Let's end ageism | Ashton Applewhite

Translator: Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

What's one thing that every person in this room is going to become?

Kaj se bo zgodilo z vsemi nami?

Older.

Postarali se bomo.

And most of us are scared stiff at the prospect.

In večino nas je tega na smrt strah.

How does that word make you feel?

Kakšne občutke vam zbuja ta beseda?

I used to feel the same way.

Tudi meni jih je.

What was I most worried about?

Kaj me je najbolj skrbelo?

Ending up drooling in some grim institutional hallway.

Da se bom na koncu slinila v kakšnem mračnem domskem hodniku.

And then I learned that only four percent of older Americans

Nato pa sem izvedela, da le štirje odstotki starejših Američanov

are living in nursing homes,

živijo v domovih za ostarele

and the percentage is dropping.

in odstotek upada.

What else was I worried about?

Kaj me je še skrbelo?

Dementia.

Demenca.

Turns out that most of us can think just fine to the end.

Vendar drži, da večina od nas povsem jasno razmišlja vse do konca.

Dementia rates are dropping, too.

Tudi pojavnost demence upada.

The real epidemic is anxiety over memory loss.

Prava epidemija je strah pred izgubo spomina.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I also figured that old people were depressed

Mislila sem tudi, da so stari ljudje potrti,

because they were old and they were going to die soon.

ker so stari in bodo kmalu umrli.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

It turns out that the longer people live,

Vendar je res, da dlje ko ljudje živijo,

the less they fear dying,

manj se bojijo umreti,

and that people are happiest at the beginnings and the end of their lives.

in da smo ljudje najsrečnejši na začetku in na koncu življenja.

It's called the U-curve of happiness,

Gre za U-krivuljo sreče

and it's been borne out by dozens of studies around the world.

in podpira jo desetine študij po vsem svetu.

You don't have to be a Buddhist or a billionaire.

Ni vam treba biti budist ali milijonar.

The curve is a function of the way aging itself affects the brain.

Krivulja je odsev vpliva staranja na možgane.

So I started feeling a lot better about getting older,

Tako sem se začela počutiti bolje glede staranja

and I started obsessing about why so few people know these things.

in začela sem tuhtati, zakaj je tako malo ljudi seznanjenih s temi stvarmi.

The reason is ageism:

Razlog je starizem:

discrimination and stereotyping on the basis of age.

diskriminacija in stereotipiziranje na osnovi starosti.

We experience it anytime someone assumes we're too old for something,

Doživimo ga vsakič, kadar nekdo domneva, da smo za nekaj prestari,

instead of finding out who we are and what we're capable of,

namesto da bi poizvedel, kdo smo in česa smo sposobni.

or too young.

Ali premladi!

Ageism cuts both ways.

Starizem zareže na obe strani.

All -isms are socially constructed ideas -- racism, sexism, homophobia --

Vsi -izmi so družbeno ustvarjene ideje – rasizem, seksizem, homofobija –

and that means we make them up,

kar pomeni, da si jih izmislimo

and they can change over time.

in sčasoma se lahko spremenijo.

All these prejudices pit us against each other

Zaradi vseh teh predsodkov se merimo med sabo

to maintain the status quo,

in tako ohranjamo status quo,

like auto workers in the US competing against auto workers in Mexico

zato ameriški avtomobilski delavci tekmujejo z mehiškimi,

instead of organizing for better wages.

namesto da bi se organizirali za boljše plače.

(Applause)

(Aplavz)

We know it's not OK to allocate resources by race or by sex.

Vemo, da ni prav dodeljevati sredstev na osnovi rase ali spola.

Why should it be OK to weigh the needs of the young against the old?

Zakaj bi bilo prav presojati potrebe mladih proti potrebam starih?

All prejudice relies on "othering" -- seeing a group of people

Vsi predsodki izhajajo iz »drugosti« - videti skupino ljudi

as other than ourselves:

kot druge:

other race, other religion, other nationality.

druge rase, druge religije, druge narodnosti.

The strange thing about ageism:

Nenavadno pri starizmu je,

that other is us.

da smo drugi mi.

Ageism feeds on denial -- our reluctance to acknowledge

Starizem se hrani z zanikanjem – z našim odporom, da bi pripoznali,

that we are going to become that older person.

da bomo postali tisti starejši ljudje.

