4 ms·

"I founded Free-Range Kids in 2008" This story sound either exaggerated, misrepresented, or possibly wholly made up. Not that it is that hard for me to believ

"I founded Free-Range Kids in 2008" This story sound either exaggerated, misrepresented, or possibly wholly made up. Not that it is that hard for me to believe in overeager security at a school, but it is just a little bit too convenient an incident for somebody with such a large preexisting interest in the subject. I would suspect that she was looking for a confrontation, even though she claims to not be confrontational.

deleted 4y ago
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dekhn 4y ago
I live across the street from a school. I'd walk my kid in through a side door, the only one that was unlocked, early in the morning. I asked if the front door could be opened at that hour- nope, for "security reasons" they could only have one door open (oddly, that door was completely unobserved, while the front door had cameras, and was next to the main office). Even though I live literally next door and standing in my yard, I can see kids playing, I am exceptionally cautious. In particular, I introduced myself to the staff (they park in front of my house every day) so they knew who I was, smiled and made direct eye contact, and acted in a non-aggressive way. This greatly improved my ability to move about my yard without suspicion. They never did unlock the front gate, though. Security through theatre.
- nobody9999 4y ago
  I live immediately next door to a school (~6 foot sub-street walkway between my building and the school building). I've lived here for >25 years and am often outside my building smoking cigarettes(!). The "play area" for the kids is on the other side of my (and one other, total ~100 feet distance) building and classes are brought in and out most of the day. No one has ever even looked at me (AFAIK) as a potential threat, and no one (school staff, parents or police) has ever asked me to "move along," or wanted to know why I was hanging around next to a school. And living in NYC, it's not like folks will recognize me as one of the people who live in one of the 20 apartments in my building either. In fact, I've only had positive interactions with school-related adults despite the "suspicious" behavior I display as an adult male "hanging around" an elementary/middle school "watching" the kids. I can't say whether my experience is more common than that of TFA's author. I do note that many parents (not that it's a bad thing necessarily) drop off/pick up their kids at school (this is NYC, so mostly not in cars, but to walk them home/wherever they need to go) at ages (8+) when I (and most of my classmates) walked to/from school (my elementary school and and this one are less than a mile apart, but 40+ years distance in time) all by ourselves with no issues. In fact, we'd usually just go straight out to the park and play until dark, then go home. Back then (mid-late 1970s), NYC was much more dangerous too. As such, it seems to me that these changes are less about "keeping kids safe" and more about "security theater" to appease helicopter parents. I could be wrong, but it seems like that's the most likely driver.
briantakita 4y ago
> I would suspect that she was looking for a confrontation, even though she claims to not be confrontational. Tell me more about your mind reading technology
preinheimer 4y ago
This seems completely conceivable to me. You're not allowed to use a playground unless you're with a child (new york): https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1128/705238326_dd2bad6ea5_b.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1128/705238326_dd2bad6ea5_b.jp... There's plenty of stories of men being yelled at for taking pictures of their own kids, e.g. https://www.arlnow.com/2022/04/13/acpd-woman-pepper-sprayed-man-for-taking-photos-of-children-who-turned-out-to-be-his-own-kids/ https://www.arlnow.com/2022/04/13/acpd-woman-pepper-sprayed-... British Airways wont seat an unaccompanied minor next to a man traveling alone: https://www.bbc.com/news/10401416 https://www.bbc.com/news/10401416 If you look like a dude, and are relatively near children, you're a suspect.
- deleted 4y ago
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- aidenn0 4y ago
  Author of TFA is named "Lenore" which makes it rather likely that they do not look like a dude.
sleepymoose 4y ago
How much expereince do you have dealing with the modern educations sytem in America? I graduated from the public school system just over half a decade ago, and even then this wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. I went to a very small, rural school. The "town" consisted of the school, a single gas station, and a few churches. We had multiple armed resource officers, lockdown drills, locked entrances at all times, strict vistitor rules, etc. If someone had stopped to watch the playground I have no doubt they would end up in a discussion with an officer and asked to move along. Whether I agree with that or not is beside the point, but to me, this doesn't seem like an implausible situation for anyone to end up in.
LeonB 4y ago
Thank you! I was surprised how far down the comments I had to go until I found someone expressing any scepticism whatsoever about this story. It’s a very convenient anecdote to have happened to someone who just happens to have a barrow to push in that exact direction.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

