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Maryland Parents Investigated For Neglect After Letting Their Kids Walk Home From School Alone

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

It’s one thing for an 80 year old to nostalgically lament that things aren’t as they used to be. The problem is, I’m only 36 years old and this country already barely resembles the place I grew up in.

I’ve mentioned in the past how I used to ride the New York City public bus to and from school by myself starting when I was around 9 or 10 years old. Many of my peers started taking the then dreaded subway by themselves around the same time. Bear in mind, this was NYC in the 1980’s, a far different place than the Disneyland for Wall Street it has become since. I can’t recall a single child abduction happening to anyone at my school, but what I can remember was a teacher being fired for molesting young boys. Makes you wonder about where the real danger lurks, doesn’t it?

This transformation into a nanny-state, snitching culture has severe negative long-term repercussions for U.S. society, as well as the economy, if the trend isn’t reversed. I have written about this dangerous change many times in the past, and links to prior articles will be attached at the end of this post.

First, let’s take a look at the ridiculous circumstances now faced by these Maryland parents for simply allowing their children a rite of passage that kids from time immemorial have enjoyed. From the Washington Post:

It was a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. But what the parents saw as a moment of independence for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, they say authorities viewed much differently.

 

Danielle and Alexander Meitiv say they are being investigated for neglect for the Dec. 20 trek — in a case they say reflects a clash of ideas about how safe the world is and whether parents are free to make their own choices about raising their children.

 

The Meitivs say they believe in “free-range” parenting, a movement that has been a counterpoint to the hyper-vigilance of “helicopter” parenting, with the idea that children learn self-reliance by being allowed to progressively test limits, make choices and venture out in the world.

The fact that parents who want to allow their children to engage in normal behavior have to resort to terms like “free-range” parenting, which makes you think of livestock, tells you all you need to know.

“The world is actually even safer than when I was a child, and I just want to give them the same freedom and independence that I had — basically an old-fashioned childhood,” she said. “I think it’s absolutely critical for their development — to learn responsibility, to experience the world, to gain confidence and competency.”

 

On Dec. 20, Alexander agreed to let the children, Rafi and Dvora, walk from Woodside Park to their home, a mile south, in an area the family says the children know well.

 

The children made it about halfway

 

Police picked up the children near the Discovery building, the family said, after someone reported seeing them.

 

The Meitivs say their son told police that he and his sister were not doing anything illegal and are allowed to walk. Usually, their mother said, the children carry a laminated card with parent contact information that says: “I am not lost. I am a free-range kid.” The kids didn’t have the card that day.

Can you believe that such a card is even necessary? What planet am I living on.

She added: “Abductions are extremely rare. Car accidents are not. The number one cause of death for children of their age is a car accident.”

 

Danielle is a climate-science consultant, and Alexander is a physicist at the National Institutes of Health.

 

Alexander said he had a tense time with police on Dec. 20 when officers returned his children, asked for his identification and told him about the dangers of the world.

The more lasting issue has been with Montgomery County Child Protective Services, he said, which showed up a couple of hours after the police left.

 

Mary Anderson, a spokeswoman for CPS, said she could not comment on cases but that neglect investigations typically focus on questions of whether there has been a failure to provide proper care and supervision.

 

The Meitivs say that on Dec. 20, a CPS worker required Alexander to sign a safety plan pledging he would not leave his children unsupervised until the following Monday, when CPS would follow up. At first he refused, saying he needed to talk to a lawyer, his wife said, but changed his mind when he was told his children would be removed if he did not comply.

 

Following the holidays, the family said, CPS called again, saying the agency needed to inquire further and visit the family’s home. Danielle said she resisted.

 

“It seemed such a huge violation of privacy to examine my house because my kids were walking home,” she said.

 

This week, a CPS social worker showed up at her door, she said. She did not let him in. She said she was stunned to later learn from the principal that her children were interviewed at school.

Think about how terrifying this is for a second. Two clearly loving, intelligent and thoughtful parents where threatened with the removal of their children for allowing them to do something that should be seen as completely normal by all but the most scared, pathetic and uncourageous amongst us. To make matters worse, the whole thing started because a neighbor ratted them out.

This is not what freedom looks like.

For related articles, see:

A Winter Wonderland of Fear – Cities Across the U.S. Move to Ban Unregulated Sledding

The “Nanny States of America” – Mother Arrested for Allowing 7-Year-Old Son Walk to Park Alone

Connecticut Man Arrested for “Passive Aggressive” Behavior to a Watermelon

How I Remember September 11, 2001

 

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Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:01 | 5671587 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

I am thinking back to being in High School and driving to and from school with multiple hunting rifes in my truck.  I wonder how that would go over?  Odd that none of us ever had a problem though...

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:03 | 5671591 localsavage
localsavage's picture

These pussified kids are just going to get eaten up in the real world.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:09 | 5671619 knukles
knukles's picture

You have got to be fucking kidding me.
Can't walk home alone but must ingest a non-functional Moochmeal
All shit of somebody else's choosing who have no skin in the game

Fuck the Nanny State

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:10 | 5671625 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

 

 

Utilize your First Amendment Rights:

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS-Program/Program.aspx?id=CYF/CYFChi...

This
program investigates reports of suspected child abuse and neglect to
ensure the safety of children and help families stay together. This
hotline responds to calls about children living in Montgomery County.

Service(s): Children's Protective Services

Target Population: Abused Children
Information Number: 240-777-4417
Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:14 | 5671643 Stackers
Stackers's picture

I used to ride my bike 10-12 miles to the mall to hang out at the food court and play video games and be gone all day when I was 11-12 years old, much less walking and riding my bike to school since I was 7.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:16 | 5671649 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

 

 

http://www.dhr.state.md.us/blog/?page_id=1265

DHR Constituent Services Unit
311 West Saratoga Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

By telephone:
1.800.332.6347
TTY 1.800.925.4434

 

Montgomery County
Office of Child Support Enforcement
51 Monroe Street, Suite 811
Rockville, Maryland 20850

Customer Service: 1-800-332-6347
Automated Customer Service and Payment Information: 1-800-723-9937
Facsimile: 301-610-7258

Debra Hinds, Director
Jerry Hawkins, Assistant Director, Programs
Christopher Kunz, Special Counsel-Lead Attorney
Robin Markush, Special Counsel
Wanda Martinez, Special Counsel

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:17 | 5671663 knukles
knukles's picture

OK.
The kids need to be safe, right?

