A salutory lesson for the young
09-22-2015, 10:49 PM
I'm curious about the vid that they showed the kids and such because if the vid, even news story, was done a certain way then I can see why the lesson didn't sink in. (I could say similar things about how these things tend to be explained to kids without proper context, though that aside their brains are focused more on risk for reward more than caution of an adult.)
When I was a child I was shown vids of "stranger danger" (this was before social media but it was similar) and invariably the strangers weren't shown as everyday people, but bad from the start, cheesy dialog, scary music so you knew they were bad from the start (as Homer once said, "Listen to the music, Marge, he's evil!"). And the places of attempted abductions were out of the way when no one was around, at least not nearby. A book we were given to read was flawed in the same way. Only the most brazen or sloppy abductors and such (though granted such exist) were represented by such material, however.
So when I'm walking one hot day on the streets of Houston (age 15, though I looked younger) a man in nice business suit not appearing shady at all asked me if I could use a ride. I was suspicious at first but he said he had a daughter my age, showed me his wedding ring (and maybe all that was even true, I'll never know) and he came off as a concerned man feeling chivalrous and sympathizing with a young, underage girl.
And this was broad daylight with people around at a gas station (of course even if anyone at that station would've been inclined to help--and they probably wouldn't even call the cops on my behalf even if they did know I was in danger--I realize in retrospect that they couldn't have clearly heard him and easily thought he knew me), and there was no scary music, just as he looked and sounded ordinary rather than the campy villains in the "stranger danger" vids.
All I'll say is that I was lucky and I learned my lesson well. But I also think that had the "stranger danger" vids (and book) had been more realistic and less campy that I wouldn't have gotten into the car with him at all. And I THINK that if I were a kid today THIS vid shared here would probably serve me well.
When I was a child I was shown vids of "stranger danger" (this was before social media but it was similar) and invariably the strangers weren't shown as everyday people, but bad from the start, cheesy dialog, scary music so you knew they were bad from the start (as Homer once said, "Listen to the music, Marge, he's evil!"). And the places of attempted abductions were out of the way when no one was around, at least not nearby. A book we were given to read was flawed in the same way. Only the most brazen or sloppy abductors and such (though granted such exist) were represented by such material, however.
So when I'm walking one hot day on the streets of Houston (age 15, though I looked younger) a man in nice business suit not appearing shady at all asked me if I could use a ride. I was suspicious at first but he said he had a daughter my age, showed me his wedding ring (and maybe all that was even true, I'll never know) and he came off as a concerned man feeling chivalrous and sympathizing with a young, underage girl.
And this was broad daylight with people around at a gas station (of course even if anyone at that station would've been inclined to help--and they probably wouldn't even call the cops on my behalf even if they did know I was in danger--I realize in retrospect that they couldn't have clearly heard him and easily thought he knew me), and there was no scary music, just as he looked and sounded ordinary rather than the campy villains in the "stranger danger" vids.
All I'll say is that I was lucky and I learned my lesson well. But I also think that had the "stranger danger" vids (and book) had been more realistic and less campy that I wouldn't have gotten into the car with him at all. And I THINK that if I were a kid today THIS vid shared here would probably serve me well.
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