2 ms·

There's a reason people are more comfortable about insulting people based on age: everyone either has been or will be a member of the class they're criticizing.

There's a reason people are more comfortable about insulting people based on age: everyone either has been or will be a member of the class they're criticizing. People who want to complain about a group without getting in trouble seem to often try to position themselves as part of or close to the group before complaining about the group. "My girlfriend or wife is [group], and I can tell you..." "I was in a gang when I was a young man, and let me tell you..." "My brother is an IT guy, and so I can say that..." With age-related remarks, no one needs to even posture. There's an implicit "...and I can say this because I'm one of them, or will be".

jamesbritt 17y ago
"There's a reason people are more comfortable about insulting people based on age: everyone either has been or will be a member of the class they're criticizing. " Just the opposite: most people can't really see themselves as old, and like to think that as they age they'll still somehow stay cool and hip and up-to-date, not like those creepy Readers Digest AARP people. I've yet to meet anyone who didn't say, Wow I can't believe I'm(40|50|60|...). You realize, intellectually, that it will happen, but it never seems quite real until you are there.