-OpEd-
PISA — The scene is disturbing: young boys and girls protesting in the streets and in front of places of power against police violence suffered by their peers in Pisa, while the Italian government remains entrenched in its silence by merely promising investigations.
On Feb. 23, a large number of students took to the streets of Pisa, in support of Palestinians in Gaza, when they were charged by policemen armed with batons. The clash, which left several injured, alarmed young Italians, who saw their right to demonstrate infringed upon by the government, and sparked a movement that has grown more heated. This included marches in the squares of Bologna, Naples, Florence and Empoli, where the protesters chanted “Protect us, don’t beat us!”
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It is understandable when a person who troubled or embarrassed by a situation denies or even avoids the problem. But that is not the case for a government; it is incumbent on the government to respond to the criticism of the children’s families and opposition parties in order to shed light on what happened and possibly take action.
But perhaps the issue is that the government perceives teenagers as a threat: they can protest and express their dissent; they can criticize educational institutions and even occupy schools to make their voices heard.
Cloudy future
Unfortunately, faced with these protests and behaviors, we do not ask the reason for their malaise — especially in this time of wars and violence, climate change and pollution that are mortgaging their future. That is not to mention the the sacrifices they made and isolation they experienced during COVID-19 pandemic years. The future is looking cloudier than ever as far, as their jobs and lives are concerned.
We, adults, should be committed to trying to understand teenagers’ anxieties and concerns. Not in the least because we are the ones handing them this unwelcoming world, conditioned by unstoppable technological transformations that often make human identity precarious.
Teens are in a stage of life where they need to experience autonomy and explore.
Moreover, their more immediate and spontaneous gaze and observations could provide us with a view of the world unclouded by adult prejudices and disenchantment. They could allow us to rediscover the curiosity, capacity for wonder and indignation that is typical of the teenage years.
Engaging with the teen world requires an ability to shift; we cannot stay anchored in our beliefs and assume that our life view is the only legitimate one, never questioning or doubting ourselves. Unfortunately, that attitude is typical of authoritarianism that has manifested itself in extreme forms in the dictatorships past and present. And it persists in those adults who demand that teens personify their own beliefs and expectations — without taking into account that they are in a stage of life where they need to experience autonomy and explore.
Autonomous youth culture
Adolescents cannot help but generate misunderstanding and impatience in such people: teens are different; they often challenge adults; they exhibit conflicting behaviors and mood swings; they criticize teachers if they do not feel recognized; and they sometimes reject gender categories.
Yet thanks to teenagers, the world has changed profoundly in recent decades. Young people have transformed family life by questioning the rigidity of roles and rules. School organization has been opened up to girls and boys from different social classes. In other words, they have helped develop their own “autonomous youth culture,” as defined by English historian Eric Hobsbawm.
We must allow young people to live their adolescence without expecting to either accelerate or direct it.
Adolescents are neither left nor right — however much they sometimes use buzzwords and symbolism — they are above all going through the difficult transition to adulthood, in which their bodies change, their brains go through the process of maturing, and they are busy building their own identity every day. They will enter the adult world with the brand new identity they chose.
As the British psychoanalyst and pediatrician Donald Winnicott writes, we must allow young people to live their adolescence without expecting to either accelerate or direct it; it is up to them to find their own way by overcoming moments of discouragement and phases of stagnation until they see a light opening up in front of them.
