Has evil triumphed over good?

[Delta4Embassy]

One of the kids here asked me Friday if I'd ever made sugar cookies. I hadn't but told her I'd give it a shot Saturday, how hard can it be I figured. So making the usual chocolate chip ones Saturday I started scooping out the chocolate chip laden batter leaving the plain batter available for some 'sugar' cookies. Shaping the plain batter I rolled it around in the bag of white sugar then baked. When they came out, I sprinkled additional sugar onto it hoping as they cooled it'd hold the loose sugar. It did more or less. Plated up the half dozen for the kid.

The girl evidently stepped on something as I was sitting outside enjoying the day and I heard a yelp or scream but hearing that from the kids often it didn't seem unusual or something requiring me to go see what's up. A few minutes later she hobbled by and showed me her bloody foot. Neighbor's kid she was playing with had his Mom clean and take care of her foot when I figured now would be a perfect time to bring her her sugar cookies. So I walked over there and handed her the foil covered plate.

Her grandma came down to pick her up the neighbor's wife calling her informing her about the accident. They're only a couple doors down at this point so I can kinda hear their conversation. And I heard, "sugar cookies..." So I glanced over and the neighbor's husband who works on the maintenance team is telling her about how I bring them various snacks and seemed especially fond of the friend sliced potatos I'd made a few times and pointed out how I haven't for a while (they're excellent if you eat them hot, but since the maintenance team comes and goes I worried they maybe weren't getting to have them until they'd cooled, and they don't reheat very well getting all soggy and kinda funky so I hadn't made them in a while.) But I promised him I'd make some more and in fact went inside and put potatos on my shopping list.

I gathered from the conversation the grandma was suspicious of my giving her granddaughter a plate of special made cookies. I certainly don't blame her, I mean this is the world. I know what it looks like but I find myself musing this morning, that if no one's willing to demonstrate kindness for fear of what people think of their motives than evil has already won. May be lots of good left in the world, but if good people are afraid to show it then it's effectively lost.

Is fear of being suspected so rampant now that anyone kind to their own neighbors, or to children is automatically suspected of evil motives? Has 'grooming' become such a thing that people who are in fact kindhearted are unwilling to demonstrate that for fear of being suspected?

I never signed a surrender treaty to evil. Gandhi said, "be the change you want to see in the world." I want the world if just my immediate vicinity-world to be more "Leave it to Beaver," "Happy Days," and "Waltons" than "Jersey Shore" and "Real World." In my world, neighbors still bake pies and cool them on window sills, and bring baked treats to their neighbors.

 

[Auld Phart]

I remember the days when we didn't have to take Trick or Treat candy to the hospital to be x-rayed, playing more than 2 blocks from home and not being picked up by the cops because we had been 'abandoned' by our parents, playing in the back yard all afternoon without supervision.

Those days are long gone.

I guess, in many ways, evil has won.

Very unfortunate.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

The media have raised the overall level of paranoia to an unprecedented level, all in the name of political correctness, ratings and the furtherance of certain political agendas.

 

[Bonzi]

This reminded me of one time hubby and I were in Atlantic City NJ. A kid looked like he was lost, and, I went to go talk to him and hubby said, take someone else with you (another stranger) - and I was like, why? You're here. and he said, because if the parents show up, they may think we're trying to "abduct him"....

It's sad, really.

 

[Votto]

One of the kids here asked me Friday if I'd ever made sugar cookies. I hadn't but told her I'd give it a shot Saturday, how hard can it be I figured. So making the usual chocolate chip ones Saturday I started scooping out the chocolate chip laden batter leaving the plain batter available for some 'sugar' cookies. Shaping the plain batter I rolled it around in the bag of white sugar then baked. When they came out, I sprinkled additional sugar onto it hoping as they cooled it'd hold the loose sugar. It did more or less. Plated up the half dozen for the kid.

