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Ashton Applewhite

@thischairrocks.bsky.social
747 followers 153 following 179 posts

Writer & public speaker. she/her/hers. Let's end #ageism — and all the rest, while we're at it. ThisChairRocks + Yo Is This Ageist? + the Old School Hub

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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
"Bill Maher’s comments tap into a growing frustration among veteran creatives who feel sidelined... If someone with Rob Reiner’s track record can’t get a project off the ground, it raises uncomfortable questions about who the system is really built to serve." #ageism www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...
yahoo.com
Bill Maher Calls Out Hollywood 'Ageism' After The Death Of Rob Reiner, Whom He Interviewed Right Before His Death
The comedian shares a sobering truth about Hollywood.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
some big and small ways that "ordinary" Americans are fighting back against ICE. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Ordinary Americans are fighting back against ICE: ‘We’re going to outlast them’
As Trump carries out his mass deportation operation, residents are banding together to block raids and distribute groceries
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Science Fact of the Day: At more than five thousand degrees Celsius, the Earth’s core is roughly as hot as the surface of the sun. Source: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
Why the Time Has Finally Come for Geothermal Energy
It used to be that drawing heat from deep in the Earth was practical only in geyser-filled places such as Iceland. But new approaches may have us on the cusp of an energy revolution.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
"“This verdict is a resounding message to corporations nationwide: age discrimination is illegal, it is harmful, and juries will hold employers accountable." www.einnews.com/pr_news/8735...
einnews.com
LA Jury Awards Record $103 Million in Largest Age Discrimination Verdict in U.S. History Against Liberty Mutual
In a landmark decision sending shockwaves through corporate America, a Los Angeles jury has awarded $103 million to plaintiff Joy Slagel in what is believed to
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
Well THAT'S a relief. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Turns out fighting fascism helps you live longer
Retirees are mobilizing to defend democracy—and the benefits literally show up in their DNA.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Wonder what native families learned from their elders? #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUd1...
youtube.com
Native Families On Lessons Learned from Elders | Cut
YouTube video by Cut
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Sick of hearing the boomers ruined everything? Or think the boomers *did* ruin everything? Here's a better way to think about who actually benefits from the generational blame game. Hint: it's about class, not age. thischairrocks.com/2025/11/19/t...
image of three hands belonging to people of different ages pointing at each other. generated by chatGPT
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
A skincare line for CHILDREN? Shame on @shaymitchell3.bsky.social for feeding and profiting off children's fears.
A young girl whose face is covered with clear plastic strips looks apprehensively at the photographer.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
"I like being done with figuring my life out—with figuring out where I should live, what I should focus on, what sort of people I like, how I like to spend my days. I know what’s important to me." novelist Gish Gen on @oldstermag.bsky.social substack.com/inbox/post/1...
substack.com
This is 70: Novelist Gish Jen Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire
"I like being done with figuring my life out—with figuring out where I should live, what I should focus on, what sort of people I like, how I like to spend my days. I know what’s important to me."
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Reposted by Ashton Applewhite
Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
Peter Coviello with another dynamite piece. lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
lithub.com
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
It's not in their 30s, 40s, or 50s either. www.good.is/age-of-funct...
good.is
Researchers reveal the age most hit their 'functional peak' and it's not their 20s
​It's all about the slow build to a peak.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Both the 1% and the 99% are made up of all ages. The story we need to tell isn’t about boomers vs. millennials. It’s about the rich and powerful vs. the rest of us. yoisthisageist.com
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
"#Ageism, especially against #women, discriminates against us in every area. But I'm shocked by the act of hiding one's age. I've spent the last few years championing maturity, and it pisses me off to see age become another kind of closet." 🙌 @annamanso.bsky.social en.ara.cat/sunday/for-w...
en.ara.cat
For a world without closets
I can't get it out of my head an interview in this same newspaper I spoke with an expert on ageism, and she explained that she hides her birthdate because it harms her. She knows what she's talking ab...
