Elder Discrimination

This story is nuts:

After walking the Great Wall of China and making plans for a trip to Russia, Shirley Greening-Jackson thought signing up for a new internet service would be a doddle.

But the young man behind the counter had other ideas. He said she was barred - because she was too old.

The 75-year-old would only be allowed to sign the forms for the Carphone Warehouse's TalkTalk phone and broadband package if she was accompanied by a younger member of her family who could explain the small print to her.

Mrs Greening-Jackson, who sits on the board of several charities, said: "I was absolutely furious. The young man said, 'Sorry, you're over 70. It's company policy. We don't sign anyone up who is over 70.'

"Later a young lady said company policy is that anyone over 70 might not understand the contract. She said, 'If you would be prepared to go to the shop in town and take a younger member of your family we might give you a contract.'

Nuts, but I guess it shouldn't be that surprising. It never ceases to amaze me when I observe the manner in which some treat the elderly. The worst offenders manage to treat their elders as if the elders' more advanced age somehow automatically brands them as disabled - while at the same time denying them the slightest modicum of respect they should be due by virtue of their years of life experience. I'm quite sure I'm not the only person who has witnessed an over-70 patron of a store being talked at by the store's employee in a ridiculously high decibel level - as if said senior citizen were either deaf, speaker of a foreign language, or perhaps a toddler. The lack of respect is distressing, but the way in which society's elderly - no matter how capable - are infantilized is just obnoxious.

I mean, this is 2006. Isn't the age 70 "the new 60"? I went skiing this past winter, and was fascinated by the fact that a notable number of the ski pros at the resort we visited were in their late 60's - and one or two even in their 70's. Apparently, a large group of seniors make the resort area their retirement home for the winter, but some weren't quite looking for the retirement community pace of living. I find it hard to envision the extremely fit senior citizen who yelled my terrified self down the black diamond ski trail being denied cable service because of her advanced age.

I mean, really.