Comment on Only boomers can use this bench. Meanwhile, they're trying to get rid of their own property taxes.
pulsewidth@lemmy.world 10 hours agoI disagree wholeheartedly. This is a dumb exclusionary policy being fairly pointed out, not ageism.
I’ll explain it with a comparision of the language used.
The language used for benches like this in my country, Australia: “Priority seating. Please stand for seniors and handicapped people”.
Priority, based on needs. Anyone can use it otherwise.
The language used in this sign: “Benches are for seniors are handicapped citizens only”
Exclusionary, based on privilege and needs. If you are old and infirm and a citizen ONLY YOU may ever use this bench, and if you’re not a citizen (tourist, asylum seeker, migrant worker) you can fuck off regardless of your needs.
This is not a subtle distinction. This is language used to assert a hierarchy and exclude underclasses, and it’s embedded into every aspect of your society without most people even noticing because they’ve never seen different.
svdasein@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
I don’t disagree with you. My point is simply that in the US right now there’s a concerted effort to keep the citizenry in a frenzy of angry finger pointing to distract us from the fact that we are being robbed blind by the “Epstein class”. The issues are real, but these are relatively small issues in comparison. Those folks pay actual money to keep us doing this shit and it works. In the US we have a desperate need to understand that this is engineered, and the engineers are laughing their asses off at the screaming rabble.