Robert Urbanek
Platinum Member
child
NOUN
Many conservatives seem to think liberals use the broader term to give an air of innocence to “children” who are hardly innocent, such as teenage gangbangers.
Perhaps the word “child,” especially in the context of criminal activity, should be used exclusively for those below the age of puberty, “teenager” should be used for those 13 to 19 years of age, and “minor” could be used for anyone below the legal age of majority, which would vary by jurisdiction. But I doubt there would be a consensus on that suggestion.
I recently viewed an episode of Vienna Blood, in which a teenager at a military academy points a gun at a bully, who had overseen initiation rituals involving branding and playing Russian roulette with a pistol. The psychoanalyst tells the teen to look at his tormentor: “Look at him. He’s just a boy.”
A similar issue involves misuse of the word “pedophile,” but I would leave that for another thread.
child definition - Bing
NOUN
- a young human being below the age of puberty or below the legal age of majority
Many conservatives seem to think liberals use the broader term to give an air of innocence to “children” who are hardly innocent, such as teenage gangbangers.
Perhaps the word “child,” especially in the context of criminal activity, should be used exclusively for those below the age of puberty, “teenager” should be used for those 13 to 19 years of age, and “minor” could be used for anyone below the legal age of majority, which would vary by jurisdiction. But I doubt there would be a consensus on that suggestion.
I recently viewed an episode of Vienna Blood, in which a teenager at a military academy points a gun at a bully, who had overseen initiation rituals involving branding and playing Russian roulette with a pistol. The psychoanalyst tells the teen to look at his tormentor: “Look at him. He’s just a boy.”
A similar issue involves misuse of the word “pedophile,” but I would leave that for another thread.
child definition - Bing