The girl evidently stepped on something as I was sitting outside enjoying the day and I heard a yelp or scream but hearing that from the kids often it didn't seem unusual or something requiring me to go see what's up. A few minutes later she hobbled by and showed me her bloody foot. Neighbor's kid she was playing with had his Mom clean and take care of her foot when I figured now would be a perfect time to bring her her sugar cookies. So I walked over there and handed her the foil covered plate.

Her grandma came down to pick her up the neighbor's wife calling her informing her about the accident. They're only a couple doors down at this point so I can kinda hear their conversation. And I heard, "sugar cookies..." So I glanced over and the neighbor's husband who works on the maintenance team is telling her about how I bring them various snacks and seemed especially fond of the friend sliced potatos I'd made a few times and pointed out how I haven't for a while (they're excellent if you eat them hot, but since the maintenance team comes and goes I worried they maybe weren't getting to have them until they'd cooled, and they don't reheat very well getting all soggy and kinda funky so I hadn't made them in a while.) But I promised him I'd make some more and in fact went inside and put potatos on my shopping list.

I gathered from the conversation the grandma was suspicious of my giving her granddaughter a plate of special made cookies. I certainly don't blame her, I mean this is the world. I know what it looks like but I find myself musing this morning, that if no one's willing to demonstrate kindness for fear of what people think of their motives than evil has already won. May be lots of good left in the world, but if good people are afraid to show it then it's effectively lost.

Is fear of being suspected so rampant now that anyone kind to their own neighbors, or to children is automatically suspected of evil motives? Has 'grooming' become such a thing that people who are in fact kindhearted are unwilling to demonstrate that for fear of being suspected?

I never signed a surrender treaty to evil. Gandhi said, "be the change you want to see in the world." I want the world if just my immediate vicinity-world to be more "Leave it to Beaver," "Happy Days," and "Waltons" than "Jersey Shore" and "Real World." In my world, neighbors still bake pies and cool them on window sills, and bring baked treats to their neighbors.

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.

No, not much has changed. All that can be certain is the only people you can trust giving gifts is the government. Their motives alone are pure and righteous.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

I remember the days when we didn't have to take Trick or Treat candy to the hospital to be x-rayed, playing more than 2 blocks from home and not being picked up by the cops because we had been 'abandoned' by our parents, playing in the back yard all afternoon without supervision.

Those days are long gone.

I guess, in many ways, evil has won.

Very unfortunate.

The Halloween candy thing is an urban legend.

"Joel Best, a professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Delaware, has been tracking since 1985 the myth of "Halloween Sadism": reports that people poison Halloween candy or put pins or razor blades in items handed out. It has, essentially, no basis — he has found no substantiated case — but persists, nonetheless."
Stranger Danger to children vastly overstated - Boing Boing

It's actually happened once that I'm aware of. But it was a family member who slipped something into their kids' candy.

Of child murderers, only about 3% are strangers. Rest are family or friend of the family the kids knew and therefore trusted. 'Stranger Danger' is a myth. And as commentators have stated well, it only raises a generation of kids fearful and mistrustful who then become adults who exhibit the results of fear as with being violent, gun owners, etc.

Some paranoia is healthy, too much though and you develop major emotional and psychiatric problems stemming from it. South Park had a great episode about it, "Child abduction isn't funny" where the parents build the wall around town and the kids have those warning siren helmets.

 

[AVG-JOE]

This reminded me of one time hubby and I were in Atlantic City NJ. A kid looked like he was lost, and, I went to go talk to him and hubby said, take someone else with you (another stranger) - and I was like, why? You're here. and he said, because if the parents show up, they may think we're trying to "abduct him"....

It's sad, really.

As the post above suggests, acting kindly is not impossible in today's world.... you just have to be smarter than the situation.

 

[Bonzi]

Living out here in the country, it's hard to be a male teacher in an elementary school.

People suspect the worst - automatically - that's how bad it is....

 

[Delta4Embassy]

As the post above suggests, acting kindly is not impossible in today's world.... you just have to be smarter than the situation.

Think we should all just do it If kind, generous, compassionate, do those things. When we feel the desire to do good and right but don't, we've lost.

