11 ms·

Great troll but I would criticize using the cops as the Boogeyman.

semi-extrinsic 10y ago
Don't know why you're being downvoted. Having your kids be afraid of contacting the police (IRL or on the phone) in an emergency situation could be fatal for you or your kids.
- basch 10y ago
  Who is an appropriate boogeyman for kids, the IRS? "Never talk to IRS cold calls." Could save them in an identity theft situation. Side note, Dad sounds JUST LIKE Ron Howard.
  - semi-extrinsic 10y ago
    Round here we use trolls, goblins, and in particular the infamous Draugr (a marine type of undead creature): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draugr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draugr
- ryandrake 10y ago
  I don't know--if you're worried about your kids' safety, teaching them to avoid interactions with the police whenever possible might be a wise move. Their job, after all, is to find a reason to put you in prison and/or confiscate your property, and they can kill you without repercussions depending on how the interaction goes. Instilling a healthy distrust is more likely to help than harm.
  - DanBC 10y ago
    This is a cultural thing. In the US it's possibly a good idea to avoid police. In the UK where they still work to Peelian principles we don't need to fear every interaction with the police.
    - sqeaky 10y ago
      In some parts of the US its just fine, but in other its not. Sometimes it depends on other factors... Look at the city I am in right now, Omaha. If you appear to be white it is just about the safest city in the country. But if you have dark skin, run for your life.
      - Mindless2112 10y ago
        Sure, but even as a White person living in Omaha, the advice you get is "Don't go to north O[maha]. You're gonna get shot." (For those who don't know, north Omaha is predominately Black. Check it out on the Racial Dot Map [1].) [1] http://demographics.coopercenter.org/DotMap/ http://demographics.coopercenter.org/DotMap/
      - icantdrive55 10y ago
        As a white guy who lives in a the wealthy county of Marin; I can honestly state, you only call the police if in imminent danger, and even then good luck. I don't care if your wealthy, or poor, in my experience; they have always made a questionable situation worse. Qualifications: High school diploma, and a few weeks in an academy. And usually a chip on your shoulder? That chip sometimes grows, and sometimes mellows with experience. The profession needs federal oversight. It needs consistent training, and not paramilitary training. Way too many Cowboys, and Revenue collectors. Maybe a licensing system implemented? You can't cut hair without a licence?
    - neves 10y ago
      Never heard about these principles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peelian_principles#Nine_Principles_of_Policing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peelian_principles#Nine_Princi... A nice thing to learn.
- Poiesis 10y ago
  I wish it weren't so, but depending on what you/your kids look like, not being afraid of contacting the police could be fatal for you or your kids.
- vkou 10y ago
  Having your kids contact the police in an emergency situation could also be life-threatening. In just about any situation, I'd much rather have the help of a firefighter, then a police officer. It's incredibly unlikely that introducing a scared man with a gun and broad extrajudicial power will make a situation better.
  - tzs 10y ago
    > Having your kids contact the police in an emergency situation could also be life-threatening. That's very very unlikely. You are probably failing to take into account that an interaction with police only makes the news when it goes bad. You don't hear about the 99.99% of interactions that go fine. Here's a list of the known police killings so far in 2016: http://www.killedbypolice.net http://www.killedbypolice.net There are just over 1000 of them, out of tens of millions of interactions with police. Pick about 20 of those 1000 at random, and click through for the details. You will almost certainly find that the overwhelming majority of those are ones where the person who got shot was actively committing a serious crime, or threatening imminent harm to someone.