It's denial when we try to pass for younger

Zanikamo, kadar se trudimo, da bi nas imeli za mlajše,

or when we believe in anti-aging products,

ali kadar verjamemo v izdelke proti staranju

or when we feel like our bodies are betraying us,

ali kadar čutimo, kakor da bi nas izdajalo telo -

simply because they are changing.

samo zato, ker se spreminja.

Why on earth do we stop celebrating the ability to adapt and grow

Zakaj, presneto, ne slavimo zmožnosti, da se prilagajamo in razvijamo,

as we move through life?

ko stopamo skozi življenje?

Why should aging well mean struggling to look and move

Zakaj bi lepo staranje pomenilo bitko za to,

da smo videti in se gibljemo kot mlajše različice sebe?

like younger versions of ourselves?

It's embarrassing to be called out as older

Mučno je, da nas razglasijo za starejše,

until we quit being embarrassed about it,

dokler se ne prenehamo mučiti s tem,

and it's not healthy to go through life dreading our futures.

in res ni zdravo živeti v strahu pred prihodnostjo.

The sooner we get off this hamster wheel of age denial,

Prej ko stopimo s kolesja zanikanja starosti,

the better off we are.

bolje nam je.

Stereotypes are always a mistake, of course,

Stereotipi so seveda vedno napaka,

but especially when it comes to age,

še zlasti kar zadeva starost,

because the longer we live,

kajti dlje ko živimo,

the more different from one another we become.

bolj se razlikujemo med seboj.

Right? Think about it.

Je tako? Pomislite.

And yet, we tend to think of everyone in a retirement home

Pa vendar, vsem stanovalcem domov za upokojence

as the same age: old --

navadno pripisujemo enako starost: stari so …

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

when they can span four decades.

čeprav se njihova starost razteza čez štiri desetletja.

Can you imagine thinking that way about a group of people

Bi lahko tako razmišljali o skupini ljudi

between the ages of 20 and 60?

med 20-tim in 60-tim letom starosti?

When you get to a party, do you head for people your own age?

Ali se približate ljudem svoje starosti, kadar pridete na zabavo?

Have you ever grumbled about entitled millennials?

Kdaj godrnjate nad vase zagledanimi milenijci?

Have you ever rejected a haircut or a relationship or an outing

Ste kdaj zavrnili pričesko ali odnos ali izlet,

because it's not age-appropriate?

ker je bil starostno neprimeren?

For adults, there's no such thing.

Za odrasle ljudi tega ni.

All these behaviors are ageist.

Vsi ti vedenjski vzorci so staristični.

We all do them,

Značilni so za vse

and we can't challenge bias unless we're aware of it.

in ne moremo se spopasti s predsodki, dokler jih ne ozavestimo.

Nobody's born ageist,

Nihče se ne rodi starističen,

but it starts at early childhood,

toda začne se v zgodnjem otroštvu,

around the same time attitudes towards race and gender start to form,

približno takrat, ko se začne oblikovati odnos do rase in spola,

because negative messages about late life bombard us

kajti občila in popularna kultura nas na vsakem koraku

from the media and popular culture at every turn.

bombardirajo z negativnimi sporočili o poznih letih.

Right? Wrinkles are ugly.

Je tako? Gube so grde.

Old people are pathetic.

Stari ljudje so patetični.

It's sad to be old.

Žalostno je biti star.

Look at Hollywood.

Poglejte Hollywood.

A survey of recent Best Picture nominations

Študija o nedavnih nominacijah za najboljši film

found that only 12 percent of speaking or named characters

je odkrila, da je le 12 odstotkov vlog

were age 60 and up,

namenjenih 60-letnikom ali starejšim,

and many of them were portrayed as impaired.

in mnogi so upodobljeni kot invalidni.

Older people can be the most ageist of all,

Starejši ljudje so lahko najbolj staristični od vseh,

because we've had a lifetime to internalize these messages

saj smo vse življenje ponotranjali ta sporočila

and we've never thought to challenge them.

in nismo nikoli pomislili, da bi jim oporekali.

I had to acknowledge it

Morala sem si priznati

and stop colluding.

in prenehati s skrivnim sodelovanjem.

