Another article in my
“AGEISM IS REAL BUT I DON’T CARE”
series of articles.
You all can thank our mother, Violet for my being well over sixty years old and yet still not having very much visible gray hair.
Many people who don’t know me, often mistake my age as being significantly younger because of this.
But for the most part most people I interact with tend to not look at me as the senior citizen that I proudly am.
The only situations that any ageism towards me becomes an obvious part of the dynamics of interaction with others are those where everyone dealing with me legitimately knows my age, like medical appointments, the DMV, etc. #OkayBoomer
In those situations I am careful not to give the impression that I am in any way, shape, or form feeble minded or otherwise impaired by age.
Sounds hilarious but it is true.
Ageism is real.
I’m having to add this new layer of defense in ways similar to the precautions I have had to deploy living my entire life as a black man.
That’s still real too.
The best advice I’ve learned to live is the same advice that our parents gave us siblings growing up and that is to live life beyond the ‘isms.
And, after living more than six decades, I can say from experience that our parents’ approach works.
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MUSINGS IN Cb
BurnettFamilyUS.org
PHOTO by Corinna Gray Photography (2023)
Christopher and Terri (Anderson) Burnett established their branch of The Burnett Family in March of 1979 in Copenhagen, Denmark. They are professional musicians, educators, and entrepreneurs based in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.