[Dewey-Darrow] Notice

[Trujillo, Mary A]

Dear Friends- 
 As a mother and grandmother, I can appreciate the importance of vigilance where are childrens' safety is concerned.  However, as I read the account, I am  having difficulty understanding the connection between the African American male in the old fashioned white car and his " grabbing the next small child he saw."  I am even more frightened by the encouragement for police to " scare the daylights out of him."   Again, I recognize that parents must teach their children to be alert and aware, and we as caring adults have to be aware and alert on their behalf.  For ourselves as well as for our children, we also have to  guard against  adopting or creating fears based on racist stereotypes.  The unfortunate statisitical reality of sexual abuse of children is that they are more likely to be abused by a known trusted family member (who probably looks like them) than by a stranger who grabs them off the street. Again, Im not suggesting that we abandon attentiveness, but let's look at what are real concerns are. The real issue is that we want to protect our children from harm at all levels.  Safety is a complex issue, one that deserves our best thinking. Lets not fall into the trap of  reaching conclusions or attributing bad motives based on race or physical appearance. 
That said, thank you for caring about our children.
Mary Trujillo



From: dewey-darrow-bounces at lists.dredel.com [dewey-darrow-bounces at lists.dredel.com] On Behalf Of Bearhair [bearhair at spamcop.net]
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 11:22 AM
To: west-crown-park-neighbors at googlegroups.com
Cc: ridge court group; Nichols Neighbors; asbury dodge; Florence-Crain Neighbors - Evanston,IL; Dewey-Darrow Neighbors
Subject: Re: [Dewey-Darrow] Notice

This is a great example of when one should phone the police immediately. He
might have gone on to the next block and grabbed the next small child he saw.

The police are everywhere, in squad cars, detective cars, underground, and on
bikes. They might have been able to catch the guy, and at least question him
and scare the daylights out of him.

Lora