Evaluating Claims Paper

The article on Moodle I chose to write this paper on is “Do not let them know you are OLD” by Sally Harris. This article came from the winter 2011 issue of Research Magazine at Virginia Tech. It is an article on the topic of ageism within our society. In “Do not let them know you are OLD”, there are several claims made within this article. One of the main claims within the article that Harris makes is that people are made to think that it is shameful to allow yourself to look or get old while aging. This is where the concept of ageism comes in. Ageism is simply the discrimination of old people because they have allowed themselves to be old. Another claim Harris makes is that ageism is destroying parts of our elderly society. Society accepts ageism and goes along with it because we want senior citizens to look and feel younger.
The article goes on to claim that some of the anti-aging advertisements for guarding against aging promote both ageism and sexism. The argument given for this is that it can be detrimental because of the negative message it sends to the elderly population. Society tells senior citizens they should do everything possible to slow the aging process, and if they don’t then they basically deserve the health problems brought upon them. These ads go on to tell the senior citizen population to be more like they were back when they were middle age. They go on to imply being inactive and different is unacceptable. This is buying into ageism (Calasanti p28-29, quoted in Harris 2011).
Another claim the article makes is that no matter how much we sugar coat it, discriminating against old people from being different is still considered ageism. An argument made is that no matter whether senior citizens do things to look younger then they are still different. We as society are still viewing them as different and buying into ageism. Harris claims that getting old is going to happen to us all and that we shouldn’t try and prevent it. The argument is if we do we are contributing to ageism and discrimination.
The claimsmaking within this article would be in between the media coverage and public reaction stage. It would be in between these two stages because Harris wrote this article to get the public and the educational audience to realize that ageism is an issue within our society. I do believe she is situating the claims in a broader context. She frames Dr. Calasanti’s research as an important part of her argument thus building off of her claims as well.
Harris, the claimsmaker, is not responding to policy but rather responding to media. She and Calasanti both are responding to the advertisements of anti-aging products geared toward senior citizens. Harris is contributing to the natural history of these claims and this social problem because she relies heavily on Calasanti’s research, studies, and arguments to help her thus boost her claims further.
The grounds of the claim that the concept of ageism can be detrimental towards senior citizens within our society holds the answer of what this article thinks is wrong with this societal problem. Senior citizens are made to feel inferior by the aging appearance of their bodies. Harris argues that it is detrimental because it causes false images of age through advertising. The warrants of this claim argues simply that the concept of ageism is wrong because being old is being classified as a disease or something bad rather than a time to just enjoy life as it is. Another warrant given is that discrimination is present within ageism and advertisements and is continuing the concept men are above women. In the end, Harris uses Calasanti’s argument that more research should be conducted toward ageism and why the physical appearance of age on our bodies causes discrimination. Harris concludes more studies on the differences between the way men and women react to their aging bodies should be conducted. Harris also