Mother arrested after 10yo son takes a walk on his own
Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2024 6:45 am
Thought this news item worthy of comment here on Mu. The story highlights a state dictating that a family is legally required to surveille their children at all times, and that the parent can be arrested, fined and imprisoned if the authorities discover their child away from home alone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6-BGQVycVA
The location was Mineral Bluff in Georgia with a population of 370. The boy walked about a mile from his home to the small settlement whilst his mother took her eldest son to see a doctor. The mother was charged with ‘reckless conduct’ and ‘knowingly did endanger the bodily safety of her juvenile son’. She could face a year in prison if found guilty. Prosecutors are asking the mother to sign a child safety plan before considering dropping charges. The plan specifies that they witness the family downloading a GPS location app onto the boy’s mobile, and that thereafter, the mother needs to know her son’s location at all times. The boy took the initiative to take a walk in his mother's absence; she was unaware he had done this.
By usurping parental responsibility in this way, the state causes a number of things to happen. The state increasingly controls its citizens by stealth, by removing fundamental human rights and freedoms. The state is one step away from electronically tagging all children. The state becomes the parent because, according to the state, the parent is not fit for purpose and requires monitoring. The concept of family as the basis for social order, is undermined. The child is prevented from taking risks, and ceases to learn from life experiences, both good and bad. The family is taught stranger danger by the state and told to fear it. A cocooned child is less able to adapt upon entering the real world, and risks being a burden to society as a result.
As a boy from the age of around seven or eight years old onwards during school holidays, I recall being kicked out of the house in the morning after breakfast, and not returning much before supper time. I was out either exploring forests, or cycling miles, or playing non-stop football or cricket with the other local kids. I was given the freedom to learn about the world around me directly, and had no fear of chatting and making friends with the people I met, regardless of age. My childhood community was a rural one like Mineral Bluff, and of similar size, but just needed one policeman who was known to everyone, to police it. How far has civilisation fallen.
The location was Mineral Bluff in Georgia with a population of 370. The boy walked about a mile from his home to the small settlement whilst his mother took her eldest son to see a doctor. The mother was charged with ‘reckless conduct’ and ‘knowingly did endanger the bodily safety of her juvenile son’. She could face a year in prison if found guilty. Prosecutors are asking the mother to sign a child safety plan before considering dropping charges. The plan specifies that they witness the family downloading a GPS location app onto the boy’s mobile, and that thereafter, the mother needs to know her son’s location at all times. The boy took the initiative to take a walk in his mother's absence; she was unaware he had done this.
By usurping parental responsibility in this way, the state causes a number of things to happen. The state increasingly controls its citizens by stealth, by removing fundamental human rights and freedoms. The state is one step away from electronically tagging all children. The state becomes the parent because, according to the state, the parent is not fit for purpose and requires monitoring. The concept of family as the basis for social order, is undermined. The child is prevented from taking risks, and ceases to learn from life experiences, both good and bad. The family is taught stranger danger by the state and told to fear it. A cocooned child is less able to adapt upon entering the real world, and risks being a burden to society as a result.
As a boy from the age of around seven or eight years old onwards during school holidays, I recall being kicked out of the house in the morning after breakfast, and not returning much before supper time. I was out either exploring forests, or cycling miles, or playing non-stop football or cricket with the other local kids. I was given the freedom to learn about the world around me directly, and had no fear of chatting and making friends with the people I met, regardless of age. My childhood community was a rural one like Mineral Bluff, and of similar size, but just needed one policeman who was known to everyone, to police it. How far has civilisation fallen.