To the Editor:
Re “As E.U. Opens, It Aims to Keep Americans Out” (front page, June 24) and “Trump to Halt Worker Visas Through 2020” (front page, June 23):
President Trump has issued an executive order to deny work visas to foreigners, and now it seems as though the E.U. has a message of its own that counters his. Americans may be blocked from entering E.U. countries because the United States has failed to keep the spread of Covid-19 under control. Imagine, the United States is lumped with Brazil and Russia as countries unable to stop the spread of the virus.
What sweet justice this must be for all those who have been or will be denied entry to the United States.
Doris Fenig
Boca Raton, Fla.
Microaggressions Against Older People
To the Editor:
Re “Microaggressions: Death by a Thousand Cuts” (Smarter Living, June 15):
Hahna Yoon provides many examples of these seemingly small jabs thrown at us because of underlying assumptions about gender and ethnicity. But left out were examples of the microaggressions thrown at older people.
Older Americans are regularly asked by strangers, “Are you retired?” Organizations dealing with large populations of older people often assume that all their clients have hearing problems, setting the default volume for automated phone responses painfully high. And of course store clerks may use “diner talk” like “sweetie” when addressing older people.
Finally, the behavior of older people is often monitored, especially in regard to the use of computers, which it is assumed that they are inept at. The recent switch to working from home brought with it seemingly innocent checks on older workers like: “I know you don’t like being online. How are you doing? Are you going to be OK?”
Younger employees probably don’t receive that.
Rebecca S. Fahrlander
Bellevue, Neb.