Child Dies Because Man is Afraid of Being Labeled a Pedophile

[Dave A]

He'll be devestated, he'd be a cold bastard if he didn't, but what do you think he'd would be thinking now if he had saved that kid's life and eneded up with a ruined familiy, no life and being labelled as a pedophile everywhere he went all the while thinking she would have probably been okay if he'd left her alone?

 

[Sphinx]

In this particular case, yes. But we only know that because we have seen the outcome. But it's not like the child was sitting there bleeding or looking beaten up. The child was fine, so if he did do something and the parents wanted to press charges, what could he say? "She 'looked' like she needed some help"? Yeah, that'll work.

Swift, the child was 2 years old for goodness sake, walking down the street on her own. I don't know anything about where you live but that alone would ring alarm bells here. the fact that the child looked fine is irrelevant when dealing with a child so young.

 

[Swift]

Swift, the child was 2 years old for goodness sake, walking down the street on her own. I don't know anything about where you live but that alone would ring alarm bells here. the fact that the child looked fine is irrelevant when dealing with a child so young.

And in a world WITHOUT liberal lawyers and judges I would agree with you. But in this day and age...

 

[a6m5]

But what is the "Right" thing? To preserve your families integrity and your lively hood or to see if a child might be lost? I'm not saying either is "right" just that in this case, there is a lot of gray.

In the true sense of the word, doing the "Right" thing would've been to help the baby, but he feared what might happen to him, also there is that law.

 

[Sphinx]

He'll be devestated, he'd be a cold bastard if he didn't, but what do you think he'd would be thinking now if he had saved that kid's life and eneded up with a ruined familiy, no life and being labelled as a pedophile everywhere he went all the while thinking she would have probably been okay if he'd left her alone?

I would consider myself a "cold bastard" if I saw a 2yr old on her own on the street and I did nothing.

 

[Swift]

In the true sense of the word, doing the "Right" thing would've been to help the baby, but he feared what might happen to him, also there is that law.

And the "law" made it the wrong thing to do. Whether or not it was morally right.

I would consider myself a "cold bastard" if I saw a 2yr old on her own on the street and I did nothing.

Maybe so, but I wouldn't.

 

[Sphinx]

Maybe so, but I wouldn't.

"Maybe" doesn't even come close.

 

[BMWteamPTG]

I would consider myself a "cold bastard" if I saw a 2yr old on her own on the street and I did nothing.

you gotta be a freakin retard not to do something.

thats horrible and i think the man should get something...negligence? i dont know, thats pure ignorance

 

[Sphinx]

you gotta be a freakin retard not to do something.

thats horrible and i think the man should get something...negligence? i dont know, thats pure ignorance

No, he isn't to blame for what happened, he's just someone who could've helped.

 

[3-Wheel Drive]

I don't blame the man. If one life has to be ruined to save another, something in society is messed up. I don't blame the guy, not in this era. Law should not trump morality, but it does.

 

[Jimmy Enslashay]

Being labelled a pedophile in such cases is very rare and extreme, which was pointed out in the article.

I respect everyone's opinions and views on the issue, as we all have different beliefs and morals. I will not change my stance on this particular issue, but all I have to say right now is that it's a very, very sad world we live in where you can walk by a very young child on it's own near a massive hazard and question helping it because of a very small amount of extreme precedents.

 

[Swift]

Being labelled a pedophile in such cases is very rare and extreme, which was pointed out in the article.

I respect everyone's opinions and views on the issue, as we all have different beliefs and morals. I will not change my stance on this particular issue, but all I have to say right now is that it's a very, very sad world we live in where you can walk by a very young child on it's own near a massive hazard and question helping it because of a very small amount of extreme precedents.

I feel you bud. Seriously, but you can't fault the man for thinking of the implications of his possible actions on his family.

 

[ExigeEvan]

My age is irrelevant. However, I am old enough and have been raised to know what the right thing to do is regardless of any fear that I may have. I know this is just my opinion, but there is nothing on this earth (including the law) that would allow me to drive past an unaccompanied 2yr old in the street and do nothing.

Your age is relevant to me on the grounds that you may or may not be at an age where you think you can be labelled a pedo. That's all.

To be honest with you, at the moment of taking action the thought wouldn't even enter my head even though I'm fully aware and fearful of what could happen if I failed to follow common sense.

So you didn't think about what might happen to yourself, but what might happen to this child? You also didn't think at any point that there might be a guardian of this child just around the corner, as would be expected?

The right thing is to help the child. The wrong thing is to allow your fears to rule your life.