    - hdctambien 10y ago
      > http://hearphones.bose.com/ http://hearphones.bose.com/ total - overwhelmingMajority == too many
    - vkou 10y ago
      You also don't hear about the interactions which don't kill anyone, but escalate into illegal searches, arrest, harassment, theft under the guise of civil forfeiture, court appearances, probation, breach of probation, or jail sentences. If you can call the police, and can be absolutely certain that there will be no negative consequences to you as a result - great. This is not what life is like for many Americans - and any one of these outcomes can be enough to ruin a life.
- sedachv 10y ago
  A friend of mine works as a public defender in Los Angeles (and prior to that, worked as a public defender in San Francisco). His advice is to never call the cops in all but the most extreme situations. The risk of them maiming or killing someone, performing unwanted illegal entries and searches, making an arrest based on unrelated things they see (suspected drug paraphernalia, etc), spurious complaints to child protective services, baseless detention and arrest, or just plain mistreatment and harassment is too great. In addition, if there is any person on parole or probation present when the cops show up, that person's chances of going to prison are very high, because a cop can say almost anything and have that be taken as a parole violation.
  - lojack 10y ago
    I have a friend who works in the cardiothoracic step down unit at a hospital. She constantly thinks she has developed some sort of heart condition to the point where she is for all intents and purposes is paranoid of this. It's a bias because she's around people with heart conditions day in day out, so it seems more common than reality. Your friend has developed a bias because they're constantly around people who have been (or at least claim to be) wronged by the police. They see these people at a significantly higher rate than the people who have been saved by the police, or have otherwise been on the other side of the crime. There simply isn't a need to defend the other side of the fence.
    - sedachv 10y ago
      > Your friend has developed a bias because they're constantly around people who have been (or at least claim to be) wronged by the police. Absolutely. Which is why I am glad he pointed these risks out to me - no one else who is unbiased does or is even aware of the worst-case outcomes. If there is a way to resolve a situation without calling the police, why would you take the risk? Another thing my friend likes to do is post news reports of police abuse to social media. One of these is very relevant to the original post. In 2013 a father called the police on his son, after the latter drove off in the father's automobile without permission, to "teach him a lesson." The police response was to murder his son: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tyler-comstock-killing-iowa-police-shoot-unarmed-19-year-old-after-father-calls-authorities-to-report-the-teen-stole-his-truck/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tyler-comstock-killing-iowa-poli... Threatening your kids, family, neighbors etc with the police is not only distasteful but can end up in tragedy.
- woodruffw 10y ago
  My parents are both public attorneys. I was raised from a young age to minimize unnecessary interaction with the police. That is, of course, an American (and urban) perspective.
JWN1111 10y ago
Eh, it depends on how you look at it. It's a lesson for both kids. The one sister is maybe learning to fear the cops, but the other sister is learning that the cops are there to keep things right and just.
msabalau 10y ago
Cops kill about 1000 people a year in America. But evidently the problem is that people don't always and at every moment keep them on a pedestal.
- icebraining 10y ago
  For those wondering about the number, it's at 1079 as of today: http://killedbypolice.net/ http://killedbypolice.net/
geuis 10y ago
It's teaching them a survival skill.

