But let that same woman leave her kids in the car while she goes to the grocery store or Wal-Mart, and what happens? Nothing, that’s what! No headlines, probably no cops, nothing!
And one of the kids was 13, which in my book is old enough to be responsible for the younger ones – at least responsible enough to make sure they don’t suffer in the heat! It’s not like she left helpless babies strapped into carseats!
Why is it that even in a pro-gambling state like this one, somehow it’s news if a parent misbehaves when they go to gamble but not any other time? Why is it only headlines if she’s committing the sin of gambling, not committing the sin of buying food or clothing?
I’m not sure who to direct the obligatory cursing towards, the woman for once again feeding into this hypocritical stereotype or the idiots on the news desk who thought this was newsworthy, so I’ll leave it to you to fill it in wherever you think is most appropriate. Plus I haven’t had enough coffee this morning to feel creative, just enough to feel snarky about this non-story.
Having worked in a police department, I feel I can pretty safely say that kids in danger of any kind - being left in the car, being in the car without safety belts, what have you - certainly attracts the attention of citizens and, when they hear about it, is taken very seriously by law enforcement.
The news media, on the other hand, are whores. What else is new?
Well, why is it that EVERY SINGLE TIME I go to the nearby Wal-Mart, there are kids sitting in cars waiting for adults – and yet there’s never a cop in sight? And, as far as I can tell, no citizen attention, either, since it seems to be a totally normal occurrence?
I’m not saying the adults are right leaving the kids. I’m just saying that there seem to be certain places where they attract a lot more attention than others. And I can’t help but wonder just what the motivation is for that.
Mama Tiger, was there any indication of how long the children had been sitting inside the car? Shopping and gambling differ in one key area (although some might dispute this). Gambling is widely recognized as addictive behavior, as such, its devotees can spend extended periods of time engaged in such pursuits. A central issue here is that the children could not enter the establishment their mother was patronizing. This is a crucial difference between Wal-Morons and this case.
As a child whose inattentive father would frequently leave me in the family car for an hour without any hesitation, I do have some concerns in this case. If those kids were in that car for a few hours, how were they supposed to relieve themselves? They couldn’t enter the gambling parlor. Was the thirteen year old diapered as well? This sounds like a minor point, but it is one I feel to be worth examining.
I have a distinct suspicion that casino security witnessed this car full of children sitting for a few hours before taking action. A shopping run at Stall-Mart usually doesn’t take that long. Without proof of this it really doesn’t merit going on at length at this point but it remains a concern of mine. Again, given the addictive nature of gambling, this is somewhat similar to a mother leaving her kids in the car while she goes in to smoke crack at some flop house. Sure, the neighborhood’s a lot nicer, but there remains an element of misplaced priorities. If the thirteen year old was a competent babysitter, why weren’t the kids simply left at home where appropriate facilities were available for them? If the family was homeless, then why is the mother expending vital finances entertaining herself why the kids stew out in the car?
All of this smacks of more substantial issues. Again, without further details, I’ll need to reserve judgement in this case.
I’ve gone into Wal-Mart for a half hour (or more, depending on the length of the lines) and seen the same kids sitting in the same car when I come out, so it appears that length of time is not a big concern there, either.
Having said that, you raise some valid points, Zenster. And I’m not disagreeing with you, and clearly the story didn’t give a lot of the details. But I guess I find it interesting that it only seems to be news when it’s at a video poker parlor and not Wal-Mart, when it’s the same behavior in both places.
Well, just out of interest, did you put your money where your mouth is and call the cops when this happened? The news media will only pick up a story like this when they hear something on the police radio frequency; if no-one calls the cops, how are the media to know about? Do you expect the media to have people patrolling Wal-Mart parking lots?
The Obscure Store does a bit every spring where Mr. Jim starts counting the headlines about kids left in cars. Happens at all kinds of places, and is widely reported.