My friend, Kathleen, when I asked what dignity means to her, responds like this: “To act in a way that respects yourself.” This strikes me as a fine definition, one that can serve for ongoing inspiration.

It’s not enough, however, to respect yourself. We all want and deserve to be respected by others as well. 

When that does not happen, we are shocked, quite appropriately. Millions of people were horrified, recent weeks ago, by what they saw on YouTube. They watched a group of middle school students violating the dignity of a woman named Karen Klein.

A 68-year-old school bus monitor in the school district of Greece, near Rochester, New York, Karen was subjected to harassment shocking in its meanness and vulgarity. The students abused her verbally and even poked her physically.

The boys largely focused on Karen’s shape, repeatedly calling her “old ass” and “fat ass,” mixing the terms with other words I will not use here. By reason of these assaults on her dignity, she was reduced to tears.

Among gerontologists, abuse of old people has been long recognized as a widespread social evil. It can work subtly.

 One of the worst aspects of abuse is its power to make elders internalize the abuse, making it part of their own self-image.

Old age in itself, without external influence, makes some people come to doubt their own worth. This often develops as a side effect of illness. Being sick can easily make us doubt our human value.

When those who provide care for us fail to respect our dignity, this comes as a heavy blow to our self-worth. Sometimes that happens when medical professionals, consciously or unconsciously, talk down to us or otherwise belittle our stature.

My impression both from visiting hospitals and being a patient myself suggests this kind of treatment has become more rare than it used to.

The saga of Karen Klein’s abuse has an ending, in part happy. It even restores something of her dignity.

Following the brainstorm of a Canadian fellow who discovered her plight and organized a fund drive aimed at giving Karen a big-time vacation, large numbers of sympathizers have contributed.

For this purpose, the Canadian proposed a goal of five thousand dollars. At last count, more than five hundred thousand has been raised!

Perhaps the great majority cares about the dignity of old people after all.