But as we've said, his reaction would have affected the lives of other people aswell.

you gotta be a freakin retard not to do something.

thats horrible and i think the man should get something...negligence? i dont know, thats pure ignorance

He was never in charge of the child so how could he ever be held to blame? Hell, lets send everyone to jail that was too afraid to break up a fight in a club. I suppose that means only the bouncers get off trouble free then.

 

[Danoff]

thats horrible and i think the man should get something...negligence? i dont know, thats pure ignorance

Our laws (and basic freaking morality) state that you aren't responsible for other people's children (or other people).

 

[ExigeEvan]

Our laws (and basic freaking morality) state that you aren't responsible for other people's children (or other people).

Does that exclude teachers and carers?

 

[Famine]

Root: It's not the man who's at fault for thinking as he did, but a societal problem that results in men thinking like that.

When we stop persecuting men for even the mildest hint of looking in the direction of a child that isn't their own (or even where it is) is when this issue goes away.

A colleague of mine hasn't been to work in 6 months - and the last three weeks before he had to take leave were spent with him not allowed to go anywhere in the building without a second member of staff chaperoning him - because a girl said he brushed against her bottom. This is a professional man with no priors (he works in a UK school, by Grapthar's Hammer he's got no priors), a girl with a history of lying about teachers she doesn't like and 20 witnesses to say he was nowhere near her during the 50 minute period this allegedly took place, yet he's been "on leave" for 6 months and she's still there...

Interestingly, or not, in the UK, the law prevents the naming of someone who alleges rape against them, but not the naming of someone alleged to have raped. Even after the conclusion of the case when the accused has been acquitted, the innocent man is still named and the "victim" (read: "liar") that instigated criminal proceedings against him remains anonymous. And what happens when a man has been named? Press and women's rights groups are outside his door every day during the 18 months leading up to his trial. And of course what happens when someone has an employee charged with rape or other sexual offences?


When men are guilty of sex crimes by association (by way of being men) then hell yes they're going to tend to think twice.

 

[Danoff]

Does that exclude teachers and carers?

Yes, that excludes people who have voluntarily taken on that responsibility for any reason (including pay).

 

[Swift]

Root: It's not the man who's at fault for thinking as he did, but a societal problem that results in men thinking like that.


When men are guilty of sex crimes by association (by way of being men) then hell yes they're going to tend to think twice.

Yep and Yep.

It's a trip that those that have said, "It's stupid to not help", haven't fully considered those two ideas.

 

[Sphinx]

Your age is relevant to me on the grounds that you may or may not be at an age where you think you can be labelled a pedo. That's all.

I’m 45, married, have 4 children and my wife runs a toddler group, a pre-school, an after school club, a holiday club and I play a small active roll in all of them.

I would say I’m a good target for a “ped” label.

So you didn't think about what might happen to yourself, but what might happen to this child? You also didn't think at any point that there might be a guardian of this child just around the corner, as would be expected?

Yes to the first question, and for your second question, I would still stop.

 

[Swift]

I’m 45, married, have 4 children and my wife runs a toddler group, a pre-school, an after school club, a holiday club and I play a small active roll in all of them.

Excellent. Man, that's a lot. I'm honestly suprised you have time to be on GTP. With 4 children and all those activities, I'm sure it's time consuming.

I would say I’m a good target for a “ped” label.

So would I and I believe that's exactly what this guy was thinking.

 

[Mr P]

Those are some crazy situations! ... after reading this thread I can say my reaction would be different to how I would react had I not read this thread!
I would stop and think wheras before reading it I wouldn't

I am a father of 4 and uncle to 9 and I know without thinking before reading this thread I would have stopped and helped the kid out totally oblivious to what could have been stirred up after the fact.

But after reading this thread it has made me think about what I would do in the future in a similar predicament! probably 1st thing would be mobile phone and call the cops, or drive into the nursery grounds and tell them a kid is roaming about and that they are a bunch of idiots for not doing what they are paid to do! or sit outside in the grounds of the nursery honking the horn to catch attention from the staff whilst staying safely in the confines of the vehicle and also distracting the child with the commotion also! .... I dont know though this is like a catch 22 situation that is just utterly ridiculous to the extreme .... instinctively I would help but who wants to be labeled a torpedo

I do know I would have it playing on my mind till my final days if I was that guy in the truck

Ignorant carers as well as scared societys branding methods caused the death of that kid ... The guy is wrong in his actions yet not guilty of a crime in my opinion ... just hope he can live with his choice.

