A 4-year-old can run errands alone and not just on reality TV

Post by tomjakubowski » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 10:35 PM UTC

DoneWithAllThat wrote: post #237

DFHippie wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. The cities are actually safer . The chief difference is that the segment of the media dedicated to keeping people fearful, particularly of their neighbors, is enormous now. It was always the case that media liked stories of conflict, but this was moderated by a sense of propriety and responsibility to the community. Now, certain voices have enormous megaphones and no restraints and the paranoia and anger they a…

Safer than what? Suburbs with nice sidewalks and tree lined streets and friendly neighbors who know each other? Safer than rural areas where everyone knows everyone and there’s enough law enforcement to work on a 1:1 basis? I’m sorry but this just seems like an absolute nonsense claim.

Post by bombcar » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 10:37 PM UTC

xeromal wrote: post #108

robonerd wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it has much less to do with any particular murder, and is actually related to the rise of cable news that needed to find some way to fill an entire day, every day of the week, with national news. There just isn't that much national news, not the sort that keeps people tuning in. So instead they started taking local news stories that had some sensational elements and presenting them as national news stories. S…

I think their point is that Adam Walsh's murder kickstarted the fear mongering on the news you're talking about. It might be the columbine to school shooters. Everything else is derived from it.

Post by Macha » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 10:42 PM UTC

grecy wrote: post #241

tpoacher wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was a kid, people would leave the engine running on the car with the keys on, while they popped in the convenience store to buy a quick item. We used to leave the doors and windows wide open at home while taking a nap, to "air the house". Different times.

I live in Canada, both of those examples are extremely common today

Post by chrischen » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 10:44 PM UTC

fnordpiglet wrote: post #51

beej71 wrote: post #47

I don't have any kids, so I don't really feel comfortable telling folks how to raise theirs. But I will tell you my perspective. As someone who grew up in the "be back home in time for supper" 1970s, today's world seems completely foreign. When I started kindergarten, Mom walked me to school on the first day so that I'd know the route. And after that I walked to school on my own until I learned to ride a bike. I rode…

A major difference between when I grew up and now is the prevalence of the severely mentally ill living on city streets. Would you send your 5 year old self down the streets of San Francisco or Seattle? As a 45 year old I’m frightened often enough - I can’t imagine my daughter being forced to navigate those situations alone. The assault and murder rates due to the untreated mentally ill in the cities I’ve lived in is…

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 10:45 PM UTC

kazinator wrote: post #171

sloreti wrote: post #27

Disappointing that an article like this wouldn’t mention one of the main reasons children are given less autonomy in the US: our built environment. The vast majority of our children grow up in neighborhoods in which one can’t easily be a pedestrian at any age. Low density communities, in which almost all trips have to be taken in cars, are of course not friendly to non-drivers. Japan builds dense, mixed use neighborh…

Low density is not the reason you have to walk a long way to get to a house that it would take you seconds to get to if you climbed a backyard fence. It's just the stupid tree-of-cul-de-sacs layout. Most of Japan isn't dense; it's single-family, detached dwellings. Those neighborhoods are walkable in spite of that. In metropolitan areas like around Tokyo, sure the houses are on small plots and close together; but hou…