Day of Dew

Joe Biden's age isn't a problem, and it certainly isn't the problem.

The rampant and frankly disgusting ageism associated with Biden's candidacy disgusts me. Ageism is arguably the last socially acceptable form of discrimination left, and the press, television and social media are just wallowing in it right now.

Biden is 81. Bernie Sanders is 82, but no one's saying that he should retire due to age. Christ, Marshall Allen just turned freaking 100, and he's still playing alto saxophone with the Sun Ra Arkestra, and playing with fire and passion. 

It doesn't matter what number a person's age is. Discriminating against a person on the basis of the year of their birth is still discrimination.

Mental acuity, memory, mobility, and cognitive ability are all real issues. If there are problems with Joe Biden, and I'm not denying that there are, they're related to his cognitive abilities and speech pathology, not his age. I also won't deny that as a person ages, memory, acuity, and cognition become impaired, although at different rates in different people. But to say that year x is "too old" for a job, for a role, or for a meaningful place in society is prejudicial and discriminatory. 

Look at the DMV. As people age, eyesight can become a problem. But the DMV doesn't say that after some certain age, people are too old to drive. Instead, they require eye exams for everyone, and if you pass, your vision's okay to drive a car, regardless of whether you're 18 or 81. If you can't prove adequate corrected eyesight, you're denied a license, simple as that.

So stop with the ageism already. I swear, if I hear one more motherfucker say Joe Biden's "too old," I swear I'll, um, well, I'll do something. I'll get angry, I know that much. Say he lacks mental acuity, say he can't keep a train of thought, say he's forgetful - that's all fine. But none of those are the same as saying he's of any particular age.