Pissed off in DC

[*Eve*]

Ok, I know we've had several of these threads already about what ticks people off but I thought I would rant some more.
I was grocery shopping today and as I was going into the store, I saw two children one who looked no older than 3 and the other who looked to be about 7 or 8. The windows were only slightly cracked and it's almost ninety degrees over here. I was upset first of all because I hate it when people leave their small children in the car in the first place especially with all the psychos out there today who think nothing of snatching them. Second of all it was hot as hell and the windows were barely rolled down. Needless to say it plagued my mind a little bit while I was shopping. I think I may have been in the store for about a half an hour and when I came out those children were still in that car and they were sweating bullets. The little one was sleeping but the older child had her nose pressed up against the cracked window. I was pretty upset about that so I went back into the store and I notified the officer who was standing duty at the store. Well, he got the lisence # of that vehicle and had one of the cashiers announce over the loudspeaker "will the owner of this car.....) well anyway, the lady comes up and the officer escorts the woman outside and to make a long story short issued the woman a citation. The woman then turned to me and told me that I should mind my own f**king business and I told her that she should mind her kids. Children have dies in those conditions before. I don't know what is wrong with people who leave their children and dogs alone in hot vehicles. I'm especially sensitive about that because I know a person who had left their child in their car too long and the child dehyrated, thank goodness it was just that but it could have been worse.
My question is was I just being a busybody? In your opinion did I do the right thing or should I have minded my own business. I don't think anyone's opinion is going to change what I think because I would do it again if I could, but I would like to hear the feedback.

[Edited by *Eve* on 06-18-2000 at 03:06 PM]

 

[Rosebud]

Eve...you did right..in my state it is illegal to leave kids unattended in a car...you get a ticket and family services gives you a visit

 

[Weird Harold]

My question is was I just being a busybody? In your opinion did I do the right thing or should I have minded my own business. I don't think anyone's opinion is going to change what I think because I would do it again if I could, but I would like to hear the feedback.

I think the only thing I would have done differently, is to notify the policman before I did any shopping.

Of course here in the desert with temperatures in the triple digits, ten minutes is long enough to cause permanent harm to children or pets. Temperatures inside a parked car can reach 180 degrees in no time at all.

 

[CreamyLady]

You did absolutely the right thing. You are right; children have died in those conditions.

Not to mention leaving very small children alone in a car anyway. What was that horrible woman thinking?

Do not feel bad, and what she said is immaterial, because she obviously doesn't have any thinking apparatus. I'm with you, entirely, and a BIG hurrah for you.

 

[Magic Merlin]

You Did the Right Thing..

I with you Eve.... Absolutely, you did the right thing.

That woman feels like a fool because she was caught. That is one of the most irresponsible acts any person could commit. Bless you for notifying the police. There are nore than a few kids that die each year because of being left in the car when it is hot. And I hate to even think of the number of pets that die from the same conditions.

And also, her children could be kidnapped. What was she thinking? Nothing. So don't mind what she said. She obviously was an imbecile.....

MM

 

[LongHardRocker]

Eve, you were right in doing what you did! For someone to
leave their child(ren) in a car for a long period of time
whether it be hot or freezing is inhumane! Once, several
years back I was working as head of security at a large
club, when I noticed a man(and this was at a time when it
was bitterly cold) leave his young son in the car while he
went inside the club to party! Well, events became very
busy, and it was an hour and a half later..which soon turned
into two, and this man still hadn't come out to check on his
young son! So, this infuriated me to no end,and I got ahold
of a cop who was hanging nearby..who proceeded to call for
other officers, and went inside the club, located this
asshole and promptly arrested him! In an ironic twist of events, this "person" turned out to be a former landlord
who made my entire family move from the house we were renting 4 years previously so that he could take care of
his son!! Just goes to show that sometimes paybacks ARE a
bitch! Even unknowingly!! Another accurate portrail of this
"man", a term which I use very lightly in this case is the
man's nickname: "Buffalo Chip"! He certainly is a piece of
shit!! I respect you for what you did Eve! Animals nor
humans should ever be subjected to that kind of treatment,
and those that do things such as this deserve what they get!

 

[Xander]

I'm with you *Eve*

You did the right thing girl. I'm with you all on this one. It can really makes my somewhat dark temper go wild when I see a thing like that.

