In the 80s at the age of 14 (I'm 43 now), I stumbled across
Unschooling and Summerhill in the public library. Life-changing
for me. It sent me on a quest because until then, I was unaware
of having any rights at all. I looked up what rights I had under
the laws of the state of New Jersey and then of the Federal Govt
(USA). I found that, legally, I was an infant. Same as a baby.
14 years old and a baby. No wonder it felt like I was being
treated like one by society: I WAS one. At 18, I started
Y-RIGHTS online mailing list (1990) - "rights for kids/teens"
from which NYRA sprung out of when two members wanted to be more
politically active and I encouraged them to start their own
group and taught them how to set it up by doing what I did. That
was 25 years ago. Today, what has changed? Almost nothing.
Almost. Some things have. Can you legally sign a binding
contract under the age of 18? Not really. Sort of. The law is
weird on that one. Is your voice valid? Your name? Do you own
it? Any of it? Not really. Outside of a few exceptions, you are
a ward of your parents or the state. Yet: You can be convicted
as an adult for certain crimes at 14 in the same areas you can't
even have a bank account. I was lucky. In 3rd grade, I had a
passbook savings account. But, somewhere along the line, it
dramatically changed: you can't have a bank account until you're
18 years old. 18? 18 is when you're allowed to have your own
money? Isn't that a little late to get started? Need income?
Good luck there. Right at the time when you MOST want to buy
things, you can't. Can't have your own money. You have to beg
for it. Do chores for it. No independence. Want independent
money? You have to sneak around for it or if you're lucky, maybe
you're allowed some limited working hours. Granted, some laws
are from the days when exploitation was a problem. It's still a
problem in some areas: Family restaurants can have their kids
work for them with or without pay doing otherwise illegal things
because, well, it's family... whatever that means. The United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child? The USA does not
follow it. Didn't sign it YET as far as I know. Agreed to some
of it on principle but the USA is in violation of it 24/7. It's
a tough balance: There's independence. There's exploitation.
Both sides need addressing. Ageism is a real issue, barely
addressed in society. Nearly all "children's rights" are rights
for parents or schools or society to exploit children as they
see fit, and very little in the way of some semblance of
autonomy. Youth rights needs a balance. Where's the voice?
Where's the choice? Some things it seems will be with us
forever. School always sucked, still sucks, that doesn't seem to
ever change. Some kids would rather kill themselves - and some
do - rather than face another day of school. Public shaming by
parents of their kids on youtube is on the rise. Parents cheer,
"We got those kids now!" Ageism and power. Bullying. There's
been a war between kids and those who want to control their
actions that's been going on for a very long time. I can't say
for sure that some things aren't perhaps necessary for a
society. *Some* labor laws make sense. Physical/mental/sexual
abuse laws make sense. But many of these very strange "lines in
the sand" that are drawn are ridiculous. I support
[1]?#?16tovote? because at the VERY LEAST, young people should
be allowed to vote on matters that are important in their
communities and have their voices heard. Ok, they can appeal to
media to get adult sympathies, but what about REAL VOTING?
Independent? Close that curtain and decide. Nobody's permission
required to speak your mind and have your say. The Internet has
been a great help in this way. At least now there are places to
congregate so young people can have a voice that's worldwide in
scope. Wasn't always so. Been online since 1989 at the age of 17
- might as well be forever - and involved in youth rights in
some form from the age of 14 in 1986 writing letters to the
editor about unfair dress code policies in school that affected
*me* all the way through to 2015 where I'm writing this note
here now. Anyway, no new news here. That's what's sad. No new
news here. Not much changes. I've watch not much change for the
better. But some things do. Some fantastic things. Some amazing
things have happened and are happening now. The Internet has
been the best change of all. But there's so much to be done to
fix society. There's laws to change and more importantly,
there's attitudes to change. True fairness for humans goes
beyond cases of justice and injustice and into areas of humans
treating humans as human, no matter what point in their lives
they happen to be in or any of their physical characteristics.
Basic human respect. How hard can that be? Apparently,
surprisingly so. This fight shouldn't even be necessary in a
proper society. But it is necessary and I'm grateful it's
happening and appreciate all the hard work and support that
everybody has done to improve the world in whatever way they
can. Thank you for reading. smile emoticon I'd like to know your
thoughts. I'm nobody special here. I mention my age because it
makes a difference for some people what age the writer is. Puts
them in a category of "opinion worthwhile" and "opinion less
worthwhile". But whatever category you may feel it fits in, I
still value your thoughts. I always learn. == [also, if this
does not fit the norms or directions of the group, you can
remove it. I have a backup copy for myself elsewhere. This group
tends to be more about political actions and lowering existing
limits. My focus tends to be a little different - more on rights
of kids/teens although it is also on the boundary between late
teenager/early adult as well, so it may seem that I waver a bit
from what's typical for the group. .Also, I'm middle aged, no
longer a youth... and unfortunately many lose interest in the
cause beyond a certain point because it no longer affects them
directly. But I never have. I never forgot]
References
Visible links
1.
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/16tovote?source=feed_text
