I made the difference in the life of a child today.

[Rain Man]

I really hate that "made a difference" saying. Really hate it. Not sure why I used it other than sarcasm since I hate it so much.

But anyway, I finished up a meeting today and was walking home when I stopped at the mall. I had to send an e-mail and it's a good place to people watch, so I bought a frozen yogurt (I love that pay-by-the-ounce frozen yogurt concept) and found a seat near the escalators.

At one point while I was working, I ended up noticing a girl who was about three years old, and it became obvious that she had no parent around. She was just wandering around. So long story short, I went and got her, and after about ten minutes I and the Cinnabon counter girl and another couple managed to reunite her with some rather frantic parents who'd lost her and were literally running around the mall trying to find her. (The Cinnabon girl didn't know how to reach mall security, which I found rather interesting, and we found the parents before we got word to mall security.)

But the part that got me thinking was that there's a risk for a 40-something guy to go approach a lost three year-old girl. If you walk up at the wrong time, you get tackled by a parent and get arrested as a stranger abduction pervert and you end up on the sex offender registry after being brutalized in prison for a period of time of not less than six to ten years, and no one's ever going to believe that you were trying to help. So as soon as I confirmed she was lost, I immediately steered her toward the teenage girl who was running the Cinnabon, because she would qualify as a trusted person more than I would. Kind of sad, really.

[Hootie]

dude you had 0% chance of catching any flack for helping the kid out...

worst case scenario you drive him home and his parents aren't there...and you have to wait there with him for however long it takes his parents to get there so you can tell them how lucky they are their son stumbled upon a nice person and they're lucky the police didn't get involved

7 is too young to leave children unmoderated...you can't just leave your house and tell little Timmy to stay put and you'll be back in a few hours...

Maybe the police should have been involved...

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I really hate that "made a difference" saying. Really hate it. Not sure why I used it other than sarcasm since I hate it so much.

But anyway, I finished up a meeting today and was walking home when I stopped at the mall. I had to send an e-mail and it's a good place to people watch, so I bought a frozen yogurt (I love that pay-by-the-ounce frozen yogurt concept) and found a seat near the escalators.

At one point while I was working, I ended up noticing a girl who was about three years old, and it became obvious that she had no parent around. She was just wandering around. So long story short, I went and got her, and after about ten minutes I and the Cinnabon counter girl and another couple managed to reunite her with some rather frantic parents who'd lost her and were literally running around the mall trying to find her. (The Cinnabon girl didn't know how to reach mall security, which I found rather interesting, and we found the parents before we got word to mall security.)

But the part that got me thinking was that there's a risk for a 40-something guy to go approach a lost three year-old girl. If you walk up at the wrong time, you get tackled by a parent and get arrested as a stranger abduction pervert and you end up on the sex offender registry after being brutalized in prison for a period of time of not less than six to ten years, and no one's ever going to believe that you were trying to help. So as soon as I confirmed she was lost, I immediately steered her toward the teenage girl who was running the Cinnabon, because she would qualify as a trusted person more than I would. Kind of sad, really.

Bravo, Rain Man!

I used to have a nightmare about my son running away from me when he was little. The freaky part was that he'd stop running away after I frantically yelled at him to stop, but the little fucker's eyes would flash (like the alien in Predator) and then he'd smile deviously and continue running away.

[Sofa King]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

If he called the police, they'd then have to take him to Social Services to avoid a lawsuit on the off chance that the child accidentally gave them the wrong address or if the parents weren't home. And then once Social Services got involved, they'd have to remove him from the home because they couldn't risk a lawsuit by returning him since the parents had already let the kid get lost once. So they'd send him to a foster home, and for the next ten years or so he'd kick around the system while his parents were in court trying to regain guardianship of them, and eventually at 18 he'd get pushed out the door, penniless and alone, and would turn to a life of crime to support himself and to strike back at the society that ruined his life. And he'd drive around the neighborhood in his beat-up Chevy Impala, cigarette dangling from his lips, looking for the house that started it all so he can inflict upon them some measure of the pain he's been feeling. And then one day Chiefs Rool is out working in the yard when he sees a car drive slowly by, and they make eye contact...

[Chiefnj2]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Uh...yes you would. In fact, a defense wouldn't have been necessary - there's no way you could've been charged with a crime. You ought to look up the elements of kidnapping and remember that the prosecution has to somehow prove them (and prosecutors aren't actually in the business of arresting as many people as possible). Think of how many child sex-offenders that are actually guilty go free for lack of evidence and you'll realize how absurd you sound right now.

.

To gain a successful conviction they have to prove elements. To charge him and ruin his life wouldn't require much.

It's a messed up situation. In this day and age, how many 7 year olds are "miles" away from home by themselves? How many 7 year olds are allowed to walk "miles" away from home? No parent at home to answer the phone? The kid walking up to a strangers house to ask for a ride? Don't 99.9% of parents ingrain in their child's head "never go to a strangers home".

