Facing It

It’s almost impossible, I’ve discovered, to get through a book without finding an ageist comment. In the how-to I’m currently reading, it took until chapter 6.

The writer mentions a friend who has cited “men where you are now”—then he delivers a comic aside: Let’s face it, he means middle age.

And there it is.

That little “let’s-face-it” is a bit of “here’s-the-bad-news” humor meant to provide a touch of vulnerability. But for heaven’s sake, the guy is in his 40s. That makes him the butt of a joke?

Let’s face it: This is how ageism gets passed along.

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