My experience in Target

casmuff · 2012-11-06T15:22:22+00:00

Oh, so you mean that when you found a defenceless child all on their own you brought them to their parents instead of to your car. That sounds like something only some sort of kidnapping paedophile would do.

androk · 2012-11-06T14:45:32+00:00

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EpicJ · 2012-11-06T14:30:47+00:00

You did the right thing, don't let crazy people stop you from doing what is right

ADH-Kydex · 2012-11-06T15:53:14+00:00

I will say one thing, having a small child makes people much more at ease with stuff like this. If I have my son, other moms automatically think I'm alright. It helps to be well dressed and to appear reasonably well adjusted. But I notice a difference when I'm out alone. In your case I would have calmly called her out. And told her to pound salt. She had no evidence, the store had cameras, and she dropped the ball as a shitty mom. One day I am sure my kid will get away from me in public and I sure as hell hope someone helps him out.

That being said, I don't put up with stupid hover mom bullcrap. My biggest worry is not something happening to my son, it is a nosy assbiscuit of a mom trying to tell me what to do and/or calling the authorities. I had one at the playground get pissy because he was playing in a mud puddle. Seriously, mind your own business lady. Ill clean him up, you go tend to your spoiled brat.

GunshyJedi · 2012-11-06T19:54:03+00:00

How does it make you feel knowing that a simple yes or no head shake from the kid was all that separated you from handcuffs?

I agree with what you did, I would've done the same thing myself, it's just terrifying when you consider what could have easily happened.

89733 · 2012-11-06T14:54:26+00:00

You did the right thing, and honestly pretty brave of you. I'd be terrified to be walking a kid towards the exit of a building.

thelightbringer · 2012-11-06T16:24:17+00:00

No good deed goes unpunished.

Zeds_dead · 2012-11-06T14:39:46+00:00

what a psycho. Maybe if she wasn't such a terrible mother she'd keep track of her own kids a bit better.

picnic2812 · 2012-11-06T14:47:10+00:00

You did the right thing and looked out for the safety of a child, if the police had been called its safe to assume that you're whole interaction with the child would have been on camera. Paranoia seems to be rampant with today's parents, they're absolutely terrified of everything it seems. Its gotten to the point where my brother has had the police approach him while he was walking his dog in his neighbourhood park, they had been called by a parent thinking my brother was going to use his dog to lure kids. Because that's ever so much more likely than, you know, a guy walking his dog. I think we really need a PSA to parents that says "if you're really going to be that paranoid about your kids getting abducted or abuse, keep a close eye on your friends and family. They are by far the most likely to abuse your kids, so let the rest of society carry on about its business because we're not as terrified of the world as you."

SheriffBart42 · 2012-11-06T17:32:11+00:00

That's what all genius criminals do. Ensure the safety of the eyewitnesses at risk of being caught.

ataranlen · 2012-11-06T17:57:57+00:00

I actually used to work for Target. You have no idea how often stuff like this happened. From a Mom freaking out when we found her 4yr old wandering alone "He's fine on his own, I always let him got to the toy section" (Where he tears up and down the aisles, messing up the zone) To Mom's yelling at a Team member for asking her to buckle her kids up in the Shopping cart. The irony is when the kid actually does fall out and then she tries to blame us for the carts being unsafe.

Mothers want to do things in their own way, and don't give a rat's behind about anyone else's opinons.

campycapper · 2012-11-06T19:30:37+00:00

That's not allowed anymore. Best to not help anyone other than men of equal or older status.

Chester_Snapdragon · 2012-11-06T21:52:52+00:00

Kind of reminds me of this time I was at a super wrist with my nephew. I was babysitting him for the day while my sister and brother-in-law were at work. He was running all around so I had to go chase him. He turned a corner and I quickly followed after. When he was stopped in front of this lady. I said "Oh thank God. Kayden (my nephew's name) I told you to behave in her while I was picking some groceries up for the house." And he even said "Sorry, Uncle." But when I went over to the lady she looked at me funny and said "Where's his mother?" I said "She's at work. She asked me to watch him today." Then she said "Mhm. Well why was he running from you?" And I said "Why don't you ask what you wanna ask?" And she acted oblivious saying "I don't know what you're talkin about." Even though she looked me up and down and by the look she was giving me I could tell that she saw me as a sickening human being and was purely disgusted with me. So then I just said "Look, my sister is extremely busy. But I will call her JUST so YOU can feel secure about me takin care of my nephew. Who, by the way, was running NOT from me but just to run because he's four and that's what four year olds do. I can see you have a four year old as well, and if you weren't so fixated on me and thinking that I am a danger to my nephew in some way, you would have been paying attention to YOUR child who just ran off the other way behind you. I suggest you go get him before he runs into a real danger."

