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The School Car Pickup Line Is a National Embarrassment

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Re: The School Car Pickup Line Is a National Embarrassment

#211

Post by mitthrowaway2 »

aerostable_slug wrote: post #207
mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is if you consider cultures, poverty levels, and crime rates to not be immutable geographic traits, but a result of policy choices. The US can't take a giant leap to kids having Tokyo-like freedom, but it can look at what Japan does differently that results in such a society (eg. its public education system, public transit, policing, street design, typical vehicle size, etc).

You cannot legislate positive cultural attributes into being. There's no way to fine people into reading to their kids, picking up trash when they see it, deciding to put the grocery cart back, prioritizing academic achievement, etc.

It takes a lot more than legislation, but Japan's modern culture is in large part the product of its education system. It has a strong focus on teaching exactly that sort of prosocial behaviour.

Re: The School Car Pickup Line Is a National Embarrassment

#213

Post by qball »

Brookeden55 wrote: post #199
mmooss wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone here should watch the Japanese TV series, Old Enough! . 2-4 year olds are sent out on their own to run errands, etc. Yes, really, 2-4 years old. And they succeed and are fine. https://www.ntv.co.jp/english/pc/2011/02/old-enough.html

[flagged]

The exact same people calling CPS on kids walking down the street claiming it's too dangerous are the people who advocate for turning communities into low-trust economic zones.

The reason it's more dangerous now is because of them. They privatized profit (in this case, the warm fuzzies of addicts shooting up on playgrounds) and socialized risk.

That is pollution. We should clean up that pollution, and ban those who created it from causing more.

Re: The School Car Pickup Line Is a National Embarrassment

#214

Post by JumpCrisscross »

EA-3167 wrote: post #170
messe wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forget Japan for a moment. Walking to and from school unattended is perfectly normal in many countries in the EU. The normalisation of car journeys in the US is bizarre .

There is no "US" where something like this is normalized, it's down to region, weather, urbanization and perception of safety. I grew up walking and biking to school because I was lucky enough to live in a nice suburb close to my school. For people who need to take a 20 minute *drive* to school obviously that isn't feasible. The US is a massive country with a huge number of different climates and layouts, which is pa…

> I grew up walking and biking to school because I was lucky enough to live in a nice suburb close to my school

So did I. Have you been back? The kids in my school are dropped off when I biked.

Re: The School Car Pickup Line Is a National Embarrassment

#215

Post by bilbo0s »

Aurornis wrote: post #185
lvl155 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s the US. People on here are so sheltered.

The majority of the US is absolutely not like this. You keep accusing other people of living in a bubble, but you're indexing your entire experience on to anecdotes of where you grew up as an individual experience.

In all honesty, statistically, that person's assertions are highly likely not to be fact.

It's like the man who has happened on "several" three-alarm fires in his life. How many times does a person happen on even one three-alarm fire in a lifetime? Let alone "several". The likelihood you're either speaking to an arsonist or a liar is very high.

Same is true for people who are robbed at gunpoint "several" times. The statistical likelihood that you're either speaking to a criminal or a liar is extremely high.

Re: The School Car Pickup Line Is a National Embarrassment

#216

Post by hommelix »

drewg123 wrote: post #136

This problem is over for me, as my son has graduated, but part of the problem is NIMBY'ified suburban roads that dead-end rather than connecting neighborhoods (in order to cut down on neighborhood traffic). My son's school was about 250 meters from his mom's house. Due to the NIMBY way the neighborhoods were built, he would have had to ride his bike or walk 2.5 miles on busy roads w/o bike lanes to get to his mom's h…

In the Netherlands they build the neighborhood like that, but at the dead end of the street is a small path for walking/biking. So driving to school would take 2 km, but walking only 500 m.

Re: The School Car Pickup Line Is a National Embarrassment

#217

Post by Symbiote »

fatnoah wrote: post #107
alwa wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normally I’d ding a comment like this as low-effort, but… I honestly can’t think of any more appropriate reaction. I know I’m behind the times, but I was surprised recently when, at an elementary school in the US, they showed me painted lines on the floor of the classroom, indicating the zones out of the line of fire for somebody shooting through the small, jail-like window in the door… apparently they train the babi…

> I know I’m behind the times, but I was surprised recently when, at an elementary school in the US, they showed me painted lines on the floor of the classroom, indicating the zones out of the line of fire for somebody shooting through the small, jail-like window in the door It all seems overdone and ridiculous, but when you get a phone call from your child as they sprint from the school building to the safety of the…

So about 12 people were curious but not too surprised when our American friend told us her experience of a school shooting at her university. She was in a different building to the shooter.

The room was shocked into silence when she said "oh, and there was the time at my elementary school..." and had another experience of guns at a school.

We had been surprised by this:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/08/one-in-15-amer...

Re: The School Car Pickup Line Is a National Embarrassment

#218

Post by lolinder »

dylan604 wrote: post #180
RandomBacon wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's that schools need to dismiss the kid to their parent. Do they? What's the citation for that law? Who are the schools dismissing the kids to when they walk home by themselves?

The parent has already signed a release form at the beginning of the school year that designated their kiddo as a walker, and did not need the parent present. Just like your DoorDash option to not be needed to be present

That's still a huge step back from previous generations, where all kids were expected to find their own way to their parents, whether waiting at home, waiting in the pickup loop, or waiting a few blocks away where it's not as busy.

Re: The School Car Pickup Line Is a National Embarrassment

#219

Post by mysterydip »

mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #191
Aurornis wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a reality TV show. They have a full crew following the kids around. Like any reality TV, you're only seeing the story they want you to see. Nobody should be gauging reality based on what you see on reality TV shows.

Sure, but if you spend time in Japan you really will see five-year-old kids walking long distances and taking transit to school and running errands unaccompanied.

Agreed, I saw it firsthand while I was there. The elementary school was near the train station I had to take to get to university, and there was always a line of little kids walking themselves there every morning.

Re: The School Car Pickup Line Is a National Embarrassment

#220

Post by mmooss »

qball wrote: post #197
rdtsc wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That wouldn't work in US until the whole culture changes. An individual family may do this, and then someone will call child protective services because there is a lost, unaccompanied child. Happened to my coworker: kids were playing outside and a neighbor called the authorities on them. Not clear if they really thought the kids were in danger, or just did it out of spite, but what ensued was a nightmare of CPS calli…

>That wouldn't work in US until the whole culture changes. This is one of those things laws are great at. Delete the power of idiot Karens and the culture will return to normal. It works for Utah (and to a point, Texas); it can work for your polity, too. When children are at far greater risk of abuse and abduction by concern trolls and the State, and they very much are in New World countries, your society is broken.

> children are at far greater risk of abuse and abduction by concern trolls and the State

Is there evidence of that? And would you define 'concern trolls' (beyond 'people who have concerns different than mine')?

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