Let them get carry permits, then let them stroll about armed for self protection.

 

FUCK THE NANNY STATE

The only people abusing the kids here, is the government.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:24 | 5671685 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

 

 

 

 

To report that the Meitivs are being abused by The State of Maryland:

Call Montgomery County Protective Services...

240-777-3000 is for adult abuse, Mr and Mrs Alexander Meitiv

240-777-4417 is for child abuse, Rafi and Dvora Meitiv

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:28 | 5671717 DaddyO
DaddyO's picture

Those terrible parents...and to think this is done to children by our local LEO's here in Orlando.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/state-attorneys-office-files-charges...

DaddyO

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:54 | 5671822 McMolotov
McMolotov's picture

"I can’t recall a single child abduction happening to anyone at my school, but what I can remember was a teacher being fired for molesting young boys."

Same thing happened at my school with a band instructor.

I'd also add: Remember how you'd hear rumors about certain teachers sleeping with students? Those rumors are likely true at least half the time, at least that's how it was when I was in high school.

My kids walk home every day, and have been doing so since third grade. They'll keep walking home every day.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:10 | 5671883 UselessEater
UselessEater's picture

In my day it was just kinda known who to avoid. First week at a new all girls high school the kids in the play ground moved in very "loud" patterns depending on which adult walked through. If the older kids cleared a wide path while acting normal like the proverbial sea parting... we knew to dodge that adult. If the kids remained in position, we knew all was OK, if the kids moved towards the adult (an extremely rare event with only 2 adults I can recall), we knew that person was really great - to this day I recall both adults very fondly.

At the bus stop... opposite patterns when the strange adult freaks loitered...the kids grouped tighter but carried on chatting as if all was normal and us younger ones learned. World is short on appreciating the positives of peer pressure that teaches awareness and over the top on glamorizing how safe the 70's-80's were.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:58 | 5672087 Anusocracy
Anusocracy's picture

I'm afraid this behavior stems from the fact that everyone in government went to special retard schools and were protected from everything.

Now they believe every one should live like that.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 18:14 | 5672124 manofthenorth
manofthenorth's picture

I grew up in Montgomery county in the 70's and had never heard of an abduction. If I screwed around and missed the bus , I would have to walk 1.5 miles to school. I do not think I ever had to walk the whole way because some other parent would drive by and give me a lift. I am raising my children 5000 miles away from there to avoid all the craziness and polluted environment but mostly to be FAR, FAR away from the nanny state. Fortunately that shit does not happen here in AK. Kids are allowed to be kids and for the most part people respect one another's right to be left alone to raise their families as they see fit.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 18:24 | 5672150 metastar
metastar's picture

"I think it’s absolutely critical for their development — to learn responsibility, to experience the world, to gain confidence and competency.”"

There is something the parents forgot to teach their children ...

   "When you see the police, RUN!"

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 18:57 | 5672261 Citxmech
Citxmech's picture

Fer cryin' out loud.  I was riding the subway by myself in NYC when I was 11 years old.  Never had any problems whatsoever.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 18:33 | 5672164 duo
duo's picture

Hell, I was worried about my Pinto wagon being broken into so I broke down my shotgun (single shot) put it in my gym bag and kept it in my locker at HS during the day.  This probably happened hundreds of times in the upper Midwest back in the day.  Smoothbore deer season, BTW.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:16 | 5671913 TheRideNeverEnds
TheRideNeverEnds's picture

Think of it from the states perspective, if little Timmy falls down a well and dies because he was not being constantly monitored by either his inherit handlers or some state appointed guardians then who will pay for their pensions and the rest of all those unfunded liabilities in 20 years?

Whats worse is that if kids are allowed to grow up in a more Darwinian survival of the fittest type environment they may develop dangerous tenancies like the ability to think for themselves and make decisions independent of an 'authority' telling them what to think and do.

If we have a pack of free thinking sovereign individuals running around that is a recipe for disaster, the whole system would collapse.  

We would be headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

 

You don't want that now, do you?

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:38 | 5672011 UselessEater
UselessEater's picture

Well if Timmy falls down a well then the nation aka the corporation loses an animal included in its corporate asset tax revenue extraction plan.... oh dear, can't afford too many losses, so we must corral and protect the deer darlings from an unsanctioned and thus unprofitable demise.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:34 | 5671734 cheech_wizard
cheech_wizard's picture

If say, someone was willing to pay me, I feel that making problems such as this go away, could be a real growth industry in the years to come.

Standard Disclaimer: Have nail gun, will travel.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:43 | 5671781 p00k1e
p00k1e's picture

I offer to do wet-work. 

 

I'll beat-up coworkers, $5,000 for those who I think may fight back and $3,000 for those who I think won’t fight back.

No takers yet. 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:05 | 5671866 Conax
Conax's picture

Your price is just too high. We have a wino named Melvin that will do that much for a jug of Night Train.

If you can find him.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:14 | 5671898 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

 

 

$500 to have someone whacked in Panama.

Possibly less, if you use Groupon.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:45 | 5672034 Anusocracy
Anusocracy's picture

The Taking Children Seriously method goes free range parenting one better: it removes the inculcation of authority from the act of parenting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taking_children_seriously

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 21:48 | 5672663 WOAR
WOAR's picture

So cheech, are you a mechanic, or an insurance specialist?

