Pardon the dash-stretching and the long, somewhat ramble-y post. I felt the need to say something.
I have not seen what the whole bostonstuck permission slip dealio was based off of, or what went down to cause it, but I’ve gotten a lot of things on my dash about it. And so, I have to ask.
Are we being mature here?
Someone told a 15-year-old kid, who explained his ideas rationally, to go kill himself because he didn’t find the idea fair.
Really, what are we doing here?
There are pros and cons to this, like everything.
Being 15 myself, I am slightly biased towards the idea of not having permission slips, but not because I feel it’s ageist or something like that; it’s hard to talk to my parents. It’s hard to convince them I’m going to be safe, in boston, especially with newly diagnosed medical conditions and notable wanderlust. I have to go through a long an arduous process of relaying information to them. The idea of bringing the slip to my parents, saying “Here, please sign this because I’m not 18 and therefore will be engaging in possibly risky and lewd behaviour and they need your consent before I can hang out with the only group I’ve felt really comfortable with” is basically saying to my parents “We don’t trust your daughter’s judgement, we’re a dangerous bunch of perverts, why should you let her go?”
I certainly think, in terms of lessening the pressure on the admins, and making sure we’re all safe, it’s a reasonable idea. I don’t want any harm coming to any of my fellow bostonstucks, as you’re all lovely people and I was so glad to meet you! But we set a line here when, when the the younger members of bostonstuck find fault with this idea, that we can’t voice our opinions and be heard on the matter. That we are shot down, like we always have been in our regular lives, because we are “too young”.
I’m not going to protest it if they do instill the policy. I’m just not going to attend any more meetups. If it’s too much of a hassle, I just won’t go. But it’s a shame, because bostonstuck meetups are fun! The happiness from Saturday’s promstuck carried over through Monday, when I was in a car accident and had to go to the E.R, and worried for my parent’s and my own well being. It carries over to now, when I feel like I’m drowning in expectations and realities and I’m wallowing in my inability to do things right.
I’ll be sad to see it go, but if it will make things easier for others, I’ll let it go.