to think older age is no excuse for sexism, racism and misogyny?

My dad would have been 87 this year and he wasn’t sexist or racist. He was a white man married to an Indian women with mixed race children. He was a stay-at-home dad whose wife was the main breadwinner. He looked after the household and did the lions share of the cooking and childcare. I did all science and maths A levels and went on to study Biochemistry with his full support. There’s no excuse for older people to be prejudiced. YANBU.

Lol. I guess that's one way of saying "I don't know how to answer that point".

I have no interest in what you're saying so all the best!

I honestly have no idea, I have never understood it.

That's kind of the whole point of the thread, I guess.

Goodness me, I think many people have misinterpreted OPs post! It’s the opposite of ageism.

I think broadly speaking the generation who could possibly “excuse” racist comments as being outdated language etc are mostly no longer with us!

my grandparents would all be well over 100 now if they were still alive and they definitely used some offensive words - stuff that was socially accepted in their lives but no longer ok. But my parents generation are in their 80s now and are very aware of what is acceptable or what’s racist. I don’t think it can be dismissed as a generational thing anymore.

Then why do people use it as an excuse, even on here?

Assuming all people with the same skin colour or ethnicity share the sane negative characteristics is racist. Of course, there are many in MN who defend that point of view and you may be one of them, who knows.

I have no interest in what John Lennon said and I am of that era.

I haven’t met anyone old who speaks this way OP.
I am sorry your relatives do.

Depends on what someone is saying is 'racist'.

Ism and ists are overused these days - even back in the days of John Lennon - he complained about it, too.

Everybody's talking about / Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism / This-ism, that-ism, ism ism ism

Yep, me too.

The OP explicitly stated that "plenty of people from the same generation manage to treat women and people from different backgrounds with respect" and used this to argue that age should not be seen as an excuse.

Some posters should perhaps just acknowledge that they failed to read the OP properly?

Is it maybe attention seeking - no excuse when everyone has corrected them

Well I understood perfectly what the OP is saying. I am surprised you don't.

I’m pointing out to you why people are assuming you are talking about a generation rather than just your family. You seemed to be confused.

The answer is in your own title to your own thread ¯\(ツ)/¯

Exactly. My father is pushing 90, and he has been speaking out against racism and misogyny since before I was even born!

Exactly.

But being racist wasn't universal 'in their day'. I was born in the 1950s and I wasn't brought up that way. Besides which they have had decades to change.

Just let them get on with it OP. The views they're expressing are all the rage these days...

Yes. She's saying quite the opposite.

Not really. I am over 70 but it often comes up on MN - people excusing racism etc because of someone's age. There was no excuse in the 1970s and no excuse now.

I seriously worry about the lack of reading comprehension exhibited on this thread.

OP, your elderly relatives were in their 40s in the 90s. Believe it or not, racism and sexism weren’t ok then either. If they’re being racist and sexist now, that’s because they are racist and sexist.

I think sometimes people post on here as if old people were all born in 1820 and ideas like sex and race equality are some sort novelty for them. If you’re 75 now you were in your early teens at the start of second wave feminism, 30 when the Brixton riots happened, 42 when Stephen Lawrence was murdered. For your entire adult life it’s been normal for women to have careers. Old people aren’t that old.

snip