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Post by mirabelle on Feb 28, 2011 17:25:20 GMT 1
I know its a sad old cliché but I do think life is a lot more dangerous these days for children. When I was young - eons ago!!! - you could go off out all day long down by the river Thames fishing or swimming, have a picnic, or just have FUN with your friends. That was an age of innocence of course, a time long gone, for indeed even with my own lot I would'nt dream of letting them have the same freedoms I'd had as a kid because thre are just too many weirdos around and now for my granddaughters its even worse. Thats a great shame.
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Post by ianh on Feb 28, 2011 19:00:28 GMT 1
I am so angry at AI / loads of people have posted saying "Be careful and do not advertise for an escort on anopen forum". All have been deleted. I have posted again to ask why.
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Post by ianh on Feb 28, 2011 20:21:12 GMT 1
And I-ve just had an email to say i should not question their decisions on the open forum. No answer as to why they have deleted loads of posts advising the op to think again about advertising for an escort for an 11 year old girl on an open forum.
WRAAAAAGGGGHHHHH
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2011 20:42:17 GMT 1
Is the original post still there? Couldn´t find it earlier.
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Post by wibble on Feb 28, 2011 21:19:21 GMT 1
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Post by mrs moustoir on Mar 1, 2011 9:50:10 GMT 1
I agree that the idea of an 11 year old travelling alone with a total stranger is mad. But isn't the reaction all a bit "Daily Mail".....?
Not every adult is a paedo!
I think it is a shame that adults cannot even talk to children in the UK now without someone thinking that their intentions are dodgy.
The Press are responsible for that. Fear of crime is making things far worse.
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Post by judith on Mar 1, 2011 10:55:17 GMT 1
Yes, you make a very level-headed point Mrs Moustoir, but one child at risk is one too many. Children are more vulnerable these days because these paedos, wierdos or whoever have far more "tools" and technology at their disposal than past generations. Also you cannot underestimate the nastiness of some youngsters' peers, horrible as it sounds, who love to see other children getting into trouble or being hurt. It's all too easy for someone reading such a request to act in an untoward manner. Yes, the media is certainly responsible for whipping up unnecessary fears, but sometimes these are quite real and if anything did happen I wouldn't blame the papers for shouting the story from the rooftops. (Are we entering Madeleine Mcann territory here?)
I think IanH was right to suggest that advertising on an open forum for a complete stranger to escort your child is not a good idea, especially when you consider this child will be crossing international borders. I can think of several ways I could keep the child from boarding the plane and by the time I had got her out of the airport it would be too late - and Ryanair wouldn't even report the missing passengers.
I still come back to my original point that if you want safe childcare you will have to pay for it. Surely if the flight only costs £20 the OP could pay for a friend or neighbour to do the trip for 24 hours and a little stay in France, or pay an 18+ student friend known to them some pocket money. There are many ways which don't involve using a complete stranger who has responded to an ad on AI. If I were the parent/grandparent I think those couple of hours when the child was with a stranger, out of my control, would kill me.
The fact that AI does not wish to leave on the warning comments just goes to show how one sided their ideas are and how irresponsible that can be. Thank heaven for bwi!!!
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Post by ianh on Mar 1, 2011 15:13:39 GMT 1
I have had a response from AI. I did not, in my posts, call anyone naive or idiots - I simply suggested that they be careful and consider what they were doing, possibly investigating whether or not accompanied travel was available as an airline service or thinking about going to collect her themself.
They said:-
Dear Preston
The problem with any discussion on such a difficult subject as this is trying to keep it on topic, not let it get dragged in a completely different direction. In cases like that Forums Administration has to step in; calling people idiots, naive etc. isn’t helpful.
If you have issues with what the person is trying to do, why not e-mail them with constructive and helpful comments.
Regards
AngloINFO Bretagne
Of the responses I saw, not one called the poster an idiot or naive. I mentioned the words "possibly naive" in my email to AI admin. Surely pointing out the potential dangers of the post is completely "on topic"
Mrs. Moustoir - I totally agree with you I remember about 10 years ago being approached in the library in Manchester by a 3/4 year old lad who showed me the books he was taking out. I responded by saying "They look like nice books - do you like reading?". At that moment his mum came racing across, gave him a slap for talking to strangers, and told me to f***ing leave her kid alone. I still feel shocked by the incident, not just on a personal basis but because of what it says about how society is creating barriers between generations. And of course the evidence is that strangers are probably a safer bet than people known to the family. But I don't think it's being Daily Mail to suggest that advertising for an escort on an internet forum is not perhaps the best idea.
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Post by mrs moustoir on Mar 1, 2011 17:18:55 GMT 1
It does seem to me that people (and I'm generalising here ) do like something to get wound up about - hence my cheap Daily Mail remark. You've only to look at the reaction that poor paediatrician encountered in Portsmouth a few years back. There is danger everywhere and if you thought about it, you'd never let the kids out of your sight. But Ian is right, from what I've read those who abuse children are far more likely to be known to the family than to be total strangers - although how the internet grooming thing fits with that, I don't know! And yes, if they want proper child care with CRB checked adults - they should pay or pop across themselves on a Ryanair cheapo to bring the grand daughter over or give Judith the job @ €25 an hour plus expenses!
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hellfire
I'm settling in nicely
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Post by hellfire on Mar 1, 2011 17:56:00 GMT 1
I'm afraid I was the first person to respond to that post as it made me feel physically cross to think people are advertising such a thing on a site which can be accessed from all over the world and it was deleted for no apparent reason . OK so you find an escort for a child, but most times you have a wait between passport control and departure of anything from an hour to several if there are delays and some of these airports have lots of places a perv could take a child and assault, that, and the airline not really knowing about the escort and family arrangements is a recipe for disaster and as said, one child is one too many. What about the child's parents? What are thinking of too, letting granny advertise for an escort, why don't they bring the child? Sorry but, as a parent I think this is some lazy so and so who just wants others to run around for her, probably freely and then if anything untoward happend, she would scream blue murder. Anglo Info should not allow such postings in the first place - they should use extreme caution and vet such postings. Rant over
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