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Reader asks, "This article in Greater Good magazine asks, not very grammatically, Are Older People Dating Younger Ageist—or Just Practical? What do you think? My answer here: yoisthisageist.com/post/7990344...
yoisthisageist.com
Yo, Is This Ageist?
This article in Greater Good magazine asks, not very grammatically, Are Older People Dating Younger Ageist—or Just Practical?  What do you think? The way the question is posed is itself ageist,...
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
A reminder that @aarp.org "is in fact functioning as a multimillion-dollar marketing arm for an insurer [UnitedHealthcare] whose business model increasingly depends on enrolling seniors in private Medicare plans." healthcareuncovered.substack.com/p/unitedheal...
healthcareuncovered.substack.com
UnitedHealth and AARP Shake Hands on $9 Billion Deal
Behind the Capitol Hill photo ops and consumer-friendly slogans, AARP, America’s most trusted seniors’ group, has close financial ties with America’s largest health care conglomerate.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
What could possibly go wrong? 🥶https://palisaderesearch.org/blog/shutdown-resistance
palisaderesearch.org
Shutdown resistance in reasoning models
Read the full paper here. We recently discovered some concerning behavior in OpenAI’s reasoning models: When trying to complete a task, these models sometimes actively circumvent shutdown mechanisms i...
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
“Why would [gendered #ageism] be showing up in billions of words where there’s no visual presentation of people? That is really suggesting it’s woven into the fabric of how we categorize and interpret people in the social world.” news.stanford.edu/stories/2025...
news.stanford.edu
Researchers uncover AI bias against older working women
AI is perpetuating inaccurate gender and age stereotypes, influencing everything from hiring practices to workplace perceptions.
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Reposted by Ashton Applewhite
Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Whenever people complain about the number of folks relying on food stamps, it is worth reminding them that SNAP is, by too large of a degree, a subsidy for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage and their political allies who reject public policy prescriptions to reduce income inequality.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
I recommend saying brightly, "You look good for your age too!" www.womanandhome.com/life/news-en...
womanandhome.com
'You look good for your age': compliment or ageist insult? Expert weighs in
It's a lovely compliment, isn't it? Although it might seem like one, some people believe we should stop using the phrase in conversations
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
How a new generation of GOP activists talk when they think no one is listening 😨https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/14/private-chat-among-young-gop-club-members-00592146
politico.com
‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat
Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
What would a world without ageism look like? Here's an answer from ‪Jeanette Leardi‬ ‪@jeanetteleardi.bsky.social
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Happy #Ageism Awareness Day! Watch this two-minute animation. Take a deep breath. Choose an ageist thought or behavior to challenge—gently—today and going forward. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs28...
youtube.com
Imagine a world without ageism
YouTube video by The Benevolent Society
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Go Catalonia! #ageism www.catalannews.com/society-scie...
catalannews.com
'One of the most invisible violences': Hundreds gather to denounce ageism
Barcelona mayor attends International Day of Older Persons gathering
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
"Much like the resource curse entrenches autocracy in oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia, a US economy that no longer needs as many people to generate wealth will have much less incentive to take care of their needs." @jasmine.bsky.social conducts some internet anthropology jasmi.news/p/dictionary
jasmi.news
are you high-agency or an NPC?
AI anxiety and the new language of silicon valley
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
This @ilcuk.bsky.social report highlights that older people are more likely to benefit from talk therapy than younger patients. Surprised? Ask yourself why. www.msn.com/en-ca/health...
msn.com
MSN
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
This one is fun. www.thepoke.com/2025/09/04/f...
thepoke.com
Fox News says harping on Donald Trump’s erratic behavior and appearance is ‘ageism’ and Twitter’s irony police came swarming to the scene of the crime
Despite the many physical and mental signs of deterioration that the President of the United States is showing, not to mention his unexplained week-long disappearance, Donald Trump is alive and well. ...
