When I think of Stan Lee I think of a few things: Marvel mastermind, part-time comedian, cameo aficionado, legend.
One word that doesn’t come to mind is ‘old’. Despite the 95 years he lived, Stan Lee never seemed elderly to me.
But, if we’re judging him based on numbers alone and not by his personality, then Stan Lee was DEFINITELY old.
95 but still got style.
There’s two sides to this. There’s the ‘age is just a number’ and ‘you’re only as old as you feel’ argument. And there’s the argument that age is inevitable and the older you get the more help you need, even if you are Stan Lee.
Being old and needing help doesn’t and shouldn’t make you vulnerable. It definitely doesn’t make you less valuable as a human being. Despite this, the elderly are commonly taken advantage of and overlooked by individuals and society.
This may seem like a generalisation, but it’s true.
Stan Lee is an example of this. Specifically, the alleged actions of Stan’s former business manager Keya Morgan.
According to Deadline, Keya has been charged with elder abuse and multiple felony charges for reportedly mistreating Stan during their time working together.
Apparently, Keya took control of Stan’s business affairs and personal life in February 2018. In the following months he allegedly isolated Stan from his family and friends. He is now facing facing one felony count of false imprisonment of an elder adult, three felony counts of theft, embezzlement, and forgery or fraud against an elder adult, along with an initial elder abuse misdemeanour count.
Stan Lee’s former manager charged with theft and elder abuse: https://t.co/SP3HzQGnRH
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 14, 2019
Guilty or innocent, these allegations are shocking. They’re also proof of a harsh reality: elderly abuse is very real.
Society isn’t completely oblivious to it, but a certain ignorance and even denial does exist. Rose coloured glasses, ‘it’ll never happen to me’ etc etc.
The state of elderly care got so bad recently that Australia had to call a Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
The commission was called after more than 5,000 submissions were received from aged care consumers, families, carers, aged care workers, health professionals and providers calling for better conditions.
It also followed the shutdown of Adelaide’s controversial Oakden Nursing Home which had a history of abuse and neglect.
“Incidences of older people being hurt by failures of care simply cannot be explained or excused,” PM Scott Morrison said during the commission.
“We must be assured about how widespread these cases are…As a community we expect high standards for the quality and safety of aged care services. Our Government shares these expectations. This Royal Commission will be about proactively determining what we need to do in the future to ensure these expectations can be met.”
TONIGHT ON #PMLive: @ScottMorrisonMP has announced a royal commission into aged care in Australia.
‘We need to know why elder abuse takes all of its forms.’
MORE: https://t.co/ykweMevBOK LIVE NOW CH103 pic.twitter.com/3IwwUMKVVE
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) September 16, 2018
Stan Lee’s case is just the latest to hit the headlines, but elderly abuse is an ongoing issue. We might not hear about it, but it’s happening.
The allegations against Stan’s manager serve as an important reminder that we need provide the elderly with proper care. And, more importantly, we need to treat them with respect and dignity as we would any human being.