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Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

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Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#201

Post by leephillips »

rmetzler wrote: post #142
nearmuse wrote: post #62

Because of all of these news of arrests, cops shooting someone unarmed, or people getting easily labelled as felons or sex offenders, US has become synonymous with "trigger-happy" (literally & figuratively) for me. Are people (and specifically cops) in the US really that quick to judge? Does it depend on the state? Or do these cases make the news exactly because of how outrageous and rare they are?

From what I read online (and I can be very wrong) people are trained for 3 to 6 months in the US and then they are cops. It’s a least 2.5 years, 3 years, or 5 years (depending on your career choice) for police officers in Germany.

I also hear that in Germany you actually require people to know how to drive before you give them licenses. We could learn a few things from you. Cops in the US frequently shoot themselves in the foot, shoot blindly into buildings, etc. Yes, hordes of untrained armed police with emotional problems are a big issue in the US. They are empowered by the knowledge that the legal system will almost never hold them accountable.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#202

Post by dusted »

Instead of making sure it's safe for kids to walk outside, police throw the parents of the kids walking outside in jail.

Only in america..

Downvoted ? Really? People agree that it seems reasonable to put parents in jail for letting their kids walk outside ? I walked to and from school when I was 6 years old, no problem... If society has degenerated to the point where it's not safe for a kid to walk on the street, then we don't need to make it illegal for kids to walk on the streets, we need to make the streets safe.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#203

Post by jakewins »

soco wrote: post #153
kickout wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This, unfortunately, mimics my experiences. No idea when or how it happened, but it is noticeable

In Switzerland you'd get called by the teacher if you don't let your kid walk by itself to kindergarten, because independence and learning and all.

We just moved to Sweden from Missouri; yesterday I picked up our 3yo from daycare and had this exchange:

Kid:

Teacher: Oh, by the way, he fell out of a small tree today, he was climbing and fell, so he may have a small bruise, just so you are aware

Me: Oh ok. What tree?

Teacher: Oh we took them to and grilled hot dogs today!

Kid: I found a snail!

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#204

Post by jakub_g »

I live in continental Europe, where kids being out is total chill pretty much everywhere. I remember being 10-12 y.o. going alone to school (15 min walk) every day, and hanging out with folks playing soccer until dark in the summer (~10PM).

While the US seems totally out of place with those laws, it seems UK is not far away. My brother's kids are 10 & 13 y.o. and it's real problem every time they have school vacation (several times per year), they must stay home all day because guess what, parents don't have unlimited vacation, and they're scared to let kids go out to play alone, not for something happening to them, but for someone noticing and reporting it. It's nuts.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#205

Post by dougmwne »

I walked this distance every day to school as a second grader and so did many other second graders. I crossed major roads, though there were crossing guards at some but not all intersections. This was 30 years ago.

Today I spend time in Poland. It is normal for elementary children to walk to school or play in parks unsupervised in major cities.

Even Texas seems to have lost it. What a sad and sorry state of things.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#206

Post by dekhn »

VancouverMan wrote: post #122
CodeMage wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminds me of the time my son finally gathered the confidence to take the training wheels off his bike and learn to ride it without them. My wife and I were walking, and he was on his bike, and he was so happy and pumped about his achievement, that he asked to ride farther away, out of our sight. Now, this is a peaceful suburban neighborhood we're talking about, and we're on a stretch between his school and a park ne…

> smile politely all the way to avoid escalating. That attitude, while perhaps more comfortable in some ways, just enables the sort of behaviour you encountered, and apparently disliked, from that woman. A blunt response like, "Fuck off. Don't talk to my son.", followed by walking away from her, may have been harsher and not particularly polite, but perhaps it'd cause a person like her to avoid such meddling in the f…

I disagree. I think a slightly better way that just politely nodding is to say "I stand firmly by my decision to allow my child to roam freely within my neighborhood."

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#207

Post by medo-bear »

so in merica, in land o da three, parents get thrown in jail for letting their kids walk alone? meanwhile here in scary eastern europe every non-rainy night i cant go sleep because apparently its ok that there are kids all over the place playing unsupervised ... you know ... having fun ... being kids ... not dogs on a leash

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#208

Post by ok_dad »

This is why I like living in a neighborhood that isn't suburban and doesn't have nosy neighbors bothering you. Sure there's more loud noises like cars and motorcycles and parties, and there's a few more rusted out cars in yards, but I wouldn't trade my neighbors for 100 upper-middle-class yuppies who get into your business.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#209

Post by ihaveabeardnow »

monological wrote: post #24

Japan has entered the chat... In Japan, children are encouraged from early age to be independent. They even take the subway and bus by themselves, albeit it's significantly safer there than in other parts of the world. Still though, I think people in America have gone off the deep end.

I was wondering how many comments I'd get through before see one such as yours. Japan always comes up when these things happen. Glad to have you here.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#210

Post by [deleted] »

gpanders wrote: post #94
nearmuse wrote: post #62

Because of all of these news of arrests, cops shooting someone unarmed, or people getting easily labelled as felons or sex offenders, US has become synonymous with "trigger-happy" (literally & figuratively) for me. Are people (and specifically cops) in the US really that quick to judge? Does it depend on the state? Or do these cases make the news exactly because of how outrageous and rare they are?

>Are people (and specifically cops) in US really that quick to judge? Or do these cases make the news exactly because of how outrageous and rare they are? (With the obvious caveat that I do not claim to represent the entire American population) I think it is the latter. This kind of thing is newsworthy precisely because it gets people riled up (as it should). It is pretty shocking to me as someone who has lived in th…

[deleted]
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