In  the  eyes of the law , all citizens are same  and must be  treated  equally within limits and reasons.  Of course there will be differences  in how  people are 'handled' and  these differences are  necessary in  certain  situations and beneficial.  Very young children are treated differently from the grown-ups ; similarly  when ( mainly due to age) people  can no longer  physically able to work, they stop  work and begin to receive pensions  and  such 'differences' are  totally acceptable;  and  there may be some  other equally  logical and necessary  differences in the society.<p>

My  comments are primarly on the general  'treatment' of older people collectively.  Do you realise  an elderly person living alone  needs to spend more on food items ;  the  so-called 'discount'  available to 'families' may not be useful to them.   3 kg  for the price of 2 kg  is  meaningless , when the requirement is for less than 1 kg !  And why the price of 1 kg is not discounted!!  Why the unit  price of  a 250  gm  christmas pudding is approximately twice that of a   2 kg one - yes  i realise there are packaging costs etc but  it can still be made  cheaper---  the  culture of bulk buying is hitting the old very hard.

Similar examples can be found in other areas--   looking after families with children is extremely important and  I am not  arguing against it - I am only canvassing for the old and the lonely who also need assistance.

In the fields of health care , such  'discrimination'  is still widespread ;  it is just not me  writing about it , it is being mentioned in the National Press virtually each day of the week.  Cancer care ,  cardiac care , organ transplantation,  use of expensive medications , even for   'rehabilitation',  the older ones miss out  - not  'officially' but  in a  carefully set up  covert  'political' way!!  The  British Thoracic Society , Age UK , Cancer Charities have all established  research-survey evidence  many many times.

So  older people are being treated differently and are still being discriminated  ---- what  should be done about it !!!!