This evokes two reactions from me. The first is about my prospective procreation. I've long been of the opinion that I want to eventually have one kid - subject to consultation with whoever I'd be having that child with, of course. Seeing something like this really makes me rethink whether it's worth it, given that today's society thinks it proper for everyone to parent everyone else's children. The second thing I thought of was the last episode of Seinfeld, which centered on Jerry and his friends being prosecuted for breaking a "Good Samaritan" law. In fictional Massachusetts in 1998, the law compelled them to render assistance; in real Illinois in 2012, it compels people to refrain from doing so.
There's actually a third reaction - did Free-Range Kids cover this (and thus, did I gloss over it earlier)? The answer is yes. I think Lenore has it right, in that the girls were right to refuse the ride, but it should have been dropped there.
I wasn't going to write about that, but then I saw this police blotter posted on Facebook. It includes a tale of a woman who noticed many pink flamingos on her lawn. Her first instinct was not to inspect the creatures, nor to simply take them down and junk them...no, it was to call the police. Only with an officer's assistance could this woman ascertain that the flamingos were part of a prank. Adam Carolla has often mentioned having to deal with neighbors who insist on setlling disputes over noise or property issues by getting the authorities involved, as opposed to hashing things out amongst themselves. I'm not at all sure that this is a good thing.
