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Ageism: Ageism is something many people here on planet minecraft have to put up with, including me. Ageism is a big topic, and I need to discuss in depth about it.
About a year ago, I was having the typical day on a nice, casual survival server. You know, mining, building your house, all that stuff. I then got an in-game message from the owner saying that he needed a chat with me. Now, this server at the time was my favourite server. I was one of the most popular players on the server, I was extremely active, and supportive towards the server.
The owner started briefly explaining that the server was low on staff members, and how there are quit a few active members on the server. I knew it - this was my time. I was going to be rewarded with a staff rank. I had always wanted a staff rank on the server, it was my goal - and today I was about to shine.
The owner started spamming me with all the rules and guidelines I needed to follow, following that he politely asked me; "May I ask how old you are?"
As me, being my truthful self, respond 12.
Jumping up and down on my seat, so excited I get a message back saying; "Sorry, but we have a policy that all staff members are above the age 13".
I felt like shooting myself. The anger struck me like an electric shock. Without a response, I disconnect. I was so mad, so frustrated I just lay there on my bed crying. I felt that horrible.
I didn't join the server for the next few weeks, but I finally overcame the anger and began playing on it again. I still play on that server to this day.
Okay, people are just stupid if they are judging others by their age. Whether it be an age restriction to be in a youtube gang, or to be a staff member on a server. Others, perhaps even including yourself may feel completely offended or annoyed if you are denied to be in a class of sorts.
The thing that really gets on my nerves is that when they claim an age restriction, the reason is mainly "We don't want annoying 11 year olds in our team".
So what, are all 11 year olds annoying? No! Of course not! I have a few friends that are only the age of 11, but they are still like everyone else.
Just because they are quite young, doesn't exactly mean that they behave like your little brother or sister. Yes, dependant on your age you do act different, but not all kids are irritating.
Perhaps instead of making age restrictions, make maturity restrictions or whatever. But don't go breaking kids dreams.
Some kids may have a dream to one day perhaps get admin or moderator on their favourite server, and let them live that dream! Don't break it just because they may be a few months younger.
Seriously.
Now, this brings me to another subject - Squeakers.
Squeakers are people whom's voice is yet to break. So what!? Why be so rude and impolite to them? They are completely normal people. They have no deformity whatsoever. Being that they haven't fully hit puberty yet, isn't a legitimate reason to offend someone because of this.
If you call someone a squeaker, and hate on them - you are being hypocritical. You were an annoying squeaker just like him. So why hate on someone? It's basically hating on yourself. So quite hating on squeakers, they have nothing wrong with them, just that their voice has yet to break.
Is it really worth it?
I have a 15 year old friend whom's voice hasn't broken yet. Doesn't act like a 9 year old, he is a normal 15 year old. He acts like one, treats others like one, and overall IS ONE. People hate on him for lying, just because of his voice. It just makes me feel sick to see him treated that way. He is like no other, just the typical 15 year old.
In conclusion, all I have to say is; is it really worth it to hate on someone just because of their age, or their voice? Before saying these things, take a moment to think twice - Are you being hypocritical? Will it actually offend them? and the most important one is; What is the point, they are just younger.
-TCG
My Experiences With Ageism:
About a year ago, I was having the typical day on a nice, casual survival server. You know, mining, building your house, all that stuff. I then got an in-game message from the owner saying that he needed a chat with me. Now, this server at the time was my favourite server. I was one of the most popular players on the server, I was extremely active, and supportive towards the server.
The owner started briefly explaining that the server was low on staff members, and how there are quit a few active members on the server. I knew it - this was my time. I was going to be rewarded with a staff rank. I had always wanted a staff rank on the server, it was my goal - and today I was about to shine.
The owner started spamming me with all the rules and guidelines I needed to follow, following that he politely asked me; "May I ask how old you are?"
As me, being my truthful self, respond 12.
Jumping up and down on my seat, so excited I get a message back saying; "Sorry, but we have a policy that all staff members are above the age 13".
I felt like shooting myself. The anger struck me like an electric shock. Without a response, I disconnect. I was so mad, so frustrated I just lay there on my bed crying. I felt that horrible.
I didn't join the server for the next few weeks, but I finally overcame the anger and began playing on it again. I still play on that server to this day.
What About The Maturity?
Okay, people are just stupid if they are judging others by their age. Whether it be an age restriction to be in a youtube gang, or to be a staff member on a server. Others, perhaps even including yourself may feel completely offended or annoyed if you are denied to be in a class of sorts.
The thing that really gets on my nerves is that when they claim an age restriction, the reason is mainly "We don't want annoying 11 year olds in our team".