"Senior moment" quips, for example:

Domislice o »seniorskih trenutkih«, na primer:

I stopped making them when it dawned on me

opustila sem jih, ko se mi je posvetilo,

that when I lost the car keys in high school,

da v srednji šoli nisem pripisala izgube avtomobilskih ključev

I didn't call it a "junior moment."

»juniorskemu trenutku«.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I stopped blaming my sore knee on being 64.

Prenehala sem obtoževati svoje boleče koleno, da ima 64 let.

My other knee doesn't hurt,

Drugo koleno me ne boli,

and it's just as old.

pa je iste starosti.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplavz)

We are all worried about some aspect of getting older,

Vsi se bojimo kakšnega vidika staranja,

whether running out of money,

pa naj gre za to, da nam bo zmanjkalo denarja,

getting sick, ending up alone,

da bomo zboleli ali osameli,

and those fears are legitimate and real.

in ti strahovi so upravičeni in stvarni.

But what never dawns on most of us

Toda povečini se nam še posveti ne,

is that the experience of reaching old age

da je dosega poznih let

can be better or worse depending on the culture

lahko boljša ali slabša glede na kulturo,

in which it takes place.

v kateri živimo.

It is not having a vagina that makes life harder for women.

Življenje žensk ni težje zato, ker imajo nožnico.

It's sexism.

Težje je zaradi seksizma.

(Applause)

(Aplavz)

It's not loving a man that makes life harder for gay guys.

In življenje gejev ni težje zato, ker ljubijo moške,

It's homophobia.

marveč zaradi homofobije.

And it is not the passage of time that makes getting older

In ni minevanje časa tisto, zaradi česar je staranje toliko težje

so much harder than it has to be.

kot bi lahko bilo.

It is ageism.

Težje je zaradi starizma.

When labels are hard to read

Kadar stežka preberemo etikete na izdelkih

or there's no handrail

ali kadar ni stopniščne ograje

or we can't open the damn jar,

ali kadar ne moremo odpreti konzerve,

we blame ourselves,

obtožujemo sebe

our failure to age successfully,

in svoje neuspešno staranje

instead of the ageism that makes those natural transitions shameful

namesto starizma, ki spreminja te naravne prehode v sramotne,

and the discrimination that makes those barriers acceptable.

in diskriminacije, zaradi katere so te ovire sprejemljive.

You can't make money off satisfaction,

Z zadovoljstvom ne morete služiti denarja,

but shame and fear create markets,

osramočenost in strah pa zagotovo ustvarjata trge,

and capitalism always needs new markets.

in kapitalizem vedno potrebuje nove trge.

Who says wrinkles are ugly?

Kdo pravi, da so gube grde?

The multi-billion-dollar skin care industry.

Multimiljardna kozmetična industrija.

Who says perimenopause and low T and mild cognitive impairment

Kdo trdi, da so perimenopavza in nizek testosteron

in blažje kognitivne okvare zdravstvene težave?

are medical conditions?

The trillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry.

Multimilijardna farmacevtska industrija.

(Cheers)

(Vzklikanje)

The more clearly we see these forces at work,

Bolj jasno ko vidimo te sile na delu,

the easier it is to come up with alternative, more positive

lažje se domislimo alternative, pozitivnejših

and more accurate narratives.

in točnejših zgodb.

Aging is not a problem to be fixed or a disease to be cured.

Staranje ni problem, niti bolezen, ki bi jo bilo treba ozdraviti.

It is a natural, powerful, lifelong process that unites us all.

Je naraven, pomemben, vseživljenjski proces, ki nas povezuje.

Changing the culture is a tall order, I know that, but culture is fluid.

Sprememba kulture je težavno delo, vem, toda kultura je spremenljiva.

Look at how much the position of women has changed in my lifetime

Poglejte, kako zelo se je spremenil položaj žensk v času mojega življenja

or the incredible strides that the gay rights movement

ali neverjetne korake, ki jih je naredilo gibanje za pravice gejev

has made in just a few decades, right?

v pičlih nekaj desetletjih.

(Applause)

(Aplavz)

Look at gender.

Poglejte spol.

We used to think of it as a binary, male or female,

O njem smo razmišljali kot o binarnem, moškem in ženskem,

and now we understand it's a spectrum.

danes pa razumemo, da je spekter.

It is high time to ditch the old-young binary, too.

