Whatever happened to children first?

[Malacandra]

@WhyNot

Reported with a request for fora change to Cafe Society.

Using the plural because Cafe Society is more than one forum over, I assume. :dubious:

[twickster]

Moved MPSIMS to Cafe Society.

[Son_of_a_Rich]

@scootergirl

GASP! You evil evil dopers, you! :eek:.

This thread reminds of something I witnessed as a kid. I was walking down the street with my dad and step mother. A dog came barking and charging out of a yard running straight towards the three of us. My dad in a panic grabs his wife by the shoulders and positions her in front of him using her as a shield from the vicious mutt.
I made a mental note that day: In case of an emergency - don’t count on dad. He may be a coward.
My god was she pissed off at him…for days, if I remember correctly.

In retrospect, was the dog obviously not a real threat and your dad was just playing around? Otherwise :eek:

[Lynn_Bodoni]

@epbrown01

There’s nothing more touching than seeing a rescuer hand off an endangered child to a grateful parent, but I’m always left wondering “Er, why are you safely outside the burning building/car/danger zone while your kid was left behind to fend for him/herself?” Jumping around on Netflix this weekend I saw this about 6 times.

Then there’s the classic “Let me back in there! My kid’s are still inside!” after carefully ensuring there are enough unoccupied people to stop you actually having to do it. After all, the first responders had to respond - you’ve been outside alone for who knows how long before they got there, not noticing your kid isn’t with you.

I’d hate to be a kid in the Marvel or DC Universes. “Hey, Mom! Do you smell smoke? …Mom?”

Now that we’ve established that the OP is talking about fictional situations, the answer is…because having a rescuer makes for more dramatic tension, and makes for a better story. Sometimes a story demands that a favorite character be put into danger, or even get killed off. In a superhero universe, then innocents MUST be put into danger, there must be Evil Villains with Plans of World Domination (or, alternately, Plans to Exterminate the Human Race), precisely so that the hero can come in and save the day, with a shining smile and modest disclaimer. Without the tension, there is no story.

[epbrown01]

@Lynn_Bodoni

Now that we’ve established that the OP is talking about fictional situations, the answer is…because having a rescuer makes for more dramatic tension, and makes for a better story. Sometimes a story demands that a favorite character be put into danger, or even get killed off. In a superhero universe, then innocents MUST be put into danger, there must be Evil Villains with Plans of World Domination (or, alternately, Plans to Exterminate the Human Race), precisely so that the hero can come in and save the day, with a shining smile and modest disclaimer. Without the tension, there is no story.

True, but my point was so many comic books (and the cartoons and movies based on them) create this tension at the expense of the parents looking callous, cowardly or incompetent. It struck me as being an unidentified trope.

Probably a peeve of mine. One of my biggest issues with *The Walking Dead * and other dystopian shows is the casual parental neglect of the kids. They create a world of constant danger, then write people parenting like they live in Mayberry. In a world swimming in zombies or marauding bands or whatever, people should not constantly be wondering aloud “Hey, where’s Carl?” or whoever. :rolleyes:

[Lynn_Bodoni]

Many comic books suffer from bad writing. Some comics have wonderful writing, don’t get me wrong. But with many comics, the writers have very short deadlines and they are more concerned about meeting deadlines than using a trope. Heck, for that matter, a lot of print writers will use the same damned themes over and over in their stories.

[WhyNot]

@Lynn_Bodoni

Now that we’ve established that the OP is talking about fictional situations, the answer is…because having a rescuer makes for more dramatic tension, and makes for a better story. Sometimes a story demands that a favorite character be put into danger, or even get killed off. In a superhero universe, then innocents MUST be put into danger, there must be Evil Villains with Plans of World Domination (or, alternately, Plans to Exterminate the Human Race), precisely so that the hero can come in and save the day, with a shining smile and modest disclaimer. Without the tension, there is no story.

