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

Post by 0xedd » Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 12:58 AM UTC

ddalex wrote: post #511

zhdc1 wrote: post #275

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My son is expected to walk to and from school without parental support once he starts kindergarten. We don't live in the states.

Switzerland ? One of the places that is somewhat normal...

Post by threatofrain » Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 1:00 AM UTC

necovek wrote: post #587

threatofrain wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The neighbor bears the least responsibility by a wide margin which is why despite non-zero involvement they really shouldn't be on the same table for discussion. If I ask an entire hospital system to believe in my crazy theory for Leukemia and that leads to patients getting screwed, the discussion shouldn't have the inclination to focus on how one patient communicated their bad medical theory.

It's not a good comparison: everyone has an ability and authority to get police at your door. Police acting on a report and arriving at your doorstep threateningly is not a pleasant experience. And depending on how much it scares you, police might think you are more suspicious instead of less. This is why false police reports are generally forbidden and can put you, a reporter, in jail. You shouting out a crazy theor…

Post by Watchwatcher » Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 1:13 AM UTC

VancouverMan wrote: post #122

CodeMage wrote: post #32

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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…

Post by midoridensha » Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 1:19 AM UTC

ajford wrote: post #574

kentm wrote: post #179

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This is a serious worry of mine. I often let my elementary kids walk home from school by themselves because we live close enough and they have good sense around what little traffic there is. But I always worry that someone will throw a fit about it. I worry about that a LOT more than kidnappers.

Same. I let my kids walk about 0.5mi to the park and I'm more afraid of some nosey busy-body calling CPS on them than I am about traffic or kidnappers. When I was growing up in the 90s, I'd routinely bike many miles away from home and disappear for hours before I came home. Nowadays letting your kids do that is liable to get CPS called on you. How the heck did we end up here?!

Post by lupire » Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 1:38 AM UTC

pessimizer wrote: post #524

bhelkey wrote: post #478

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> A woman one block away had called the cops to report a boy walking outside alone. That lady had actually asked Aiden where he lived, verified that it was just down the street, and proceeded to call nonetheless. I have no problem blaming this behavior. To be clear, it would not be productive to blame only the neighbor.

That woman has no certification or authority to decide whether a child is in danger, and the fact that the kid was a block away from home is not some undeniable indicator that he wasn't. That woman has a civic responsibility to call authorities when she's worried about the welfare of a child. The authorities have a responsibility to be competent. The woman fulfilled her responsibility, the entire justice system faile…