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Good samaritan helping lost toddler gets punched by father, labeled predator online

Sunster

Member
If you are a man, don't help lost kids. Sounds cruel but if you look wrong while doing it you'll be in deep shit like them guy.

I have no problem admitting I've ignored clearly lost kids because of the stigma.

I've ignored clearly lost dogs because I don't know how to wrangle a dog. but a kid? na, you are wild for that.
 
Just to clarify, you know that you can die from getting punched. Who's to say your head bounces off the concrete the wrong way or other things. Getting punched isn't likenin the movies

I've been punched plenty of times. I still would take the risk. I'm not gonna sit back and watch as a child potentially ends up in danger.
 
Dude is lucky the guy didn't have a gun.

I have been in this situtation and my first instinct was to imediatly find another adult so we were working as a group. Dude by himself with someones child is a recipe for disaster.
 
Guys,

If one of my kids got separated at the park from me I'd hope you'd be chill enough to hold either of them and let me come and find them.

I'd appreciate it and wouldnt punch you.

I got you Google, I'd be with my kid anyway so I doubt there would be much suspicion. Even then I can take a punch as I'm a big guy.
 

NimbusD

Member
Why would you ask the child?

My instincts are to ask whoever is in charge to be aware or a couple if it is their child.

It's fucked up what happened but at the same time, what was he thinking?
Oh fuck this. So you just leave a kid wandering around alone because you're scared someone might do something like this? That's fucked up, but id rather the kid not actually get hurt or lost.
 

partime

Member
He was heading towards the parking lot, geez.

It just takes one sustained incident and boom, your baby might not be seen again. Child kidnapping is real folks.

In the moment, would you not always assume the worst?
 
He was heading towards the parking lot, geez.

It just takes one sustained incident and boom, your baby might not be seen again. Child kidnapping is real folks.

In the moment, would you not always assume the worst?

Did you not read the parts where he defamed him online after the incident?
 

Metalgus

Banned
Guys,

If one of my kids got separated at the park from me I'd hope you'd be chill enough to hold either of them and let me come and find them.

I'd appreciate it and wouldnt punch you.

Yes, please always help a distressed kid. They're kids!
 
is his life destroyed?
He's getting harassed to the point that he had to move out of town.

I guess it depends on what you consider to be destroyed, but at the very least his life is never going to be the same.

Also, this dude was lucky and had multiple people, including cops, verify his story. Who knows what this dudes life would look like if there weren't eye witnesses around and he had no proof that he actually wasn't trying to kidnap the child. This is the type of shit you don't even have to be convicted of to get blamed for. Even an accusation can ruin your life.
 

Google

Member
I got you Google, I'd be with my kid anyway so I doubt there would be much suspicion. Even then I can take a punch as I'm a big guy.

Thanks, man. My kids are dumb and I'm dumber so chances are I'll need you.

I'll text you next time we're leaving for the park, OK?
 

RomeoDog

Banned
I would never touch a strangers child.. if their lost i help them find their parents without touching them. Also multiple people come into the situation like that and help. Usually a woman would take over and you look for the parents in a group that usually gets bigger until the parents are found. so i'm not sure this guy was really asking around if they found him alone with her.

This dude was really stupid to walk around holding her hand. It sucks he got punched for it, but I think the father is in the clear.
 

p2535748

Member
If you are a man, don't help lost kids. Sounds cruel but if you look wrong while doing it you'll be in deep shit like that guy.

I have no problem admitting I've ignored clearly lost kids because of the stigma. I'm already black, I got enough troubles.

This is why these kind of stories suck so much. If I ever lost one of my kids, I would really hope someone would help them, but this kind of shit makes that less likely.

When I was a kid, I wandered away from home while my dad was outside mowing. I got a couple of streets away when a passing car stopped, picked me up, and brought me to the police, who went door to door until they found my parents. I don't want to think what could have happened if people just ignored me.
 

partime

Member
Oh fuck this. So you just leave a kid wandering around alone because you're scared someone might do something like this? That's fucked up, but id rather the kid not actually get hurt or lost.

You don't "leave" a kid wandering around. Kids wander around, that's what they do. If he was already with another friend, they were probably talked for a period of time when the incident occurred.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I would tell the man I would not press charges if he let me hit him back the same number of times.

In case you are wondering, no, this is not even vaguely legal.
 

Google

Member
I would never touch a strangers child.. if their lost i help them find their parents without touching them. Also multiple people come into the situation like that and help. Usually a woman would take over so i'm not sure this guy was really asking around if they found him alone with her.

This dude was really stupid to walk around holding her hand. It sucks he got punched for it, but I think the father is in the clear.

Holding a childs hand is completely different to 'touching' them. It's literally the only way to make sure a child of a certain age walks in the right direction without getting run over.
 

Pbae

Member
I wouldn't have mind being accused of being a creep, the father was in a situation of heightened stress. But, fuck you if you won't accept the facts and you go out of your way fuck over me and my family over a misunderstanding.

I would sue his ass. He ruined a families life in that community.
 

blakep267

Member
is his life destroyed?
Well you still to this day have the family and friends posting your photo on FB calling you a predator even after the cops said you aren't. If you were to google your name everything pops up. You have to leave your house because the family and friend still are seemingly agitated and think yiu tried to
Kidnap their daughter
 
I would never touch a strangers child.. if their lost i help them find their parents without touching them. Also multiple people come into the situation like that and help. Usually a woman would take over and you look for the parents in a group that usually gets bigger until the parents are found. so i'm not sure this guy was really asking around if they found him alone with her.