Shame it wasn't a woman driving the truck eh

 

[a6m5]

But after reading this thread it has made me think about what I would do in the future in a similar predicament! probably 1st thing would be mobile phone and call the cops, or drive into the nursery grounds and tell them a kid is roaming about and that they are a bunch of idiots for not doing what they are paid to do! or sit outside in the grounds of the nursery honking the horn to catch attention from the staff whilst staying safely in the confines of the vehicle and also distracting the child with the commotion also! ....

Great ideas, I'm taking notes. 👍 There are million things you can do to help, and still get around the law.

 

[niky]

What's sad about this is the assumption that you would get sued if you help... thus... do nothing. A problem with the law, maybe... a problem with the application and interpretation of the law? Definitely.

Heck, some policeman got in a bit of a spot here for allegedly holding some girl's breast during a rescue operation. It was ruled incidental and accidental and never went to court. That's how it should go.

But, forgive me, I can't buy into the mindset where you think about the legal danger to yourself before you think about doing the right thing. It just seems so... American ...when we Filipinos don't stop to help, it's because we're afraid guys with AK47s are going to jump out of the bushes. Either you care and you do something, or you don't. Consequences be damned. It's pretty simple, actually.

But in this case, the guy should have honked his horn, notified somebody... anybody... that "hey, there's this kid wandering around!"... would have been the least involved, least possibly litiguous, and most sensible thing to do. I'm pretty surprised that he actually came forward and confessed to not doing anything... if he didn't care enough to call for the police or some help, he should've just driven away and forgotten about it.

 

[Danoff]

Part of the problem is that people refer to phony lawsuits as though they were fact. People will many times (as happened earlier in this thread) tell you that they know of a lawsuit where a criminal was hurt while breaking into a home. The criminal sued and won bigtime. Or they'll tell you about a time when someone sued a car company because they wrecked the car.. etc. etc. It happens a lot but the lawsuits are fake. Nobody bothers to check whether they're real. It's easy to do. All you need is the state the case was tried in and the name of the parties invovled. I don't know why people pass on fake lawsuits, there are many awful REAL lawsuits to choose from - what's the need for fake ones?

All you do when you talk about a lawsuit that you haven't verified is scare people. When people get scared, things like this happen where folks are afraid of getting sued when they could be helping.

Part of the problem is our legal system that makes everyone a criminal (because of an overly complex legal code). The rest of the problem is people passing on information that isn't true about fake lawsuits.

 

[ExigeEvan]

or sit outside in the grounds of the nursery honking the horn to catch attention from the staff whilst staying safely in the confines of the vehicle and also distracting the child with the commotion also! .... I dont know though this is like a catch 22 situation that is just utterly ridiculous to the extreme .... instinctively I would help but who wants to be labeled a torpedo

Parking a car outside a nursery and honking the horn will get the nursery's attention yes. But that's providing that the kid doesn't die in the time it takles you to get to the nursery, get the attention of the staff, get the staff to follow and then find the kid again.

And rolling up alongside a young kid is just as bad as getting out the car. In my area there have been a number of warning about people in cars pulling up alongside people and trying to coax kids in. The only people that I know that ask for directions from children are old people. Perhaps they're just naive thinking kids know all the directions, perhaps no-one else dares to.

 

[Dave A]

Mr P makes a very valid point regarding getting the nursery staffs attention or if you have a mobile to hand, phoning the police and informing them. Rolling up alongside the kid is something I'd avoid, you'd probably scarethe kid, and if anyone saw you they could assume the worst. But the other two points make sense.

 

[Mr P]

I never mentioned rolling up next to the kid like a kerb crawling pervert! ...

I said drive into the nursery grounds and attract attention by causing major noise ... There is a difference! .. and anyone trying to kidnap or abuse a child wouldn't be making so much noise as if wanting an audience.

It was just a suggested possible solution to a bad scenario is all.

 

[Dave A]

No you didn't , I failed to notice that in your post when I responded, in that case everything you said makes sense as a better option:tup:.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I never mentioned rolling up next to the kid like a kerb crawling pervert! ...

I said drive into the nursery grounds and attract attention by causing major noise ... There is a difference! .. and anyone trying to kidnap or abuse a child wouldn't be making so much noise as if wanting an audience.

It was just a suggested possible solution to a bad scenario is all.

Sorry. I read this

or sit outside in the grounds of the nursery honking the horn to catch attention from the staff whilst staying safely in the confines of the vehicle and also distracting the child with the commotion also!

as parking up next to the child and then raising the alarm, not going to the nursery and raising the alarm hoping the child notices.

My mistake.

 

[Mr P]

Thats ok guys easy mistake 👍