lockedge · 2012-11-06T22:36:21+00:00

I would imagine the reason for her behaviour are:

Deflection. She, in part, messed up, and wants to prevent others from judging her, so she places blame on you as a distraction to make her feel more secure about her parenting abilities in the eyes of the public.
Men are seen as inherently uncontrollably sexually aggressive. This, for some inexplicable reason, has not changed since Havelock Ellis and Richard von Krafft-Ebing asserted this 'common belief' at the time (late 1800s). So absurd that this idea has lasted so long, and is still running strong.
Women are understood, in terms of social norms, to be the primary parental figure. men are seen as, at best, secondary parental figures(usually only brought up when same sex marriage comes around and people talk about how all kids need a mom and a dad). That you, a male, broke from that norm and cast light on the notion of a primary caregiver failing at her duty, challenged that social norm's strength, and caused some form of internal panic.

ForLoveOfHumanKind · 2012-11-06T14:36:02+00:00

Some people are idiots, please do not let this woman's actions stop you from doing the right thing in the future.

ARedditorCalledQuest · 2012-11-06T23:28:24+00:00

After reading everybody's comments, I think I've learned something. Should I ever find myself in a similar situation, I think I'll just grab one of the nearest store employees and say "Hey, this kid lost his parents. You mind helping out?" And then go back to my shopping. Problem solved, I don't get accused of being a pedo, and I only lose about thirty seconds of my day.

OP: It's total bullshit that you were treated like that.

OuiCrudites · 2012-11-06T16:13:23+00:00

I salute you, but it was risky for you to do that.

Aren't you happy with the world you have created, man-haters?

2012-11-06T17:12:57+00:00

Damn Cis Male and your child finding privilege.

You should be ashamed.

2012-11-07T00:40:03+00:00

I have a 4 year old. I pray that when my daughter gets lost in target she is found by someone like you.

phukka · 2012-11-06T14:44:42+00:00

I feel sorry for that dad. He stuck his dick in raging fucking psychopath and is now stuck with her for eighteen years.

2012-11-06T16:59:54+00:00

Pity that father and that child, living with such a witch.

Muffinman3712 · 2012-11-06T20:45:09+00:00

That bitch...the fucking audacity. See this is the shit I talk to my friends about. Fuck that lady.

Edit: good job bro...keep up the genuine kindness. And once again fuck that lady...shitty ass parent.

ConfirmedCynic · 2012-11-06T20:51:19+00:00

[permanently deleted]

contraterrene · 2012-11-06T15:26:18+00:00

I can understand your reaction, these days if a man helps a child it often does not go unpunished.

However, children that need help, need help and as far as I am concerned, damn everything else.

I think the only thing you could have done better was to ask the couple their names and address so you can sue the mother for slander as it's idiotic that someone would molest a kid in a well lit store with (presumably) CCTV then take the child to an employee at the storefront because all you did was be a responsible, good man.

Be prepared for next time.

shmiggen · 2012-11-06T16:28:34+00:00

Hers was a post-hoc rationalization: she needed to pin the guilt on you to deflect her own fuck-up. Lemme guess: was she wearing sweat-pants and was she fat? Did she have a scrunchy in her hair?

reginaphalangie · 2012-11-06T23:16:29+00:00

You were...the Mom was obviously a crazy biatch!

Broccoli_Tesla · 2012-11-06T23:32:17+00:00

Whats even scarier is if you ask a kid a question in a certain way and they are young enough they will just agree that whatever you said happened.

2012-11-07T00:42:20+00:00

Yes, now that I've finished molesting this child, I will return it to it's parents, rather than taking it home.

MWAHAHAHA

ಠ_ಠ

Felt_Ninja · 2012-11-07T08:39:15+00:00

This happened to me twice at Walmart. The first time, I was merely given the stink eye and brushed off while security watched my ever move for the next 20 minutes. The second, I was physically escorted off the property, and told "people like [me] aren't welcome [there]".