This dude was really stupid to walk around holding her hand. It sucks he got punched for it, but I think the father is in the clear.

....what?

The Father is in the clear? Are we reading about the same story here?
 

partime

Member
Did you not read the parts where he defamed him online after the incident?

Oh no.

"..family members and friends went on social media and shared the man’s photo, his Facebook page and his place of business, “calling him a child predator,” WFLA said."

That's a bit much.
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
He was heading towards the parking lot, geez.

It just takes one sustained incident and boom, your baby might not be seen again. Child kidnapping is real folks.

In the moment, would you not always assume the worst?
Let's pretend it's reasonable to assume the worst... how did repeatedly punching this man after grabbing the girl solve anything in that moment?

Vigilante justice should not be encouraged precisely because of situations like this, where morons make assumptions and assault people for no reason.
 

Keri

Member
I understand what you're saying, but the advice you're giving is a reinforcement of the idea that all men should be viewed as dangerous and potentially a child predator. "Keep your hands up at all times, do not make a move that seems like a threat" I guarantee if it had been a woman in this scenario doing the same thing, none of this would have happened.

Also, calling the police is only a safe strategy if you're a white guy.

I didn't say my advice applied only to men. It applies to everyone. I guarantee you if I saw a woman trying to leave with my child, I'd have the exact same reaction.* If a single woman tried to leave an area with a child that wasn't hers, the assumption would be she's kidnapping the child to raise as her own. It's just always better to stay put, with a lost child. And if you call the police and inform them you are waiting with a lost child and then stay put the odds are extraordinarily slim that you'll be mistaken for a kidnapper.

*By which I mean that I'd be equally frightened, as if it were a man. Not that I'd have the same reaction as the father in the article...just to be clear.
 

norm9

Member
Based on this small sample size of the fsther, I'd guess it might have been a better idea to let the kid stay missing.
 

traveler

Not Wario
It is as that recent parenting thread alluded to- at the end of the day, most of our evils can be traced back to fear, not just in parenting, but in everything.
 

p2535748

Member
He was heading towards the parking lot, geez.

It just takes one sustained incident and boom, your baby might not be seen again. Child kidnapping is real folks.

In the moment, would you not always assume the worst?

Child kidnapping by strangers is incredibly rare. That's not to say they don't happen, but I'm fairly certain that the statistics say that kidnapping by strangers is a tiny percentage of all missing children cases in the US. It's blown out of proportion, and the weight parents put on it can cause other problems.
 

RomeoDog

Banned
Holding a childs hand is completely different to 'touching' them. It's literally the only way to make sure a child of a certain age walks in the right direction without getting run over.

You just don't do it man. Even if you think holding hands isn't touching...the kid doesn't know you.
 

ISOM

Member
He was heading towards the parking lot, geez.

It just takes one sustained incident and boom, your baby might not be seen again. Child kidnapping is real folks.

In the moment, would you not always assume the worst?

He still assumed the worst even after the police came to the conclusion that he wasn't a predator and was just trying to help. Did you not read the article?
 

g11

Member
Taking her to the parking lot probably wasn't the best idea. Clearly he "did the right thing" but probably wasn't thinking about how it looked to other people. It says it was a softball game so I'd probably try to get the attention of one of the officials, potentially have them stop the game and make an announcement that the girl was lost. Either that or call the cops and have them take over.

That said, the dad sounds like a real hot-headed piece of shit. He can't be bothered to look after his own daughter but when someone tries to help, he beats the man and then smears him online, all because he's too fucking stupid to look after his own child. Real class act.
 

MIMIC

Banned
Horrible story. I'm a teacher and this really doesn't deter me from helping a lost child. But I'd like to think that the situation would have unfolded a little differently if I were involved.
 

Dynasty

Member
Father at fault first for loosing sight of his child.
I dont fault him for punching the good samaritan if he had apoligised.
At this point the father is a prick.
The father then takes to the next level and decides to be judge, jury and executioner. Father deserves to go to jail and be sued.
 

Buckle

Member
Absolutely should have pressed charges. Can't let people get away with stuff like that.

The dad sounds like a real piece of shit and an attempt was made to ruin this poor guy's life.
 

Nephtis

Member
The victim should press charges. It's one thing to fuck up and punch a person because you thought he was kidnapping your child. But to have the family harass him with what's clearly libel, I would not just press charges but she the living fuck out of that pathetic so-called father.

Fuck people like that.
 

Jeremy

Member
Oh no.

"..family members and friends went on social media and shared the man's photo, his Facebook page and his place of business, ”calling him a child predator," WFLA said."

That's a bit much.

This is exactly why he should have left that kid alone, you're just going to get morons who think the family didn't go far enough at every turn. He punched the guy?! Why didn't he just kill him?!? The man is a sexual predator!

There would be no point where the guy who found the kid actually made a right choice, yet every choice made by the other party makes complete, absolute sense, no questions asked.
 

Slythe

Member
Being an asshole in the moment and attacking the guy was wrong, but forgivable.

Doubling down after the fact and egging on completely inappropriate persecution of this poor guy is despicable and ridiculous.
 

Desperado

Member
Jeez, I honestly did not know how fearful everyone was of being seen interacting with or even just near another person's child in public.
 
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