Don 't Take $$ From Strangers ??

Miller wrote:

Chai wrote:

I meant..."there's no reason for a child NOT to be sociable"

Except if the kid lives in New England and then kids are taught to be uptight, closed-lipped and real Yankee-like. :wink:

What happens if the teaching fails
and he is given, by his nature, to leisurely loquacity ?
David

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farmerman wrote:

Im fascinated as to how much well reasoned discussion this has brought out.
What circumstances would it have been acceptable for the guy to give money to the kid?

Yes, Farmer.
This thread has intellectually flourished,
and it has been devoid of acrimonious ad hominem denunciation.
David

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boomerang wrote:

I still stand by my original post --
I would call the non-emergency police number and the bus company
and report what had happened because I think a stranger tossing money
into a kid's lap is really creepy.

So, u advise me to call the police and the bus company ?

and tell them that its creepy ?
David

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Mame wrote:

Mame wrote:

Quote:
Well, one thing none of us knows is the spirit of the 'gift' -
was it a careless dropping of the bill?

No.

Quote:
Did he consciously and deliberately choose that kid?

Yes.

Quote:
Were they making faces or whatever at each other while travelling?

The only contact between them was the donor 's putting his hand
between some straphangers, while saying " excuse me "
and dropping the cash on the boy 's lap, as the donor walked off the bus.
Only his hand was visible; not his face.

Quote:
Was it done with a wink and a wave?

No.
See above.
Hand was occupied with dropping, not waving.

Quote:
The point is, the guy left the bus immediately after giving the child the money, so there was no harm done.

You could say to your child, "What a strange thing to do!
Why don't we give the money to someone who needs it more?" or something of that nature,
and just minimize the whole event.

Well, from the perspective of the donee beneficiary,
the problem with that is that he loses the benefit of the cash.
The logical answer to that is:
" If u think so,
then give someone who needs it more $5 of YOUR MONEY " not mine; don 't u think ?

Quote:
Doesn't anyone here ever remember strangers coming up to you
when you were little and with your mom and giving you a pat on the head and a candy?
You'd look at your mom and she'd nod, and you'd accept the candy.
Sometimes, she'd take it from you and throw it away once the lady was gone,
but you took your cue from her.

That did not happen to me; ( the candy ).

I always loved my mother intensely,
and I genuinely respected her opinion,
and I frequently sought it out, well into my adulthood,
but at all ages that I can remember,
I reserved final judgment to myself.

In retrospect, I wish that I had gone with her vu
in a few matters, which was better than mine proved to be.
David

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OmSigDAVID wrote:

boomerang wrote:

I still stand by my original post --
I would call the non-emergency police number and the bus company
and report what had happened because I think a stranger tossing money
into a kid's lap is really creepy.

So, u advise me to call the police and the bus company ?

and tell them that its creepy ?
David

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear.

If I had been the person in charge of the child I would have reported the incident. I don't think you, or anyone else on the bus, needs to do so.

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Thank u.

The kid cud not have much fun with just $5, anyway.

Right ?

David

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OmSigDAVID wrote:

The kid cud not have much fun with just $5, anyway.

Right ?

David

You know, that could be an interesting thread in itself....how much fun can someone have with $5.00...I could have a lot of fun...

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That guy was a CHEAPSKATE.

David

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I shud have complained to the bus company for THAT.

David

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Maybe the guy overheard the kid asking for something that cost $5.
Maybe the guy overheard the kid say he lost his money.
Maybe the guy was just doing a good deed in giving away $5 bills that day.
Who knows what it all meant.

But if he threw the money in the kid's lap and then got off the bus, then who cares? Tell the kid that it's from a man who evidently likes to give away money, and it's ok to keep it since the man is already gone....BUT never to take money from strangers unless mom or dad (or guardian) is there and says it's ok.

I don't see what the big deal is.

Oh yeah, I do see.... it's David. Rolling Eyes

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happycat wrote:

Maybe the guy overheard the kid asking for something that cost $5.
Maybe the guy overheard the kid say he lost his money.
Maybe the guy was just doing a good deed in giving away $5 bills that day.
Who knows what it all meant.

But if he threw the money in the kid's lap and then got off the bus, then who cares?
Tell the kid that it's from a man who evidently likes to give away money,
and it's ok to keep it since the man is already gone....BUT never to take
money from strangers unless mom or dad (or guardian) is there and says it's ok.

I don't see what the big deal is.

Oh yeah, I do see.... it's David.

Thank u, Happycat.
May u have abundant catnips and catnaps.

The kid sat there quietly and said nothing to anyone.
The donor was separate from him in the bus.
Maybe he was John Bearsford Tipton.

I can 't tell the kid anything, because I don 't know him
and deem it unlikely that I 'll ever see him again,
nor wud I recognize him, if I did.

What wud u do
if someone threw $5 on YOUR lap, Happycat ?
David

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I'm interested in this "oh it's David" bit. Two people on this thread have said "oh, it's David" to explain why people might think think this whole money drop thing is weird.

