It's not funny

Every so often, various senior friends send around jokes about aging. Some of them are pretty clever. But I can’t laugh. I appreciate a good joke as much as anyone else, but when it comes to jokes about aging, I just cringe.

What are we supposed to be laughing at? What do jokes about aging target? You’ll notice that they don’t make fun of the serious illnesses of old age, like heart disease, stroke, Parkinson’s, or diabetes; they’re not quite that cruel. Instead, they pick on issues like mild memory loss, aches and pains, body weakness and fragility, grey hair, wrinkles, vision and hearing problems: conditions that can cause us to feel shame and humiliation in public, easily identifiable targets, just perfect for bullying. Why do some of us find this funny, even as seniors, when it’s aimed straight at us? Well, we all grew up in an ageist society, we’ve been steeped in it all our lives, so it’s in our bones by now. But as we move through old age, and these conditions start to hit close to home, we can begin to understand ageism for what it is: callous, inhumane bigotry, even when it’s lightened with humour.

The challenges of aging are tough, and we need to have a laugh now and then – but not at the cost of our dignity and self-respect. Surely we can find other things to laugh about.