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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]new poster here...

...I grew up in a crack-infested East Coast city in the 1980s and my parents still let us walk to the bus stop, our friend's houses, the park, etc. by ourselves. Occasionally cars would stop, invariably driven by neighbors/friend's parents/teachers/local shop keepers/random nice people etc. and offer us rides or just make sure we were OK.

I know that teachers, local shop keepers, maybe even neighbors would now feel uncomfortable offering children rides b/c of liability issues or fear of being labeled a molester.

I think that is the big difference between then and now. It's not that it's less safe now - it's that decent people feel less comfortable intervening in the lives of other people's children, for fear of being accused of imaginary sex crimes etc. [b]Ordinary people's hesitation to get involved in local children's lives make local children less safe.[/b]
[/quote]

Op here.  You make a good point.  When I was a kid and running around all over the place, there seemed to be this network of trustworthy people who kept an eye out for us kiddos.  People seem to be much less hesitant to get involved now.  I heard a story on the radio the other day about an old man sitting in a truck at a park, offering candy to young children.  The parents at the park flipped out (as I would too) and called the cops.  After the cops visited this guy and interrogated him numerous times, the cops came to the conclusion that he really was a harmless old man that loves kids.  He just wanted to see the kids smile.  Maybe he was lonely and just felt like doing a good deed.  The poor guy didn't have a clue that his behavior would cause panic among parents.  I mean... it's NOT a good idea to hand out candy at a park if you're lonely, but I felt bad for the guy.  People are so freaked out these days... and there's a good reason to be.  But we need to find some sort of middle ground where we're not hovering and flipping out OR being like our parents who were way too relaxed.[/quote]

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