Skrajni čas je, da se znebimo tudi dvojnosti star-mlad.

There is no line in the sand between old and young,

Starih in mladih ne ločuje črta v pesku,

after which it's all downhill.

po kateri bi šlo samo še navzdol.

And the longer we wait to challenge that idea,

In dlje ko odlašamo z zoperstavljanjem tej zamisli,

the more damage it does to ourselves and our place in the world,

več škode delamo sebi in svojemu mestu na svetu,

like in the workforce, where age discrimination is rampant.

recimo med delavci, kjer je starostna diskriminacija nebrzdana.

In Silicon Valley, engineers are getting Botoxed and hair-plugged

Inženirji v Silikonski dolini si vbrizgavajo botoks in presajajo lase

before key interviews --

pred pomembnimi intervjuji -

and these are skilled white men in their 30s,

in to so visoko usposobljeni belci tridesetih let,

so imagine the effects further down the food chain.

predstavljajte si, kako je šele nižje v prehranski verigi.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

The personal and economic consequences are devastating.

Posledice za ljudi in gospodarstvo so uničujoče.

Not one stereotype about older workers holds up under scrutiny.

Niti en stereotip o starejših delavcih ne zdrži natančnejšega pogleda.

Companies aren't adaptable and creative because their employees are young;

Podjetja niso prilagodljiva in ustvarjalna, ker zaposlujejo mlade,

they're adaptable and creative despite it.

prilagodljiva in ustvarjalna so kljub temu.

Companies --

Podjetja …

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplavz)

We know that diverse companies aren't just better places to work;

Vemo, da raznolika podjetja niso le boljša delovna okolja;

they work better.

tudi uspešnejša so.

And just like race and sex, age is a criterion for diversity.

Prav kot rasa in spol je tudi starost kriterij raznolikosti.

A growing body of fascinating research

Čedalje več fascinantnih raziskav kaže,

shows that attitudes towards aging

da odnos do starosti

affect how our minds and bodies function at the cellular level.

vpliva na delovanje uma in telesa na celični ravni.

When we talk to older people like this (Speaks more loudly)

Kadar govorimo s starejšimi tako (govori glasneje)

ali jih nagovarjamo z »dragico« ali »mlado gospo« -

or call them "sweetie" or "young lady" --

it's called elderspeak --

gre za starostno govorico -

they appear to instantly age,

se v trenutku postarajo

walking and talking less competently.

ter se bolj negotovo gibljejo in govorijo.

People with more positive feelings towards aging

Ljudje s pozitivnejšimi občutki glede staranja

walk faster,

hodijo hitreje,

they do better on memory tests,

boljši so v spominskih preizkusih,

they heal quicker, and they live longer.

hitreje ozdravijo in dlje živijo.

Even with brains full of plaques and tangles,

Kljub možganom, ki so polni plakov in vozlov.

some people stayed sharp to the end.

Nekateri ostanejo bistri do konca.

What did they have in common?

Kaj imajo skupnega?

A sense of purpose.

Občutek smisla.

And what's the biggest obstacle to having a sense of purpose in late life?

In kaj je največja ovira za občutek smisla v poznih letih?

A culture that tells us that getting older means shuffling offstage.

Kultura, ki nam govori, da staranje pomeni podrsavanje v zakulisju.

That's why the World Health Organization is developing

Zato tudi Svetovna zdravstvena organizacija oblikuje

a global anti-ageism initiative

globalno protistarostno iniciativo,

to extend not just life span but health span.

da bi poleg življenja podaljšali tudi zdravje.

Women experience the double whammy

Ženske živijo pod dvojnim pritiskom

of ageism and sexism,

starizma in seksizma,

so we experience aging differently.

zato drugače doživljamo staranje.

There's a double standard at work here -- shocker --

Gre za delovanje dvojnega merila - šokantno -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

the notion that aging enhances men and devalues women.

zamisel, da staranje izboljša moške in razvrednoti ženske.

Women reinforce this double standard when we compete to stay young,

In ženske podpiramo to dvojno merilo, kadar tekmujemo, da bi ostale mlade,

another punishing and losing proposition.

s čimer dodatno izgubljamo.

Does any woman in this room really believe

Ali katera ženska v tej dvorani resnično misli,

that she is a lesser version --

da je slabša različica -

less interesting, less fun in bed, less valuable --

manj zanimiva, slabša v postelji, manj vredna -

than the woman she once was?

od ženske, kakršna je nekoč bila?

