Back in 2007 on my former blog spot over at myspace, I wrote a blog on my frustration surrounding the lack of compassion for the elderly. After a recent blow-out here with the public library, along with continued strife in the home support offices, (in my THIRD community of residence since 2007) the lack of kindness or compassion towards the elderly is on the rise all over it seems. It is still predominant during customer service phone calls from people all across Canada, but when I am faced with this cruel outlook towards the elderly on a local basis, it makes it far more up-close and personal, hitting home harder. It makes me wonder what the future holds for our “supposedly” most respected and revered citizens.
13 Feb 2007
The elderly and the lack of respect they get.....
As my mother's primary caregiver, I grow increasingly frustrated with the great lack of respect and compassion for the elderly. On Mum's behalf, I speak to many different organizations that represent services for the elderly; services that she receives from Veteran's Affairs, Home Support, etc, and so many of the people who work for these service organizations, just DO NOT care about the elderly that they represent! They are supposed to be working FOR the elderly, yet so many of them are rude and don't have a shred of compassion to offer when the need arises!
A lot (but not all) of the home support workers who come to bathe Mum and deal with her personal care are great....nice, caring individuals. However, all too often people in the offices that take care of scheduling, or invoicing, etc, are snippy and rude and clearly take great offense to many of the services these "old people" are getting! I get the feeling from them that they feel they are being deprived personally or out of pocket somehow from these old people getting so much....when in fact, the elderly should be catered to and cared for with golden glove service!! Especially the war vets who fought for our freedom, as Mum did!
Why is it such a problem to lay out the red carpet for the elderly? Don't they deserve it? Seriously, the elderly (and children) are the ones who should be given the most in this world from our governments and should also be given care and consideration from the rest of society!
Yet so few seem to really care. Can people not realize that we will ALL get old and need help and want compassion and consideration for our aches and pains and grouchy, elderly moods? And can people not remember what it is like to be a child and how great it is to be indulged a little in life? And if someone wasn't fortunate enough to be given love or compassion as a child, shouldn't that be even more of a reason to want to give that out to children now? Or to the elderly?
There are just so many angry, non-compassionate people out there who cannot give to those who deserve it most, who do not know how to give or clue in to what is most important in life....and it makes me so frustrated!
The scheduling department at Home Support never phone to say when Mum's regular worker is off sick and a replacement will be coming, and this is so stressful for her. All of a sudden a stranger appears to bathe her after she has formed a rapport with her regular worker....and when I phone and complain to scheduling, they just say well, we don't have time to call everyone, we are busy making schedules and we have over 300 clients to deal with! They give ME attitude instead of showing a little care and concern for my mother's feelings! And when I say that to them, they act like, so what? It isn't a big deal and that's life, tough. Well, what about common human decency? And if they don't have the staff to call all the elderly clients who they have made scheduling changes for, then find some volunteers to do it! Or at least be sorry about not being able to call! But they, like so many others who work in service for the elderly, care more about their paycheck than they do about the elderly people they are supposed to be working for!
And it isn't only the people of my generation (and older) working for the elderly who have this lack of compassion.....it is many of the younger people of today too! So often I hear a lack of patience or kindness shown towards the elderly...teenagers who think that all old people do is complain and bring them down. But these teenagers are usually the children of people who don't care and have no compassion to teach their children so this cycle continues!
I have heard from so many people, of all generations, that they don't think the elderly deserve any special treatment. That they shouldn't be excused for bad temperment or complaints or aches and pains...and these are usually the same people who show little support or sympathy for children getting any special treatment or "extras" in life either!
There are just too many unconcerned, uncompassionate, hollow people out there and I fear it is getting worse, not better. But I am thankful to have a higher thought capacity to be able to give where it counts....to the children and to the elderly...and hopefully I can spread that goodness to enough people who's lives I touch, to make a difference.
Whoever reads this....please be good to your children and your elderly. Please give in compassion, forgiveness and care....and above all, real love.
1 comment:
I currently work at an "Old person mall." I've never seen so many disrespectful young people at one time in all my life!! Laughing when they fall asleep on the bench, not letting them on the bus first, walking past them trying to open the door. I've never been so proud to be made fun of - I didn't realize respecting the elderly was so uncool or something. Shame on my generation...it's embarrassing.
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