What is people thinking these days??? Grrrrrrr

 

[Hullo_nurse]

God Bless You, EVE!!

Without people like you the emergency rooms would be filled with childern and pets (ya know, at the animal hospital).

It is inhumane to leave any living thing in a parked car with the windows only slightly rolled down, summer or winter. The woman should not have just get a citation. She should have been arrested for child abuse.

The reason she reacted with such rudeness towards you is because she was too freaking lazy to take her children into the store, did something really really stupid and got caught!! She deserved all the humiliation and embarassment, and then some. Maybe she will think twice before doing it again.

 

[Sonora]

You did the right thing. I remember last year on the hotest, most humid weekend of the year, I went to see if there were any A/C's for sale. In the parking lot there was a car with a dog doing the same thing that you saw the little girl doing. Nose out the window trying to get cool air to breathe. There was no officer at the store, but I finally got the manager to come out to the parking lot. The car was gone. I had taken the license plate number and there was a vet clinic across the parking lot, but they didn't really think that anything could be done. I kept hoping that the poor little dog just bit the hell out of the owner when he got the chance.

 

[Bigdog]

Way to go!

You had the courage to do what a lot of people won't, and that is GET INVOLVED. It has become too easy to walk away from something you know in your heart is wrong. I applaud you for standing up for those kids. Children are as helpless as animals when it comes to stupid parents. It is illegal in California to leave kids unattended in a vehicle, my wife has called the Sherrif's department several times (usually summer) when she saw a child in a hot car and they responded damn quick every time. Going beyond the heat issue, wasn't it just a few months ago that some woman in Michigan stopped at a mini-mart for a sandwich and left her kid in the car, some guy jumped in and pushed the kid out the door, the kid got tangled in the seatbelt and was dragged to his death? That should have been a wake-up call for any parent with an IQ over 25.

You are to be commended for a job well done.

 

[Earthgoddess]

WOO HOO way to go eve-since I am in MD I am proud to say our cops are quick on this kind of situation, too-the woman was a psycho and should have lost her kids...I hope you feel good about reacting you probably helped those kids more than you know. *Clapping loudly*
I have actually heard of cops busting car windows to save kids in hot cars and then getting sued for vehicular damage-
the parents of those children should be locked into hot cars in the full sun-especially a Nova with pleather seats-and they should be black pleather.

 

[Dreamer1]

Eve, you absolutely did the right thing! That woman is a selfish, uncaring idiot who was apparently physically capable of bearing children but lacks the parenting skills to care for a pet rock! We have a name for people like her, "client!" I work in the court system and sadly I have removed dozens of children from abusive abusive caretakers. That part of the job is so emotionally taxing! I am glad my job has been refocused on working more closely with the delinquent population in our community. Give me delinquent youth with the potential for change any day over abusive parents who lack the will to change their destructive behavior and will continue the cycle of perpetual dysfunction for generations.

 

[April]

*Eve*, you did the right thing. You're a good woman, and more people should take a lesson from you. It's not always easy to involve youself in other people's situations, but sometimes you simply have to in order to save someone. Parents like that make me sick!

 

[Fallen Angel]

Eve you did great! I even think that you did mind your own business. You didn't get radical and storm in as soon as you saw the kids but waited to see if someone was coming right back out. I have had to leave the little ones in the car while I ran into a convience store but I park it where I can see them and never stay gone more than 5 minutes. (Ah life somewhere other than a big city). That is still against the law but 5 minutes to pay for the gas compared to 20 minutes if the kids go in makes it worth doing. (plus I miss the fight over candy gum and drinks) I don't mind leaving the little ones if the teenagers are with them and I never leave kids in a locked car. (If you don't feel comfortable leaving them in an unlocked car where you are then take them with you)

A closed car or even one with limited ventilation is a death trap on hot days. A car left running is one too! It can fill up with CO2 or the kids can put it in gear. If the weather is such that you wouldn't want to stay in the car for more than 5 minutes without it running then don't make anything or anyone else do it.

Bravo Eve! I think that you showed restraint, responsibility and common sense.

 

[Siren]

 

[Svedish_Chef]

Top effort EVE... that is just plain wrong. Its bad enough with dogs let alone humans.

Da chef