Any time I find a missing kid now, I let them stay missing. For all I care, your kid can fuck off and die. If it came down to me running into a burning building to save them, I'd sooner roast marshmallows on the flames.

rightsbot · 2012-11-06T14:22:19+00:00

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Fallout_BoS · 2012-11-06T16:14:15+00:00

Stand near the kid and wait for a female adult and tell her what is going on and then ask her to walk with you to the front and get the manager.

Do not get within an arms length of that kid or crouch down to their level either. Who says the camera can see what did or did not happen.

Target has a lot of customers that are too 'uppity' to be seen in Wal-Mart. Helicopter Moms and Dads abound.

It is better to be safe than sorry in this case.

No good deed goes unpunished, right?

Dirty_Delta · 2012-11-06T17:27:37+00:00

I would be greatly offended to be assumed a pedophile. I would call her out in her bullshit in a heart beat

altmehere · 2012-11-06T18:07:37+00:00

You would think people like this would realize that, given that they and other people like them do this, eventually they may discourage people (mostly men) to the extent where it's no longer worth the risk, and the kid could end up in an even worse situation.

slavetothevoices · 2012-11-06T21:26:46+00:00

everyone loses their kid in a store at some point
some people are just giant dicks
you have met both this day

abillonfire · 2012-11-07T01:02:15+00:00

This is the sorta shit that just puts me off helping people

Yawnworthy · 2012-11-07T01:20:29+00:00

I HATE this mentality we are imbedding into our children. We are teaching them to be afraid of men. Think of the ramifications this will cause for our young girls. As if young girls aren't conflicted enough about trusting males, think about growing up your entire life having "stranger danger" blasted into your head every time a unknown man walks by.

Not to mention over 90 percent of children who are abused are abused by people close to them, that they know. Yes the world has some creepy fucks in it, but you can't nerf the world.

wwwhistler · 2012-11-07T01:20:42+00:00

welcome to America

DavidByron · 2012-11-07T02:07:50+00:00

and asked the people at target to call the police

And how did the Target staff respond to that request?

Interesting that the father acted right and the mother was the immoral bitch. It often seems like men are as guilty as women in keeping this feminist shit going with the white knight crap. But this sort of level of hate is just pathological. "Thanks for rescuing my kid you pedophile piece of male shit"

gman1401 · 2012-11-06T15:39:07+00:00

I almost wish the police had shown up so that you, the father, and the officers could have a good laugh at that bitch

2012-11-06T19:03:50+00:00

Responsible adult? My ass! You are a rapist and a pedophile, like everyone else!

sigh...

dkrypt · 2012-11-06T19:16:00+00:00

Maybe she was abused as a child and thus traumatized.

aarghj · 2012-11-06T19:40:42+00:00

You did everything right. She obviously needs years of therapy for her issues.

Monsterella5 · 2012-11-06T20:36:45+00:00

she's probably just the over protective wacko type. I know that's odd to think about since she lost her kid, but i know people like this. I would bet a substantial amount of money that when that family was in the car to go home she blamed the father.

Almost-faceless-guy · 2012-11-06T20:42:39+00:00

The funny (or some can say sad) is that some poeple on comments are doing the same mistake the woman did to OP. Accuse someone by assumption is one the worst thing we have nowadays. People really loves to look to something superficially and say what they thinks its right and things like what OP passed happens.

SPARTAN_TOASTER · 2012-11-07T01:57:41+00:00

no good deed goes unpunished

Tomorrow_he_is_off · 2012-11-07T05:02:52+00:00

Wow. What a cunt. Some people just suck dude. Don't let it get you down, you did the right thing.

2012-11-07T09:02:02+00:00

Whenever I go to the library I'm usually surrounded by everyone's stupid kids. I can't wait to hand them back to their useless parents who went off and gossiped and let their crotch droppings run around screaming while I'm trying to read. i don't know why the little bastards like me so much, i'm like "bugger off". i can allow for someone asking me "can you keep an eye on my kid while i go to the toilet" but most of the time i can't even locate the parents.

babymouse80 · 2012-11-09T02:05:22+00:00

You were being a responsible adult. She was being a hateful bitch.

megatuxracer · 2012-11-06T17:14:11+00:00

Because, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6knB1V8PxY

blueoak9 · 2012-11-06T16:32:16+00:00

"the mother however immediately went to the child and asked if i had touched him inappropriately and asked the people at target to call the police."

