You know these little stickers??
I hate them.
Not because they are cute little stick figures.
I hate the names underneath the figures.
It is so incredibly stupid (in my opinion) to put those names on there!
****************
Let me tell you a story to explain my paranoia:
When I was little, maybe 6 or 7 years old, maybe older? My family was vacationing at Agate Beach on the Oregon Coast. My parents were sitting on a blanket, with my little brother, Billy. My sister, Jessica, and I were walking along the sand, when we heard someone call out our names. Except one of the names was wrong. The voice called out, "Amanda! Billy" I turned around and saw a man maybe 20 feet away, looking right at us. He waved us over and kept calling to us. We didn't recognize the man. I walked a little closer to get a better look. I got a really bad feeling, and turned around to head back to my parents.
My little sister, Jessica, wanted to go see him.
I said, "No way! We don't know him!"
She said, "But he knows our names!"
I replied, "No Jessa, he doesn't. He called you Billy!"
She said he probably just got her confused with Billy because he couldn't see us well.
I refused and we ran back to my parents.
My Dad was obviously furious. He ran over to the man and confronted him. The old man insisted that he was looking for his grandkids, who happened to be named Amanda and Billy. We didn't believe him for a second, we were convinced that he heard my parents call us by name. We went back to our RV and watched as he walked up into the trees, alone. To this day, we are all convinced that he was trying to kidnap us. I can't even begin to think about what my future would have been like, what would have happened to me.
****************
My entire life since that moment, I have always been very weary about possible kidnapping situations. It was my biggest fear as a child. Whenever we went on vacation, I always wanted to know all the plans. I never walked far from my parents. And I have never returned to Agate Beach, even now, as an adult.
When I see these stickers. I instantly flash back to that moment.
These stickers too:
Do people realize how easy it would be to kidnap their child? All they would have to do, is walk up to #85 and say, "Hey Richard, your parents got in a car accident, I need to take you to the hospital." Most children would completely believe that.
I will never EVER put my child's name or jersey number on my car like that.
Am I paranoid?
6 comments:
I think its just silly, besides being obviously creepy. In my technology class last winter semester our teacher recommended not even putting your real children's names on the blog, public or private, because you never know who is reading. That's the big thing - you never know who is reading the back of your car. It could be someone who thinks its stupid, or someone who looks at the little girl sticker and thinks, "Her name is Izzie - I'll follow the car home and then I'll know which school she goes to."
You just never know.
And I think its silly too - do I care how many people are in your family? No. I care that you are the car in front of me turning left. That's all.
Regardless of what stickers are on your car, anyone could follow you home or wherever you are going and find out your information. Creepers will go to any length to get what they want. What about soccer and football games with numbers and names on the back of the jerseys or the rosters that get handed out? Or going to the mall or grocery store with your kid? Or dropping them off at school? There are too many situations to get caught up on. You just have to be careful and aware of what could happen but not overly careful and cautious bc you still have to live life.
I'm going to say- yes. you're a bit paranoid. But you're being safe... and sometimes safe and paranoia go hand in hand. I close all our windows in our house at night and lock them as well as any doors when McKay isn't home. I get too scared that something bad will happen. When he's home I feel much safer, so only the doors get locked and any windows that are easy to climb into. :)
I don't think you're paranoid, just extra cautious. You had an experience that raised your awareness to possible situations. It's a scary world out there, and no matter how careful you are, things can still happen. I do think that people are nutts when they put the names on there, but that's their choice and they will have to live with the concequences of those choices. The best thing we can do is do our best to protect ourselves and our families.
No, not paranoid! I have always been not to put names on your car just for that reason. I thought everyone knew that, it's like avoid the dark alley......duh!
HAHA I LOVE those family stickers! I am sooo going to get one now and show u!
Post a Comment