Now, I gotta ask… Why are you implying that it’s better for a person 2 years older to handle the same machine with the same lack of safety features/proper supervision? Everyone here is making a big stink about this being a “kid”, but a few years older and this is the reality for many many people. Also the same age we let them start driving… So why are you only seemingly outraged that it was a kid? Shouldn’t you be outraged that it could happen to anyone, and in fact regularly does, and is usually not given any attention?
No, the reason is that minors have special protections because they don’t have the rights adults do. Most importantly, the kid cannot live independently without emancipation, and the kid has no voting rights. He cannot vote for representation that would improve his situation (regardless of who he voted for does it or not).
However, as a minor, he is entitled to an education in the US, and knowingly putting his life at risk puts that education to risk. And people can argue until they are blue in the face about being in “life risking situations” but child labor laws have explicitly forbidden this sort of dangerous work because others profit off of it, leading to incentive to circumvent that entitlement.
This isn’t just about safety, this is about rights. This is about law. And more importantly, this is about the interference of education when money comes into play.
Now, I gotta ask… Why are you implying that it’s better for a person 2 years older to handle the same machine with the same lack of safety features/proper supervision? Everyone here is making a big stink about this being a “kid”, but a few years older and this is the reality for many many people. Also the same age we let them start driving… So why are you only seemingly outraged that it was a kid? Shouldn’t you be outraged that it could happen to anyone, and in fact regularly does, and is usually not given any attention?
No, the reason is that minors have special protections because they don’t have the rights adults do. Most importantly, the kid cannot live independently without emancipation, and the kid has no voting rights. He cannot vote for representation that would improve his situation (regardless of who he voted for does it or not).
However, as a minor, he is entitled to an education in the US, and knowingly putting his life at risk puts that education to risk. And people can argue until they are blue in the face about being in “life risking situations” but child labor laws have explicitly forbidden this sort of dangerous work because others profit off of it, leading to incentive to circumvent that entitlement.
This isn’t just about safety, this is about rights. This is about law. And more importantly, this is about the interference of education when money comes into play.