(I love odd euphemisms)

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:46 | 5671799 kaiserhoff
kaiserhoff's picture

Amazing story, simply amazing.

Thanks for your work, HH.  I'll spread the word.  They need to hear from a few taxpayers.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:29 | 5671718 fockewulf190
fockewulf190's picture

 Actually, after I heard that kids  can only play with each other if they have "playdates", I knew that the Twilight Zone had arrived.  Nothing surprises me anymore.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:36 | 5671740 boodles
boodles's picture

I wrote to them, HH, for what it is worth.  Lets all take five minutes to write and do our wee duty to make civil society a bit stronger ... and the government a bit more wary about taking away our kids.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:29 | 5671757 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

 

 

The social worker hung up on me.  Not very social, if you ask me.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:23 | 5671698 sleigher
sleigher's picture

When in 1st grade I walked up hill to and from school.  In the snow!  (There was a hill between my house and the bus stop, so downhill both ways too)

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:40 | 5671761 UselessEater
UselessEater's picture

Beyond snow, when there were hail stones, the 2 inch gap between my duffel coat and wellies looked like a chicken pox zone. An extremely rare but remember-able experience decades later. Apparently (when chatting with the tamed) I can now have pride in this feat as if I were an extreme sports hero spending all of 5-10 minutes trekking in the wild outdoors of a suburban street! Bizzaro.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 19:07 | 5672285 FireBrander
FireBrander's picture

In the summer of the early 1970's, my friends and I would start the day digging through car wash trash cans looking for 10 cent returnable bottles. On a good day, we'd get $2 from the bottles and take the bus to the mall (10 cents 1 way)...if not, we walked the 5 miles and that itself was an adventure. I was about 10 years old...I would leave at 9AM and not come home until 6PM..no cell phone, no contact at all with the parents. Those were the good old days.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 21:55 | 5672687 californiagirl
californiagirl's picture

I walked a half mile to kindergarden when I was 5 with my 6 year old friend and no adults. Jr High was 1.6 miles one way. All the kids walked.  And when it rained, we put on rain coats and carried umbrellas if necessary.  I climbed trees and fences, went on bike rides, took the bus places, went on hikes up the nearby hills, rode the horses that were grazing in the fields all the way up the hills bareback with only a makeshift bridle my sister and I made from scraps of leather we found in the garage (we were 9 and 10 at the time), and walked all over the place, all without any adult supervision or tracking devices. My parents didn't even know where I was every second of the day. Us kids just knew we had to be home in time for dinner. I helped my mom in the kitchen starting when I was 5, learned to do laundry, rake leaves, and mow the lawn when I was 7, learned to use a hammer, nails and saw when I was 8, could cook an entire meal all by myself, from scratch by the time I was 9, and was changing my baby brothers' diapers by the time I was 10.  OMG!  How did I manage to survive childhood?!?!?  What terrible parents I had!  And they gave me actual chores and responsibilities! Today, they would be given a life sentence as child abusers!

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:12 | 5671628 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

Nope, not fucking kidding. 

 

John Kerry walks into a bar and the bar tender says "why the long face?"  Now, that is kidding around.  Or is it?

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:42 | 5671771 SilverIsKing
SilverIsKing's picture

Was it because Kerry finished last in the 3rd race at Belmont Park?

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:17 | 5671667 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

WTF?  In nature, if you have that overwhelming of an advantage, you use it!

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:26 | 5671704 insanelysane
insanelysane's picture

I've coached girls lacrosse and I had a parent from my team come over and chew me out when we blew out a team.  I had put in the scrubs, told them 5 passes before shooting, and work the shot to players that don't normally score.  After the parent chews me out I say, would it be less humiliating for our team to just run around the field for 20 minutes holding the ball while the other team stands on the field watching?  Do we drop the ball?  Should our team just stand on the field and not move?  The game isn't fun when one team isn't competetive but if they send you to play the game what do you do?  

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:05 | 5671864 Ruffmuff
Ruffmuff's picture

Yep, become a coach to have first knowledge on how big an asshole some parents are. Or better be a teacher, then become a cop to fight off the kids of assholes, or become a soldier to fight huge principals of religious assholes, on their land.

Fucking never ends.... Until you use full force and go to asshole avoidence school.  The lessons are valuable, but the tuition is very painful.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 20:01 | 5672366 pippi68
pippi68's picture

This is a tough call actually. Having been a coach on both sides of this problem over the years, you have to try to find a way to make the game on some level competitive and instructive to your team. A good coach will do that. For example, in soccer, you first try to shuffle your players so the ones who are the least experienced get more time on the field. Then if you're still killing the other team, you shift your players around into positions they normally don't play. Then, if you're still killing your opponents, you remove players one by one from the field until the match is even and maybe even skewed to the other team's advantage... or better yet, if the coach on the other side is cool, have him/her add players out on the field until the sides are more even. In the end, a more competitive match makes for a better skill-building game all around. If you've done all that and still gain on the other team, well, at least you tried and weren't a total jerk. A good coach will also ensure that his/her team does not taunt the opponents in a lopsided game. It just reflects poorly on the winning team. My rec girls soccer team was somehow matched against the regional champs once. This never should have happened and I knew we would be completely blown out. The end score was 0-24. Ouch! But I have to give my team credit. They fought to the end and took the humiliation and the teasing and taunting from the other team with guts and determination. As they walked off the field, I quoted "Rudy" from Fat Albert.... "You know gals? That team was like school in summer. NO CLASS."

Obviously this doesn't apply if you're in the play-offs where the individual stats really matter, but for regular league play, come on! 162-2. That's just silly. Why even bother.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:55 | 5671832 bobdog54
bobdog54's picture

Real competition teaches earned success, , earned failure, teamwork, and resiliency.  This nonsense started when I was coaching and ref'g soccer and today's adults are paying the price.  Many of the young adults believe 40 hrs a week of work with lots of vacation should earn them the big salary and promotions and this mentality comes right from "everybody gets a trophy" nonsense.  Not sure who said it first but life is tough and parents whom want the best for their children should raise them to deal with the good, the bad and the ugly. 