[FAX]

I think Mr. Rain Man behaved in an exemplary fashion. Most guys would have taken two Cinnabons, stuck them on the little girl's ears and said, "Hey! You're Princess Leia!"

FAX

[Hootie]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

To gain a successful conviction they have to prove elements. To charge him and ruin his life wouldn't require much.

It's a messed up situation. In this day and age, how many 7 year olds are "miles" away from home by themselves? How many 7 year olds are allowed to walk "miles" away from home? No parent at home to answer the phone? The kid walking up to a strangers house to ask for a ride? Don't 99.9% of parents ingrain in their child's head "never go to a strangers home".

wtf??

you guys are ****ing paranoid idiots...

Unless the parents and their extremely talented 7 year old actor son decided to try and set up Chiefs Rool and try to paint him as a sex offender in hopes of ruining his life for some unknown grudge...

this just never would have happened...

does Chiefs Rool have some child molester beard going on he's not telling anyone about?

If a 7 year old kid walks up to my door and asks for help...I'm going to help him/her.

IT'S A ****ING 7 YEAR OLD YOU LOWLIFES. Jesus. What is wrong with everyone?

[Chiefnj2]

Originally Posted by The Meat Dragon

wtf??

you guys are ****ing paranoid idiots...

Unless the parents and their extremely talented 7 year old actor son decided to try and set up Chiefs Rool and try to paint him as a sex offender in hopes of ruining his life for some unknown grudge...

this just never would have happened...

does Chiefs Rool have some child molester beard going on he's not telling anyone about?

If a 7 year old kid walks up to my door and asks for help...I'm going to help him/her.

IT'S A ****ING 7 YEAR OLD YOU LOWLIFES. Jesus. What is wrong with everyone?

If you are concerned call the police. They should know that a 7 year old is miles away from home, by himself, and that nobody is even home in the first place.

Look at the typical mom reaction from this thread:

" I would probably flip out a tad being a parent, if a stranger drove my child home. It would be my child I flip out on, however, not very bright on the kids part, even asking. "

You don't think there is a good chance that when the parent begins to flip out on the kid, that the kid embellishes the story a bit to try to get out of trouble? "The man saw me and asked me if I wanted a ride, I didn't go to his house ..."

[Fairplay]

I know if i get lost in a mall i'm going to hang around by the cinnabon shop until Rainman rescues me from peril.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

If you are concerned call the police. They should know that a 7 year old is miles away from home, by himself, and that nobody is even home in the first place.

Look at the typical mom reaction from this thread:

" I would probably flip out a tad being a parent, if a stranger drove my child home. It would be my child I flip out on, however, not very bright on the kids part, even asking. "

You don't think there is a good chance that when the parent begins to flip out on the kid, that the kid embellishes the story a bit to try to get out of trouble? "The man saw me and asked me if I wanted a ride, I didn't go to his house ..."

I think there's a good chance the parent would never even be aware that it happened. A parent who doesn't know where their 7 year old is 24/7 probably isn't going to care whether they bummed a ride from a stranger.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by FAX

I think Mr. Rain Man behaved in an exemplary fashion. Most guys would have taken two Cinnabons, stuck them on the little girl's ears and said, "Hey! You're Princess Leia!"

FAX

To be honest, I left out that part for time purposes.

[Chiefnj2]

Originally Posted by Brock

I think there's a good chance the parent would never even be aware that it happened. .

That's why you call the police.

[Ebolapox]

Originally Posted by Predarat

Actually it is tough to make money if you own an ice cream store, especially if you live in a climate where it is cool/cold 6 months of the year. If you can find a way to get clients other then ice cream, you might be able to make it.

statistics show that more ice cream is sold during the cold months than the warm months, fwiw.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

That's why you call the police.

I'm not disagreeing with that, I'm disagreeing with an adult, probably a good man, refusing to help a child in need because he's afraid Chris Hansen is going to pop out from behind the bushes and tell him to "have a seat over there".

[Hootie]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

That's why you call the police.

Meh.

Maybe in your paranoid world...

I'd at least take the kid home, try and talk to the parents to see what was up...and then if they had a "don't give a shit" attitude I'd consider calling DCFS if I was REALLY concerned.

[Mr. Plow]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

But the part that got me thinking was that there's a risk for a 40-something guy to go approach a lost three year-old girl. If you walk up at the wrong time, you get tackled by a parent and get arrested as a stranger abduction pervert and you end up on the sex offender registry after being brutalized in prison for a period of time of not less than six to ten years, and no one's ever going to believe that you were trying to help. So as soon as I confirmed she was lost, I immediately steered her toward the teenage girl who was running the Cinnabon, because she would qualify as a trusted person more than I would. Kind of sad, really.

I hate that this is what the world has come to. I understand it with all the dumb ****s out there, but it's sad that you can't just see a lost child and want to help without worrying that you are going to get arrested.