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
As Trump's numbers fall, the ageist rhetoric is predictably ramping up. A reminder: #aging didn't turn Trump into a bully and tyrant. He was *always* a bully and tyrant.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
#Ageism hits educated white men in their forties. It's worse for everyone further down the food chain. www.financialexpress.com/trending/is-...
financialexpress.com
Is 40’s the new 60’s? 40-year-old man describes ageism is killing his job search
A 43-year-old former VP-level product manager with 15+ years of experience struggles to land a new role amid ageism in tech. Despite leading $100M+ product launches, he faces rejection for being "over...
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
A friend spotted in Berlin spotted “The Fountain of Youth” by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1547). yoisthisageist.com
A painting showing old women in ill health being brought to a large fountain in the center, where nude women cavort, then emerge as young maidens to dress, then feast and cavort with the menfolk.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
"Ultimately, the art world’s obsession with categorization, particularly the rigid 'emerging,' 'mid-career, and 'established' framework, serves more as a gatekeeping mechanism than a meaningful metric of artistic merit or impact. 1/2 www.blackartinamerica.com/blogs/news/t...
blackartinamerica.com
The Myth of the “Emerging” Black Artist: Ageism and Access in the Art World
The Myth of the “Emerging” Black Artist: Ageism and Access in the Art World By Chenoa Baker  The art world has created three categories to describe artists: emerging, mid-career, or established. These...
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Reposted by Ashton Applewhite
Lostcatdog @lostcatdog.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Washington Post: “Is fascism bad? The answer may surprise you” Teen Vogue: “Here are three fun tips you can use this summer to disable an armored personnel carrier”
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
A thoughtful take on the insidious nature of internalized ageism. "Many of my personal heroes are over 65," Frampton writes. "It’s the adults flying under the radar we need to worry about, and we need to be calling out systemic discrimination and condescension when we see it." #ageism
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
One for the snappy-answer department. #ageism www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...
yahoo.com
Twitch Streamer Cinna Destroys Ageist Trolls in Viral Rant: “Do You Prefer Kids?”
Twitch streamer Cinna is firing back at social media users who mocked her age following her appearance at the AMP Pool Party. After X (formerly Twitter) users began leaving comments… The post Twitch S...
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Guess what age group is most vulnerable to scams? What assumptions underlie your guess? www.experian.com/blogs/ask-ex...
experian.com
Who Gets Scammed the Most? - Experian
Learn what age group gets scammed the most, the most common type of scams, how much money is lost to scams and how you can avoid scams.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
What's the "real doom loop"? San Franciscans are growing older.Think the failure of governance or absence of affordable housing or lack of family leave have anything to do with it? Blaming olders is like blaming immigrants for "taking jobs away" or "crime surges." www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...
screen shot of San Francisco Chronicle headline reading "This is the real doom loop. It will change everything about life in the Bay Area. Animation shows crowd on sidewalk diminishing to contain only older people.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
"I’ve discovered as a therapist and as a patient in psychoanalysis that the capacity to anchor yourself in the reality of time passing,and to the potential for life to get better, is fundamental to good mental health." 🙌 Huzzah! www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
No, age isn’t just a number – and the sooner we realise that, the happier we will be
It’s tempting to want to stay young for ever. But each new life stage brings gains as well as losses
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
'I’m beginning to think it’s the very act of becoming “women of a certain age” that inclines us toward autonomous and radical thinking — and demanding our pleasure be taken seriously." www.thecut.com/article/how-...
thecut.com
The Little-Blue-Pill Problem
For some women of a certain age, their partners’ erectile-dysfunction prescriptions are redefining what sex looks like — and not always for the best.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
"Age inclusivity isn’t charity; it’s smart, responsible leadership.” #ageism www.forbes.com/sites/danpon...
