Um, do you realize that you are advocating retreating into a safe space bubble where ideas that don't reinforce your preconceptions are simply ignored rather than considered? I feel like that's becoming a significant factor in the downfall of civility and reason.

I would ask you...ARE you boring? If not, you must admit that the preconception you expect from others is in error, and I hope you might think it through to see your preconceptions about them may be erroneous as well.
I still talk to strangers all the time, because I already know what people in my bubble think....just hearing my own thoughts and assumptions repeated with no critical analysis...now THAT'S boring.

*doublepromote

Fucking finally. I am so tired of obnoxious wankers whinging about smart phones disconnecting us from each other.

Know what I did on public transport prior to having a smartphone? I read a book and listened to my Walkman (yes, I'm that old).

I didn't talk to strangers on a bus, because most people are fucking boring. And they undoubtedly think I'm boring too.

We were previously forced to talk to neighbours, colleagues, etc because they were the only people we came in contact with, but these days instead of communicating with people who share our physical space, we communicate with people who share our interests.

You start by introducing yourself, probably with the words "excuse me miss" first. if you think that the best way to meet new people is to straight up going for "daammmmmn", you have a lot of courtesy to learn.

Of course this all looks incredibly invasive to me. I'm from Finland, from Ostrobothnia. We do not talk to strangers and even less in this part of country. You can have 60 people in the same room with no one is talking to each other. It is considered rude, why would i talk to a stranger that i have never met and i'm never gonna meet again, i have nothing to say except empty small talk that is actually just a nervous tick, not actual communication... Just shut up, sit straight and mind your own business.

Agree completely. A child should be in no position or circumstance to 'talk to strangers' unsupervised until well after the age of reason or even until he or she can protect themselves through interaction with a trusted adult or group of others trusted. I mean c'mon, the worlds' always been dangerous for kids, right? Adults can be some twisted fuckers and so can the offspring of twisted adults. Know your environment.

Oh and mums' and dads', teach yer kids to speak Mandarin(preferably by age five). They'll be that much ahead of the game when they are older.

I'm not sure this belongs in the comedy channel. I mean, it's a mother telling her little girl not to talk to pedophile, rapey strangers.
Additionally, nice message but in most cases the abuser is someone the kids already know. "Don't talk to strangers" is not good enough.

Shouldn't talk to strangers. Terrible parents.

Already been done:

http://videosift.com/video/Skyrim-Army-of-Children-Viking-Commentary>> ^00Scud00:

I'll whack a whole bunch of the little runts and raise them back up as child zombies, bam! my own personal village of the damned.

I've made it a rule to never go to parties where I don't know at least a few people fairly well. Party small talk with strangers is the worst kind of small talk. The worst was a time I was talking to this drunk army dude who was spewing out the manly bullshit and I was pretending to be amazed by. I found out he used to live around where I did and I jokingly said something about living just down the road from the mini red-light district. Which was basically a collection of random shack like buildings that were 'smoke shops' and 'massage palors'. And he in his quiet drunk guy, yet still very loud, voice, confided, 'Just between you and me I like go there and get a hand-job or BJ when I'm on R&R.' His fiance was well within ear-shot and instantly staring daggers.

There aren't many times I've felt more awkward than that. I was just talking to some dude to pass the time so I wouldn't look like a boring pussy for leaving the 'cool' party early.

My parents taught me not to talk to strangers... I fear for the next generation growing up with Omegle and Chatroulette.

Right, that "Fuck off" wasn't directed at anyone at all, was it?

You're absolutely right, the only possible choice was to leave the kid with no idea what to do...just stand there panicked and cry. That's clearly the best possible choice when he gets lost, I don't know -what- I was thinking.

There's no way that knocking on a door, and asking someone to call the police (without going inside), would ever be achievable by a 5 year old. At least not one whose parents think as you do, that he's not capable of doing anything at all.

Bad things happen, dude. Best to teach your child what to -do- when that happens, instead of just teaching him not to do anything for fear that strangers might steal him away.

I don't give a flying shit whose fault this was...it would have been exactly the same situation had the bus driver had a heart attack and died while this kid was the last one on the bus. If nobody has taught him how to get help, he's fucked. But if you prefer to teach him to cower in fear rather than take positive action, I suppose that's your choice. Just glad it wasn't the choice -my- parents made.

>> ^Shepppard:
>> ^Stormsinger:
Sorry for having a different opinion, BoneRemake and Shepppard, but I really don't see how I pissed in your Wheaties. Leave the personal attacks at home, dudes.
Of course the driver screwed up, I thought that was so obvious I didn't need to even comment on it.
Shit happens, and any parent worth the name wants their children to have at least a clue. If the kid had known how to get help, i.e. knock on a door and ask someone to call the cops, he wouldn't have been so frantic. Five is plenty old enough to know how to ask for the police. That gives you all sorts of better results in a situation like this, doesn't it? First, the kid doesn't have to stand around crying for hours. Second, the cops will bring him home, or call mom to pick him up at the police station. Third, you have an official record of the incident to back up any legal action that might be taken. Fourth, you don't have the kid standing outside for hours in an area he doesn't know and isn't known, where he really -could- be at risk.
So in closing, piss off.

