It was dinnertime on October 30, 2024, when police handcuffed Brittany Patterson in front of three of her four children and drove her to the station in
  • theluddite@lemmy.mlEnglish
    63·
    2 days ago

    A few days later, DFCS presented Patterson with a “safety plan” for her to sign. It would require her to delegate a “safety person” to be a “knowing participant and guardian” and watch over the children whenever she leaves home. The plan would also require Patterson to download an app onto her son’s phone allowing for his location to be monitored. (The day when it will be illegal not to track one’s kids is rapidly approaching.)

    Of course there’s a grift train. I’d be very curious to know more about that company, its owners, and its financials.

    Also tagging @[email protected] (can someone tell me how to do that right?). Seems like something that might interest you, re: our recent conversation.

  • LANIK2000@lemmy.world
    452·
    2 days ago

    Imagine getting jailed unless you ground your kids 24/7. Pretty sure that used to be a punishment for kids, not a requirement.

    I know this is probably not possible if I still wish to use English online, but does anybody know how to filter out news specifically form America? It’s becoming less and less relevant to my life as America is becoming more and more like Russia. It’s like yea, I know, the people are literal fascists, any additional details are just depressing.

    • Squizzy@lemmy.world
      61·
      1 day ago

      I had filtered loads of buzz words before I left reddit. Now going on without being signed in is nausea inducing. Block Trump & Elon for sure.

      I always felt reddit needed a grouping mechanism. I never in my life want to see anything related to baseball on my feed but I would have to block every one of their teams to make it work. Same goes for anime or manga or hentai or whatever all those drawings are.

  • fne8w2ah@lemmy.worldEnglish
    25·
    2 days ago

    Yeah like as if God forbids any kids run around without being continuously tracked by Life360.

  • thesohoriots@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    2 days ago

    Volunteered at a hospital in 10th grade for community service. Walked home 2.5 miles each time, partially along an expressway. I wasn’t allowed to have a cell phone because of the evils of screens (the Nokias had just switched to color, god forbid). It would’ve been weird not to walk home and wait hours until a parent was free when I lived that close. Shoutout to the eternally on-duty 7-11 employee Ray who sold me Gatorades.

  • RandomStickman@fedia.io
    1571·
    2 days ago

    “You’re guilty of leaving your child alone, therefore we’re taking you away from your child.”

  • adp1314@lemmy.world
    991·
    2 days ago

    I started walking to school when I was eight. My parents made sure I knew the way and that was that. And on our bikes we went wayyy farther than a mile unsupervised

    • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
      27·
      2 days ago

      A lot of us walked/biked to our grade school as well. I can’t remember which grade I started walking, but I was definitely doing it in 4. I’d wager even grade 3 but can’t be 100% sure.

    • Hasherm0n@lemmy.world
      23·
      2 days ago

      On the weekends, it was routine for me to hop on my bike once my chores were done and just take off. The rule was just had to be home by dinner time, or call from whichever friends house I was at if I couldn’t make it back in time. No cell phones.

    • absGeekNZ@lemmy.nzEnglish
      5·
      1 day ago

      My oldest (8) bikes to school nearly every day.

      His younger brother is allowed to walk to school next year when he is 6.

      It is fairly normal here for kids, that are above 6/7, to walk to and from school if it isn’t too far.

    • ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net
      5·
      1 day ago

      Something I’m noticing is the people who scream the loudest about the “what ifs” like rape and murder are often really fucking crazy themselves.

