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Two things...
Mar. 12th, 2013 11:41 pmhttp://www.freerangekids.com/mom-sees-man-in-school-parking-lot-calls-911-why-did-cops-take-so-long
First, you really want to read that post. It's kinda hilarious, and weeks before April Fools' Day!
Secondly, on a related subject, I happened upon a forum thread elsewhere on the dreaded Letting Your Kids Walk Alone (and why are friends so judgmental, anyway?)
The comments on the thread soon reached hysterical, with one person passionately mentioning a. Adam Walsh b. Etan Patz and c. Jaycee Dugard, and rebutting comments on the risk of driving with "well, if your kid dies in a car accident it probably isn't your fault, but if they get kidnapped while alone it definitely is!"
First, everybody who wishes to convince the rest of us that the world is much less safe than it was, please, get some new references. No, I don't remember Adam or Etan! They were both long dead before I was even born! As for Jaycee Dugard, if you must mention her because she was held captive for 18 years, the key here is "18 years". No fun for her, but it's not exactly indicative of *recent* trends, is it?
To be fair, there are kidnapped children every year. It's not the most common cause of death, not by a long shot, but they do exist. So name somebody kidnapped in the past three years, not somebody who died decades ago.
Secondly, every day I see people driving around who, let's face it, have no business behind the wheel of a car. Half the time, they have at least one child in the back. While I wouldn't be so crass as to say it to their face should they be so unlucky, it isn't at all guaranteed that they would be faultless in the case of a devastating car crash. I see people who think that it's okay to go the wrong way down a street because the other way is teo minutes longer. I see people zoom through stop signs and red lights, turning onto a major thoroughfare without even a cursory check of the safety of this. Every single day I see another person who ignored the stop line on the hill near me, never thought to ask why it's so far down the road, and then frantically tried to back up (with a dozen cars behind doing the same thing!) because if you're parked at the top of the hill there's no space for the bus to turn, as it does only six or seven times an hour. Or they want to make a turn, so they bolt into the bus lane six inches in front of the bus. Yes, in a fight between you and the bus, you'll be the one who wins.
And every one of these people thinks they're a good driver. They're not. They're just lucky. Staten Island is awful when it comes to drivers, but can other places be that much better?
For their own kids, and for the well being and peace of mind of just about everybody else, I strongly want every one of them to walk more, drive less. Even unattended, it has got to be safer for the kids than being in a car with some of them. Stranger abductions are rare. Spend enough time walking around during the school rush, and you'll know why car accidents are so much more common.
First, you really want to read that post. It's kinda hilarious, and weeks before April Fools' Day!
Secondly, on a related subject, I happened upon a forum thread elsewhere on the dreaded Letting Your Kids Walk Alone (and why are friends so judgmental, anyway?)
The comments on the thread soon reached hysterical, with one person passionately mentioning a. Adam Walsh b. Etan Patz and c. Jaycee Dugard, and rebutting comments on the risk of driving with "well, if your kid dies in a car accident it probably isn't your fault, but if they get kidnapped while alone it definitely is!"
First, everybody who wishes to convince the rest of us that the world is much less safe than it was, please, get some new references. No, I don't remember Adam or Etan! They were both long dead before I was even born! As for Jaycee Dugard, if you must mention her because she was held captive for 18 years, the key here is "18 years". No fun for her, but it's not exactly indicative of *recent* trends, is it?
To be fair, there are kidnapped children every year. It's not the most common cause of death, not by a long shot, but they do exist. So name somebody kidnapped in the past three years, not somebody who died decades ago.
Secondly, every day I see people driving around who, let's face it, have no business behind the wheel of a car. Half the time, they have at least one child in the back. While I wouldn't be so crass as to say it to their face should they be so unlucky, it isn't at all guaranteed that they would be faultless in the case of a devastating car crash. I see people who think that it's okay to go the wrong way down a street because the other way is teo minutes longer. I see people zoom through stop signs and red lights, turning onto a major thoroughfare without even a cursory check of the safety of this. Every single day I see another person who ignored the stop line on the hill near me, never thought to ask why it's so far down the road, and then frantically tried to back up (with a dozen cars behind doing the same thing!) because if you're parked at the top of the hill there's no space for the bus to turn, as it does only six or seven times an hour. Or they want to make a turn, so they bolt into the bus lane six inches in front of the bus. Yes, in a fight between you and the bus, you'll be the one who wins.
And every one of these people thinks they're a good driver. They're not. They're just lucky. Staten Island is awful when it comes to drivers, but can other places be that much better?
For their own kids, and for the well being and peace of mind of just about everybody else, I strongly want every one of them to walk more, drive less. Even unattended, it has got to be safer for the kids than being in a car with some of them. Stranger abductions are rare. Spend enough time walking around during the school rush, and you'll know why car accidents are so much more common.
