• Zaktor
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    2 hours ago

    Describing an 18 year old as a “teen” certainly is a choice. And not one commonly made when the person accused of a crime is black.

      • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        That does not matter, by law, he is an adult. The term “teen” is used when under 18 in the news. This is clear bias because of his race.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            52 minutes ago

            If I told you, “Gary’s fucking a teenager,” I’m guessing you wouldn’t assume that teenager was over 18 and would be thinking maybe the authorities should be contacted.

          • escapedgoat@lemmy.world
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            1 hour ago

            We all get it, the type of porn you watch is still legal even though it has teen in the name.

            This is regarding a legal matter where the man’s sentence will likely be decided by the fact that the court sees him as an adult. In most cases and as the other user pointed out 18 year olds are referred to as men in a legal context. This disturbingly seems to be the standard practice when describing black males of 18.

            Generally speaking, describing alleged criminals as teens implies a lack of legal agency and thus biases the reader toward compassion. The point is that sometimes language can induce bias and consistency is needed. If that consistency falls towards the technicality of having the word teen in their name so be it, but that is not the case with our current media landscape.

      • Zaktor
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        2 hours ago

        Yes, teen is literally in the word, but you know that the implication is not “an adult legally responsible for their actions” and the choice of how to describe an alleged criminal is not applied similarly to white and black subjects. A 15 year old black boy will be described as a “black male” while a legally adult white man will be a “teen” until the day of their 20th birthday.