forbes.com
Your Organization Likely Has An Ageism Problem
Maureen Wiley Clough noticed her industry’s glaring absence of older workers. And then it happened to her.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Benevolent #ageism is nevertheless insulting and unwelcome. “Ask them to change the way they are speaking with you,” counsels my wise friend and Aussie age advocate. Easier said than done, but necessary. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
theguardian.com
Why was this stranger calling me sweetheart? The benevolent ageism of ‘elderspeak’
It wasn’t the first time Marcia van Zeller had been treated as someone in need of a lap rug and a cup of hot cocoa. But well-intended words can still sting
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
"The same #ageism that makes aqua aerobics a joke also makes space for its liberation." Fat positive + anti-diet activist Virginia Sole-Smith virginiasolesmith.substack.com/p/the-untapp...
virginiasolesmith.substack.com
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
The Guardian asked me to write something on a very juicy topic: "aging gracefully." www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...
theguardian.com
The thing about ‘ageing gracefully’: whatever you call it, I’ll do it my way
One thing I’ve noticed is that as they grow older, people tend to care less about others’ opinions. Sometimes that’s liberating
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
"There’s no style or cohesion besides the slenderness of one feature & a certain dull sleaze. She manages to convey both skank and frump at once; the mistress you leave your wife for and the wife you’re sick of at the same time." 🙌😂https://lytagold.substack.com/p/its-okay-to-notice-when-rich-people
lytagold.substack.com
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Just launched: a toolkit for storytellers who want to confront the encroachment of fascist AI surveillance tech. 👏
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
"Chuck D tells SPIN that Black Sky songs such as “Siick” and “Ageism” focus on the pitfalls of a technology-obsessed society and discrimination against our aging hip-hop elders. " 🙌 www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...
yahoo.com
Public Enemy Put Tech, Ageism In The Crosshairs On Surprise New LP
Black Sky is available via a pay-what-you-wish model through Bandcamp.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
"Today in 'capitalism ruins everything,' the New York Liberty announced a new partnership with Vagisil" @thefrankiedlc.news Vagisil makes 'feminine hygiene' products that claim to protect against itching, dryness, and odor. In fact they're harmful. www.thefrankiedlc.news/p/haterade-t...
thefrankiedlc.news
haterade: the ny liberty think your vagina stinks
In a league that so often gets it right, there's still a shadow looming over it in the form of growth and profit.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Carrie Coon often tells women — female actors in particular —to avoid speaking in their "baby voice." You're giving up all your power in every room," she said. Coon also hopes that young women in #Hollywood can withstand the pressure to go under the knife. www.businessinsider.com/carrie-coon-...
businessinsider.com
'White Lotus' star Carrie Coon, 44, says she gets typecast as older in Hollywood because she hasn't gotten Botox
"As a woman who is 44, watching myself in HD is not easy, and it's not comfortable," Carrie Coon said.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Clickbait headline: more than 2/3 of respondents said that no age is too old to go to this world-renowned festival in England. www.nationalworld.com/community/ne...
nationalworld.com
New survey reveals how old is too old to go to Glastonbury according to the general public
Around one in four members of the public (23%) think Glastonbury would be better if it had fewer people aged 50 and above attending, a new survey from anti-ageism campaign Age Without Limits reveals.
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Reposted by Ashton Applewhite
Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 22/06/2025
Iran’s FM responds to the overnight attack
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
This Juneteenth, Aging While Black founder Raymond Jetson calls for us to reimagine #aging as an emancipatory act. lasentinel.net/freedom-didn...
lasentinel.net
Freedom Didn’t End—It Evolved: Reclaiming Liberation in Elderhood - Los Angeles Sentinel
For far too many Black elders in America, freedom has remained conditional.
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Ashton Applewhite @thischairrocks.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
Over 100 terrific candidates applied to become the Old School Hub's first Executive Director. We're delighted to announce that Alessandro Negrete will step into the position on June 30th. Learn more about him here: mailchi.mp/oldschool/me...
photograph of Latino man in white shirt with arms crossed standing outdoors. Text reads: MEET OUR FIRST EVER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HECTOR ALESSANDRO NEGRETE
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