Using age as an insult or argument

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Whenever people are in an argument with me they always have to bring up my age. I f*****g hate it. It usually has nothing to do with the subject matter. It's just their way of saying look at me I'm so wise and experienced, but you're eighteen so you automatically know nothing. Respect your elders you brat!

I'm 65, and I am prepared to be beaten to a pulp at any time by a drug-crazed gang of teen-aged idiots. Get over it!...

DK - I think you are a bolshie b***h with attitude, and if only I were a few decades younger..... well, who knows what might have happened?

People do this to me all the time. And why is MrGrumpy being so...Grumpy?

Ad hominem reasoning ("You are too old/young to know the truth...") is a logical fallacy.

Younger people are great with facts and, therefore, their worldview is based on those facts. They are usually altruistic and want to show it off so that others will correct their mistakes. That ability can be useful.

Older people are great with experiences and, therefore, their worldview is based on those experiences. They are usually wise and want to let their wisdom show through their actions so that others might choose to learn from them. That ability can be useful, too.

The trick is to balance the two abilities. That usually happens at noon on a person's 39th birthday [kidding! ... sort of].

Last edited by AspieUtah on 22 Jun 2014, 1:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Uncalled for.

Me? Grumpy? No chance...

Boring.

Well because he is Mr. Grumpy.

I have seen this a lot on sites like YouTube, where every comment section is a war zone for babbling idiots. Often the person on the losing side of the argument grasps at straws and pulls the whole 'ur probly lyk 8 yrs old or sumthing!! !! !!' thing. Usually the one receiving this insult is more mature than the one who sent it?as seen with the sixty-five-year-old man who accused you of being a 'bolshie *****' because?I dunno, you're young?

You misunderstand - the phrase 'bolshie b***h with attitude' is, from me, high praise.

How is it high praise?

Also, I get this a lot too, normally from adults, but sometimes older teens. I dislike it in the extreme because age is irrelevant to what I am usually saying, and attempting to
discredit a person based on age is ridiculous. People always told "from the mouths of babes come pearls of wisdom", but somehow, this doesn't apply once the person is older than 6.

I've been through a lot in my 15 years of existence- falling off a boat into shark-infested waters (the sharks circled around me and tried to attack), a volcanic eruption, a flood, an earthquake, a house fire, an emotionally abusive home(not anymore- abusive members either moved or were divorced), depression, high school and college. Age doesn't discredit my experiences, or any wisdom I gained through them.

Most people will tell you that at 18 they were quite naive, at 18 your views are still evolving, the things you now know are at their very infancy, things are going to dramatically change through your late teens and early 20's... as the years press and you're met with the nastier sides of reality. Young people are also very prone to black and white thinking, unable to see the shades of grey that complicate things in real life. Exposure to the nastier sides of reality is what makes old people jaded or cynical, but this is something that's waiting for everyone, the closer you are to the truth the less happier you are for it.

I wouldn't know if your situation should be taken as an insult because I don't know the manner in which this was argued... but when you're 30, you're going to look at your 18 year old self in very different lenses, this sort of sentiment is very universally felt among older people and considering how much you're going to learn and then experience... I would actually keep in mind that perspective.

I'm struggling to decide how to answer your very heartfelt questions. It isn't easy for a lifelong Aspie who struggles to do Empathy.

Bolshie b*****s with attitude will, one way or another, find a place for themselves in life's rich tapestry. Age doesn't really come into it.

What you need is attitude!

I'm sorry if that sounds stupid - when my children were young, I used to tell them that there are two kinds of people in the world - the Quick, and the Dead.

Make of it what you will.

I understand. I do have an attitude, but I can normally tell who I should conceal it around and who I shouldn't. As for the quick or dead part, I and very agile in the physical and mental sense. My attitude is normally not negative, though I'm occasionally passive-aggressive. I typically come across as intelligent, indifferent to society- if empathetic to individual people-and with a dry and dark sense of humor.

I'm in the process of developing a more noticeable and aggressive personality and a thicker skin because I joined the debate team.

Once I got into an argument about rape online. The person I was discussing with said that I still went to high school so I couldn't really know anything about rape. Yeah, because high school students or younger people can't be raped and don't risk to be raped, do they?

Leniorose - I really appreciate your willingness to engage with me, and I have been trying to think how I can return the compliment.

I have reached a stage in life where I feel that most people know 'better' than me. I struggle with the cyberworld, and etc etc - you know what I mean...

You guys have the world at your feet - I would really like to be back there with you.