Well... hopefully we can all recognize there are some older people who are generally dismissive of younger people. And some who are not. Likewise, the other way

Well... hopefully we can all recognize there are some older people who are generally dismissive of younger people. And some who are not. Likewise, the other way around. You can see the problem: If it's OK for one group to be dismissive of another group because some members of that group are dismissive of them, then it all immediately blows up. There just needs to be one jerk somewhere. And of course we are all part of multiple groups that don't necessarily overlap 100% with others around us so if you take this approach generally you end up being unable to get along with hardly anyone. I'm hoping people can usually look beyond the most obvious outward physical characteristics of the people they interact with. It doesn't seem like it should be a lot to ask -- it's in everyone's own self-interest after all -- but it doesn't always work out.