 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 21:53 | 5672683 Leraconteur
Leraconteur's picture

Hey bobdog54 when did you coach and ref? I was visiting relatives in 2007 and went to their kids sporting event.

Dad goes out and gives them a pep talk at the mound, then yells SAFETY FIRST!

Trots up to me and tells me that any adult involved must submit to a bg check.

I grew up late 70''s, 80, 81.

When did this insanity start? Safety first? Backgound checks to be a little league coach? 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:56 | 5671842 Kill the Bank J...
Kill the Bank Jackson's picture

Yep, seems that the loser coach should be fired for losing 163-2... but it is winner that is punished... well that in nutshell describes the death of america. 

 

Sat, 01/17/2015 - 00:46 | 5673072 Element
Element's picture

They seem to want everyone think the world is one giant West Bank slum full of immediate lethal dangers.

I've been walking around for several decades now and never one been messed with beyond the occasional beggar or drunk. And my entire schooling I walked too and from school - zero issues. Constantly walked alone to friends places, and to shops, or to sports - zero issues.

There is essentially no danger for unaccompanied children walking on a footpath 99.999999% of the time.

The usual total absence of a sense of proportion, a problem that seems to affect the United States far more than anywhere else on earth - a complete lack of any sort of a grip on reality is what has resulted.

Turn the insane fucking MSM TV OFF.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:11 | 5671631 froze25
froze25's picture

"to experience the world, to gain confidence and competency.”

They only want you to have the experience that the TV gives you.  People that are self Confident are more likely to stand up for themselves and possibly say the forbidden word "no", cant have that now can we.  If you demonstrate Competency that is a sign of individuality and we all know that and individual has no place in a communist/fascist, excuse me free country.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:19 | 5671677 101 years and c...
101 years and counting's picture

"These pussified kids are just going to get eaten up in the real world."  have you been awake?  the "real world" is gone.  everything has been converted to lollipops and unicorns.  and if you dont agree, you are an extremist.  now bend over and let the smoke go up your ass.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:57 | 5672084 css1971
css1971's picture

In America, sure. However in Russia the real world is very much live and well.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:22 | 5671692 MayIMommaDogFac...
MayIMommaDogFace2theBananaPatch's picture

I know of boys that are forbidden from even pantomiming anythng that resembles fighting or conflict.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:40 | 5671754 knukles
knukles's picture

Pretty soon wanking off in public will be the only thing acceptable and it'll be protected as a necessary freedom of displaying sound mental health.  That or fingering yer butt.

Whatthefuckisgoingon?
Oh, I know.

This shit ain't gonna last.
This is decline and fall of civilization crap.

Anybody have any wonderment left about why the Arabs and Muzzies, et al, wanna destroy Western Civilization?
If you do, you ain't been watching.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:08 | 5671873 Overfed
Overfed's picture

I tell our two remaining (at home) boys that they can wrestle and fight all they want, but they gotta do it outside. Boys need to burn off some aggression from time to time. Thankfully I grew up back in the good ol' days of dodgeball and smear the queer.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:40 | 5672022 Grimaldus
Grimaldus's picture

Maryland is a progressive utopia police state. Really creepy progressive control freakos there.

I thank my folks deeply from my heart for free ranging me. I was always out.

Smear the queer gave me a chuckle.Thanks for posting that.

Grimaldus

 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 19:30 | 5672335 Overfed
Overfed's picture

I remember the first time a few kids walked up to me on the school playground and one of them handed me a football. "Thanks. What's this for?" He gave me a real quick rundown on the rules and reminded me that I was still holding the ball. Good times.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 21:50 | 5672670 Leraconteur
Leraconteur's picture

Smear the queer

 

For those of you not from the USA:

Smear the queer is a game played (was? PC??) by young boys aged 7-14. It's a prep for USA Football. One kid has the ball, and everyone else runs him down, tackles him violently, rips the ball from his hands. Then someone else is handed the ball. 

Repeat.

It's a school kid variant on rugby or Aussie rules football. Lots of running, lots of tackling, learn ball handling and learn how to take a hit and not cry like someone from Man United.

Rules are applied later, but most USA Football players college and NFL played this as kids...or maybe not. PC and all that nonsense now...

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:27 | 5671715 pods
pods's picture

This collapse cannot come fast enough.  

My wife saw a picture of our fucking cat on facebook.  He was on some guys back porch.    Guy was worried about the poor cat.  Jesus Harold Christ.  Cat had a collar on and is fat and happy.

We have been programmed to think that nothing every happens that is bad in life.  Everyone should win, nobody should die before they are sitting in the rocking chair On Golden Pond.

This world is stifling.  That is the best way I can describe it.  

We watched a movie a long time ago, Into the Wild.  At the end my wife was sad.  That whole movie just lit me up inside.  The thought of just dropping eveything and going walkabout is thrilling.

Now this is modern life:

"I have a job where I alphabetize insurance forms for 45 hours a week, and I noticed I couldn’t concentrate so well in my job, so my doctor put me on Adderall, and now I can just breeze through my work day. I don’t even notice that my empty life is being pissed away underneath fluorescent tubes. I have no highs or lows. I have no good stories. But I’m getting a lot of stuff done. I’m probably the most boring person I know, but look at me produce."

-Doug Stanhope

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:53 | 5671830 UselessEater
UselessEater's picture

A few years ago I got a couple of dogs from a rescue centre in the very hot tropics of Darwin - moved south and as usual they traveled with me everywhere (whether to the supermarket or a holiday miles away)... was so shocked at the aggressive LOUD verbal assault of another woman about leaving them in the car (undercover park, windows down, in mall 10 min, well experienced with climate, dogs extremely happy); after a few events like this, I actually became fearful of being reported to the RSPCA and so I changed my habits.... yep I parked at the very end of the undercover car park from then on.

