One. When I was driving home from work/day care yesterday I saw a kid I didn't know at the end of my cul de sac. To explain; I live down a little gravel road that shoots out the end of the cul de sac and down a little hill; it's a dead end and nobody ever comes there, which is a big part of why I like it. As I was driving past I noticed him wave but it was too late to acknowledge it, I just kept driving. He walked down our little road and as I was getting out of my truck he asked if I had any jobs for him. I really couldn't think of anything nor did I have any cash on me so I told him I'd think about it and he could come back tomorrow and check if he wanted.
I'll admit, I'm a paranoid freakazoid, but I didn't know kids did stuff like this so I was a little weired out. Plus, my neighborhood is not the squeaky-cleanest in the world; there are lots of drug and violence related police visits and I'm no stranger to tricky ways of scoping out new houses. BUT I do have a soft spot for kids and DID want to help this guy out. I spoke with my husband about it when he got home from work and he told me that he did the same thing when he was a kid trying to make a little money.
Just to double check it, I ran a thread on MDC about it. Most of the replies were what I expected; it IS a normal thing for kids, don't worry about it, find a job and pay him fairly; that kind of thing. I guess since it IS MDC though I should have been prepared for the inevitable flaming. I guess it wasn't technically "flaming" but it was a harsher response than I would have expected. Quite a few people found it "sad" and " alarming" that I would question the boy's motives. One of them felt bad that our realities were clearly so skewed. Fuck that. I was so pissed, you know? The fact is that I AM surrounded by meth, I see police cars parked in front of shady houses in my neighborhood at least weekly. In my opinion, in my situation it is far smarter to be safe than sorry, particularly with a daughter to look after. I'm so offended right now. What a judgemental bitch. Sorry for the rant but that is sooooo frustrating.
Two. I guess there's a new Gr*nd Th*ft A*to (I'm misspelling that to avoid google hits) game out. I don't know much about these games (to be honest I haven't played a current video came since Pac Man) but I've heard about the violence and sexual assault and can't say I'm a fan. So they were talking about it on a morning radio show I listen to and a woman, a self-proclaimed "40 year old awesome mom" called in to say "you can bet my kid won't be at school today, we're gonna be on the couch together torturing hos." Nice yes? And yet I get flamed for wondering what's a fair wage to pay a stranger.
3 comments:
Better to be safe than sorry. I'd have reacted much the same way I think.
And the lady that flamed you....don't give her a second thought. She's probably one of them sitting at home playing G.T.A. with her son. Forget her. :)
People can be so stupid on messaging boards. Yes, it is sad and alarming that we live in a society now (in places, at least) where we have to think twice about the motives even of children - When we were growing up in Pondville (get it? har) we could walk around as kids asking for odd jobs (I did it once or twice) and no one had to question our integrity. Of course (1) most people knew each other and (2) drug use didn't include neighborhood meth labs and (3) the only police presence was the neighborhood sheriff whose purpose, as far as I remember, was to pass out candy. Things are different now - a 12-year-old boy on broadway offered to suck C's dick for $50 last year. Um. So, yes, I would say it is a safe thing to do to consider the motives of a kid you've never met before. And that woman on the messaging boards probably live in a gated community, and/or is too trusting for her own good. (The hard part is in not succumbing to a "culture of fear" while still keeping your wits about you, IMO.)
Perhaps someone should mail the aforementioned flame-r, a copy of G*T*A*4, with an accompanying note along the lines of, "Welcome to the neighborhood"?
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