Hate to be the one to break it to you.
Apparently? 
If you say so … Big difference.
Different because the guy actually spent some time in jail. Nowadays they get a slap on the hand and sent home.
What are you basing that on?
Are you really that bored, dude, asking these kinds of questions? Because I know I am. Here’s a suggestion. Just for something to do, look the info up for yourself. Google it. LOL!!! 
Well, you all were talking about the dangers of being snatched and then you bolded the bit in the quote about it being unlikely to happen after which you related your pervert-in-a-white-van story, thus seeming to draw some kind of similarity between being snatched and, you know, a pervert in a white… whatever. Your situation is not relevant to a discussion about stranger abductions.
Like I said, I’m not overly concerned about kidnappers or even neighborhood perverts, I just want to go to Subway or my parents’ or whatever without having to take the time to search the whole county for him first.
I also doubt your statement that a grown man jerking off in front of little kids would get no more than a “slap on the wrist” and I’m not going to spend time Googling anything to prove you wrong. You want to make asinine claims like that, you can back it up.
No, I haven’t done anything yet. I just was wondering if my opinions/feelings about this kid are reasonable or if all the things that he does that bother me are typical 9 year old boy behavior. I guess some of it seems to be normal but he’s still annoying as shit. I have a hard time right now trusting my feelings though because I tend to kind of exaggerate things lately, e.g. getting disproportionately upset this morning when I broke an egg yolk while making breakfast, so I have to wonder if I’m just edgy about this kid because he’s louder/more demanding (sounds rude to me, but maybe he doesn’t realize it)/more clingy, whatever than I’m used to with my own kid or all his other friends.
I haven’t seen him in a couple days. It’s been quiet.
I’m guessing her fantasy world where 50,000 children a year are abducted by strangers. After all, the jails can’t have much room for flashers with all those kidnappers sitting in there. GOOGLE IT! LOL!
Watch it, people. If you get lippy, she will call you “honey” and then … well, then she’ll have showed you! Showed you proper!
IaMoDiNaRy, sweetie, darling, puddin’ pie…
Allow me to give you some advice.
The Dope is a strange board culture. If you claim that children are abducted in the U.S. every day, you’d better be prepared to back that up with a reputable source. Dopers are a literal group - I’d give you 300 kids a year as close enough to “every day” - but plenty of folks here would like to see a cite that says at lease one child a day is abducted by strangers to let you get away with “every day” - and almost no one is going to let you get by with exaggerating to a factor of 3+.
Also, we are a little picky semantics and the definitions of words. There is a difference between abduction and exposure. I’ll grant you that being a kid and having a man expose his genitals to you is a bad and scary thing - but no one WAS abducted in your story. I understand that having had that happen to you might make you much more aware of the risks involved in children being unsupervised.
We like consistency and logic in behavior. If you are really worried about stranger abduction, but let your kid ride a bike, we are going to be interested in that inconsistency. One of these things is statistically more risky than the other. If you aren’t consistent and logical, many of us can respect that - but we want you to admit that you have your own hang ups based on your childhood experience (I have mine, the brother of a friend of mine was decapitated on a snowmobile - that doesn’t happen very often, but my kids don’t spend a lot of time on snowmobiles. My kids also didn’t bathe alone until they were much older than other people’s kids - when they were babies my sister had a coworker whose three year old drown in a tub. These aren’t necessarily rational responses, but based on my own history, they make ME feel better).
Finally, if you make an assertion around here, be prepared to back it up or retract it. YOU made the assertion, no one else is going to “Google It.” At this point, it simply looks like you are talking out of your ass.
Understanding these things will help you fit in around here a lot better. Or, you can hang around in MPSIMP, Cafe Society and in IMHO not making factual assertions and participate in the “what is your favorite color” and “was Kirk or Picard a better Captain” threads.
I am not going to give a pass to 115 per year being close to “one per day.” If she wants to go with “one per week,” I will grant her that.
Nor would I. I’d give her 300 kids a year as close enough to once per day.
