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jmra wrote:2. I did not tell someone else to call me ma'am - I suggested that they call Crossfire ma'am.

Wow. I read it twice and I still got it wrong. My apologies.

jmra wrote:

benenglishtx wrote:You'd get called in to the local police as "suspected pedophile loitering near children" within minutes.

I would say that depends on the size of the school and your relationship with administration and the community.

I must strongly disagree. If you actually live in some place so cohesive, so small, and with such stellar community communication channels that you can establish a relationship with not just the school administration and the community but with every single person driving every single car that might pass your position, then I truly envy you.

If the location on your profile is correct, then you are too near the DFW Metroplex for that to be the case. The complete insanity of some overprotective parents cannot be appreciated until you've experienced it. There are far too many people out there who feel that anyone who so much as glances at their kid is obviously up to no good. Irrational paranoia is the new normal for far too many parents.

An illustration? We now have an "improper photography" statute in Texas. Some guy was taking pictures of pretty girls in a public place. We're talking about fully clothed teens, here. Somebody thought that was creepy, called the police, and they couldn't do anything. You don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy when you're in public; anyone can take your picture. Pressure was put on the legislature to "do something" and they did. They hid it behind a veil of "stopping upskirting" but what they actually did was make it illegal for you to shoot pictures of others in public if your purpose is later judged unseemly.

Yes, it's thoughtcrime and anyone who values liberty should decry the way the law is written; it's ripe for abuse. My point, though, is that an hysterical attitude of "The pedophiles are out to get my precious darling!" is not just pervasive these days; it's actually so pervasive that it's been codified into law.

Let me reiterate - If your opinion is correct where you live, I think you live in such a great place I'd consider moving there. I'm envious and more power to you.

Now, to put this into the context of the thread - I'm willing to bet that just about any local effort to get volunteers to provide security at schools will get derailed as soon as the first "helicopter parent" of a "special snowflake" child stands up at a planning meeting and declares "The only men who would actually volunteer for a job like this are just looking for an excuse to get close to kids. The volunteers will probably all be pedophiles! Kill this idea now!"

Addendum - I just went back and re-read this entire thread to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding anything. I caught where you told someone to call you "ma'am" instead of "sir". That explains a lot. Generally, women aren't subject to what men have to deal with in this area. As a man, though, I can tell you that if I were to so much as smile and wave at the toddler in the child seat of the shopping cart in front of me in the checkout line at the local grocery store, a sizable chunk of the population will assume I'm a pedophile, glare at me like I just stomped a kitten to death, and pull their child out of the seat and onto their hip in a heartbeat. I look like Santa Claus, with a big white beard and giant belly to go with it. Little kids frequently look at me, smile, and wave. Most parents assess the situation correctly and just go about their business. Some, though, have gone positively ape when I returned that smile and wave; I no longer do.

jmra wrote:Of course there is another way to do this. If you have your CHL - lock and load, grab a lawn chair and sit in front of the school of your choice. Make sure you have your cell phone to report anything that doesn't look right. Just a thought...

Texas and the U.S. haven't gone as nuts in this area as, say, Great Britain, but just try and see what happens. I used to be a photographer and "street photography" (ala' Henri Cartier-Bresson or even Weegee) was once considered a noble calling; just try taking pictures of kids not your own in a public park these days. Try sitting outside a school and keeping watch.

You'd get called in to the local police as "suspected pedophile loitering near children" within minutes.