We need more intergenerational solidarity
I’ve seen this a couple of times and I feel I should say something - about how older/experienced activists/members of some community or other dismiss younger ones or even just stances they disagree with as “a bunch of teenagers”. This is adultism. It’s also a trap. It’s why every generation of adults looks down on every generation of teenagers, and have done for literally thousands of years. Let’s not repeat that mistake! We’ve been teenagers, we’ve been young and new to a scene or community or topic, most of us have probably embodied all we are now tempted to look down on in teenagers.
Apparently this shift happens around 30 - that’s pretty much my age. But it’s not inevitable! We just have to make a conscious effort not to turn into assholes as we grow up.
I know it can be exhausting and tiring to hear yet another teenager who thinks they’re clever and original repeat some tired old bullshit you’ve heard and debunked a thousand times before - and it’s easy to say “look, you’re young and know nothing, sit down and listen to me, because I know all this up and down” or just brush them aside. But that’s not just unfair and adultist, dismissing someone because of their age, expecting to be accepted as a kind of authority because you’re older - you’re also becoming the exact kind of adult you probably swore you’d never be like. Yes, pick your battles, yes, protect your boundaries from bigots, but no, don’t stop questioning your beliefs, views and language. It’s exhausting but necessary. Don’t become so content that you refuse to change - you’ll just change into someone you never wanted to be.
Don’t pass up a perfect opportunity to learn something new! Teenagers or people new to a scene/community/topic aren’t just inexperienced - first of all, they still have their own experiences that are different from yours and could give you some insight if you listened - second of all they’re probably sucking up knowledge like sponges! They’re usually excited and eager to learn and learnig lots of stuff! So they might very well know more than you do on some topics.
They might also be willing to learn from you, listen to your experiences, if you in turn respect them and dial down the elitism of “been here longer”.
We need to learn from each other and form bonds and solidarity across generations! But that can’t be a one-way-street.
Think back and remember how you felt when you were younger. You probably didn’t like adults who thought they knew everything (but were probably talking like they hadn’t opened a book in 20 years). Maybe you’re embarrassed about some things you said and did, but that’s part of growing (and it doesn’t really stop once you’re 30 either! We’re still way embarrassing tbh), but it’s not about judging anyone. It’s not about being wrong or right. It’s about learning from each other and complimenting each other. And it’s not about being a strategist who acts nice so they can lead teenagers* - it’s about mutual learning, where you might talk about the importance of lived experiences and community history, and listen to their struggles and fresh new ideas and challenging of old “truths”. It’s the best way I know of not to turn rusty. And especially to keep communities and activist scenes from splintering along age lines and losing most of the knowledge older generations had, and becoming fractured and weaker.
tl;dr: If someone is wrong and annoying, gets history wrong or forgets about it completely, even if they’re (accidentally or not) enacting oppressions - don’t dismiss them for their age. Stand up against oppressions, but argue on that topic, don’t fight them using another oppression: adultism. Correct people when you think they’re wrong, remind them of the importance of history, but try not to be condescending. Making people feel bad for not already knowing something can only hinder learning. Expect people to respect you as a person, but not as an authority on account of “having been here longer” (elitism) and respect them in turn, as people, not authorities. People worth learning from.
*Don’t you dare try that!
