Sending old folks to woods to die

richnota · #1 02-05-2010, 03:17 PM

I'm currently the caregiver for two elderly parents.

No I don't want to send them to the woods. Nor do i want to send them anywhere else bad.

I was chatting with two co-workers who have a similar situation and one said "well I can't leave them in the woods, so I'm making the best of it..."

Where does the concept come from? I've heard the idea in parables and stories but know of no culture that actually kills off its old folks. One friend suggested it may be common in nomadic tribes for aged and infirm to "walk off"--it seems caring for your old is part of what makes us human.

MakiSupaStar · #2 02-05-2010, 03:20 PM

It's from German Folklore. During a famine there was a time when people would leave their kids, their sick, and elderly in the woods to die. It's also where the story Hansel and Gretel comes from. Parents would threaten to leave their kids in the woods where crazy old people could eat them.

MatticusMania · #3 02-05-2010, 04:25 PM

Well, if I were old I would certainly much rather be left in the woods to wander off than put in an old folks home. They steal your meds and diddle you in your sleep there!

(so Ive been told/read)

Smurf-o-Deth · #4 02-05-2010, 04:39 PM

Sign me up for sleep diddlin'!

RWP · #5 02-05-2010, 04:53 PM

I would think sleep diddlin' would be better than no diddlin'. But I could be wrong.

Relic · #6 02-05-2010, 04:56 PM

Hell, I'll take any diddlin' I can get.

bassteban · #7 02-05-2010, 04:58 PM

I thought the whole ref to *the woods* comes from the term *we're not out of the woods yet*, which in turn stems from the notion that big bad evil thingies lurk in the deep dark woods. I was always fascinated by stories of Innuit practices in these situations.

MatticusMania · #8 02-05-2010, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Relic

Hell, I'll take any diddlin' I can get.

Its certainly not the good kind of diddlin'...

Ive read an article on the kind of abuse a lot of elderly people suffer from younger orderlies in old folks homes...

I dont know about you guys, but I dont need some young tart gettin me all worked up just to result in getting a loogie spat down my throat, No sir, laws no!

RWP · #9 02-05-2010, 05:20 PM

^^^ Reality sucks ^^^