Open Thread Wednesday

No, the Heights Is declining because the quality of the population has so declined that the population now is ALLOWING all these abuses. Societal declines Always starts with a decline in the quality of human material present. …

The scooter thing is an outgrowth of the bike thing Bikes are (they claim) are zero carbon footprint devices so in our new agenda 21 America..they get social exemption for being on the sidewalk and putting hundreds of elderly in the hospital. Now a lot of pea brained yuppie types think that it’s just fine to have their brats buzzing the elderly, pets anything while the parents text, talk or remain in dreamland. The answer is to loudly
but reasonably complain. Just what you should be doing when your country has real problems: speak up!

Susan, sorry to hear you’re having this problem.

As the parent of a child (2.5 yrs) who is often on a scooter I can’t claim to speak for any others in my position. However I can tell you that like with anything that involves negotiating public areas there’s a learning curve and it has to start somewhere. The first things he learned: stop at intersections and do not cross streets unless holding the hand of an adult, avoid all obstacles especially living ones, obey verbal commands, always wear a helmet. My child has also learned to love dogs and treat them with respect. BUT, like any kid his age, he isn’t 100%.

So, to answer your questions:

1. Yes, parents understand that our speeding youngsters can sometimes startle pedestrians and make them nervous, but you really have nothing to be afraid of. Once they get big enough to actually cause an injury to your dog, ideally, they become more careful and better at regulating their speed and trajectory. If you don’t feel you got an adequate “sorry” speech from the mother who didn’t stop to talk to you it was probably because she was chasing after her kid to make sure s/he didn’t ride into the street. Remember that as parents, we prioritize our children’s lives (and state of being intact) above manners and politeness.

2. In the future, you can do or say anything you like, but the wisest thing would be to weigh each situation individually. If the child is zooming toward an intersection, don’t expect a lengthy apology or even acknowledgement from the parent. You’re going to just have to be relieved that your puppy is okay and hope that the child is too. If there’s a close call that permits you to start a conversation with the parent or the child, be friendly about it. In most cases, the child might want to take the opportunity to pet your puppy, which will in turn foster empathy and cause the child to be more respectful of dogs in the future (and maybe help your puppy be better around kids?). As a parent I don’t mind if a stranger rightfully and respectfully warns my child against repeating an offense. It helps if you know how to talk to children without making yourself seem like an ogre. Parents also tend to like this, as having kids makes us want to get to know our neighbors better–especially the furry four-legged ones and their owners!

Part of fostering a great neighborhood is trust: that my kid isn’t going to injure your dog, and that your dog isn’t going to injure my kid, just because they’re sharing a sidewalk.

In closing, I hope you have the sense to ignore comments coming from Willow Street Watch, as they are mostly just incendiary non sequiturs. This has absolutely nothing to do with cyclists.

we are not allowing these abuses…just most of us don’t have money to fight big real estate.

ie. pier house, closing of library, condos instead of hospitals, big chain stores instead of mom and pop, etc

They must be surveilling YOU!

So maybe instead of insulting immigrants, you’d like to respond to my initial post?