youth rights

Youth rights encompasses all of the freedoms which are allowed to adults, but are specificly violated among people under a certain age. This age cut-off is 18 for most rights, but the age 21 is also used for some rights, as are some other ages, such as 25, 13, 14, and 16. The particular age thresholds may vary between jurisdictions.

The subject of youth rights encompasses many freedoms, violations of freedom, and related subjects, including:

• parental authority
• no legal rights, only 'privileges'
• violation of privacy
• paternalism
• censorship of nudity, sexuality, and violence
• right to use the Internet
• genital mutilation
• cribs and pens
• dissent marginalized; its importance diminished and the right to ignore it established by labelling it 'rebelliousness'
• lies of fantasy characters
• forced communal eating
• mandatory 'school' attendance
  • mandatory preschool
  • mandatory summer 'school'
  • year-round 'schools'
• autodidactism
• homeschooling
• private schools
• homework and schoolwork slavery
• junk knowledge
• psychology of learning
• right to own and operate a vehicle
• right to own real estate
• right to run a business
• age of consent laws
• right to buy firearms and other weapons
• youth abortion rights
  • right to have an abortion without parental consent
  • right to have an abortion without parental notification
• institutionalization
• gulag 'schools'
• forced drugging
• kidnapping by the government
• youth-rights-related newspeak terms: 'adult content' and 'drop out'
• right to consume alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs allowed to adults
• right to vote

One right that is emphasized by the National Youth Rights Association is the right to consume alcohol. Aside from the Darwinian benefit of this right (i.e. killing off the stupid youths), this is not a particularly important right, and placing excess emphasis upon it has the effect of making NYRA and youth rights look bad. On the other hand, emphasizing the right to consume alcohol tends to attract many of the more low-brow youths, and thus serves to boost the popularity of the organization.

The issue of drugs and youth is complicated however, because drugs may have different effects on youth than on adults, because youths are not fully developed, and certain drugs might interfere with that development.

Another right that is emphasized by NYRA is the right to vote. The right to vote is actually a power, not a freedom. The right to vote is only a true right insofar as it determines government policies in regard to oneself personally.

Furthermore, it is a weak power, when you consider that lowering the voting age to, say, 15, will not be enough to implement youth rights, considering that the people in the 15-17 age range are far outnumbered by the people in the 21-and-up age range.