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Copyright 2012 American Society on Aging; all rights reserved.This article may not be duplicated, reprinted ordistributed in any form without written permission from the publisher: American Society on Aging, 71 Stevenson St.,Suite 1450, San Francisco,CA 94105-2938; e-mail:[email protected].

ISSN: 1043-1284 Page 1 MARCHAPRIL 2012

www.agingtoday.org volume xxxiii number 2

Aging, outrage and theOccupy Movement:Gray Panthers join in, speak outabout putting profits over peopleBy Sally Brown and Brooke Hollister

Maggie Kuhn was forced into retirement at 65 in 1970. Her outrage, plus a desire to con-

tinue her involvement in social action, led Kuhn to found the Gray Panthers, an intergen-

erational economic and social justice advocacy organization. Todays Gray Panthers still

accept Kuhns charge to protest against anything we consider wrong and speak our mind, even if

our voice shakes in public and virtual protestthrough email, Facebook, Twitter and on the Web.Kuhn described ageism as the segregation, stereotyping and stigmatizing of people on the ba-

sis of their age. Ageism perpetuates prejudices that foster negative attitudes toward aging and

ingrains ageist beliefs into our collective conscience. As a result, people of all ages come to dread

their future lives and deny their own aging. This is unfortunate because, as Kuhn pointed out, the

one thing we all have in common is aging.

A great deal of progress has been made since Kuhns fight for a more enlightened view of aging,

but ageism persistsin media portrayals, employment challenges, service providers patronizing be-

haviors, marketing of anti-aging products to increasingly younger populations, inequitable health-

care practices and policy debates about Social Security and Medicare.

Ageism Sticking Around

A 2011 study by Luo et al. inResearch on Agingfound that age discrimination was the most com-

monly reported form of discrimination, followed by gender, race, heritage and physical qualities. And

older adults were more likely to attribute perceived discrimination to their age. The study found that

perceived discrimination had a negative impact on peoples health and everyday discrimination had

stronger effects than a major discriminatory event.

In Margaret M. GullettesAgewise:Fighting the New Ageism in America (University of Chicago

Press, 2011) the author describes such current social symptoms of age discrimination as increased

job loss for older men, decreased pension values, peak earning years for women at age 45 and fears

over loss of looks beginning in the late 20s.

The current political milieu, with its hyper-partisanship and concern about deficits and govern-

ment spending, elevates the threat. People are openly pitting younger and older generations against

Agingthe bimonthly newspaper of the American Society on Aging


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Aging

one another, representing elders as draining our society of resources and threatening our economy.

However, as Gullette argues, those now entering old age have the highest wage inequality of any

recent generation, and those entering middle age have higher levels of poverty than any equivalent

group of mid-lifers since the generation before 1914.

Occupy the Outrage

The Gray Panthers missionto create a society that puts people over profits, responsibility overpower and democracy over institutionsresonates with the intent of the current Occupy Move-

ment. Outrage is a universal language across generations and the outrage that brought Kuhn and

the original Gray Panthers into the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1970s, is bringing

todays Gray Panthers into the Occupy Movement. Nationwide, Gray Panthers of all ages have

readily embraced Occupy, joining in marches, teach-ins and protests.

As in the 60s and 70s, there is growing public discontent with affronts to equity, liberty and

democracy. Progressive Gray Panthers embrace the Occupy Movement because they, like Occupi-

ers, understand that elders and Main Streeters feel dismissed and disenfranchised by the privi-

leged and powerful few. The current circumstances of the unemployed, who are relying on govern-

ment assistance, place them in a situation similar to the old, who are reliant on social insurance

programs. Both groups are threatened with increased hardships, while being treated as outcasts of

a system that rewards productivity and profit.The Occupiers have revived strategies of grassroots activism, sit-ins, local actions and street pro-

tests, and rekindled a belief in the power of the common people to create change. William Black,

former federal regulator and professor of economics and law, attended an Occupy teach-in and said,

Whats distressed me, and I think is one of the major reasons we get recurrent intensifying crises, is

we seem to have lost our capacity for outrage. And its only people getting outraged that produces

really positive social change.

Kuhn knew that, if nurtured, collective outrage could spur intergenerational action, using the

experience of elder activists to support the movement, as the young share their vision for a more

just society and add tactics. If both aging and outrage are what we all have in common, one solution

is to occupy together! !

Sally Brown is the immediate past chair of the National Board of the Gray Panthers, serves on the

National Board and Leadership Team and is convenor of the Twin Cities Gray Panthers network in

Minnesota. Brooke Hollister, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of sociology in the Institute for Health

and Aging at University of California, San Francisco. She serves as vice chair on the National Board

of the Gray Panthers. Visit www.gray panthers.org.

Occupy Inspires Elders

The following quotes are from Gray Panthers who have joined in various Occupy Movement

events across the country:

News of Occupy Wall Street has given me hope for the future. I was of the opinion the younger

generation lacked the [same] social responsibility and willingness to protest as my own genera-

tion. Reading the comments of a 17-year-old stating they were staying until greed is no lon-ger the ruling principle of the nation gives me great hope and pride in the young people of our

nation. ... I attended Occupy Tampa today. There were about 200 people of all age groups and

various cause groups. It felt like the 1960s again.

Tom Calahan, Florida


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Aging

Gray Panthers emphasis on putting needs of people over profits and the initiatives of Oc-

cupy Wall Street highlight the critical need for a focus on accountability of public officials

responsible to uphold, enforce, [and] obey laws that reflect the public interest (and the need to

eliminate) fraud, waste, abuse, and corrupt practices.Clint Smith, Texas

Went to Occupy San Francisco and Occupy Oaklandvery inspiring! Heard Michael Moore

Friday, he said that Occupy has killed despair and banished apathy, and these are victories. How

true. In San Francisco, we were asked by our local NPR station if we thought the young were

apathetic, and said, No, they are all over the Internet, but the Arab Spring and Wisconsin told

them that they had to be here with their bodies.

Margot Smith, California

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