88 of 121 DOCUMENTS

	The Boston Globe

	August 10, 2001, Friday ,THIRD EDITION

	JACK LEVIN Jack Levin is the director of the Brudnick Center on
	Conflict and Violence at Northeastern University. On June 28, he
	was 60.; THE BAD NEWS FOR AGING BOOMERS

	BYLINE: BY JACK LEVIN

	SECTION: OP-ED; Pg. A23

	LENGTH: 670 words

	YESTERDAY I HAD THE SURPRISE OF MY LIFE. THE TELLER AT THE
	COMMUTER RAIL STATION WINDOW ASKED WHICH TICKET I WANTED - SENIOR
	CITIZEN OR ADULT. JUST A FEW YEARS AWAY FROM QUALIFYING FOR THE
	SENIOR DISCOUNT, I QUICKLY, AND WITH SOME RELIEF, COUNTERED, "I'M
	REALLY NOT ELIGIBLE YET. ONE ADULT ROUND TRIP PLEASE." 
	
	Before that moment, it had never occurred to me that you were
	either an adult or a senior citizen and that you couldn't be both.
	I never realized that you were forced to give up your adult status
	when you were eligible for the senior discount. Thanks, but no
	thanks.
	
	Everybody makes a fuss over senior citizenship. The press seems to
	love using the word "elderly," even when it is entirely redundant.
	In news articles presumably written by very young reporters,
	people still in their 50s are frequently referred to as such. For
	example, in one recent report, a 56-year-old man was killed in his
	home. He was also described gratuitously as "elderly." 
	
	Aside from children and teenagers, older people are the only age
	group to receive this "special" recognition in newspapers and on
	television. 
	
	If a 38-year-old woman has a deadly accident, she is never
	referred to on the evening news as middle-aged. When a 20-year-old
	man robs a liquor store, he is never labeled as a young adult. But
	when someone 66 or 78 is described, not only is their specific age
	given, but so is their stage of life. Growing old must be a pretty
	big deal.

	I know what some are thinking.
	"What's so wrong with getting older anyhow?" Well, nothing. Aging
	is part of the natural order, a gradual process that begins with
	birth and ends with death. But being elderly is a social
	construction entirely invented by human beings. We decide when
	this stage of life begins by lobbing off a section of the life
	cycle and indicating - zap! - "you're old." 
	
	In our society, old
	age starts when you retire, take your Social Security check and
	your pension, and ask for your 10 percent discount at the local
	drug store.

	Older people have long been stereotyped as
	chronically ill, unable to work, behind the times, slow-thinking,
	and a burden on society. They are often regarded as existing in a
	period of second childhood, in which their ability to reason and
	make sound judgments have regressed to the level of a 6-year-old.
	
	The mass media lend credence to this unflattering image by
	continuing to misrepresent or underrepresent elders. When they do
	appear in dramatic series or in commercials, older people are
	disparagingly connected with "Clap on! Clap off!" and "Help! I've
	fallen and I can't get up." And research shows that those who
	accept the elderly label are more likely to act the part - they
	tend to disengage, give up their important roles in society, and
	wait to die (sometimes for 30 or 40 years).

	On the other hand, those who continue to lead active lives tend to
	ignore the elderly status and maintain their self-image as
	functioning adults for as long as possible. Moreover, the millions
	of older people who dye their hair, use antiwrinkle cosmetics, and
	undergo plastic surgery for the sake of a more youthful appearance
	may be operating less out of vanity and more out of a desire to
	escape age discrimination.

	It might be argued that now that the 65 million baby boomers are
	approaching their mid-50s, the term elderly will soon get a needed
	boost in the public relations department. Not so. It is a sad
	truth that numbers alone do not assure respect and status. In
	fact, in colonial America, when only 10 percent of the population
	lived to celebrate their 60th birthday, old age was regarded as a
	sign of salvation and a special gift from God.

	But when longevity increased and more sizable numbers of people
	survived to old age, the prestige and power of elders declined.
	Recognizing this fact of life will be a rude awakening for the
	baby boomers, but it will probably make me feel better.

	When it comes to getter older, I am far from miserable. At the
	same time, I would certainly love the company.

	LOAD-DATE: August 11, 2001

	LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

	GRAPHIC: PHOTO, BARRIE MAGUIRE ILLUSTRATION

	Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company