Public Safety...You Should Know Better

I ranted about this once already today on Facebook, but feel like I should do it here too.  Today, while I was on my way to work, I was driving down 1st st near Tiebreaker Elementary, where I spotted a little boy...probably eight or nine years old...walking along the canal bank.  He was doing kind of a penguin waddle menuever where he'd take a step and then swing his foot out over the water.  Obviously panicked, I honked at him and motioned with my hand in a "step back" fashion.  I then pulled over at the gas station on 1st and Ammon and called dispatch (public safety) and asked if they could please send someone to check on him and tell him that it's really really dangerous to be there and he shouldn't do that.  I explained about Khyri to the dispatcher and told her I was only calling as a concerned parent who didn't want to see it happen again.  I was told, "well, we can't go tell him he can't be there. I can send someone out to do a well-check, but we can't stop him."

ARE.YOU.FUCKING.KIDDING.ME (excuse my French)

If we can't rely on public safety officials to tell our kids "NO" when we aren't right there to do it ourselves, what hope does the next generation really have?  It literally made me feel like I was going to throw up...to know that "we can't tell him he can't be there." Seriously? He's a KID.  In a DANGEROUS situation.  And you can't tell him "NO?"  I can understand a full grown adult walking along and no one being able to stop it...grown adults do what they do...because they are GrOwN.   But a kid? C'mon now people.

So knowing now what we all know now (as I've just explained it,)  I would ask anyone who sees a kid in a dangerous situation to please speak up, these are our children...and I promise you that the parents will be nothing but grateful if you are the reason their kid makes it home from school...not to say that stranger danger doesn't apply, don't go offering rides to little kids and stuff...because that's creepy and weird and will get you arrested....but telling them that they shouldn't be near a canal let alone messing around near one will only save lives.  Rant over.  Have a good night everyone.