Hacker News Reader

Comment by stirlo | Hacker News Reader

The insane part is that those police officers and neighbours likely grew up in a community where they were able to have the freedom to go outside unsupervised. They all survived to adulthood and are now trying to snatch away those freedoms from the young. Disgraceful.

View on HN

"Because it's not like it used to be," is the excuse I hear. Meanwhile crime is lower than it was 30+ years ago, or whatever generation these cops grew up in.

The common perception of "stranger danger" is a load of nonsense thanks to 90s infotainment, as well as John Walsh (of America's Most Wanted) for making up bullshit about tens of thousands of children being abducted by strangers (hint: it's not even in the thousands); the vast majority of child abuse and abductions are committed by familial connections, by far.

I hate that this is a self-perpetuating fear. The more people fear, the less people walk on the streets, which makes the neighbourhood appear less safe and vibrant.

It likely continues today via things like true crime podcasts. Listening to a long string of awful stories can leave one with the false sense that these things are common.

Even though I have an appreciation for some true crime content, I've come to really loathe most of it. Long ago, I was obsessed with Forensic Files, Unsolved Mysteries, etc. This was of course back before true crime podcasts and Netflix documentaries. I also got interested in forensics, criminal psychology, and helping to try and identify and locate decedents/missing people. My heart genuinely goes out to victims. But witnessing from afar the worst aspects of humanity eventually took a toll on me. That combined with the absolute state of the news media convinced me to quit consuming that stuff all together. I truly think it should be microdosed only, if at all.

What makes me loathe it now is I can see the psychological impact it has on others. I won't name names, but I've known a fair share of women who got into the new wave of true crime content and have significantly skewed views on men as a result. Women should be well aware of what a man is capable of and what to do to mitigate risk, but true crime content can create this picture that more men are criminally capable than is actually the case. Simultaneously, entirely from the women I know who watch true crime, I hear views suggesting that the common man is too weak or incompetent to intervene and stop bad men, which is also not representative. I'm only being vague here because if any of these people happen to read my comments, they'll know I'm talking about them, but others won't know.

Some may disagree with my perspective, but it's my honest impression. I've seen women in my life who are family members and colleagues get into true crime content and notice their views shift as a result. If it's said that porn can damage the views that men have of women, surely it's not such a large leap to believe that watching women get victimized over and over again by a small minority can impact one's views on men without even realizing it.

The media is still constantly pumping out a deceptive narrative about the dangers of child abduction, it has people genuinely afraid.

I don't think you need to go that far. Mainstream news like 60 Minutes will always feature some sort of terror porn.

>"Because it's not like it used to be," is the excuse I hear.

Well, they're right.

We used to treat concern trolls like laughingstock, now they set national policy.

Karenism is an existential threat, and it should have been treated as such before it got this bad.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Yep, and police training deliberately cultivates it.

https://www.insider.com/bulletproof-dave-grossman-police-tra...

> His overly aggressive style prepares law enforcement officers for a job under siege, where they're front line troops who are "at war" with the streets. Officers need to be prepared to battle the communities they're told to protect, Grossman has said. And ideally in Grossman's eyes, officers need to learn to kill less hesitantly.

My friend married a guy who ended up becoming a cop. Within weeks of him starting training she sends me a snapchat about how "When we go places he always wants to sit facing the exit" and another of him quite literally playing with one of his service weapons, like a damn nerf toy.

Police training is garbage, and the police community is pathetic.

> "When we go places he always wants to sit facing the exit"

I mean this isn't bad advice. I was cornered by a large man once as a child and ever since I've tried to always be aware of an exit and ideally be in view of it.

"But why do ppl hate cops??"

Yep. What I left unstated, which I now realize the lack of leaves my comment ambiguous, was "and that's why they use it."

Right!? I went out, by myself, walking through suburban and semiurban (Houston) as a young child in the 80s and 90s — easily far more dangerous in a practical sense: more crime, less ubiquitous cell phones, ...

This helicoptering is nuts. It's something my family does, which is especially weird from my parents: humans I wouldn't see for days due to their long work schedules and my boredom in the summer.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com