A Shout Out to Save the Children About Their Age Discrimination

Countin' flowers on the wall

That don't bother me at all

Playin' solitaire till dawn with a deck of fifty-one

Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo

Now don't tell me I've nothin' to do

On the second of June just past, I celebrated reaching threescore and ten. And to misquote the throw-away line from Woody Allen's 1988 movie Another Woman, "The one good thing about becoming 70 is you don't have to do it again." For at this age, my doctorate in Risk and Reward management is secure. To just have survived a biblical lifetime, conclusively demonstrates I have a wealth of experience handling these two larrikins.

   

The day after reaching this milestone the management of the Save the Children Op Shops told me I could no longer volunteer at their Morley shop. I was banned entry as a worker to the store at which I had been a shift supervisor four days a week for the last two years. Management said it was for my own safety.

Due to the fact that people over the age of 70 were liable to have a complicated reaction to the COVID 19 virus, Save the Children had decided to cull their volunteers aged 70 and over. It was an edict proclaimed by the organization's 'Head Office' without any consultation with those it affected. And because of a loophole in The Age Discrimination Act of 2004, The Australian Human Rights Commission is unable to prosecute this blatant example of age discrimination. (Voluntary work and domestic duties in private households are not covered under the law.)

Based on this rationale, Save the Children would, no doubt, like to see people over 70 banned from crossing the road. Should they be in an altercation with a motor vehicle, their resultant injuries could possibly be greater than those experienced by a person from a younger age group? Save the Children conveniently ignore the fact that 70-year old's have a great deal more experience in reading traffic flows than younger people and consequently have a reduced potential for such an altercation.

Likewise, this banned cohort has the smarts to ensure their own safety during a pandemic. It is the height of conceit that some wet behind the ears 40-year old has the effrontery to dictate the behaviour of those who taught them all that they know.

To say I am disappointed in Save the Children is an understatement of massive proportions. They have cast themselves in the role of the nemesis in the 1966 Grammy award-winning song 'Flowers on the Wall,' the chorus of which opens this blog post. The full song can be seen below.

PS. Save the Children have deemed it is OK for those aged 70 and over to enter their Op Shops as customers.