giving those details.
Impressive, right? President Biden meets and talks with more people each year than the two of you combined. I’d also ask you if you were able to keep his schedule that he does. He doesn’t get eight weeks vacation time each year like you guys do.
So guys, give me and other seniors a break. One last point: when President Ford fell on the steps of Air Force One, it became a running joke about his clumsiness. When President Biden does it, you make it about his age.
I suppose I better stop preaching, lest you think I’m an old curmudgeon. But at least I’m an old curmudgeon with as much energy as you.