“Older person”

In The Washington Post, Gary Abernathy writes about ageism and how it grates:

How should we respectfully refer to old people? I’ve seen people 60-plus still refer to themselves as “middle aged,” but let’s be a little more realistic and cut that off at least by 59. The word “old,” however, is such a pejorative that it should not be used alone. “Older person” is preferable. I hesitate to use “elderly” at all, which implies not just old age but a feeble condition. I’ve always despised “senior citizen” and references to the “golden years.” How ’bout “best people ever?” That’s good.

And:

I sometimes notice younger people in social settings looking past me or through me, as though I’m almost invisible.

Yep.

*

I just remembered and found something that I wrote in an e-mail to a friend earlier this year. Here it is, with one slip fixed:

Old — when I bought the graphic novels New Kid and Class Act at Barnes & Nobility, the clerk mentioned its their new popularity and that of Maus, and I mentioned that I was the first person in my English department to teach a graphic novel, namely Maus. Years ago, I said, shortly after the invention of printing. She didn’t laugh, didn’t bat an eye. This seems to happen as one becomes older — what you say goes right past people. Grr. And when I’ve acquired such wisdom!

[I changed the ‘bout in the Abernathy passage to ’bout. ’Cos that’s how I roll.]