"There's a reason people are more comfortable about insulting people based on age: everyone either has been or will be a member of the class they're criticizing. "<p>Just the opposite: most people can't really see themselves as old, and like to think that as they age they'll still somehow stay cool and hip and up-to-date, not like those creepy Readers Digest AARP people.<p>I've yet to meet anyone who didn't say, Wow I can't believe I'm(40|50|60|...).<p>You realize, intellectually, that it will happen, but it never seems quite real until you are there.