Othering & Belonging Institute: Rethinking the COVID-19 Story: Are Our Elders Expendable?(August 5, 2020)

In this powerful 10-minute video featuring our Executive Director, Kevin Prindiville, the filmmaker explores the ageism inherent in the United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This first episode of a series explores the widely-shared narrative that our elders should be sacrificed for the economy, as exemplified by comments from conservative political leaders suggesting that the economy has more value than the health and safety of vulnerable people. “Age and ageism is really strange type of othering, said Kevin. “Because we all hope to eventually grow older. But we tend to think of older people as a “them” and that allows us to make policy decisions that are not only harmful for that group, but for all of us.”