 

[Auld Phart]

I remember the days when we didn't have to take Trick or Treat candy to the hospital to be x-rayed, playing more than 2 blocks from home and not being picked up by the cops because we had been 'abandoned' by our parents, playing in the back yard all afternoon without supervision.

Those days are long gone.

I guess, in many ways, evil has won.

Very unfortunate.

The Halloween candy thing is an urban legend.

"Joel Best, a professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Delaware, has been tracking since 1985 the myth of "Halloween Sadism": reports that people poison Halloween candy or put pins or razor blades in items handed out. It has, essentially, no basis — he has found no substantiated case — but persists, nonetheless."
Stranger Danger to children vastly overstated - Boing Boing

It's actually happened once that I'm aware of. But it was a family member who slipped something into their kids' candy.

Of child murderers, only about 3% are strangers. Rest are family or friend of the family the kids knew and therefore trusted. 'Stranger Danger' is a myth. And as commentators have stated well, it only raises a generation of kids fearful and mistrustful who then become adults who exhibit the results of fear as with being violent, gun owners, etc.

Some paranoia is healthy, too much though and you develop major emotional and psychiatric problems stemming from it. South Park had a great episode about it, "Child abduction isn't funny" where the parents build the wall around town and the kids have those warning siren helmets.

and yet police depts. and schools tell children they should get their candy x-rayed.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Recall when I first moved here 16 years ago from the bay area California I viewed people's 'unusual' kindness with great suspicion. "No one's that nice unless they want something" for how people would chat me up in casual conversation. Made me very uncomfortable Over time though I began to realize, sometimes people are just less paranoid than others and to them that sort of thing is perfectly normal.

I really liked that about Missouri. Suppose I still have some fear in me that I can understand the fearful's point-of-view, but it's a process overcoming it.

 

[Bonzi]

I've never had candy x-rayed - of course my kids are grown now, but one is only 19... never had any problems.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

I remember the days when we didn't have to take Trick or Treat candy to the hospital to be x-rayed, playing more than 2 blocks from home and not being picked up by the cops because we had been 'abandoned' by our parents, playing in the back yard all afternoon without supervision.

Those days are long gone.

I guess, in many ways, evil has won.

Very unfortunate.

The Halloween candy thing is an urban legend.

"Joel Best, a professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Delaware, has been tracking since 1985 the myth of "Halloween Sadism": reports that people poison Halloween candy or put pins or razor blades in items handed out. It has, essentially, no basis — he has found no substantiated case — but persists, nonetheless."
Stranger Danger to children vastly overstated - Boing Boing

It's actually happened once that I'm aware of. But it was a family member who slipped something into their kids' candy.

Of child murderers, only about 3% are strangers. Rest are family or friend of the family the kids knew and therefore trusted. 'Stranger Danger' is a myth. And as commentators have stated well, it only raises a generation of kids fearful and mistrustful who then become adults who exhibit the results of fear as with being violent, gun owners, etc.

Some paranoia is healthy, too much though and you develop major emotional and psychiatric problems stemming from it. South Park had a great episode about it, "Child abduction isn't funny" where the parents build the wall around town and the kids have those warning siren helmets.

and yet police depts. and schools tell children they should get their candy x-rayed.

Never heard of getting it x-rayed. Seems impractical. Grew up with a Mom who was the daughter of a career cop and even we weren't that paranoid.

X-ray wont detect poison by the by. Visual inspection seems sensible. X-ray seems excessive and makes me wonder why you'd even bother. Buy em some candy from the store and give that to them if you're that worried about it.

 

[amrchaos]

(sarcasm)
Strange

My demonic comrades were complaining the other day how Good has taken over since they are getting caught immediately after they act.

Since evil is no longer rewarding to them, they are thinking about running for president in some 3rd party.

 

[AVG-JOE]

What if we didn't have to go all the way to 'nice' yet?

You can go a long way toward achieving World Peace TODAY if you'll simply refrain from calling someone a "douche-bag", or similar slur, just because they disagree with you on something neither of you can do anything about anyway.