After talking around with colleagues, and Cam herself, I’d
like to talk about a couple things. A friend of mine was attacked by her heroes
a couple days ago. Two very prominent, black feminists. They’re well respected,
and they deserve the respect for the work they’ve done—and continue to do.

But.

First.

Let me go ahead and give you the Google definition of
“ageism”: this is most notably considered to be the stereotyping and
discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of age. Teens and
seniors are the most common victims.

Just to give context for those that missed what went down: On Twitter, Two notable women—both with very large follower bases took it upon themselves
to cast aspersions on a black teenage girl (Camryn Garrett) who’s 1) very well
know and cared for, 2) is a trailblazer in all things literary, and 3) who is a
teenager (in case you missed that.) Cam had an online magazine dedicated to black
girls to submit entries for their voices to be heard. The name of the magazine
was something that gathered lots of attention, as it was a word that was alleged
to be copyrighted.

Here is me screaming: You cannot *technically* copyright
words.

Anyway, the two women spoke out because they did not like
the idea of the magazine. They felt like it was a fraud. Arguably, with
awareness, the two women basically created a space for Cam to be “trolled”
through the privilege of their large follower bases.  

Cam received several hateful notes in her mentions—mostly
from followers of these two said women that were literally given the go-ahead
to flood Cam’s mentions with irrelevant bullshit, making widely false
accusations.

The comments from the two women, which are now deleted, were
meant to directly belittle and hurt Cam, as they considered HER to be the
troll, but their comments offended many of us, I am sure. And some people don’t
know why.

That’s because not really many people acknowledge ageism to
be a thing.

Their comments directly attacked Cam, yes, but they also
were meant to do harm to several teens like her, which is what they say they’re
trying to avoid for themselves.

No one’s saying there’s two sides to erasure. We’re saying
to check yourself.

These women have said they’ve been erased, attacked, &
criticized. This is truth. But that’s what they did to Cam. Through ageism and
quote retweets, tearing Cam down bit by bit. These women are a part of a very
vulnerable group, as black women. Cam’s a part of an even more vulnerable group
within that vulnerable group, as a teenage
black woman.

Outright having followers attack a teenager is wrong, yes,
but that’s not entirely my point.

My point is that them saying words like “lazy”,
“uneducated,” and expressing the idea that all teens have “’failed through
education,” among other things are all stereotypes of age.  Adolescence specifically. Using these words
to describe a teen are not only hurtful as fuck, but they hinder them from
approaching adulthood, stops them from growing, crushes them.

It causes depression. Teens feel like they are not good
enough when shit like this happens. When they are not heard. When we assume they
have bad intentions. Especially teens of minority groups.  

Trust me I know first hand. I’ve been there. More recently
than they have. So the feelings are very fresh and raw. My high school
experience was a rather peculiar one. On paper, I was considered to be what
they called “advanced.” So, I got to do a program where I earned my AS degree
while in high school, which put me a head of all of my peers. I was Cam’s
age—16, in classes with mostly 25-35 year olds. And one huge stereotype that
offended me to bits because of my age was the assumption that, in regards to
academics, I knew far less than them. That I was automatically inferior. They
didn’t see me as an equal. It became very apparent that the “you’re just a
minor” mentality was meant to box me in, make me feel confined, ostracized,
marginalized. And so that’s exactly what happened. I spent most of my time
confined. Literally in the box of a dormitory room. There was no room for me to
grow. I was deprived of that.

So this is why what happened to Cam resonated with me on a
personal level.

Well, Jay, cut them
some slack…they apologized to her.

They apologized?…um…okay. But that does not excuse their
behavior. It does not excuse prejudice of teens. Hell, it doesn’t excuse
prejudice period. It does not excuse an outright disregard for someone who they
perceived to be less than them, as they tossed around words like “minor,” as a
means of degradation. An apology? It’s a start, but it’s the action that’s the
real determiner. Regardless of age.

They talked a lot about wanting to move forward, but their
actions are retrogressive. Tearing down black teenage women is not progressive.

The point of this post isn’t to toss around “shade” or even
to disrespect. It’s to enlighten, engage, and to challenge. It’s to show that
ageism is also a thing that needs to be acknowledged, especially when we
interact with others online, which can be a very unsafe place. Even more so for
members of vulnerable communities.

I think it’s important for all of us—no matter how
distinguished, to be more conscientious on what we do on social media. Think
before acting. Research before commenting. Ask before assuming. Talk and not
attack.

This is sooooo very important. We need to make sure that we
have conversations with each other about young adults and their voices. We’ve
got to be mindful that young people and adult allies have faced—and continue to
face—many challenges as they work to engage other young adults throughout our
communities. And if we constantly tear them down, we’re heading in a very
frightening direction.