As the old song goes, "Little Things Mean A Lot." So it was
interesting the other day when a bunch of senior citizens showed up on
the capitol lawn sporting a brand new banner with one little word
change.
For years the old banner simply read: "Senior Power Day." But this
new banner made no reference to seniors. The word was gone, caput,
which prompted this question: If "senior" is out what the heck is in?
"Older adults."
You gotta be kidding?
Nope.
How could we have missed that memo?
Sharon Gire, who runs the State Office on Aging, was eager to
explain.
Somewhere along the road to getting older, it was determined that
"Senior Citizen" had a stigma. Gire says it is not negative, but if it
was not negative why is it out, and older adult is in?
She sights one example of the 70 year-old guy she was dealing with
who had just lost his spouse. Being the warm and caring person that she
is, Gire offered up the services and travel opportunities at the local
Senior Citizen Center.
The 70-something took offense. "I'm not going there with all
those old people."
Good for him but bad for us.
Now we have to undo years of using the senior citizen tag for fear
that some older adult may take offense.
And to make matters worse, when do we start to use that new
nomenclature? If you believe the good folks over at AARP, they start
sending you senior citizen crap at the tender age of 55. And if folks
keeping dying off, to bolster their ranks, they might revise the age
down to 45 just to attract more paying customers.
So be forewarned. Next time you help a little old lady across the
street, don't call her a senior or she may not only hit you with your
purse ala Ruth Buzzy from Laugh-in, but she could toss you into the
path of the oncoming car for good measure.