I thought the who is considered old section was the most interesting because it explained the correlation between the perceived value of the elderly and the age that someone is considered old. Deciding which plants are safe to eat, magical powers and reindeer milk.
Which segment did you find most interesting and why?
I found the section about special food that only the elderly can eat very interesting. More specifically, the part about the Arunta Aborigines, and how "The Arunta believe that eating parrots will create a hollow in a young man’s head, and a hole will grow in the chin" and the many other dangers if a younger person eats these special foods.
Which event(s) led to the passing of an Elderly Rights Law (Article 207 of the Civil Code) in France? What do you take away from this?
The Elderly Rights Law was passed due to a study that was showing many elderly suicides, specifily in France. I found it sad that there are so many elderly suicides, and that a law was needed to make people visit their elders. I think that it should be kindness that inspires someone to visit their grandparents, not the threat of jail time.
What are highly specialized skills and knowledge that come from old age? Give examples from at least 3 different cultures.
Hawaiian grandmothers have the skill to make unique ornate leis and feather accessories.
In Ecuador, elderly shamans have magical powers and are believed to transform into jaguars.
Age is typically associated with wisdom in western society.
I found this reading to be interesting. I enjoyed learning about how different cultures perceive aging and how the elderly are treated.
I found the section on words the describe the elderly very interesting. Language has such a big impact on how we view things and are able to express ourselves. The words and suffixes we relate with the elderly can have a big impact on how we view them. In English/America, I feel like we tend to associate the word elderly with feeble or frail, we don't really see people referring to them as revered or respectable.
15,000 people committed suicide, most of them were elderly. People in America will tend to ignore their parents, and as both get older that increases. Sometimes we ignore the fact that they have complex emotions too because we view them as a fraction of their younger self. But they do have feelings, and when the people they raised leave and emotionally neglect them and the rest of society treats them like they don't have a purpose it gets hard to keep having motivation through aging.
In Hawaii, grandmothers are usually very good at creating leis. They can have great experience at skills they built up over time. In New Guinea witnessed a typhoon and learned important survival skills, which people revered her for. In America, most presidents and supreme court justices are over 50. This might be because they have had time to experience a lot that life has to offer and have had time to get an education.
I found the segment titled "And what does the end of life look like?" the most interesting as it showed the stark contrast between different cultures around the world. The brutal reality of how some cultures treat their elderly highlighted the differences in the many cultures of the world. In our society and culture, we do everything possible to try and keep our elderly healthy and alive, whereas in other cultures elderly are seen as a hindrance and they are murdered or set out to die. It was shocking to see the grave difference between cultures and how they treat their elderly.
The passing of an Elderly Rights Law (Article 207 of the Civil Code) in France was due to two specific events; "a study that showed a high rate of elderly suicides in France, and to a heat wave in which 15,000 mostly elderly people died". This shows that the culture in France is to care for the elderly and what they can to keep them alive and healthy, as when many of their elderly were suicidal or even dying of natural causes, they passed a law that required adults to stay connected to their elderly parents.
"...Hawaiian grandmothers are revered for their unique knowledge and skill at creating ornate leis and feather accessories."
"Similarly, since an elderly woman in New Guinea was the only person alive who witnessed a devastating typhoon, her people looked to her for guidance on which plants are safe to eat if another disaster were to strike."
"The Huaorani people of Ecuador believe that elderly shamans, called mengatoi, are endowed with magical powers..."
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