?Every society feels the need to have a group of second-class citizens to keep down. For hundreds of years the rulers of societies looked down upon people of a different caste, or a different skin color. Yet the oppressed have stood up and demanded better treatment, their rights and their dignity. Now it is the children and youth who serve as second class citizens, solely because of their age.
Youth have no right to decide where they live or who they live with, what religion to practice. They do not even have control over their own bodies. They are chattels that can be abused, often with impunity. They cannot decide what form their education will take, Their lives are at the whim of their parents and the justice system. Driven to anger by these injustices , youth even oppress amongst themselves, through violence, ostracism, and cliquishness. Children and Youth are society's cheap labor force, toiling in sweatshops and demeaning jobs, receiving little for their labors. Young people cannot even change their situation, lacking the right to vote or run for office.
As previous groups have stood up for their rights, youth now need to stand for theirs. The goal of this webzine is the liberation of today's youth.
Free Youth Internet is a forum for that struggle, where opinions can be voiced and different points of view aired, facilitating debate, and giving a voice to the voiceless. FYI doesn't make any pretense of being an unbiased news publication. The emphasis is on Youth Liberation and how it can be accomplished. FYI highlights the current injustices against the Youth of Today, as well as those of the past that must not be forgotten. Yet nothing is accomplished by just proclaiming problems. The goal is to look for a positive solution that will lead to equality for everyone.
Through nonviolence and the power of the pen, we can change society for the better. Youth rights is an attempt to continue the legacy of the civil rights movement, too bring rights, freedom, and dignity to one of the last systematically discriminated groups, the children. The struggle continues in the hope that one day people of all ages will be equal and free.
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