Loud aggressive self righteous chubby women do not walk that far. Bliss.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 19:52 | 5672381 NuckingFuts
NuckingFuts's picture

Oh yes, twice this past summer I was left a note by the police on my windsheild that my dog was in a hot car and I could be prosecuted. I was parked in the shade, all windows were cracked a good 5 inches and it was in the mid 80's. WTF. I like that dog more then most humans I know, I'm not going to abuse it. Both instances passers by called the cops not having any idea how long I had been gone or when I was coming back. Fucking idiots.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 19:51 | 5672382 NuckingFuts
NuckingFuts's picture

Oh yes, twice this past summer I was left a note by the police on my windsheild that my dog was in a hot car and I could be prosecuted. I was parked in the shade, all windows were cracked a good 5 inches and it was in the mid 80's. WTF. I like that dog more then most humans I know, I'm not going to abuse it. Both instances passers by called the cops not having any idea how long I had been gone or when I was coming back. Fucking idiots.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 20:26 | 5672455 pippi68
pippi68's picture

OMG. I so hear you on this one. After taking my dog for a 5-mi hike where she swam in 40deg water until she was shivering from it and exhausted, I left her in the warm (not even hot) car with the sunroof wide open, the windows cracked and a full bowl of water-- at 5pm on a summer afternoon no less. Some do-gooder hunted me down in the hot springs where my daughter and I were taking a dip after a long active day on the river. As she was giving me a good chewing out, I finally said, "Well, my car doors are open. If you're so freaking concerned about my dog, why don't you take her out and play with her or take her for a walk for a while? We're going to finish our relaxation here now." The old lady stomped off in a huff. I knew she wouldn't be taking my Rottweiler out for a walkabout. But jeez. Either mind your own business or help if you have a problem with the way I'm doing things.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 21:08 | 5672545 CCanuck
CCanuck's picture

Pods, Into The Wild is required reading in our household. A great read that empowers the individual. I can't say enough about the feelings and thoughts that booked raised from me and my kids, hours of conversation generated from discussing Chris and his adventure. Real conversations about life with my kids, imagine that no TV, no computers, no media at all! Just the trading of thoughts and how they make you feel.

+100 for the reference

Ccanuck

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:06 | 5671611 KnuckleDragger-X
KnuckleDragger-X's picture

I was raised on a farm and killed my first rattlesnake at seven. My parents would undoubtedly be doing life without parole if this bunch had been around.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:08 | 5671618 freedogger
freedogger's picture

These parents just taught their kids a powerful lesson about the state.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:47 | 5671798 OldPhart
OldPhart's picture

I was a desert kid living pretty remote.  First day of High School I rode the bus twenty five miles through absolutely nothing to get to school.  Local kid rode up on a horse packing two pistols. (This is Roy Rogers home town.)  Principal is out greeting the kids on the buses...walks over to the kid on the horse and takes his pistols.

End of the day, kid mounts up, trots over to the office and the principal comes out and hands him back the pistols.  Saw that scene about three times a week until the kid graduated.

"Time's changed" is an understatement.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:49 | 5671809 daveO
daveO's picture

Danielle is a climate-science consultant, and Alexander is a physicist at the National Institutes of Health.

If You live by big gov., you have your kids taken by big gov. Just ask Elian Gonzalez. 


Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:58 | 5672086 August
August's picture

Danielle is a climate-science consultant, and Alexander is a physicist at the National Institutes of Health.

If You live by big gov., you have your kids taken by big gov.

 

The above was my first thought also.  When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas etc. etc. 

I don't see how "climate-science consultant", and NIH employee living in metro-fucking-DC can reasonably espect to raise "free" childrenI salute these parents for at least giving things a try;  maybe they'll wise up now, and make some new choices.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:41 | 5672018 Zymurguy
Zymurguy's picture

+1 (I used to run around the neighborhood with my bud's all armed to the teeth with the latest state of the art airgun weaponry - shooting each other!!! - don't think a cop ever noticed or gave a damn - shit, today if you pick up a BB gun in a Walmart you get mowed down)

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 20:28 | 5672326 Overfed
Overfed's picture

Growing up, I lived in a couple of different smallish  (2.5-10K pop) towns. My friends and I would go all around town and on the outskirts with airguns, slingshots, bows, knives, machetes, and what have you. So long as no windows got broken, nobody said a thing.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:04 | 5671589 digitlman
digitlman's picture

Time to move to another state.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:07 | 5671609 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

Agreed, although modern parenting attitudes aren't fundamentally that different even in "conservative" states. The Cultural Marxist programming has penetrated deeply into our culture.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 21:05 | 5672561 CCanuck
CCanuck's picture

Small correction Buckaroo....Full-on Double Penetration followed up with a statist Bukkakai finish deeply into our culture!

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:07 | 5671610 freedogger
freedogger's picture

Soft Despotism

Thus, After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_despotism

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:08 | 5671617 NoVa
NoVa's picture

Agreed.  Southern Maryland is worse than Peoples Republic of China, Cuba, etc...

Georgia Ave is a very busy boulevard, but the kids were perfectly safe.  That part of town is somewhat affluent.  

In other parts of Southern Maryland, I would not walk a mile any time of the day & I'm a fairly big guy.

 

NoVa

 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:10 | 5671623 NoVa
NoVa's picture

But where to move?  Southern Utah is looking nice

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:13 | 5671652 froze25
froze25's picture

New Hampshire.  Become part of the movement, pun intended.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:42 | 5672021 Zymurguy
Zymurguy's picture

research:  the "redoubt states"

Sat, 01/17/2015 - 09:55 | 5673460 quasimodo
quasimodo's picture

There are a boatload of towns here in the Midwest where this type of shit would never fly. Sure, you have to put up with some livestock stink at times but the local police/county deputies are also the ones whos kids walk here or there and are not on a teather.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 18:51 | 5672238 ebear
ebear's picture

Get OUT of the state you're IN!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXmnmvDl-ao

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:07 | 5671590 clade7
clade7's picture

No more free range kids?  Whats a pedophile to do?  They cant all run around with Clinton...although I'm sure he would enjoy the fellowship of kindred spirits...its just not feasible logistically..

