Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: bornconfuzd
The comparison the op linked to was never meant as an argument for action but only as an illustration of how badly, (at least), some elderly are treated in comparison to how well, (at least), some prisoners are treated.
We know.
And it functions by zooming in on a few salient points and ignoring everything of real value. Which is the problem.
Yes, most retirement homes are bad -- much worse than they should be. But if you really think there's an actual, serious argument to be made that they're comparable to actual prisons, the most charitable thing to infer is that you simply don't understand how utterly horrific a prison is.
A bad retirement home is one where you're usually bored, the staff is often negligent, and the conditions are sometimes dirty. A prison is a place where you're under constant threat of violence, the staff basically owns your every move (except when they're failing to protect you from getting shanked), you couldn't leave if you wanted to, outsiders can rarely visit you, you have almost no privacy, and your living space is... a prison cell. To suggest that those are comparable, or that a few meals and showers make up the difference, is simply dishonest.
By all means, let us focus on the problems we have as a society, and let us say loudly that our treatment of our elders is one of them. Let's just not lie to each other in the process.
Satire - Definition of
Good grief, lighten up!