Don't know why you're being downvoted. Having your kids be afraid of contacting the police (IRL or on the phone) in an emergency situation could be fatal for you or your kids.

basch 10y ago
Who is an appropriate boogeyman for kids, the IRS? "Never talk to IRS cold calls." Could save them in an identity theft situation. Side note, Dad sounds JUST LIKE Ron Howard.
- semi-extrinsic 10y ago
  Round here we use trolls, goblins, and in particular the infamous Draugr (a marine type of undead creature): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draugr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draugr
ryandrake 10y ago
I don't know--if you're worried about your kids' safety, teaching them to avoid interactions with the police whenever possible might be a wise move. Their job, after all, is to find a reason to put you in prison and/or confiscate your property, and they can kill you without repercussions depending on how the interaction goes. Instilling a healthy distrust is more likely to help than harm.
- DanBC 10y ago
  This is a cultural thing. In the US it's possibly a good idea to avoid police. In the UK where they still work to Peelian principles we don't need to fear every interaction with the police.
  - sqeaky 10y ago
    In some parts of the US its just fine, but in other its not. Sometimes it depends on other factors... Look at the city I am in right now, Omaha. If you appear to be white it is just about the safest city in the country. But if you have dark skin, run for your life.
    - Mindless2112 10y ago
      Sure, but even as a White person living in Omaha, the advice you get is "Don't go to north O[maha]. You're gonna get shot." (For those who don't know, north Omaha is predominately Black. Check it out on the Racial Dot Map [1].) [1] http://demographics.coopercenter.org/DotMap/ http://demographics.coopercenter.org/DotMap/
    - icantdrive55 10y ago
      As a white guy who lives in a the wealthy county of Marin; I can honestly state, you only call the police if in imminent danger, and even then good luck. I don't care if your wealthy, or poor, in my experience; they have always made a questionable situation worse. Qualifications: High school diploma, and a few weeks in an academy. And usually a chip on your shoulder? That chip sometimes grows, and sometimes mellows with experience. The profession needs federal oversight. It needs consistent training, and not paramilitary training. Way too many Cowboys, and Revenue collectors. Maybe a licensing system implemented? You can't cut hair without a licence?
  - neves 10y ago
    Never heard about these principles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peelian_principles#Nine_Principles_of_Policing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peelian_principles#Nine_Princi... A nice thing to learn.
Poiesis 10y ago
I wish it weren't so, but depending on what you/your kids look like, not being afraid of contacting the police could be fatal for you or your kids.
vkou 10y ago
Having your kids contact the police in an emergency situation could also be life-threatening. In just about any situation, I'd much rather have the help of a firefighter, then a police officer. It's incredibly unlikely that introducing a scared man with a gun and broad extrajudicial power will make a situation better.
- tzs 10y ago
  > Having your kids contact the police in an emergency situation could also be life-threatening. That's very very unlikely. You are probably failing to take into account that an interaction with police only makes the news when it goes bad. You don't hear about the 99.99% of interactions that go fine. Here's a list of the known police killings so far in 2016: http://www.killedbypolice.net http://www.killedbypolice.net There are just over 1000 of them, out of tens of millions of interactions with police. Pick about 20 of those 1000 at random, and click through for the details. You will almost certainly find that the overwhelming majority of those are ones where the person who got shot was actively committing a serious crime, or threatening imminent harm to someone.
  - hdctambien 10y ago
    > http://hearphones.bose.com/ http://hearphones.bose.com/ total - overwhelmingMajority == too many
  - vkou 10y ago
    You also don't hear about the interactions which don't kill anyone, but escalate into illegal searches, arrest, harassment, theft under the guise of civil forfeiture, court appearances, probation, breach of probation, or jail sentences. If you can call the police, and can be absolutely certain that there will be no negative consequences to you as a result - great. This is not what life is like for many Americans - and any one of these outcomes can be enough to ruin a life.
sedachv 10y ago
A friend of mine works as a public defender in Los Angeles (and prior to that, worked as a public defender in San Francisco). His advice is to never call the cops in all but the most extreme situations. The risk of them maiming or killing someone, performing unwanted illegal entries and searches, making an arrest based on unrelated things they see (suspected drug paraphernalia, etc), spurious complaints to child protective services, baseless detention and arrest, or just plain mistreatment and harassment is too great. In addition, if there is any person on parole or probation present when the cops show up, that person's chances of going to prison are very high, because a cop can say almost anything and have that be taken as a parole violation.
- lojack 10y ago
  I have a friend who works in the cardiothoracic step down unit at a hospital. She constantly thinks she has developed some sort of heart condition to the point where she is for all intents and purposes is paranoid of this. It's a bias because she's around people with heart conditions day in day out, so it seems more common than reality. Your friend has developed a bias because they're constantly around people who have been (or at least claim to be) wronged by the police. They see these people at a significantly higher rate than the people who have been saved by the police, or have otherwise been on the other side of the crime. There simply isn't a need to defend the other side of the fence.
  - sedachv 10y ago
    > Your friend has developed a bias because they're constantly around people who have been (or at least claim to be) wronged by the police. Absolutely. Which is why I am glad he pointed these risks out to me - no one else who is unbiased does or is even aware of the worst-case outcomes. If there is a way to resolve a situation without calling the police, why would you take the risk? Another thing my friend likes to do is post news reports of police abuse to social media. One of these is very relevant to the original post. In 2013 a father called the police on his son, after the latter drove off in the father's automobile without permission, to "teach him a lesson." The police response was to murder his son: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tyler-comstock-killing-iowa-police-shoot-unarmed-19-year-old-after-father-calls-authorities-to-report-the-teen-stole-his-truck/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tyler-comstock-killing-iowa-poli... Threatening your kids, family, neighbors etc with the police is not only distasteful but can end up in tragedy.
woodruffw 10y ago
My parents are both public attorneys. I was raised from a young age to minimize unnecessary interaction with the police. That is, of course, an American (and urban) perspective.

JWN1111 10y ago

Eh, it depends on how you look at it. It's a lesson for both kids. The one sister is maybe learning to fear the cops, but the other sister is learning that the cops are there to keep things right and just.

msabalau 10y ago

Cops kill about 1000 people a year in America. But evidently the problem is that people don't always and at every moment keep them on a pedestal.

icebraining 10y ago
For those wondering about the number, it's at 1079 as of today: http://killedbypolice.net/ http://killedbypolice.net/

geuis 10y ago

It's teaching them a survival skill.