Geezer Qualifications
 

In a thread recently someone mentioned "the Geezer Group" on a ride. My question is: What are the qualificatios for membership in the Geezer Group? This was the dinner conservation tonight: Is it age, speed, or attitude related or something else? Do we have any on this forum?

Well, the definition doesn't really shed much light on it... By, this definition I am a "Geezer".

gee·zer
gee·zer [gzər]
(plural gee·zers)
n
older man: a man past middle age (sometimes considered offensive)

[Late 19th century. Representing a dialect pronunciation of guiser (from guise ), literally “somebody in disguise,” later used to denote an odd-looking person.]
Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

I don't think I look like a "Geezer" (whatever they are supposed to look like), but I have been called a "Geezer" by friends and family, but mostly in an endearing kind of way. So, I guess I would be proud to be considered a "Geezer", I've got no problems with that. :) I don't belong to any group though.

I hate any categorical term, which lumps folks together on one criterion. "Geezer" says that by , in essence, stating that one's age (or whatever the similarity is) is the defining characteristic of one's being, much like a whole bunch of other words used to categorize members of our society.

Besides age, I may have very little in common with other folks 71+ (or whatever age is supposed to start so-called "geezer-hood"). Why should I be lumped in with them simply because of age?

I much prefer to state the obvious, if it is any way necessary - the obvious being - a group of individuals in their 70's went for a bicycle ride. However, I would prefer as little reference to age (or any othe singular identifying characteristic) as possible.

I'm not a geezer but I do have an "Old Fart Cycling Team" jersey. :beer:

Geezer. Its just a word. To me it just denotes old farts. Now to define old is another question.

Middle adulthood is defined as 45 through 65 years. I'm still a young fart of 61. Not everyone over 65 is a geezer, but you must be at least 65 to be one.

I have too much pride to join any group that has standards so low they'll accept people like me.

I know I'm a geezer because my wife tells me daily that I am. It's just a silly word. To be offended by it is to make it more powerful than the silly, meaningless word it would otherwise be.

I know of several older men amd women that are offensive too.

I agree with you on this. There are the Gen-Xs, the Gen-Ys, the babyboomers, and the ********** It's demographic claptrap that is used by marketers to influence the various groups to do the things they want, because they believe that innately, people want to belong to a group. In other words, it makes marketing manipulation much easier.

Having said that above... if I was going to be a groupie, yours would be it.

Yeah, boy. I'm so tired of those awful marketers trying to manipulate me by calling me a geezer. That whole " hey geezer, buy this" marketing campaign was especially insulting! :rolleyes:

Welcome to the United States of the Offended.

BD, I would suggest that the offensive qualities of the word depend a great deal on who is using it and why they are using it. :)

Hmmm - I would say an old geezer is anyone in the age group that belonged to the "don't trust anyone over 30" generation. Once we hit 30 x 2 we become old geezers and DON'T TRUST US.

Anyone older than me.

I feel I'm a geezer because:

-I can walk around Best Buy, and the 20-something employees in the blue shirts leave me alone. I think the supervisory employees where black shirts. They leave me alone as well. That's fine by me.

-I get caught "looking", and I don't care. :D

-I can't really explain it, but a lot of this "new fangled stuff", such as bike frames made from alien spaceship material, just doesn't appeal to me at all. And who is coming up with these color schemes?

Am not a geezer; am only 78!