I've heard the concept of "childhood" described as a modern invention.
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I've heard the concept of "childhood" described as a modern invention. And this seems to be true in the recent history of the US and Europe. In particular childhood is viewed as a time for growth a learning, and children are seen as entitled to protection so that this can happen.
The concept of childhood necessitates things like public education, basic social services, after all it is unreasonable to hold a child responsible as if they were an adult.
Every child deserves a chance.
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I've heard the concept of "childhood" described as a modern invention. And this seems to be true in the recent history of the US and Europe. In particular childhood is viewed as a time for growth a learning, and children are seen as entitled to protection so that this can happen.
The concept of childhood necessitates things like public education, basic social services, after all it is unreasonable to hold a child responsible as if they were an adult.
Every child deserves a chance.
Think of the impact of our understanding of childhood, (which accords a basic innocent to ALL people at least for some time) on questions like slavery, immigration, poverty... everything.
"Think of the children" has also been the rallying cry for some terrible ideas, because this idea of childhood is so deeply valued that anyone questioning it would be a monster.
And then there are the calls to treat some (mostly non-white ) children as adults in the legal system.
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I've heard the concept of "childhood" described as a modern invention. And this seems to be true in the recent history of the US and Europe. In particular childhood is viewed as a time for growth a learning, and children are seen as entitled to protection so that this can happen.
The concept of childhood necessitates things like public education, basic social services, after all it is unreasonable to hold a child responsible as if they were an adult.
Every child deserves a chance.
@futurebird there is a counter-argument, whose acceptance and veracity I do not know, that prior to the industrial revolution, it was normal for most societies to place a high value on protecting and nurturing children, so they could grow and learn, and the industrial revolution temporarily stomped all over that with child labor, putting children to work to profit industry, and the modern view of childhood is a return to a pre-industrial norm.
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Think of the impact of our understanding of childhood, (which accords a basic innocent to ALL people at least for some time) on questions like slavery, immigration, poverty... everything.
"Think of the children" has also been the rallying cry for some terrible ideas, because this idea of childhood is so deeply valued that anyone questioning it would be a monster.
And then there are the calls to treat some (mostly non-white ) children as adults in the legal system.
In another extreme there is the curious way that a man of 20 even 40 years of age can be described as if he were a child to minimize his crimes or disruptive behavior.
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In another extreme there is the curious way that a man of 20 even 40 years of age can be described as if he were a child to minimize his crimes or disruptive behavior.
It also annoys me that sometimes the only way to convey the horrors of violence is to quantify their impact on children or sometimes "women and children."
Strangely this isn't even effective some of the time.
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It also annoys me that sometimes the only way to convey the horrors of violence is to quantify their impact on children or sometimes "women and children."
Strangely this isn't even effective some of the time.
@futurebird I've often thought that if we were to ignore the adults and just report the covid figures on childhood hospitalization, people would snap to and demand an audit of school ventilation and filtration.
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@futurebird I've often thought that if we were to ignore the adults and just report the covid figures on childhood hospitalization, people would snap to and demand an audit of school ventilation and filtration.
@PizzaDemon @futurebird I saw a few articles that tried, but clearly it didnt' make enough of an impression.
I've thought for a while that normalizing school shootings in the wake of Sandy Hook was a societal thermocline. I keep hoping it wasn't an event horizon.
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@PizzaDemon @futurebird I saw a few articles that tried, but clearly it didnt' make enough of an impression.
I've thought for a while that normalizing school shootings in the wake of Sandy Hook was a societal thermocline. I keep hoping it wasn't an event horizon.
The thing about school shootings is the public receptiveness to "sensible gun legislation" has changed in the US. There has been an impact and a shift.
Republicans are simply in the grip of a powerful lobby.
And sometimes a powerful lobby can be a powerful weakness.
