tbh protecting children is the goal for all of us. the right has co-opted this to justify the harm of marginalized people of all ages, especially the children. they are trying to take advantage of people's desire to protect children, because they know this is the one thing that could unite us all.
i do wonder how things would go if there were a unified front to genuinely protect children from climate change, poverty, malnutrition, interpersonal violence, mental health crises, attacks on bodily autonomy, medical neglect/abuse, colonization, gentrification, and literally everything else activists have focused their effort on.
i wanna see what happens when all the groups fighting for human rights finally converge into one to protect the future. while the fight is about keeping the people who are alive today alive tomorrow, it's also about giving future generations a better life than we had. that starts with our children.
even if you don't have kids of your own (i dont and likely never will), the kids of the world are all of ours. they are quite literally our only hope. if the new generation doesn't even have a foot to stand on because we didn't do everything in our power to make it so, it's our (the adults) fault, as a collective group.
im learning that that is the curse of adulthood. survive your childhood long enough to become a protector yourself.
those who do not become protectors - who instead seek power over children & subsequently the people around them - are gradually dooming our entire species to a very violent, harrowing, drawn out end full of hatred.
even if you have no children in your life, being an adult who goes against the norms and systems harming them is good. being a rebellious presence is good. give the kids pass you by someone to look up to, because they finally see themselves, but older, in you.
