Strangers Are Just People Who Haven't Killed You... Yet
Child molestation is indeed a serious issue. So why are attempts to educate the public about it so frequently ludicrous?
Case in point:
Yes, I know exactly what I want to do...
1) But what is the ad advising us to do? If it's kill the molesters, (and it's pretty easy to read that message into this) I'd have no issues, except that the last time I checked (yesterday) that was still against the law.
2) 2009. That's the year this was made. Not 1982. I understand you're confused. I was too.
3) Starship Troupers was a hit in 1997. That was 12, count 'em, 12 years ago. At least when they made those awful PSAs in the 80s they had current stars.
But if you think that ad is absurd, you have to take this quiz, which, on the surface seems reasonable.
"Stranger Danger Quiz - Can your kids recognize strangers? Using our Stranger Danger Quiz, you can test your kids to see if they know how to recognize strangers. Will they just choose people who look mean or strange..."OK, so I tried it on the "Hard" level, because I thought I was smart like that by 35.
But apparently not.
Because when it came to this pic, I was baffled:

Uh, sort of not the point....
But, being the pedantic person I am, I chose "Yes".

Hold up. Someone is holding a gun and I'm supposed to avoid them not because they appear dangerous but because I don't know them?
Bus drivers are supposed to pick up strangers, but the other night one told me that he saw a guy waiting at the stop holding a hatchet and thought "Hell No!" and drove by. I said that was some solid thinking, but I guess he was being discriminatory. Next time I see him I'll have to set him straight.
I was having so much fun with this surreal test that I continued on. And came to the following question.

I thought: "this has got to be some kind of trick question, because unless I'm in 'Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego' I'm not really going to encounter a convict carrying an identifying detail like this...
I mean, unless I'm already in jail in which case I don't think it will matter to the officer booking either of us that I'd want to avoid him because "He's a stranger".
Nonetheless, I dutifully responded "Yes" and was commended for my choice:

Because apparently the issue is not that he's getting booked for a crime, it's that I don't just don't know him.
Take away message: If you know the murder, it's all cool. But if you see a cop, run. You don't know that dude.
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Note: I found this PSA though this post re the Daily Loaf.
