“Dawn’s in trouble…must be Tuesday.” -Buffy

[kaylasdad99]

@epbrown01

Yeah, but there were forcibly removed by the firefighters. The truck didn’t pull up to find them outside at the curb like…

“Thanks goodness you guys are here! My kids are still inside, they’re sleeping in the two rear bedrooms! I didn’t have time to get them before the fire spread!”

“Thanks, ma’am, we’ll take it from here! So, you were still awake yourself? Because you’re fully dressed…”

“I couldn’t run out in my nightgown!”

“…and the bag was already packed?”

“Excuse me, my Vera Wang is not insured, I couldn’t leave it!”

“Where’d you get the Starbucks at this hour?”

“Oh, the one at North Avenue is open 24 hours, so I ran over while I waited for you guys…”

“The two rear bedrooms?”

“Yes, please, you have to save my babies!!”

I mean, c’mon, the self-sacrificing parent is a standard of fiction. Let’s face it, James and Lilly Potter were actually kind of jerks, as we learned in the later books. Their sole redeeming quality was they died protecting Harry. Imagine the series if James died and Lilly disappeared that night, turning up teaching at Beaubattons in Goblet of Fire. “Well, when Voldemort burst in and killed your father, I ran to get help. I mean, world’s most powerful wizard, I knew I couldn’t take him. As I was going down the drive, I saw this flash of green light in the nursery window and figured you were dead too, so I scarpered. Fled the country and took a job teaching abroad. I was really broken up about it, though. Glad it worked out for you. Him? Well, I guess that’s your step-dad, Jean-Pierre. Yes, he’s a bit younger - we met when he was my personal trainer… Jean-Pierre! Come meet my son Garry!”

You, I like.

You can stay.

[Death_of_Rats]

@scootergirl

GASP! You evil evil dopers, you! :eek:.

This thread reminds of something I witnessed as a kid. I was walking down the street with my dad and step mother. A dog came barking and charging out of a yard running straight towards the three of us. My dad in a panic grabs his wife by the shoulders and positions her in front of him using her as a shield from the vicious mutt.
I made a mental note that day: In case of an emergency - don’t count on dad. He may be a coward.
My god was she pissed off at him…for days, if I remember correctly.

Too be fair, she was your step-mom. He had already learned that she was fungible.

[Red_Barchetta]

@scootergirl

This thread reminds of something I witnessed as a kid. I was walking down the street with my dad and step mother. A dog came barking and charging out of a yard running straight towards the three of us. My dad in a panic grabs his wife by the shoulders and positions her in front of him using her as a shield from the vicious mutt.

There was actually an episode of Fraiser about this…and the person took it about the same way

[Washoe]

@scootergirl

I made a mental note that day: In case of an emergency - don’t count on dad. He may be a coward.

Reminds me of the time I flat-out refused to crawl under the house and take on 20 pounds of snarling mommy raccoon that had squatted down there with her two cute-as-a-button babies. I called animal control instead. Mrs. Washoe didn’t let me hear the end of it for days.

[Peanuthead]

Well maybe she just went out to get a cold pop. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

[scootergirl]

@scootergirl

This thread reminds of something I witnessed as a kid. I was walking down the street with my dad and step mother. A dog came barking and charging out of a yard running straight towards the three of us. My dad in a panic grabs his wife by the shoulders and positions her in front of him using her as a shield from the vicious mutt.
I made a mental note that day: In case of an emergency - don’t count on dad. He may be a coward.
My god was she pissed off at him…for days, if I remember correctly.

@Son_of_a_Rich

In retrospect, was the dog obviously not a real threat and your dad was just playing around? Otherwise :eek:

Nope. He wasn’t playing around. I was 11 years old and could tell from the fear in my dad’s face that it was a spontaneous non-thinking reaction. I’m sure he regretted it immediately. She was pretty upset. This was in Bogotá, Colombia. There were many hungry stray dogs running around. This dog may have belonged to someone, or not.