Ageism in the newsI think one of the journalist’s social responsibilities is to be innovative and to foresee the needs of a society and direct people to the right path. But I share the view that the mass media usually reinforce social norms and hinder the transformation of society. I came across an “ageist” report in an exclusive story in the Oriental Daily in December 1997. The report was about elderly volunteers in Tung Wah Hospital helping to pack drugs. Concern was raised about the possibility of giving the wrong drugs and dosages to patients, since the elderly volunteers do not know English, not to mention having a lack of professional knowledge in pharmacy. The female elderly volunteers were called ah pohs in the report, and this gave me the impression the volunteers were ignorant due to their age. I think labelling the volunteers as ah pohs stresses the volunteers’ age rather than their lack of professional knowledge. I am sure an employed female pharmacist in her 60s packing drugs in the pharmacy would never be called an ah poh because calling an old woman an ah poh implys ignorance. In a world striving for political correctness today, people try to eliminate anything that possibly reinforces inequalities. Legislation exists in Hong Kong against age discrimination. But the news report runs counter to the trend. Every member of society makes a contribution. It is true that many Hong Kong old people are illiterate and do not have any professional knowledge, but this does not mean they are ignorant or useless. They are illiterate because they have not received mass education. The literate people today should recognise the formal education they received is the outcome of the former generation’s contributions. Old people today still contribute to Hong Kong. The elderly women concerned are doing volunteer work. I see labelling these volunteers as ah pohs, which conveys a hidden meaning of ignorance, reinforces the to-be-abandoned traditional view that old people are ignorant and vulnerable. I appreciate the reporters’ observation of the incident that the elderly are allowed to enter the pharmacy even they do not know the password of the electronic security system. The reporters are probably sensitive and patient since they reportedly observed such incidents for two weeks. But more than observation is necessary for journalists to fulfil their social
responsibility. [Errors in Dolphin Story||Wasted Expenses] |
