Saturday, March 30, 2024
Emancipation For A Post-Capitalist Society
Thursday, April 13, 2023
Once You Are An Adult, You Are An Adult, Period
Twenty-One Debunked has long believed that, regardless of whatever the general age of majority is set at, once you are an adult, you are an adult, period. While there is of course plenty of room for nuance before reaching that age, any exceptions made after reaching that age absolutely must require truly extraordinary justification in any free society worthy of the name. The onus inherently falls on the state to justify any such exceptions. And for better for worse, in nearly all of the known world today, that age is set at 18. The Canadian province of Alberta is a good model to follow, for example.
While Twenty-One Debunked does not take any official position on anything regarding the transgender community in general, we unequivocally oppose the latest red-state Republican attempts that increasingly target young adults age 18-25. That's right, they are attempting to deny any sort of gender-affirming care to anyone under 21 or even 26 (!) in some states. While a decent case can be made that somewhat more gatekeeping may be be good for all ages regarding any treatments that are irreversible (surgery, obviously, but also cross-sex hormone therapy too), and perhaps even banning irreversible treatments (including puberty blockers) for youth under 18, banning gender-affirming care for young adults over 18 is a major overreach at best. And don't think they will stop there either. This is clearly NOT about "protecting children", as no sane person would honestly consider 18-25 year olds (who are well beyond puberty) to be literal children. No, this is the latest battle in the decades-long culture wars, by the increasingly unhinged and reactionary right wing in this unprecedentedly divided nation. And it is a battle that is increasingly bordering on cultural genocide.
And before anyone brings up detransitioners who end up regretting their transitions, one of the downsides of adulthood and the bodily autonomy that goes with it is, "you break it, you own it". It sounds harsh, but it's true. Adults make decisions they regret all the time, unfortunately. And we can empathize with them without revoking any civil rights or bodily autonomy from young adults. Trying to remove all possibility of regret from life is a fool's errand and a losing battle, and completely antithetical to liberty.
Once you are an adult, you are an adult, period. Any breach of that maxim is a major red flag.
Saturday, February 11, 2023
Alberta Gets It Right
The Canadian province of Alberta is basically the only place in all of North America that gets it right across the board. Legal age limits there are as follows:
- Alcohol: 18
- Tobacco and Vaping: 18
- Cannabis: 18
- Gambling: 18
- Guns: 18
- Voting: 18
- Run for office: 18
- General age of majority: 18
- School leaving age: 16
- Driving: 14 for learner permit, 16 for GDL, and 18 for full unrestricted license
- All other age limits: similar to the rest of Canada and the USA overall (at or below 18)
- Curfew: None at provincial level, only locally in a few towns here and there (usually 15)