In a growing and very ominous trend, what used to be considered normal, innocuous behavior is being treated as crime.
A mother in Bristol, Connecticut, was charged with leaving a child unsupervised in a car Wednesday. How old was the helpless tyke?
Eleven.
Why was she in the car? She asked her mom if she could stay there.
Was she in danger of boiling to death? According to WFSB:
When officers opened the car doors, they said the child was responsive and not in distress, and that the car was not “excessively hot.”
In other words, the 11-year-old girl was indisputably fine. Not overheated, not abandoned, not upset—nothing.
So don’t just ask why the mom was charged with a crime, ask why is this a crime? Why does the law get to decide how a mom should raise her kids? Why does the law treat a self-sufficient 11 year old as a helpless forsaken baby? Why does the law allow cops to harass tweens and moms just going about their day?
Why? Because we are living under a system of bureaucratic tyranny, that’s why.
When I was a kid, letting an eleven year old sit in a car was not a crime. My mom used to let me wait in the car and I thought nothing of it. If it had gotten too hot for me, I’d have opened the window or gotten out of the car.
Duh! Eleven year olds are not helpless infants.
Sheesh. Now I’m wondering whether my mom would be arrested today for letting me walk to the train station and take the train to school.
I predict this trend will only get worse.
(However, in light of recent events, I suspect that if a child had been seriously neglected by a mom who had illegally crossed the border, she would not be arrested, nor would she have to face the bureaucratic wrath of Child Protective Services.)
Comments
7 responses to “Ordinary life has become a crime”
George Carlin had the answer:
You want to know how you can help your children? Leave them the fuck ALONE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-ryuJDTpEc
Great comedian and philosopher. RIP.
We’re pretty boned, the bureaucracy has no check on its powers.
The worst part is that none of them are “responsible” for their actions.
They’re just implementing laws don’t you know.
And if you don’t like it?
Obviously just a tea-bagger who hates America.
It’s called “pre-crime”. Lawmakers have decided that the ordinary risks of life are something that must be monitored and punished. This isn’t surprising, the criminalization of drugs has been justified due to the assumed 1:1 ratio between drug use and harm. (Remember the “Use is Abuse” phrase spouted by prohibitionists?)
Obviously, there’s a 1:1 ratio of the risk of death for youngsters left in a car alone for a few minutes on a summer day. Something. Had. To. Be. Done.
We’ve gotten pretty good at criminalizing risks. More evidence that we are a nation of busybodies and scolds. And most importantly, tyrants.
When I was 11 (and a Boy Scout learning to wield an axe, carve with a knife, and shoot a .22), I was already babysitting. I suppose today I would be held to need a babysitter myself. Good grief.
The Lady should go for a Jury trial. CT has no law dictating when minors can be left alone at home. She should repeatedly ask the prosecutor in the trial run-up if s/he thinks the 11 year old is a special needs child who can’t manage car doors. If it ever gets to trial, show videos of the child operating car doors. Make the Jury realize they’d be part of an abuse of justice to vote ‘guilty’, regardless of any statutes that may or may not actually exist.
Punch back twice as hard.
“Anyone who leaves a child under 12 years old unattended in a vehicle long enough that it represents a substantial risk to the child’s well-being, could be found guilty of a class A misdemeanor.”
That’s an unofficial citation of CT Law from DMV.org.
Assuming it’s accurate, the charges are voided by the responding officers report. Fight.
Borstal, Connecticut.
And for those of you who think I can’t spell: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borstal