I am not surprised by that. Older people are too often dismissed by the rest of society and are frequently the butt of jokes and disparaging remarks.
Ageism is more than jokes, though. The daily reality can be more sinister and can sometimes mean th
e difference between life and death.
Age discrimination is still legal and older people can be denied access to medical treatment simply because they're "too old". This is a moral outrage in the 21st century.
The Government has proposed an Equality Bill in its next Queen's Speech. There is now a historic opportunity to get ageism outlawed.
I urge your readers to please write to Gordon Brown at 10, Downing Street, London, SW1, demanding legislation to ban age discrimination.
Let's make him live up to the promises he made in his 2007 party conference speech, when he spoke about ending discrimination. Gordon Brown's Government now has the chance to end ageism once and for all.
I would urge people of all ages to support the Help the Aged Just Equal Treatment campaign by calling 020 7239 1982 or visiting www.helptheaged.org. uk/takeaction. Time is running out. Please take action on behalf of all older people.
(Mrs) Mary Hudson
(Secretary Calderdale Pensioners' Association)The full article contains 243 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