Nothing I said was a personal attack on you, I never said anything about you specifically, or yo momma.
However, that being said, I don't understand how you can think that a child who's only been on this planet for 5 years could have done any different.
The parents are not to blame, they DID train the kid to meet them at the bus stop. That's what you do when your kid is 5! What could they possibly have done to train the kid for this, you didn't answer my question.
What could they have trained the kid to do? There's two mindsets parents have:
A) Train the kid not to talk to strangers because they could be bad people, or
B) Go up to strangers houses and knock on the door, not knowing who they are but hoping for the best.
Now, the only person who ever has used logic B that I know of, is you. There used to be a "Block Parent" program that would let kids know, "This house is safe to approach" however, in my entire life, I've seen maybe 3 of those signs.
Answer my question, truthfully, what could a child, in every sense of the word, have done? How is this in any way the parents fault? How is this the fault of ANYONE but the bus driver?

>> ^Stormsinger:
Sorry for having a different opinion, BoneRemake and Shepppard, but I really don't see how I pissed in your Wheaties. Leave the personal attacks at home, dudes.
Of course the driver screwed up, I thought that was so obvious I didn't need to even comment on it.
Shit happens, and any parent worth the name wants their children to have at least a clue. If the kid had known how to get help, i.e. knock on a door and ask someone to call the cops, he wouldn't have been so frantic. Five is plenty old enough to know how to ask for the police. That gives you all sorts of better results in a situation like this, doesn't it? First, the kid doesn't have to stand around crying for hours. Second, the cops will bring him home, or call mom to pick him up at the police station. Third, you have an official record of the incident to back up any legal action that might be taken. Fourth, you don't have the kid standing outside for hours in an area he doesn't know and isn't known, where he really -could- be at risk.
So in closing, piss off.


Nothing I said was a personal attack on you, I never said anything about you specifically, or yo momma.
However, that being said, I don't understand how you can think that a child who's only been on this planet for 5 years could have done any different.

The parents are not to blame, they DID train the kid to meet them at the bus stop. That's what you do when your kid is 5! What could they possibly have done to train the kid for this, you didn't answer my question.

What could they have trained the kid to do? There's two mindsets parents have:
A) Train the kid not to talk to strangers because they could be bad people, or
B) Go up to strangers houses and knock on the door, not knowing who they are but hoping for the best.

Now, the only person who ever has used logic B that I know of, is you. There used to be a "Block Parent" program that would let kids know, "This house is safe to approach" however, in my entire life, I've seen maybe 3 of those signs.

Answer my question, truthfully, what could a child, in every sense of the word, have done? How is this in any way the parents fault? How is this the fault of ANYONE but the bus driver?

>> ^Stormsinger:
Seems to me that by five, a kid should know how to get help in an emergency. Way to prepare your kid to survive in the real world...


Fuck off. The kid is 5.

Without knowing what's going on, the world is a scary fucking place. He was forced off the bus not knowing where he was, with nobody to talk to. What was he supposed to do?

Your parents fill your head with "Don't talk to strangers, they could be bad people" when you're that age, not to mention you're 5 and your imagination can get the best of you, so you probably wont approach any houses.

And..since he's 5, he probably doesn't have anything like a cell phone.

what the hell do you want?

What could POSSIBLY have prepared a 5 year old for this?

It's not even like he's been going to the school for long, he's - 5 -, this is his either first or second year at the school depending on where he went to kindergarden, so he wouldn't have the route memorized.
Or, when was this? Seems to me that unless its a new/replacement bus driver, this may even have taken place at the beginning of the school year.

Ye olde Tea-bage, found in such places as Xbox live is also easy to learn.

"Ura fagg" - "I disagree with you heartily"
"Shitcock!" - "I think I should have won that, but you somehow bested me. Good show."
"haxxor bitch" - "I daresay, you won quite unfairly. Did you somehow circumvent the game? And are you per chance a female who would like to show me assorted pictures of yourself in various skimpy outfits?"
"U all fail!!" - "I'm a terrible player with massive insecurities about my own gaming."

and other assorted phrases are found in my new book

"gwiz665's guide to online gaming - how to talk to strangers"

Stranger: hi
You: Omegle!!!
Stranger: where are you from ?
You: California
You: you?
Stranger: istanbul
You: Oh, cool
Stranger: what are u doing here ?
You: talking to strangers
Stranger: really ?
Stranger: omg
Your conversational partner has disconnected.

Connecting to server...
You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!
A word of advice: "asl" is boring. Please find something more interesting to talk about!
Stranger: asl
You: Please find something more interesting to talk about.
Stranger: ok let's talk about you show me your hole
You: What do you feel were the sociopolitical ramifications of the French civil war in the United States?
Stranger: excited
You: Do you like apples?
Stranger: i prefer windows
You: You know, sometimes it feels like we're having two different conversations.
Stranger: excited?
You: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Stranger: ok
You: How many woodchucks could a woodchuck-chucker chuck if a woodchuck-chucker could chuck woodchucks?
Stranger: chuck the fuck up
Stranger: use your tongue to lick my boobs
Stranger: boriiiiiiiiiiiiiing
Your conversational partner has disconnected.