ABSTRACT
The ethos of the larger social reality sometimes stridently, sometimes quietly bears on the smaller event of individual suffering. For African-American men interviewed, experiences of segregation, discrimination, and the economic, political, and social validation of prejudice was an underlying cause for many events of suffering throughout their lives. Mrs. Kohn parents, especially her mother, carefully monitored her social activities during her teen years. Mrs. Kohn's remarks seemed to be more a practical concern about fitting in at family gatherings than about grief. This is not to suggest that she did not grieve, but that it was easier for her to focus on the social effects of her loss rather than feelings. The political and social climate at a given point in time decides that suffering in old age demands attention and care, or is to be expected and therefore dismissed.