Chai and I are the only ones who have really thought the whole incident was weird so I assume the "oh it's David" thing is directed at us.

There have been a couple of threads over many years where David and I have had a dust-up. Big deal. I've had dust-ups with nearly every person who posts on A2K.

So, no, it's not because David posted it.

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I don 't think that aaannnyyyyooone on this thread is paranoid.

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Right.

I'm so paranoid that I have completely lost the ability to reason.

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I once had a girlfriend like that, in New Jersey.

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boomerang wrote:

I'm interested in this "oh it's David" bit. Two people on this thread have said "oh, it's David" to explain why people might think think this whole money drop thing is weird.

Chai and I are the only ones who have really thought the whole incident was weird so I assume the "oh it's David" thing is directed at us.

There have been a couple of threads over many years where David and I have had a dust-up. Big deal. I've had dust-ups with nearly every person who posts on A2K.

So, no, it's not because David posted it.

You want to know what I think is really weird boom?........sure you do......yes, don't lie, you do.....

I think it's weird how someone, meaning you and I can say what our reaction would be, or make a statement like "I'd never engage a child in conversation in a public place, unless I talked to the parents first" (and no, that's probably not my exact words, but close enough) and all of a sudden it's presented like I would completely ignore a child, making no eye contact or a passing smile, unless I had some kind of written consent from the mother or father.

I mean, talk about extremes Rolling Eyes

I for one never said I would never glance at a child in a public place and give a little smile, or a hi...a quick hi then looking back to your dinner companion or whatever you are doing does not constitute "talking" to a child.....sheesh almighty.
If a little kid wandered up to me and asked me a question, I didn't think I had to spell it out that I'd have to say something, but my answer would be said while I glanced at the kid, and then met the parents eyes to complete my thoughts, along then with saying something like "Don't you think....?" or "How about you?"....or "Your child seems interested in (fill in the blank)" Using freaking common sense an adult should be easily able to figure out how to very quickly draw a supervising adult into the situation so it doesn't look like you're solely interested in this child." and...uh....the kid is a kid....and I don't think is going to analyze the fact that when I answered him, I spent more of my time looking at his mom than him....duh...

frankly, someone who can't figure out to glance at the child, then look........at the adult, glance at the child, look.......at the adult, etc until there's a signal from the adult it's ok to look more at the child...is someone totally lacking in common sense.

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Chai wrote:

Quote:

frankly, someone who can't figure out to glance at the child,
then look........at the adult, glance at the child, look.......at the adult, etc
until there's a signal from the adult it's ok to look more at the child...
is someone totally lacking in common sense.

I don 't agree ( with all respect )
about the " common sense ".

In my travels in public ( mostly in NYC ),
I have ignored everyone, all the time, for years and decades,
minding my own business, UNLESS there were some reason to deviate from that
( such as if I needed an explanation of anything, like directions ).

If there were a reason to speak to anyone,
I have always spoken to everyone of any age exactly alike;
straight from the shoulder. It never occurred to me to look at anyone,
other than that it is courteous to look at a person to whom u r speaking.

Is all that looking back n forth a danger
to your cervical vertibrae ?
David

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I always talk to kids if they're friendly. I like them and I like talking to them. Lots of people do, I've seen them. And I've never had a parent question me about it. Ever. Or give me a strange look or raise an eyebrow. They're usually delighted that someone has taken an interest in their child/ren. And thinking back to when mine were small, I never minded grown ups talking to them, either. That's how we get socialized.

This has nothing to do with the money drop, by the way... just my feelings and experiences with kids. And it is not a comment on anyone here who doesn't want strangers talking to their kids... just my take on it.

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Mame wrote:

Quote:
I always talk to kids if they're friendly.
I like them and I like talking to them. Lots of people do, I've seen them.

I did not mean to imply that I disliked any person
with whom I did not speak, or ignored ( who was EVERYONE, unless I met a friend in the street ).
It has never occurred to me that strangers of any age
desire that I speak to them, unless thay need help.

Quote:

This has nothing to do with the money drop, by the way...
just my feelings and experiences with kids.

Truely, it has never occurred to me
that any person of any age desires that I shud converse with him,
unless there is something significant to discuss.
David

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boomerang wrote:

Chai and I are the only ones who have really thought the whole incident was weird so I assume the "oh it's David" thing is directed at us.

Maybe I don't get the nuance of the "David" thing, but I just want to stick my hand up and say that I also posted on this thread that this whole incident was weird.

In today's society, no matter how much I wanted to make a nice lad's day by giving him some unexpected money, there is no way in this world that I would do this without having made some sort of introduction to his Ma and checking out if it was OK. Even then I would feel weird doing it.
To simply stick my hand through a crowd and drop it on his lap is to my mind very strange behaviour, bordering on sinister.

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Don 't Take $$ From Strangers ??

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