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posted by janrinok on Friday January 16 2015, @05:38PM   Printer-friendly
from the who-knows-the-kids-best? dept.

The WaPo reports that Danielle and Alexander Meitiv in Montgomery County Maryland say they are being investigated for neglect after letting their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter make a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. “We wouldn’t have let them do it if we didn’t think they were ready for it,” says Danielle. The Meitivs say they believe in “free-range” parenting, a movement that has been a counterpoint to the hyper-vigilance of “helicopter” parenting, with the idea that children learn self-reliance by being allowed to progressively test limits, make choices and venture out in the world. “The world is actually even safer than when I was a child, and I just want to give them the same freedom and independence that I had — basically an old-fashioned childhood,” says Danielle. “I think it’s absolutely critical for their development — to learn responsibility, to experience the world, to gain confidence and competency.”

On December. 20, Alexander agreed to let the children walk from Woodside Park to their home, a mile south, in an area the family says the children know well. Police picked up the children near the Discovery building, the family said, after someone reported seeing them. Alexander said he had a tense time with police when officers returned his children, asked for his identification and told him about the dangers of the world. The more lasting issue has been with Montgomery County Child Protective Services which showed up a couple of hours later. Although Child Protective Services could not address this specific case they did point to Maryland law, which defines child neglect as failure to provide proper care and supervision of a child. “I think what CPS considered neglect, we felt was an essential part of growing up and maturing,” says Alexander. “We feel we’re being bullied into a point of view about child-rearing that we strongly disagree with.”

 
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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Friday January 16 2015, @09:33PM

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Friday January 16 2015, @09:33PM (#135531) Journal

    It's a problem that services like policing have to face. The job is all too attractive to bullies, control freaks, and power trippers. The services have a rough time screening those sorts of people out before they're hired.

    From what I've heard, you don't want to call in the police unless you absolutely have to. If you're not sure, don't call. They will take something minor and escalate it to ridiculous extremes. They're more interested in bullying citizens, racking up crime fighting statistics, and using their toys than in being sensible. Drug users, the mentally ill, and people of the "wrong" color are especially at risk of becoming the victims of police brutality, even when they haven't done anything threatening.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 17 2015, @03:16AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 17 2015, @03:16AM (#135589)

    They're more interested in bullying citizens, racking up crime fighting statistics, and using their toys than in being sensible.

    No, that's not true. If it were true, the outcry would have crushed them long ago because nearly everybody would know someone who got fucked over by a cop. As it is now, only poor people have that experience.

    In reality, nearly all cops are interested in doing the right thing. The problem is two-pronged.
    (1) Their definition of the right thing has been warped by factors like racism and 'professional courtesy' among others
    (2) The relatively tiny amount who are as you say, they are general immune to consequences so they can devastating and recourse is rare

    Remember: Risk = Probability x Severity. So even though #2 is rare, if you happen to run into one of them there is a good chance your life will be ruined. That's reason enough to avoid the cops unless you are desperate without having to make claims that will cause normal people to dismiss you as a kook.

    • (Score: 1) by Anal Pumpernickel on Sunday January 18 2015, @10:43PM

      by Anal Pumpernickel (776) on Sunday January 18 2015, @10:43PM (#135895)

      In reality, nearly all cops are interested in doing the right thing.

      Then they would be casting out these "bad cops," but rarely do the supposedly "good" cops actually speak out, and when they do, they often get in trouble for it and/or it's swept under the rug. That makes them bad, too.

      without having to make claims that will cause normal people to dismiss you as a kook.

      "Normal" people are why we have the Patriot Act. "Normal" people are why we have the TSA. "Normal" people are why we have the NSA's mass surveillance. "Normal" people are gullible, ignorant, and unintelligent, and tend to ignore facts in favor of naive optimism. Most cops are good! The government would never abuse mass surveillance! Let's sacrifice our liberties and our constitution for safety!

      So being accepted by "normal people" isn't that much of a concern for me.

  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday January 22 2015, @01:50PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Thursday January 22 2015, @01:50PM (#136945) Journal

    If you ever get a chance, watch Canada's version of 'Cops': it's called 'Protect and Serve', or something like that.

    Cops is all "Get down on the ground, get down on the ground!"

    Protect and serve is: "How's it going, eh? Had a couple drinks? You think you should be driving after drinking? How's about you give me the keys and take the subway home. Thanks... have a good night."

    Gotta laugh, but i think the testosterone/terrorism levels are a lot lower here.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---