Μετανεωτερικά στερεότυπα, εκτός τόπου

Αντιγράφω επιστολή αναγνώστριας συνταξιούχου στην Εκόνομιστ της 15 Δεκεμβρίου 2022. Είναι μια εύλογη αποδοκιμασία των νέων στερεοτύπων.

“I am tired of reading insulting references to ‘coddled pensioners’ that suggest we live the high life on state benefits… My full state pension this month, after contributing for 40 years, is £608.44 ($742). Does anyone at The Economist live on such a sum? Furthermore, I did not receive my pension until I was 65, coming into that age group when the retirement timing for women changed. That was a hardship for a lot of women who had either been married and divorced, or not worked in their early lives due to child-care constraints.

I am fortunate enough to have an adequate workplace pension, which means that I would be regarded as a prosperous pensioner. I am quite happy to pay tax on my income, as I did over all of my 42-year working life, but we are only a minority of the over 65s in Britain. A substantial number of us are still working into their 70s. And for those unlucky enough to need full-time care in their last years, dementia, Parkinson’s disease and the other ailments of old age are the only circumstances where individuals are required to sell their homes to pay for their care. This is so that we substantially reduce the ‘burden’ on family and the state.

I suggest that you examine your own prejudices in this matter, as the zeitgeist allows things to be said and written about older people which would not be said about other groups. Try the thought experiment of replacing coddled ‘pensioners’ with the words blacks, gays, women, or transwomen and transmen.”

Ruth Fennell
Rackenford, Devon

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