I’m so out of touch with the American media.. but …
I’m so out of touch with the American media.. but this is quite disturbing…. but it’s nothing I didn’t grow up with.. as many who live in or live close to major cities can attest to, kidnapping by family members or strangers while they are walking to school, or home from friends houses are in the common occurance.. specially in the Detroit area, which is near where I grew up. When kids disappear in Detroit, it’s ALL over the local news.. I don’t know how much gets national news, but some of it does, especially when the story doesn’t have a happy ending. Who knows, personally right now, the US government is scaring the SNOT out of me with all these proposed Homeland Defense ideas.. and maybe this called attention to kidnappings is going to play a part in some new, keep our kidlets safe campaign.
Personally.. IMHO about young children who are kidnapped on the way to school.. etc, parents shouldn’t be letting their 7 year old children walk to school unattended, or left at school bus stops unattended, or given money and let shop on their own in busy metropolitan malls.. they’re 7 years old.. they’re still babies in the world…. Growing up I was NEVER allowed to go anywhere without one or both of my parents until I was about 13-14 years old.. and even then, my parents drove me there, picked me up, etc.. I wasn’t overprotected, but I wasn’t turned loose on the world either.
Recently, while in a Future Shop(think Best Buy), I saw a father tell his 7year old looking son that he could go further down in the shopping centre to Chapters(think Borders’ Books).. while later shopping in Chapters’, aforementioned father comes in calling his son’s name.. after about 5 minutes of surveying the store, the calling of Alex, turned into frantic panicking shouts for Alex.. While leaving the store, father, daughter and very PISSED looking crying mother were in front of the store with a police officer, little Alex was no where to be found.. Apparently, little Alex had wandered all the way down to the VERY end of the shopping centre.. and gone into the grocery store where his mom was supposed to be shopping, to look for her.. while mom was already out of the store and heading down to Future Shop, while Dad was already in Chapters’ looking for Alex. Luckily for that family and for little Alex, it was just a lack of family communication and things in the end were ok.. but it could have gone very differently. Sometimes I have to wonder about the risks parents take with their kids.. but that’s another story..
