As anyone who has read my blog in the past will know, I'm not a big fan of the tabloid media. I think they print whatever they like, be it truthful or otherwise, they spin everything to their own agenda, not considering the ramifications of their actions, and when they do get it wrong, as they so often do, they hardly ever admit to it, so it is with some scepticism that I read a report today on the Daily Mail website.I quote:
"Telford Town Park wardens have been ordered to stop and interrogate anyone who is not accompanied by children. The visitors who are quizzed have to explain their presence and risk being thrown out or reported to police if their answers are not satisfactory. The policy has been introduced at Telford Town Park in Shropshire. The council which manages the 420-acre area says it is a 'common sense approach' aimed at safeguarding children."
So, just to clarify, if I happened to be walking through Telford town park, whistling a jaunty tune and at one with the world, I run the risk of being a potential sex offender at the very least, or worse a paedophile, because as we all know, thanks to rags like the Daily Mail, paedophiles are EVERYWHERE!!!!
Every stranger that walks down your street is a kiddie-fiddler just casing the joint to snatch your little darling as soon as you turn your back, every wrong number that calls your house is hoping and praying that a child answers, and Gary Glitter has a home no more than an hour from you (if he were travelling by Eurofighter Typhoon).
The media are disseminating THE FEAR so well, that the vast majority of the public, who are good natured I'm sure, would think twice before helping a child in distress, I certainly would.
I remember fracturing my arm as a primary school kid. I man in a car saw me fall, and stopped to make sure I was ok. Realising I wasn't, he lifted me into his car, drove me home, then drove myself and my mother to the casualty department of the local hospital, whereupon my mother thanked him.
Would I do the same nowadays? No chance.
Welcome to Britain, 2008.
