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Letter to the
LACK OF SENSITIVITY
Ms. Hartman,
Your column in the Sept. IS,
1994 issue of the paper
infuriated me.
You state in your article that
“Elderly people are human
beings and need compassion,
sympathy, friendship, and love
just like everyone else.”
How dare you? Since when
are these qualities to be given as
a gift to someone who is old?
These qualities are human
qualities and old people have the
same rights as you do to receive
“compassion, sympathy,
friendship, and love.”
Hopefully, your lack of
sensitivity is just a phase you
are going through. I know when
I was your age, I thought the
same way as you do now.
I bet the above sentences
irritated you. Well you should
be irritated. I am being just a
patronizing to you as your
article is to senior citizens.
You are patronizing because
you spew out garbage about
older people who can’t see, can’t
walk, are poor, lonely, boring,
and complaining. You are
guilty of perpetuating . a
stereotype.
If you wrote the same thing
about women and other
minorities there would be an
outcry all over campus. Because
your subject is old people you
don’t get a whisper of
opposition. Everyone agrees
with what you say.
Well, you’d better prepare
yourself for a shock - you are
growing old. You can’t escape
growing old and you shouldn’t
be afraid of age.
Next week's column will be on gun control.
We welcome letters to the editor on this
or any topic.
The
c
editor
Someday you will gain
weight, become forgetful, slow
down, become boring, and
complain about your aches and
pains. You will be old.
If you stop and observe you
will find that old age isn’t as bad
as you think. Although I am
physically in “middle age” I find
that each year that goes by is
more re wanting and interesting.
Life is a wonderful advantage
and although there are bad times,
I’m old enough to know that
these will pass. I have a
wonderful feeling of peace and
freedom that you won’t
experience until you are older.
For every old person who feels
and acts like the person you
describe in your article, there are
thousands who do not have a
clue about what you are saying.
They live healthy, active,
productive lives. Some people
do not reach their creative or
intellectual peaks until they
reach middle age or older. I am
at the midpoint between youth
and old age, and on the whole, I
wouln’t be young again if you
paid me millions of dollars!
I do not want your
“compassion, sympathy,
friendship, and love” but I
demand your respect I deserve
it. I am just as active and
productive a member of society
as you are. I don’t want or need
your pity. I want you to
recognize me as a productive
human being just like you.
Colleen Fromknecht
3rd Semester
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EDITORIAL
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