There’s a Reason for Discounts for Seniors

Daniel Akst, who I presume to be a baby boomer, terrorizes my generation one more time.

Before Akst’s generation came on the scene, we had already lived through the Depression and the biggest war in U.S. history. Five years later we lost as many men in Korea in three years than the country later lost during seven years in Vietnam.

For most of us, the longer-lasting terror came from raising Akst’s generation through the “child-centered home.” I can remember suffering in silence when a 2-year old, wearing hard shoes, danced on our valuable coffee table. On another occasion, a child picked up my sweet-tone Spanish guitar and smashed it to smithereens.

Never has a generation had more breathless attention from the media. Because there were so many of them, they became the prime target for advertisers.

In fact, with the possible exception of the Vietnam War, never has a generation been more coddled. True, my generation does get a lot of discounts. But traditionally Americans have treated their elderly with less respect than almost any other nation. If this current retribution helps, we’re entitled.

FLOYD A. OLIVER

Los Angeles