Have you ever been the victim of Age Discrimination? This applies to both old and young. Tell us what has been your experience.
Yes i have experienced age discrimination. I am 22yrs old, and for all of my life, older people thought that i was "too young to know" anything!!....it was always very frustrating. People naturally assume that older means wiser and younger means naive. This is so far from the truth. There are so many older people than myself, who wont know logical thinking if it hit them on the head. In my HUMBLE opinion, i make pretty good decisions on my own, without having an elder looking over my shoulders. Age discrimination, just like any other type of discrimination, is based on stereotypes, which qualities, many of us do not fullfil.
International Level: Politics 101 / Political Participation: 7 0.7%
When I was a younger and I went into stores and looked through products, I'd sometimes notice employees watching me, presumably to make sure I didn't steal anything (they don't really do so now, nor did they when I was a kid or with my parents).
I found interesting information about an interest group called 'ASFAR', which fights for the elimination of age restrictions. Here is what they say:
QUOTE |
We, the Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions believe that in a free society, government should allow its citizens the greatest degree of freedom as possible without placing the public safety in jeopardy. We believe that the spirit of the Constitution of the United States calls for such a policy. However, we believe that age-restrictive laws legislated by federal, state, and local governments in the United States violate such principles. Therefore, all laws that are based on age should be repealed, and all government policies that discriminate by age should be reversed. Some of those laws and policies are specified below. |
International Level: Activist / Political Participation: 29 2.9%
I agree that it does bring up a good point about people's ability being the governing factor that decides whether or not somebody should be allowed to do something such as driving; however, for me, it is easy to see the downfall of such a thing.
While somebody may be able to pass a driving test at the age of thirteen, that does not mean that a thirteen year old who is just now experiencing puberty has the maturity level to handle a responsibility of driving. As cliche as it sounds, driving is a privilage, not a right. Yes, there are people who turn legal age and still don't have the maturity to handle such a responsibility, but a lot of it has to do with the physical make up of a teenager. People do not reach their cognitive thinking ability to the extent of being able ot handle something until they're through their mid-teens. That's an educational, scientific fact. Granted, there are always special cases, just like there is with anything.
I do fully support age restriction. It irritated me when I was younger and couldn't do anything, but now as an adult, I understand the need for it a lot more.
When I was sixteen, I knew how to drive, I past the written and driving test with 100% percent. I then preceded to get thirteen tickets between the ages of 16 and 18. I had to spend lots of money to keep them off my record and keep my license.
I was very able to learn to drive and pass a test, but I was not ready to drive. As a teenager, I lacked the necessary maturity to make the kinds of decisions needed to drive a car. My driving ability wasn't called into question, it was my maturity and decision making.
Having age limits protects children from themselves and protects others from their possibly bad decisions. One teen making a good decision does not negate the fact that most teens are ruled by adrenaline and hormones and need to still be under supervision. Since people can fake maturity and can be smart enough to pass a test, then age limits are needed to ensure a certain amount of life experience before being allowed to do some things.
Here is a good one for you all,
I recently separated from the military after 10 yrs of service. The 1st 7 I was an Infantry soldier, I decided that if I was going to have a career that would allow me to support my family I would need to change my job in the military. I changed jobs to Air Traffic Control, the final three years I was an Air Traffic Controller. After some time I decided that I could better take care of my family as a civilian and was also a little tired of military life. After separatig from the Army and trying to ontain a job as an Air Traffic Controller I was hit in the head by a huge brick figuratively speaking ofcourse, it seems that because I was past my 30th birthday neither the Federal Aviation Administration nor the Department of Defense would hire me as an Air Traffic Controller stating that I do not meet the Age requirements.
QUOTE (Smudge @ 19-Feb 05, 8:36 PM) |
And that makes me think that instead of basing other things like voting on age, they should also be based on tests. Why not let a three year old vote? Because he doesn't know anything about the country. But neither do some who have passed 18 years. So why not, instead of that, just base it on a literacy test which will prove your knowledge in the field? |