

Dad Arrested for picking up kids from school by foot - obiefernandez
http://www.theurbancountry.com/2013/11/dad-arrested-for-picking-up-kids-at-school-by-foot.html

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DjangoReinhardt
I double-checked the URL to see if it was from the Onion and wasn't sure if I
should be surprised or worried that it wasn't. I get the feeling that there's
more to the story - probably the dad created a fuss, probably he was being a
nuisance and had to be removed by security. Or something like that.

When the headlines in the mainstream media start to appear like they could be
from the Onion, I know it is time to pack my bags and wait for reality to
collapse on to itself.

~~~
msandford
Nuisance is in the eye of the beholder. He knew what his rights are and he was
asking for them to be respected. The SRO didn't care what the law said, he
thought that the school rules superseded it. They do not.

~~~
DjangoReinhardt
Hmm, apologies. I somehow forgot to scroll down and did not realize that there
was (a lot) more below the scroll.

The dad seems calm and collected. The officer seems to be pissed at the fact
that his authority is being questioned (superseded even?) by the dad. The
entire six-ish minute exchange seems surreal and bizarre, to be honest.

Help me understand here, why would there be a rule prohibiting parents from
walking their kids to/from school? No pavements? Very busy roads? Precedent of
some sort?

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msandford
Damned if I know. It sounds to me like the non-crime (but definitely
"criminal" act) of Pissing Off The Police. It doesn't matter if you're not
actually doing anything wrong. If you piss a cop off he can arrest you and
figure out SOMETHING to charge you with and at that point you have to fight
the charges. It's unfortunate but it happens. This seems like a case of that
to me.

Is there a rational explanation for why the rules would be the way they are? I
have no idea really. It doesn't make any sense to me either.

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brianpgordon
He just throws out the word "disorderly" out of nowhere like it's a magic word
that lets him arrest whomever he wants.

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HarryHirsch
In normal countries schools are built somewhere central, and the students walk
or cycle to school. But in America it's the opposite, they are built on
highways on the edge of town, and the students are required to take the bus or
have their parents pick them up (by car of course).

It's not only that there is no city planning in the US, it's also that the
people don't mind, and then you get outcomes like this.

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chatman
Extremely shameful. This is tyranny by the standards of any country in the
world.

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parasight
Embarrassing story. What is the background of that policy?

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matthewmcg
The background is the availability heuristic. Parents demand schools adopt
security measures to thwart "stereotypical kidnapping" (~120 cases in the U.S.
annually) when the gravest dangers children face are riding home in cars
(~200k injuries annually) and obesity (20% of all U.S. children).

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nhance
America!

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mortyseinfeld
This is what happens when you give a bunch of leftist/statists that dominate
school systems security power. These statist so-called educators see
themselves as quasi-government officials.

It's sickening, but this is what people vote for.

~~~
DanBC
Is this parody?

I genuinely don't know. Often I feel like I'm reading The Onion, only it's
true.