This discrimination affects our health,

Ta diskriminacija škoduje našemu zdravju,

our well-being and our income,

počutju in dohodku

and the effects add up over time.

in posledice se s časom prištevajo.

They are further compounded by race and by class,

Dodatno jih stopnjujeta rasa in družbeni razred,

which is why, everywhere in the world,

zato so stare nebelske ženske

the poorest of the poor are old women of color.

najrevnejše od revnih.

What's the takeaway from that map?

Kaj je ključni poudarek vsega tega?

By 2050, one out of five of us,

Do leta 2050 bo eden od petih med nami,

almost two billion people,

skoraj dve milijardi ljudi,

will be age 60 and up.

star 60 let ali več.

Longevity is a fundamental hallmark of human progress.

Dolgoživost je temeljni znak človeškega napredka.

All these older people represent a vast unprecedented and untapped market.

Vsi ti starejši ljudje predstavljajo edinstveno in neizkoriščeno tržišče.

And yet, capitalism and urbanization have propelled age bias

Pa vendar sta kapitalizem in urbanizacija razširila starostne predsodke

into every corner of the globe,

v vse kotičke planeta,

from Switzerland, where elders fare the best,

od Švice, kjer se starejšim godi najbolje,

to Afghanistan, which sits at the bottom of the Global AgeWatch Index.

do Afganistana, ki čepi na dnu globalnega starostnega indeksa.

Half of the world's countries aren't mentioned on that list

Seznam ne zajema polovice držav na svetu,

because we don't bother to collect data on millions of people

saj se nam ne zdi vredno zbirati podatkov o milijonih ljudi,

because they're no longer young.

ki niso več mladi.

Almost two-thirds of people over 60 around the world

Skoraj dve tretjini ljudi nad 60. letom

say they have trouble accessing healthcare.

ima težave z zdravstveno oskrbo.

Almost three-quarters say their income doesn't cover basic services

Skoraj tri četrtine jih pravi, da njihov dohodek ne krije osnovnih potreb,

like food, water, electricity, and decent housing.

kot so voda, hrana, elektrika in spodobno bivanje.

Is this the world we want our children, who may well live to be a hundred,

Želimo, da bodo naši otroci, ki bodo verjetno živeli do stotega leta,

to inherit?

podedovali tak svet?

Everyone -- all ages, all genders, all nationalities --

Vsi - vseh starosti, spolov, narodnosti -

is old or future-old,

so stari ali bodo stari,

and unless we put an end to it, ageism will oppress us all.

in če ne bomo pregnali starizma, bo zatiral vse.

And that makes it a perfect target for collective advocacy.

Zaradi česar je odlična tarča za kolektivno javno zavzemanje.

Why add another -ism to the list when so many, racism in particular,

Čemu dodati še en -izem na seznam, ko pa se je nujno boriti

call out for action?

proti mnogim, zlasti rasizmu?

Here's the thing:

Gre za to,

we don't have to choose.

da nam ni treba izbirati.

When we make the world a better place to grow old in,

Kajti ko bo svet postal boljši kraj za staranje,

we make it a better place in which to be from somewhere else,

bo boljši kraj tudi za tiste od drugod,

to have a disability,

za telesno in umsko prizadete,

to be queer, to be non-rich, to be non-white.

drugače spolno usmerjene, nebogate in nebele.

And when we show up at all ages for whatever cause matters most to us --

In kadar se ljudje vseh starosti zavzamemo za nekaj, kar nam je pomembno -

save the whales, save the democracy --

reševanje kitov, reševanje demokracije –

we not only make that effort more effective,

je naše prizadevanje bolj učinkovito,

we dismantle ageism in the process.

v procesu pa tudi uničujemo starizem.

Longevity is here to stay.

Dolgoživost je tu in bo ostala.

A movement to end ageism is underway.

Gibanje proti starizmu je v teku.

I'm in it, and I hope you will join me.

V njem sem in upam, da se mi boste pridružili.

(Applause and cheers)

(Aplavz in vzklikanje)

Thank you. Let's do it! Let's do it!

Hvala. Naredimo to! Naredimo to!

(Applause)

(Aplavz)