How Ageism Leaves Seniors Vulnerable in COVID-19

疫情时代下的年龄歧视

王淑怡 供稿

“Ageism” refers to prejudice or discrimination against individuals on the basis of their chronological age. Seniors are more likely, as a consequence of the natural aging process, to have pre-existing conditions or less robust immune systems, but this is hardly true of every older person. A Chinese study found that COVID-19 was 60% more fatal to men than women, yet it’s hard to imagine public health professionals ordering all men to stay at home for their own safety.

“年龄歧视”是指对老年群体的偏见或歧视。老年人经历了自然衰老的过程，更易有既往病史或存在免疫力低下的问题，但并非每个老年人都是如此。中国的一项研究表明，新冠肺炎患者中男性的病亡率要比女性高60%，但很难想象，医疗专家会建议所有男性居家隔离以确保其自身安全。

Ageism brings no good. If anything, ageist prescriptions only make matters worse. For years, older people have been burdened with labels like “frail,” “helpless,” and “unable to contribute to society.” Seniors often internalize the structural ageism they encounter through policies and in public, compounding their feelings of inadequacy. Their resulting anxiety can have real-life health effects: Researchers have found structural and individual ageism can have a lasting negative impact on the well-being of the seniors impacted.

年龄歧视不会带来任何好处。如果要说有什么不同的话，年龄歧视只会让事情变得更糟。多年来，老年群体一直被贴上了“脆弱”、“无助”和“无法为社会做出贡献”等标签。老年人如果在某些政策和公开场合中遭受了结构性年龄歧视，他们往往会选择默默接受，这会加剧他们的能力不足之感。由此产生的焦虑会对其健康造成实质性影响。研究人员发现，结构性年龄歧视和个体年龄歧视会对受此影响的老年人的健康产生长期负面影响。

The problem is, not getting old isn’t an option. Unlike sexism and racism, anyone could be a victim of ageism. If nothing changes, all of us will one day be subject to the same prejudices and marginalization we subject seniors to today.

问题在于，人总会变老。不同于种族歧视和性别歧视，任何人都可能成为年龄歧视的受害者。如果这一情况不能有所转变，总有一天我们会像今天的老年人一样遭受偏见和忽视。

Many older people are indeed vulnerable to COVID-19. Yet, the real risk isn’t the coronavirus per se; it’s the accumulation of social disadvantages exacerbated by ageism. Discussions about our post-coronavirus future have tended to center on “getting back to normal,” but this is one area where we should reconsider what “normal” looks like. It’s time to listen to the voices of our forgotten older people and revisit how we treat them.

不可否认，许多老年人的确更易遭受新冠肺炎的侵害。然而，真正的风险并不在于病毒本身，而是受年龄歧视而不断加剧的社会弊端。关于后疫情时代的讨论主要集中在“恢复常态”上，但是，我们应当重新考虑什么才是“常态”。是时候倾听被我们遗忘的老年人的声音、重新审视我们对待他们的方式了。

With the battle against the coronavirus unlikely to end anytime soon, it’s important to look at the strengths and vulnerabilities of our seniors in an unbiased way, and to respect and protect them. After all, how we treat our older people is how we treat our future selves.

抗击新冠疫情必将是一场持久战。在此背景下，重要的是，我们要以平等的方式看待老年人的优势和弱点，尊重和保护他们。毕竟，善待老人就是善待明天的自己。

【VOCABULARY】

1. ageism n. 对老年人的歧视；年龄歧视

2. pre-existing adj. 现存的；已存在的

3. internalize v. 使（感情、态度或信仰）成为思想行为的一部分；使内在化

4. inadequacy n. 能力不足

5. marginalization n. 边缘化；忽视；排斥

6. per se adv. 本身；本质上

7. revisit v. 重新讨论；重新考虑