Pissed old men, vinegars, dinosaurs, senile, useless, prostatic, screwed up, rats, idiots... Little by little we have been assimilating, from a discourse that emerges from the political chicane, words, criteria or metaphors of old age bordering on grievance, disqualification and rejection.
Unfortunately, they have managed to insert themselves into society, without the shame and horror of mentioning or listening to them.
Thus, old-age prejudice has taken unprecedented forms where the disqualification of others, for the simple fact of being older, becomes a tool of war between generations.
The world of networks, particularly Twitter, is the central stage, where everything seems to be possible to say, although there has been a contagion effect in other media and even in everyday dialogue.
A trend that does not only appear in our country, but we see it in other regions of America such as Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay or the United States.
Curiously, this type of stigmatization is being assimilated in various political groups or ideological tendencies, showing a level of criticism of old age that has rarely been so obscene and brutal.
Previously, those of us who participated in the gerontological field used to criticize the universalizing mention of grandfather, certain more explicit mockery about the aesthetic condition and others that were more serious, although much less eloquent.
However, such harmful levels of violence were never reached.
The analysis of these expressions shows some criteria that centralize criticism of older people.
The age of the supposed old people is never clear.
The imprecision would even indicate that any individual older than the one writing can serve for this purpose.
In the same way, it is attributed to the oldest party structures and with older people (such as that of Together for Change).
Furthermore, many people in their fifties are already explicitly accused of these epithets.
Therefore, age can appear as an offensive element that refers both to the age of the opponent and to their institutional political positioning.
One of the ways in which criticism of old age is expressed is through an ad hominem fallacy, that is, by whoever says it, and in particular by their age, and not by what they say.
Seeking to remove the adversary, certifying that years are a negative element when giving political opinions.
The appearance that is often presented is that of the reclusive old man, for which analogies are used with the prehistoric animals of Jurassic Park, with the smell of mothballs and, in its most aberrant version, like that of the fossil that seems to come out of a drawer or that of those who were resurrected for a particular action.
Trying to show a mismatch in reality and in which the old seem to have been left out, with extemporaneous and inadequate ideas.
Prostate and urination control difficulties are one of the most repeated points of reference (men are even more criticized for this control than women).
What is sought is to disregard any resource or capacity for the political since it is associated with childhood regressions that would give a strong inability to control oneself, reaching its extreme point with the figure of the "screwed old man."
Other offensive terms are those that associate old age with personal traits, highlighting uselessness, idiocy, a sour character, ridicule and forgetfulness, or even more so, with Alzheimer's disease.
Which indicates a sum of limitations that invalidate and make older people unpleasant, as well as endanger society, if they are not prevented.
Biden's case has been very prominent, not only due to certain forgetfulness or confusion, but also due to any possible setback, in which the mockery appears in a manifest, repeated way and with clear political use by groups rivaling the US president.
Finally, the representation of the old man and his relationship to the State appears, as a traitor, who lives or lived from it, profiteer and not very credible, in connection with the term "old rat."
This image of old age would seek to contrast with that of the young, who would represent positive moral values and who would not be contaminated by their relationship with governments.
We thought that certain beliefs, which were already demolished by science, should not be considered again.
However, we see a kind of expulsion in which the exit of the old man as a political subject is promoted, capable of claiming, getting involved with his society and his time, leaving it in the hands of the young people who seem to know better what is best for them.
This promise of youth and rejection of the old is not new in history since generational and ideological changes usually go hand in hand.
What is unusual is the violence with which this discourse was installed.
For some they may be just words, for others, including myself, they are the way to build a reality in which the old can “justifiably” be disposable.