Great Regulars: Gerontophobia is a pandemic in the media.

With phenomenal cruelty, the tabloids both build up the young and lovely, and ritually humiliate them at the first sign of crepey thighs or sagging breasts. The old are the only group it is acceptable to abuse. TV sitcoms can't make jokes based on the shortcomings of b...lacks, Jews, women or the handicapped, but they are always making jokes about the failings of the old. "Old people fart and don't know it" was one peculiarly nasty line I heard on an American show. It is astounding that this can happen at all in a politically correct world so hypersensitive to the power of words to offend entire groups. Contemporary priggery does not seem to extend its dubious protection to the old.

from Bryan Appleyard: The Sunday Times: The silver haired revolution

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