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:27 | 5671958 UselessEater
UselessEater's picture

They go to Cambodia. Watched the freaks walking down the street etc with their victims aka companions. Sickening. Same Same not Different in Thailand just less obvious in certain areas (yep, I actually wrote less obvious).

See, poor peeps can freely be creeps in poor areas... its more subtle in the awesome developed world because kids are generally not sold or 'given' lend of for a buck. Its a completely different ball game intended to stack the odds against decent parents - put a subtle fear into the back of their mind that child services can take their kids.... well you now have the parents by the short and curlies - even better, few parents want to admit this fear, as it means actively choosing the red or blue pill.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:05 | 5671595 Payne
Payne's picture

This is all about Government workers finding enough work to keep their jobs.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:06 | 5671607 Syrin
Syrin's picture

Studies have shown that when Child Protective Services show up at a home, 80% of the time they take the kids away from the parents.  Half the time they don't even file charges, they just kidnap their kids.   These are fucking Nazis, and that term might not be strong enough.  Anyone think these kids will be better off without their caring highly educated parents?

 

-for the record, I used to walk home when I was four years old. 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:20 | 5671691 froze25
froze25's picture

I walked home with my brother (one grade above me) since the time I was in kindergarden.  I am in my mid thirties now and grew up in central long Island NY.  This is ridiculous.  If CPS takes your kids, inform them they have illegally taken your property and demand it be returned, call the police and file a report for kidnapping, record the encounter with the police if they fail to help you, you will need it later for another suit.  Sue them "Pro Se" for damages.  Being in CPS doesn't make it legal for the man/woman to steal from you.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:27 | 5671712 sleigher
sleigher's picture

The children are the property of the man until they reach 18 years of age.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:36 | 5671736 Unstable Condition
Unstable Condition's picture

"The children are the property of the man until they reach 18 years of age."

...at which point they then become property of the MIC and the Federal Reserve.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:39 | 5671752 Skateboarder
Skateboarder's picture

When your parents sign the corporate marriage certificate, "the product of the union", i.e. you, are property of the State. Your birth certificate establishes your corporate account.

You are never not property of the State.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 18:42 | 5672208 exi1ed0ne
exi1ed0ne's picture

Just like with GLD, paper is not the asset.  Attempt to collect me or my children and you will find an empty house or another ruby ridge.  We are slaves only so long as we agree to be.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:08 | 5671845 daveO
daveO's picture

I've got a true story(actually more than one) about these DEVILS. Someone I know fell and broke their hip ( they're old). They happen to own 25 acres in the path of growth near Charlotte, NC. So, after returning home from hospital, the DSS calls wanting to come check out the home, claiming they got a 'welfare complaint'. I told the family to tell the A-holes that the property was no longer owned by the injured person. They did, when the black DSS worker showed up at their house with a Sheriff's Deputy. After finding this out, the black blood sucker left them alone. 

This is the same county DSS who's former worker was fired for child abuse.

http://www.wbtv.com/story/23985343/sheriff-dss-worker-arrested-after-chi...

They all need to be shot.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 18:15 | 5672127 KnightTakesKing
KnightTakesKing's picture

When I was in first grade, 5 years old -- I walked by myself home about a mile distance. My mother 'stalked' me the first time as she was worried I wouldn't be able to do it on my own. After that, I was on my own. Wasn't a big deal then. Now... I would have been taken from my parents. SMH

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 18:22 | 5672148 SFGM
SFGM's picture

I have the same criteria for .gov taking my kids as i do for them taking my firearms -- "....pry them from my cold, dead hands."

 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:04 | 5671597 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

If my mother were raising me today, she'd be in prision for life. 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:04 | 5671598 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

Your kids should be in harnesses at all times. They are little clydesdales to be put to work for the state.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:07 | 5671602 Syrin
Syrin's picture

They raise no eyebrows when they teach anal fisting to 13 years old and tell them they choose their own gender despite their anatomic and genetic make up, but let a kid walk home?   Hell no.   Fucking Nazi pricks. 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:09 | 5671621 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

I used to walk to my grandparents when I was 5 or 6.  I used to ride my bike all over town when I was 9 or 10.  I used to go out shooting by myself when I was 15.  Most of the dumb shit that I used to do that could have gotten me killed involved being behind the wheel of a vehicle with a state issued driver's license. 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:12 | 5671627 Syrin
Syrin's picture

same here.   It's also probably true for the CPS Nazis

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:18 | 5671671 Uskatex
Uskatex's picture

I started to go alone to school when I was 6. The school was about 1 Km. from my home.

It was in Italy, at the end of the fifties. I let my son go alone when he was 7, 30 years later. We never had problems.

In fact, the world looks very changed, and not for the best.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:11 | 5671889 daveO
daveO's picture

Yea, then they get to ticket you! A win for the state and their insurance co. owners. 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:53 | 5671823 RushRoolz
RushRoolz's picture

And then there's the call home to get parental approval to administer aspirin to a kid, but no notification of handing out condoms, or hell, probably give a ride over to planned parenthood for an abortion. So... "Keep your laws off my body" is OK, but not "Keep your laws off my kids"

 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:53 | 5671826 hoist the bs flag
hoist the bs flag's picture

you sir/ma'am... win the interwebs today

 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:06 | 5671608 Unstable Condition
Unstable Condition's picture

"If you see something, say something".

Especially if you are sure of your superiority as a human being in judgement of others .... apparently.

Remember, your child is property of the state, they need the future slaves to be docile in their mental captivity and debt servitude..