Could you at least be generous and grant her “two per week”? 
Two per week would be acceptable.
Well, this has certainly turned somewhat dull. Can we get some more random anecdotes involving penises going here? Or someone erupting into homicidal pregnancy-hormone-fueled rage, or something? (Er, not that anyone is likely to do that, Silver Fire.)
It’s surreal how so many of our “controversial” threads seem to erupt and turn into something completely different.
Heh. I could rant about Alex’s school list. Why in the fuck would a second grader need ONE HUNDRED FOUR PENCILS?! Also, what’s with 104? Why not just 100? Or 105?
I have anecdotes involving penises, too, but none that are terribly relevant to this thread.
I remember a long thread years ago about a guy having to buy construction paper for his kid’s school project. The problem was that his wife was a control freak and thought nothing of insulting him to his face if he slipped up, but on further discussion, it appeared that a lot of schools and teachers are control freaks too. If your kid is doing a class project, he has to bring in this. exact. kind. of construction paper, no. deviations. whatsoever. Or he’ll end up in a state school, I guess (no offense to those who attended state schools). So what inevitably happens is, some parents find the Holy Construction Paper and get two or three packs “just in case.” Others can’t find it all, and their kids have to bring Evil Wrong Construction Paper and the whole project is ruined. So what I wonder is, why can’t the teacher figure out what the materials will cost, per kid, have them bring in that amount, and buy the materials her freaking self? Since it was her idea to do the project and all. And not every parent relishes having to get back in their car after work and brave Target or Michael’s at 7pm.
(As for the pencils, perhaps they’re going to build a replica of Lincoln’s log cabin with them.)
Are you serious? Or are you exaggerating? Because I don’t think I’ve used 104 pencils in my life, let alone in a single school year when I was 9.
Okay, Dangerosa, so lets be “literal”. Let’s look up some definitions while we’re at it.
This is the description given of the “In My Humble Opinion” section of this board -
“What’s your favorite …?” For frank exchanges of views on less-than-cosmic topics. This is also the place for polling.
I’ve been giving My Humble Opinion … We aren’t on the “General Questions” Got a factual question for the Teeming Millions (and possibly Cecil) to consider? Post it here. Factual question is in bold on the heading, not done by me.
The statements I’ve made here and will make are “In My Humble Opinion”.
Humble - Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; not arrogant or prideful. Showing deferential or submissive respect.
Opinion - A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof.
I did back up what I said and I’m doing it again. The statistics I quoted were from a reputable source, In My Humble Opinion. I would think that The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children would be a reputable source for most people. The web site states they get their info from The US Department of Justice. Of course, we’re here to express our Humble Opinion.
58,200 children were the victims of non-family abductions.
(roughly 159 children per day)
Abduction - To carry off by force; kidnap.
115 children were the victims of “stereotypical” kidnapping.
( Every 3 days)
In My Humble Opinion - Has anyone been able to show me a cite where I’m wrong? No, they’ve been giving their opinion that I’m wrong but have yet to back it up.
As for the story of what happened to me as a child, the creep in the van was opening his van door as we ran away. In My Humble Opinion, this could have been to try to grab one of us or just to expose himself more. Who really knows what these guys intentions are?
In response to Silver Fire, this part of the thread started because I was trying to defend your statement that you wanted your 7 year old to let you know where he was at all times and someone else called you a controlling mommy. I stated several times that I thought you were doing the right thing. Our reasons for wanting to know where our children are may be different but the results are the same. So my Humble Opinion being called asinine by you is a bit surprising, I must say.
Now, with all of that said no one has asked me the question I really thought couldn’t be resisted and could have brought a little humor to the situation. I think everyone was too busy trying to shoot me down. Where’s your sense of humor, guys?
In my story the creepy guy asked us “You ever seen one this big?” I thought for sure someone was gonna ask
“Well, how big was it?”
What is a helicopter mom??? I’m new to this whole message board thing. And what is BFD I think it was?