  • toofpic@lemmy.world
    271·
    2 days ago

    My kids of 7 and 10 ride to school through the city (it’s about a mile away, but my daughter went to another school 3 miles away before.
    When we got to this new school, I rode with them for a month using different routes and shouting “look left”, “stop here”, as they weren’t looking. Once they were able to lead me to school and back without complaints from mybside for a few times, I let them do it themselves. We just take turns kicking them out in the morning to ensure they’re on time. It works, and they will grow into independent people.
    I was cycling wherever the fuck I wanted when I was a kid. I’m fine.
    For the context, we’re in Denmark, and I’m originally from Russia

    • kemsat@lemmy.world
      10·
      2 days ago

      The app they have to agree to use is “donating” to the police department… maybe, I dunno, but I wouldn’t be surprised if…

    • adarza@lemmy.caEnglish
      26·
      2 days ago

      ‘be home for supper’ and/or ‘call if you’re gonna be late’.

      those were mom’s rules back then. she only got worried and upset if i was late and did not call.

      • corsicanguppy@lemmy.caEnglish
        4·
        2 days ago

        Locking the door and forcing a kid to ring the doorbell and beg to be let in after dark was just a thing back then. I hope the lack of any consequences and independence doesn’t hurt American kids’ development when, say, Romanian kids are still afforded freedom.

  • PagingDoctorLove@lemmy.world
    18·
    1 day ago

    I’m not saying this didn’t happen, but I’m skeptical that it happened how it’s being reported. It seems the only details are coming from the mother and her attorney, which is a red flag to me. It also sounds a lot like the self reported “discrimination” that some fundamentalist Christian influencer families have claimed, when they were indeed neglecting/abusing their children. In particular the Lott family (AmericanFamilyRoadTrip on socials) who live in a bus with their 8 children, don’t get them medical attention unless forced, and recently got a “parents rights” attorney who sounded a lot like the attorney in this article.

    I also find it odd that the sheriff of a town of less than 400 people would cause waves like this over an unfounded claim from a stranger. I’m curious to know what all this safety plan entails, because it could be a very reasonable plan and it’s likely that DCFS just has to meet certain criteria before they can close the case.

    Again, not saying it didn’t happen, but the story seems like a good candidate for “missing reasons.”

      • PagingDoctorLove@lemmy.world
        1·
        23 hours ago

        There’s another fundamentalist influencer family, a conservative wannabe Eminem and his disturbingly meek wife. They also have a gaggle of children and have been investigated by DCFS. Oh and then there’s the family that Shaq buys stuff for all the time, and the one whose oldest son is in prison for possession of CSAM, and the family whose grandparents were literal Nazis.

        These people all know each other, have all kinds of cronies, and spread all kinds of misinformation. I wouldn’t put it past any of them to make a fake “news” website to back up their own claims, and name it something dumb like reason.com 😂

        • frostysauce@lemmy.world
          2·
          21 hours ago

          As another commenter pointed out Reason magazine has been around for decades. It’s a libertarian publication so I don’t trust them to not push views a 14-year old would think is deep but any well-adjusted adult could see right through, but it isn’t like they are some fly-by-night website.

          • PagingDoctorLove@lemmy.world
            2·
            20 hours ago

            Thank you for sharing, but now I’m even more suspicious. Libertarians aren’t exactly known for their fact checking abilities, and I can’t find this news story on websites that seem any more reputable.

        • VerdantSporeSeasoning@lemmy.ca
          3·
          23 hours ago

          Reason.com is a publication that’s been around for years, decidedly libertarian lean. No idea what that means for it in current political context. I used to see people from Reason on Bill Maher’s show as non-Republican conservative-ish voices.

          • PagingDoctorLove@lemmy.world
            2·
            20 hours ago

            Hm, interesting, thanks for sharing. Libertarians and fundamentalist influencers have quite a bit of overlap in the ideologies, funny enough. I don’t know how to feel about the Bill Maher tidbit though… I’m not his biggest fan, lol.

  • Leeks@lemmy.world
    133·
    2 days ago

    Based on the safety plan including “installing a location tracking app on the child’s phone”, the kid has a phone and could easily call for help or be called if there was a concern.

    Children used to ride bikes much farther then a mile without even a quarter in their pocket to pay for a phone call.

  • Sanctus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    2 days ago

    I rode my bike all around town when I was 10. No fone. Just friends when I got to the spot.