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:08 | 5671614 surf0766
surf0766's picture

All your kids are belong to us

 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:07 | 5671615 Rainman
Rainman's picture

Cue up the wrath of all the free range ZHers .... and all the bullshit about trudging 5 miles in the snow to get to skool.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:23 | 5671699 Beowulf55
Beowulf55's picture

skool?  we never went to skool as we were up at 3am licking the road clean with our tongues, then at 5am we got a freezing bowl of poison before going to work for the Miller until 11pm.  When we got home Dad would beat us about the head and neck with a broken beer bottle before chaining us to our beds and threatening to kill us before we went to sleep.

 

Kids these days...........they got it easy.......

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:27 | 5671709 Rainman
Rainman's picture

haha ... keep em commin !

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:12 | 5671895 Emergency Ward
Emergency Ward's picture

Dammit rainman, I used to hitchhike to school!

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:27 | 5671714 MayIMommaDogFac...
MayIMommaDogFace2theBananaPatch's picture

The problem was not getting there -- it was that once I got there my teacher was Sister Mary Clint Eastwood.  And that was first grade.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:30 | 5671722 TuPhat
TuPhat's picture

You forgot that the five miles are also uphill both ways.  I think that generation is long gone though.  You need to get out of the matrix.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:36 | 5671733 Urban Redneck
Urban Redneck's picture

Actually it was only three miles, and it didn't snow every day (in winter), but the football, track and cross country coaches in the athletic department had me running almost the exact same route (unsupervised) in the afternoon that I had walked in the morning, and would walk again a couple hours later (we ran a big triangle one leg of which was my daily commute).

Perhaps CPS should be sicked on the athletic departments and teachers unions for child endangerment, then I can devote more time and focus my rage and the contents on my tool chest on the survivor.  

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:45 | 5671795 phoolish
phoolish's picture

1970's and 80's.  I walked 1.5 miles each way through 5th grade.  Two miles each way through 12th grade.  Central Wisconsin - frequently below zero and 20 below plus.

Today in WI if it is below zero they cancel school although essentially everyone is bussed.

Wusses.

 

Oh, I'm sorry we can't have your Battle of the Bulge because it is cold outside.

 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:09 | 5671616 Fun Facts
Fun Facts's picture

frogs = 211.9F

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:11 | 5671626 i_call_you_my_base
i_call_you_my_base's picture

Cue 70 million american mothers simultaneously commenting on facebook about what is appropriate.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:13 | 5671637 Unstable Condition
Unstable Condition's picture

Soooo glad I never opened an account at that drama queen site.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:13 | 5671646 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

Just wait and see what those mothers are like when police pensions evaporate and they no longer have 911 to call. 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:12 | 5671635 Berspankme
Berspankme's picture

Fuck every one of you progressive pieces of shit. I piss on every one of you

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:16 | 5671660 Uber Vandal
Uber Vandal's picture

Unless they are on fire.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:13 | 5671639 Earl Slaughter-...
Earl Slaughter-- Truck Driver.'s picture

Histrionic, fear-mongering crap.

I'm sick of these state-terrorists imposing themselves into our lives on the pretext of "SOMETHING BAD COULD HAPPEN!!!"

Just more control and less freedom.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:12 | 5671642 mastersnark
mastersnark's picture

At first he refused, saying he needed to talk to a lawyer, his wife said, but changed his mind when he was told his children would be removed if he did not comply.

 

Mess with loving parents at your own peril. I'd be willing to bet it would be very hard for any jurisdiction to find a jury willing to convict a parent who killed a CPS worker who tried to take children away for "walking home from the park."

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:40 | 5671751 rbgnr111
rbgnr111's picture

thats coersion.. even if he does sign at that point, if he has a decent lawyer he could have it thrown out if he had signed and refused to comply. 

 

 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:15 | 5671916 daveO
daveO's picture

Oh Lord, if I'm ever called again for jury duty, may it be for this type of killing, I pray. Amen. 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:41 | 5672025 css1971
css1971's picture

Isn't there some law about unreasonable search and seizure?

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:14 | 5671648 reTARD
reTARD's picture

Just arriving to the literal definition of the "nanny state."

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:13 | 5671650 Eastwood
Eastwood's picture

"We confiscated some kids."

 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:15 | 5671651 Spungo
Spungo's picture

I first shot a gun when I was about 10. My parents would be in gitmo right now.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:41 | 5671770 Duc888
Duc888's picture

 

 

Yup, my Grandad taught me to shoot at age seven on the same single shot .22 that he taught my mom with.

 

Too cool.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:58 | 5671848 Emergency Ward
Emergency Ward's picture

Back in Oklahoma way back when, my 13-year-old cousin drove me and my little brother in his dad's car out to the creek bed a few miles out of town and we plinked empty beer cans with .22 rifles.

We terrorized those beer cans.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:13 | 5671653 silentboom
silentboom's picture

Your kids don't belong to you. http://youtu.be/N3qtpdSQox0

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:18 | 5671669 autofixer
autofixer's picture

I'd like to see these fascists go into the hood and confront those parents about their kids running wild. Good luck with that.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:18 | 5671675 Mike Honcho
Mike Honcho's picture

What perplexes me is how parents will let CPS take their kids.  There is a line and that one doesn't get crossed.  If you let someone take your offspring then why go on living.

Detroit mom had standoff with SWAT, yes Detroit where they take safety so serious, because she wouldnt prescription drug her kid.  Oh, when the child came back, she had an STD, for her safety?

 

http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/judge-upholds-detroit-mothers-right-to-protect-daughter-from-forced-drugging/

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/04/05/stand-off-daughter-allegedly-sexually-assaulted-while-in-state-care/

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:19 | 5671678 seek
seek's picture

And the craziest shit of all is that the US literally hasn't been as safe as it is now in many decades.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 20:44 | 5671679 Chalan
Chalan's picture

Lord have mercy!

