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squigster037 t1_j9og321 wrote

Reply to comment by TechnicalVault in 8-year-old boy missing from Washington state for 8 months is found in Missouri by FenrirIII

125 kids/yr abducted in the 'stranger danger' scenario in the USA. 80% are rescued.

Statistically, stranger danger is a myth.

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swheels125 t1_j9ohwkv wrote

25 kids per year not being rescued doesn’t make it sound like a myth at all

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greenearrow t1_j9op1cg wrote

This is one of those things where the odds are infinitesimal, but the result of being unlucky are absolutely catastrophic. It happens to very few people. When it happens, your life is over. You will spend the rest of your life looking for and longing for your child to come home. And of course it isn’t just your life that became awful, and the things you may imagine are happening to your child could be exaggerated or wishful thinking, and how will you know?

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trelium06 t1_j9oovmz wrote

Out of millions upon millions of kids?

I bet more kids die from choking than are kidnapped by strangers each year, but I’m too lazy to look it up

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Eternal_210C8A t1_j9orxcv wrote

Assuming the above stat (125 kids kidnapped by strangers/year) is correct, then kids are more likely to be murdered by their parents than kidnapped by strangers.

Edit: According to this article, about ~350 people under 21 are kidnapped by strangers every year.

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Goddess_Peorth t1_j9skywl wrote

It's weird to use "under 21," because that mixes in violence against young-adult women, where the abduction is either domestic violence or human trafficking (forced sex work)

Seems like different types of crimes/risks than "stranger danger" child abductions.

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ItsCalledDayTwa t1_j9or4ow wrote

That's like winning a million dollars in the lottery.

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swheels125 t1_j9ovd5c wrote

Just because there are statistically more likely scenarios doesn’t make something a myth. It’s not a myth to win the lottery despite very few actually winning compared to the amount of people that play.

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ItsCalledDayTwa t1_j9owwt0 wrote

I think you're taking it too literally.

Stranger danger was a thing that was drilled into the heads of kids in the 80s and 90s about vans pulling up and nabbing children, but that entire thing was massively out of proportion to reality and probably did more damage to society than it helped. It's closer to mythology than it is an actual danger faced by kids.

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squigster037 t1_j9piafi wrote

Yep. This is my point.
Strangers aren't your enemy, are not dangerous. There's a strong likelihood that any stranger you asked for help would not harm you, and is, likely to help you.

The immediate recoil and fear of someone you don't know has allowed wedges to be driven into our society, and I feel it's broken our culture up.

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pzerr t1_j9rci6n wrote

In fact it is advisable for a child to approach any adult, male or female, if they feel threatened or are in need of help.

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