So what, are all 11 year olds annoying? No! Of course not! I have a few friends that are only the age of 11, but they are still like everyone else.
Just because they are quite young, doesn't exactly mean that they behave like your little brother or sister. Yes, dependant on your age you do act different, but not all kids are irritating.
Perhaps instead of making age restrictions, make maturity restrictions or whatever. But don't go breaking kids dreams.
Some kids may have a dream to one day perhaps get admin or moderator on their favourite server, and let them live that dream! Don't break it just because they may be a few months younger.
Seriously.
Squeakers:
Now, this brings me to another subject - Squeakers.
Squeakers are people whom's voice is yet to break. So what!? Why be so rude and impolite to them? They are completely normal people. They have no deformity whatsoever. Being that they haven't fully hit puberty yet, isn't a legitimate reason to offend someone because of this.
If you call someone a squeaker, and hate on them - you are being hypocritical. You were an annoying squeaker just like him. So why hate on someone? It's basically hating on yourself. So quite hating on squeakers, they have nothing wrong with them, just that their voice has yet to break.
Is it really worth it?
I have a 15 year old friend whom's voice hasn't broken yet. Doesn't act like a 9 year old, he is a normal 15 year old. He acts like one, treats others like one, and overall IS ONE. People hate on him for lying, just because of his voice. It just makes me feel sick to see him treated that way. He is like no other, just the typical 15 year old.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, all I have to say is; is it really worth it to hate on someone just because of their age, or their voice? Before saying these things, take a moment to think twice - Are you being hypocritical? Will it actually offend them? and the most important one is; What is the point, they are just younger.
-TCG
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Hearing someone on a server yell at the top of their lungs: "SHUT UP!" or something like that because of a "squeaker" is more annoying than the actual voice they're hating on!
Squeaking
I, honestly, hate major Ageism. However it does make sense about the squeaking. I used to be a squeaker, and I can remember it vaguely. Because of this, I never talked with a mic on the internet. I ALWAYS tried to avoid this. Everyone would spam "squeaker" and it would be really annoying. It is more annoying to spam "squeaker" than the squeaker himself. It makes sense how high pitched voices are annoying, that's why most people hate opera and most high pitched songs. But it is even more rude of you to cry about it. It is better to say "Please stop talking, your voice is annoying to me/us" than to shout "SHUT UP STUPID SQUEAKER!" five hundred times. If you were in an opera for whatever reason, would you shout "squeaker" at the top of your lungs? No. You would more likely calmly leave. This is because it would embarrass you. It embarrasses the "squeakers" when you call them that.
Age restrictions
Age restrictions are more opinion than maturity tests, however it does make sense what Hawkstormer said. When someone has an age restriction such as 13 years old it is opinion. This is usually because the thing that has the age restriction is often involved with having Skype or some other kind of voice communication. However, you should NEVER base an age restriction on someone's voice. There are many ways to avoiding this. If you have a staff member who is a squeaker and communication is required, have an optional text chat. Congratulations! You have avoided the high pitched voice and kept the communication requirement intact, and your staff member is still there. If you have an age restriction that is higher, such as 16-18, it makes more sense. This is actually based on the average maturity level, because the human mind is mostly grown fully around that age. However, having this restriction is still not a very good idea, because there are some people who are very mature for their age and are younger than that. Sometimes they are even better than adults.
If someone says there is an age restriction and you are angry, do not rage, do not ragequit, and do not cry. Simply ask why, and listen to his/her reason. If they say something like "Everyone under that age is a squeaker" that is a bad reason. The best thing to do here is say "okay" and stop talking and ignore what else they say. Leave if you want to.
If they state a good reason, such as they need mature people who know what they are doing, it makes sense. This means you should not hate on them for the restriction. Tell them it's completely fine with you, because it is actually not a bad reason to have the restriction. It would make perfect sense for a staff requirement. Basically do what Hawkstormer would do.
Squeaking II
However it is not a good thing to do to hate on people for being "squeakers." This is a completely natural thing that everyone has to go through. You were one once, and you do not need to hate on other people for it to get revenge. If you were hated for being young, the better thing to do is to help the younger people. Try to help them find young friends who will not shout "squeaker" at the top of their lungs. Some young people actually call others out for high pitched voices when they themselves have the condition.
In conclusion, do not hate on squeakers, and do not hate on maturity-seekers. You were a squeaker once, and maturity-seekers are simply trying to have experienced people for their positions. The best thing to do is wait until you are older before you apply for staff, because you are more likely to be accepted for knowing what to do in certain situations than when you were younger.