 

We've turned into the people we despise.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:19 | 5671683 boodles
boodles's picture

Conclusion: it is dangerous to put your kids in public schools.  In fact, partaking in ANY public programs endangers those of us with, and without, kids.  Keep the state's greasy, flaccid hands as far away from our kids, businesses and farms, savings and income, as possible.

 

Kudos to these parents who let their kids, together, stretch their horizons.  Good parenting!  Great parents!

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:20 | 5671686 insanelysane
insanelysane's picture

When I was a kid, my parents handed my sister and I lawn trimming shears each week when we were 7 years old.  One of us would trim the grass around the house and patio and the other would get the fence line and alternate each week.  For those younguns out there refer to these pictures although the old ones weren't as safe as these.  http://www.gardena.com/int/lawn-care/mechanical-grass-shears/

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:37 | 5671742 Duc888
Duc888's picture

 

 

 

Fuck man, I had Jarts as a kid.  Lawn darts.  awesome.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 18:04 | 5671695 kchrisc
kchrisc's picture

It is not a "nanny-state." That is one of their propaganda memes. It is a POLICE-STATE.

Now if they sent over Mary Poppins to castigate the parents, that might be a "nanny-state."

When they send costumed, and gun and badge adorned, thugs with threats, that is a police-state.

The banksters need to repay us.

 

When one uses their language, they are halfway toward controlling you.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:27 | 5671716 Richardk888
Richardk888's picture

Un-fucking believeable!!!

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:29 | 5671720 insanelysane
insanelysane's picture

A kids life in 2015.

Shelter in place at home.

Shelter in place on school bus.

Shelter in place at school.

Shelter in place while participating in organized activities.

Thou shalt not go outside and arrange any games on your own.  The government is there to organize and monitor all activity.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:44 | 5671785 Skateboarder
Skateboarder's picture

Don't forget the iPoop watching over you at all times. Parents got apps to monitor their kids, cameras at home hooked in through xfinity whatever bullshit spying system. "In home automation"... yeah fucking right.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:31 | 5671724 Joebloinvestor
Joebloinvestor's picture

HOME SCHOOL.

 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 18:48 | 5672224 August
August's picture

LEAVE THE COUNTRY.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:33 | 5671731 Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights's picture

PIGS AND SAUSAGE! PIGS AND SAUSAGE!

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:36 | 5671741 noben
noben's picture

"Nanny state" is just a euphemism.

For... "WE ARE IN CHARGE, little sheep, get used to it"

Don't confuse the Pretext with the real Reason

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:38 | 5671750 phoolish
phoolish's picture

If they were all chipped w/ gps locators there'd never be a problem.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:40 | 5671759 Frank N. Beans
Frank N. Beans's picture

It's the job of unproductive people (govt) to make sure everyone else is also unproductive.  In this way, evenutally everyone sucks off the govt. teat.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:40 | 5671765 q99x2
q99x2's picture

Obama is going to protect you.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:42 | 5671768 Seasmoke
Seasmoke's picture

Anyone know the S

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:41 | 5671773 Charles Nelson ...
Charles Nelson Reilly's picture

Welcome to your brave new world...

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:42 | 5671782 besnook
besnook's picture

they arrested a guy here in hawaii and convicted him of some crime for the same thing. the judge reasoned that times have changed and it is too dangerous to let your kid walk home from school less than a mile away.

i like the parents answer, both being math heads. a simple look at statistics says child abduction and molestation by strangers is statistically insignificant therefore doesn't rise to any more concern than getting hit by a coconut falling from a tree which is actually a lot more likely. so parental concern about child snatching and raping have nothing to be concerned about from strangers but people they know are another matter.

from an economic view, this choice to be overly concerned about an inconsequential matter that is only rational because the false information makes it rational is the sort of irrational behavior most people engage in making all sorts of choices. as with the example above, the facts and reasoning are reflexively understood to be true even though they are wrong. that is how societies become fucked up over time. look at some of the ridiculous customs, rituals, superstitions and plain prejudice and ignorance that shape the world today.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:45 | 5672042 foxenburg
foxenburg's picture

@besnook. being killed as a result of terrorism is also statistically insignificant - averaged out over time, more die from bee stings. as for falling off ladders and getting killed...aboout 200 times more likely. And yet the West's entire economy and way of life has been subverted by the War on Terror. 

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 17:47 | 5672051 Overflow-admin
Overflow-admin's picture

"from an economic view, this choice to be overly concerned about an inconsequential matter that is only rational because the false information makes it rational is the sort of irrational behavior most people engage in making all sorts of choices. as with the example above, the facts and reasoning are reflexively understood to be true even though they are wrong. that is how societies become fucked up over time. look at some of the ridiculous customs, rituals, superstitions and plain prejudice and ignorance that shape the world today."

Seriously, how many brains do you eat for breakfast???

This one goes to the printing press. Kudos.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 18:52 | 5672241 August
August's picture

>>>so parental concern about child snatching and raping have nothing to be concerned about from strangers but people they know...

Quoted for truth.

I've had the dubious priviledge of having one child molestor in my circle of acquaintances (a classic "nice middle class guy" worked at Boeing, frequent golfing with his pals etc.) 

Every kid he molested was a "friend of the family".

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:45 | 5671794 bpj
bpj's picture

5 year old gocarting at 65mph  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDbHDikN5Ko

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:46 | 5671801 Gert_B_Frobe
Gert_B_Frobe's picture

And in the mean time, in Crackimore, Maryland, there are thousands of children subjected to actual neglect ... even with the parent present in the room, albeit stoned to the bejesus.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 16:50 | 5671816 bpj
bpj's picture

My sister raised her kid on "Danger Stranger" and Pee Wee Herman. He's doing pretty good, he moved to northern Arizona into a gated community and has his own web page all courtesy of the Arizona Department of Corrections, he gets out in December.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!