According to the World Health Organization, the number of people aged 60 years or older will rise from 900 million to 2 billion between 2015 and 2050. This means that the number of elderly people in the world’s population will move from 12% to 22%. As we age, we gain the privilege of many years of experience and the wisdom that follows it at the cost of time and youth. Often this creates a rise in income and the potential to retire, although aging also comes with several drawbacks. Among these drawbacks include the loss of physical strength, coordination, fluid memory and community status at retirement. Ultimately, there are pros and cons associated with old age. People aged 60 years or older face both privilege and oppression depending on
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Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. While the oppression faced by Canadian Aboriginal peoples in Candace Savage’s book A Geography of Blood is more severe and well-known than that faced by elderly residents in care homes, oppression still exists in retirement homes. New arrivals in a care home may experience oppression through resocialization when they must adapt to the structure and strict schedule of their new home and do not end up adapting very well. Also, the social role of the new arrivals might be radically different if their lives were more independent before entering a care home. If they had previously been following their own rules and schedules, they may feel oppressed by their new positions and fixed schedules. During the process of resocialization, some elders might isolate themselves or become depressed if they fail to adapt. In care homes, oppression is particularly apparent in the case of those with mental and physical handicaps. For example, unlike Ian who is not confined to a certain area, Alice once explained to me that she felt as though her mind was rotting and fading from doing and seeing the same things every day and she felt that nothing ever changed for her. In the case of Alice and Cheryl who are in an area with locked doors due to their mental disabilities, isolation creates an oppressive
Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. While the oppression faced by Canadian Aboriginal peoples in Candace Savage’s book A Geography of Blood is more severe and well-known than that faced by elderly residents in care homes, oppression still exists in retirement homes. New arrivals in a care home may experience oppression through resocialization when they must adapt to the structure and strict schedule of their new home and do not end up adapting very well. Also, the social role of the new arrivals might be radically different if their lives were more independent before entering a care home. If they had previously been following their own rules and schedules, they may feel oppressed by their new positions and fixed schedules. During the process of resocialization, some elders might isolate themselves or become depressed if they fail to adapt. In care homes, oppression is particularly apparent in the case of those with mental and physical handicaps. For example, unlike Ian who is not confined to a certain area, Alice once explained to me that she felt as though her mind was rotting and fading from doing and seeing the same things every day and she felt that nothing ever changed for her. In the case of Alice and Cheryl who are in an area with locked doors due to their mental disabilities, isolation creates an oppressive