The politics and media critic Oliver Willis has a great post about the GOP’s war on children. He lists all the ways Republicans have placed American childhood under assault: fighting common sense legislation that would prevent school shootings; banning history and books. He argues and I agree that it’s abusive to deprive kids of knowledge and the joy of Toni Morison books; lack of access to health care; anti-trans bills.
To which I’d add, the perennial and bipartisan war against criminalized children, who have their childhood snatched away by the fascist criminal justice system the second they’re suspected of a crime.
Male children are walking hormones with unformed bird brains from age 14 to age, I’d say 25, but for the sake of argument let’s stick to teenagers. Almost all crimes—almost all acts of violence, including state violence—is conducted by young men. There’s a reason we want soldiers to be young and it’s not the lack of creaky knees. You want your soldiers hopped up on testosterone and male camaraderie and out-showmanship without pesky overthinking about the ethics of what they’re doing or their own mortality.
We all know this. It’s why car insurance costs more for teen boys than for 45-year-old women. Most jurisdictions allow prosecutors to try juveniles as “adults.” How can you try someone as something they’re not? If I got drunk and started a bar brawl should I get tried like a dumbass frat boy?
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