dekhn 4y ago

I live across the street from a school. I'd walk my kid in through a side door, the only one that was unlocked, early in the morning. I asked if the front door could be opened at that hour- nope, for "security reasons" they could only have one door open (oddly, that door was completely unobserved, while the front door had cameras, and was next to the main office). Even though I live literally next door and standing in my yard, I can see kids playing, I am exceptionally cautious. In particular, I introduced myself to the staff (they park in front of my house every day) so they knew who I was, smiled and made direct eye contact, and acted in a non-aggressive way. This greatly improved my ability to move about my yard without suspicion. They never did unlock the front gate, though. Security through theatre.

nobody9999 4y ago
I live immediately next door to a school (~6 foot sub-street walkway between my building and the school building). I've lived here for >25 years and am often outside my building smoking cigarettes(!). The "play area" for the kids is on the other side of my (and one other, total ~100 feet distance) building and classes are brought in and out most of the day. No one has ever even looked at me (AFAIK) as a potential threat, and no one (school staff, parents or police) has ever asked me to "move along," or wanted to know why I was hanging around next to a school. And living in NYC, it's not like folks will recognize me as one of the people who live in one of the 20 apartments in my building either. In fact, I've only had positive interactions with school-related adults despite the "suspicious" behavior I display as an adult male "hanging around" an elementary/middle school "watching" the kids. I can't say whether my experience is more common than that of TFA's author. I do note that many parents (not that it's a bad thing necessarily) drop off/pick up their kids at school (this is NYC, so mostly not in cars, but to walk them home/wherever they need to go) at ages (8+) when I (and most of my classmates) walked to/from school (my elementary school and and this one are less than a mile apart, but 40+ years distance in time) all by ourselves with no issues. In fact, we'd usually just go straight out to the park and play until dark, then go home. Back then (mid-late 1970s), NYC was much more dangerous too. As such, it seems to me that these changes are less about "keeping kids safe" and more about "security theater" to appease helicopter parents. I could be wrong, but it seems like that's the most likely driver.

briantakita 4y ago

> I would suspect that she was looking for a confrontation, even though she claims to not be confrontational. Tell me more about your mind reading technology

preinheimer 4y ago

This seems completely conceivable to me. You're not allowed to use a playground unless you're with a child (new york): https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1128/705238326_dd2bad6ea5_b.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1128/705238326_dd2bad6ea5_b.jp... There's plenty of stories of men being yelled at for taking pictures of their own kids, e.g. https://www.arlnow.com/2022/04/13/acpd-woman-pepper-sprayed-man-for-taking-photos-of-children-who-turned-out-to-be-his-own-kids/ https://www.arlnow.com/2022/04/13/acpd-woman-pepper-sprayed-... British Airways wont seat an unaccompanied minor next to a man traveling alone: https://www.bbc.com/news/10401416 https://www.bbc.com/news/10401416 If you look like a dude, and are relatively near children, you're a suspect.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
aidenn0 4y ago
Author of TFA is named "Lenore" which makes it rather likely that they do not look like a dude.

sleepymoose 4y ago

How much expereince do you have dealing with the modern educations sytem in America? I graduated from the public school system just over half a decade ago, and even then this wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. I went to a very small, rural school. The "town" consisted of the school, a single gas station, and a few churches. We had multiple armed resource officers, lockdown drills, locked entrances at all times, strict vistitor rules, etc. If someone had stopped to watch the playground I have no doubt they would end up in a discussion with an officer and asked to move along. Whether I agree with that or not is beside the point, but to me, this doesn't seem like an implausible situation for anyone to end up in.

LeonB 4y ago

Thank you! I was surprised how far down the comments I had to go until I found someone expressing any scepticism whatsoever about this story. It’s a very convenient anecdote to have happened to someone who just happens to have a barrow to push in that exact direction.