Posted on 09/08/2007 2:52:54 PM PDT by decimon
“Now I pretty much just except it and try to do the best with the hand I’ve been dealt.”
That’s all anyone can do.
That’s why I like the approach St. Teresa de Lisiex took....take your everyday responsiblities and perform them with love. Do little things with great love.
I used to deal with it by not dealing with it.
I was on a country road at twilight; saw two girls walking home through the night. No street lights. So stopped, offered ‘em a ride. Took towards their home; found their brothers who were out looking for ‘em. Nothing bad happened, but it was obviously a VERY, VERY STUPID thing to do.
But I did it again. Was working on a friend’s house when a little girl (neighbor’s kid) came up crying that her parents had gone out and left her. I let her in, helped her call her parents (they hadn’t left her... she’d gone out the back door - her parents went out the front) and got her to them. Again very, very stupid. Still, became friend to her, when she needed one. Saw her several times after that.
My problem is that I was raised in a time and place where everybody in the neighborhood was a friend; where you helped childen just because they were children. Now-a-days, I have a wife to curb my stupid behavior; I just ask her what to do...
why do you think these things were stupid?
Is there some kind of epidemic I’m not aware of?
Are men really getting charges brought against them for helping little girls find their parents?
If a man alerts a store clerk or a security guard that there is a lost child in a store - are the clerks and guards really treating the man like he is a pervert?
It can (and has!) happened. Charity and genteel behavior has never been so risky...
I’m sure it can happen, I’m just wondering if it really is as widespread as the op suggests, or many posters have suggested.
It certainly doesn’t ring true in my experience as far as hearing about innocent men being wrongly accused of preying on children when they were only trying to help.
I have heard stories of rotten teenage girls accusing male teacher or coaches of things - but that is different from assisting a young child in need.
Do you know of people who have been accused of being a pervert when they tried to help a child?
Nope. I’m just not taking chances anymore. The world is a harsh place and I can’t afford the lawyer bills...
“Nope. I’m just not taking chances anymore. The world is a harsh place and I can’t afford the lawyer bills...”
Ok....so if you saw a lost child in a store at the mall - what would you do?
Point him/her out to my wife. Ask her opinion; follow her advice. I’m just there to enjoy her company and carry the packages...
Failing that, find a security guard or information kiosk. Take the kid to the guard or kiosk. Have to make sure the kid isn’t already where he’s supposed to be, first though (”You stay right here and I’ll be back in a moment.”)
If I ran into the girls on the road again, I’d loan them my cellphone rather than pick them up. Dunno what I’d do about Cydney (the little girl who went out the wrong door...).
“Point him/her out to my wife. Ask her opinion; follow her advice. I’m just there to enjoy her company and carry the packages...”
LOL! You sound like such a well behaved husband! :)
“Failing that, find a security guard or information kiosk. Take the kid to the guard or kiosk. Have to make sure the kid isn’t already where he’s supposed to be, first though (”You stay right here and I’ll be back in a moment.”)”
yes, that makes perfect sense, and any woman coming upon that child should do the same thing.
The guy in the article walked away.
I think the guy has a screw loose.
“If I ran into the girls on the road again, I’d loan them my cellphone rather than pick them up. Dunno what I’d do about Cydney (the little girl who went out the wrong door...).”
You did good.
I think the article is exaggerated.
I understand alot of people are wrongly accused of many things.
I once witnessed a bizarre episode of a young disturbed girl rubbing her neck raw in the bathroom and then going to call the police to accuse her coach of strangling her (they put the poor guy’s photo on the nightly news)
but when it comes to men trying to help out a kid in trouble I think it is very rare for him to get wrongly accused of something.
I really don’t think guys playing with their kids at the park are getting the evil eye.
Yes. I am a well behaved husband, absolutely and passionately in love with my wife. A very merry married man.
I can’t abandon a kid, but I sure don’t want to ever have my picture on the news, either. Or have to mortgage my house to pay lawyer fees.
Our society is, in may ways, insane. All folks like me can do is keep our heads down and wait for the Gods of the Copybook Headings to push the reset button.
Back when I was growing up, we had some neighbors who lived down the road from us who have a couple of daughters that are both grown now, one of which is married and has kids of her own now, in fact. They’re 10 and 12 years younger than me, and I used to babysit them on occasion. With me, there was never EVER a problem, and may God strike me dead with a bolt of lightning and send me to hell for eternity if I’m lying.
I never knew that John Walsh advocated against hiring male babysitters until I saw this thread. Since committing such a criminal act would be completely unthinkable to me, let’s just say I USED to be a fan of America’s Most Wanted. My opinion of him just dropped like a falling rock.
I know exactly what you mean. My mother-in-law, oldest sister-in-law, and oldest niece came to see us this past weekend. On Sunday afternoon, after we had lunch, there was this store our niece (she’s 16, BTW) wanted to go to, and since the rest of the ladies wanted to sit around the table and talk, they asked me if I’d take Courtney to the mall so she could get some clothes she wanted to buy.
I didn’t say a word about this, but in my mind, I was a little hesitant to do it, but I went ahead and was like “uh...OK”. Given the stigma toward men that this discussion covers, I was a bit nervous about it, but went ahead and did it anyway. Granted, we could’ve just had her go by herself, but they’re from out in the sticks in southeast Missouri, and I’m sure Courtney would’ve been nervous driving in St. Louis traffic, so I went ahead and did so (I don’t know whether I was brave or stupid to do so...we shall see).
Naturally, if my in-laws didn’t trust me or didn’t like me, I’m sure they wouldn’t have asked me to do that, but it’s nice to know they like me and trust me. Besides, they’re from a small town of fewer than 400 people where everyone knows everyone, and so to them, they must not have given something like that a second thought.
Anyways, stigma or no stigma, society needs to get it through its thick skull that probably about 99% of all men are 100% perfectly safe with your kids.
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