The need for a Youth Rights Movement

[uhtred]

1 hour ago, RoseGoesToYale said:

But how we standardly define "experienced" in a way that draws a clear distinction between the thoughts, abilities, and decisions of young humans and the thoughts, abilities, and decisions of older humans? Experience is relative. I have 16 year old family members that have jobs and already know how to fill out a tax return. I'm 23 and clueless about job hunting and taxes. There are hoards of 16 years olds out there who have had sex with multiple partners. I'm 23 and have never had sex. Heck, there are plenty of 30+ year olds on this forum that have never had sex. I know 16 year old IB students who keep a meticulous planner, complete all their assignments on time, volunteer in the community, and (heaven forbid) still have time to sleep. I know middle-aged career women (cough ex-roommate cough) who forget to pay rent on time sometimes, run to the store and come back with three pairs of impulse purchase shoes, talk on the phone at all hours laughing in not inside voice, and pass out drunk in the living room in their underwear at night. Who's to say which of these experiences and behaviors holds greater social legitimacy?

 

One could argue that older adults are more hardened by the cruelties of the world, but again it's relative. Compare a 15 year old black student living in the ghetto with a 40 year old librarian who has always lived in middle class suburbia. Everybody has struggles regardless of age, but the discrimination comes when society places higher value on certain ages than others and fails to consider the positions, works, and lived experiences of a particular group based on that status alone. I've had my fair share of run-ins with adults that thought all young people incompetent, unworthy of seriousness or respect, and in general treated them poorly. Those adults would say their age and experience gives them the right to behave this way. I firmly believe the same adults were disrespected and not taken seriously as youth themselves, and it can be seen in cycles of domestic abuse. When young people see how young people are treated and regarded by society, they internalize this, reflect themselves through these lenses, and grow up into adults that treat young people the exact same way they were treated.

 

On reckless behavior... teachers and parents seem keen to make 101 assumptions as to why some young people behave recklessly, rather than trying to pinpoint the real reasons why. A teen might shrug and say "I dunno", but consider... older adults are in a position of power relative to teenagers. It's difficult to explain yourself, or even just talk about your life at all, to a person in power for fear of repercussions. It may be safer to shrug and act blasé than be candid and risk getting in trouble or being socially rejected. This is what kept blacks in the American south living in fear. This is what kept women living in fear. Sometimes acting out in ways dominant society considers irrational behavior (e.g. disrupting buses and clogging streets with signs) is the only way to cry out for recognition and respect.

 

The anonymity of the internet puts an interesting spin on it. Age can now be easily faked. I can't know for certain whether the 40 year old school teacher whose blog I'm reading isn't just a 20 year old making educated guesses and trying to feel important to society, unless I've talked to them personally and seen a few head shots.

Its all about averages, and you are right that there are many older people who know nothing. OTOH there is a lot of experience that it is difficult to gain when you are young. 

 

Often younger people don't have a good feel for age - having never experienced it.  I remember here a time when there as a push to get people out of their cars and riding bikes instead.  Works for the young and healthy, but not for the significant number of older unhealthy people. 

 

I've seen calls for making college free - which I support, except I also know from experience that universities try to optimize their profits and without a far more complex plan, they will just keep raising the cost of tuition forever, until some people can't afford it. Its just an unfortuante way economics works. 

 

When I see calls for collective ownership of the means of production, I remember what the soviet union and communist china were like. That "collective ownership" really means that a few powerful people at the top own everything, and that there is not source of power to balance them. 

 

I don't see the young as reckless in general.  Sometimes I wish they would pay more attention to the advice from older people but I didn't when I was young, so I don't expect anything different now. 

 

Now get off my damn lawn......

 

 

[Gloomy]

3 hours ago, uhtred said:

I'd happy trade places with any middle class 20 year old in the US.  (which is where i started)

Even if the 20 year old was working some crappy customer service job on top of going to school and was either living in a small dorm room with a roommate or was still living with their parents who set all kinds of rules and restrictions for them?

[uhtred]

14 minutes ago, Gloomy said:

Even if the 20 year old was working some crappy customer service job on top of going to school and was either living in a small dorm room with a roommate or was still living with their parents who set all kinds of rules and restrictions for them?

YES absolutely.   I wasn't that far from that at that age, and a chance to experience being young again....      To have my life ahead of me.  To be young, healthy.  All the opportunities. 

 

I'd spend every bit of free time picking up machine learning. (libraries whatever) or the popular STEM flavor of the year.   I know now that after a year of that I could get an entry level job at Google.  Then another 5 years of incredibly hard work, and then clear sailing.....

 

 

 

 

[Gloomy]

6 minutes ago, uhtred said:

YES absolutely.   I wasn't that far from that at that age, and a chance to experience being young again....      To have my life ahead of me.  To be young, healthy.  All the opportunities. 

 

I'd spend every bit of free time picking up machine learning. (libraries whatever) or the popular STEM flavor of the year.   I know now that after a year of that I could get an entry level job at Google.  Then another 5 years of incredibly hard work, and then clear sailing.....

Whatever floats your boat I guess. Personally I prefer being able to afford to live alone and having a ton of more free time. So far my late 20’s have been the best time of my life.

[uhtred]

7 minutes ago, Gloomy said:

Whatever floats your boat I guess. Personally I prefer being able to afford to live alone and having a ton of more free time. So far my late 20’s have been the best time of my life.

Wait until you are in your 50s.  (really - not meant as an insult or quick barb or anything).   I know that my attitude toward life, age, etc, has changed a LOT as I got older. I doubt I could convince my 20 year old self, even if they were convinced that it was their own future self talking to them. 

 

 

[Gloomy]

4 minutes ago, uhtred said:

Wait until you are in your 50s.  (really - not meant as an insult or quick barb or anything).   I know that my attitude toward life, age, etc, has changed a LOT as I got older. I doubt I could convince my 20 year old self, even if they were convinced that it was their own future self talking to them. 

I think even my 50 year old self would pick 26 at the very youngest. My mental health was pretty bad until I was around 25. Even if my reasons for wanting to be younger were to be fit and/or attractive again, I’m actually more fit and attractive now than I was at 20 believe it or not. Not to mention I wasn’t even legally allowed to unwind with a beer....

[uhtred]

On 4/25/2019 at 6:05 PM, Gloomy said:

I think even my 50 year old self would pick 26 at the very youngest. My mental health was pretty bad until I was around 25. Even if my reasons for wanting to be younger were to be fit and/or attractive again, I’m actually more fit and attractive now than I was at 20 believe it or not. Not to mention I wasn’t even legally allowed to unwind with a beer....

I think that knowing what I know now, I would not have been nearly so unhappy when I was younger. In retrospect most of my problems with friends and relationships were of my own creation.