Wonder pedophilia was the first thing she thought of. Maybe she thinks of it a lot.......

You probably should report her as apossible pedophile, based on her reaction. It won't go anywhere other than a file, but eventually that file will buil;d up, as other poeple report her outbursts.

bashar_al_assad · 2012-11-06T17:01:27+00:00

I'll just reiterate what you've heard x50 and say that you did a good job with what you did.

Also credit to that father for not letting his wife get away with it.

ustael · 2012-11-06T17:30:22+00:00

You were my man. But no good male deed goes unpunished. Good on you though for your care of the kid first. Even if the mother was quick to judge.

PBandCheezWhiz · 2012-11-06T20:03:35+00:00

Target has some of the most sophisticated security systems of any retail chain. In fact, their head quarters in Minneapolis is frequently used by local PD departments for forensic analysis.

That being said...if that kid had nodded yes, and the mother went after you on the word of a kid, you can be damned sure that the video evidence would have proved her wrong. And it is really sad that you could have needed that evidence on the word of a small child.

Shitty that happened, you did the right thing.

Arxces · 2012-11-06T22:13:16+00:00

If you were a child toucher, why would you have alerted the staff?

Logic.

dalsgaard · 2012-11-06T22:43:38+00:00

It's stories like these that makes me nervous just to be seen in public around children. It's so fucked up.

Arx0s · 2012-11-06T23:24:55+00:00

That mother was incredibly paranoid. What kind of predator would molest a kid at Target, and then personally help the kid find his parents? A real predator would have fiddled with the kid, then left him somewhere in the store, or worse, and end up kidnapping him. Honestly, it's the media's fault for convincing parents that every single stranger is out to molest their kids.

MeEvilBob · 2012-11-06T23:39:47+00:00

I also recently found out that the Men's shoes department at the Target near me is a rack maybe 10 feet long and is completely unorganized and is mainly dress shoes whereas the women's section is 4 50' isles with every kind of shoe there is.

man_and_machine · 2012-11-07T02:42:33+00:00

more than anything, it was probably just panic. And when people panic, they resort to what they know best, and is most rooted into their personalities.

This is the problem here: that society has hard-wired people's brains to think this way, not just that a 'random person' acted this way.

2012-11-07T03:54:03+00:00

And people wonder why fewer and fewer men are willing to "play the hero" with each passing generation.

kungfukai · 2012-11-07T04:03:53+00:00

Why is it that because i'm a guy I'm automatically a pedophile?

Most likely.

ThePigman · 2012-11-07T04:04:26+00:00

Unfortunately, that's the way it is now and it won't be changing any time soon. My advice is keep your distance and shout loudly, "Hey, which one of you retards has lost their rugrat?"

actanonverba8 · 2012-11-07T04:29:46+00:00

That woman, at the very least, owes you a public apology. In a society that did not treat women as exalted and instead treated men and women equally, everyone present would have immediately shamed her and confronted her in strong, direct language. Furthermore, had the police been called everyone would have testified to the fact that she was causing an unnecessary disturbance of the peace and she would have been ticketed or arrested.

Our society is not that way. It is feminized and misandristic. But, you are right to be upset and I for one and sorry you went through that (particularly because you were being selfless and a stand-up human being).

gazork_chumble_spuzz · 2012-11-07T04:42:23+00:00

Disgusting. Not only did she lose her own kid, but then accused the person who helped him of being a pedo. Why on earth would she assume that someone who's gonna molest a kid would take him to an employee to page his parents? Is she stupid or something? I guess she felt bad for losing him in the first place.

zerogravityii · 2012-11-07T05:09:16+00:00

I would expect that to happen because I'm a guy. I would have just tried to find a nearby associate.

2012-11-07T05:43:14+00:00

Don't let her vibes get ya down. You did the right thing.

ThankYouDriveThrough · 2012-11-07T05:53:35+00:00

This bullshit is way too common. A few summers ago, my friend was on his lunch break. He picked up a sandwich and drove his moped to a park. He sat at a picnic table while he read his book and ate his launch. Some crazy bitch ran up to him and demanded to know why he was in a park where kids were playing. Then she demanded he turn around at the picnic table and face the other direction.

These dumb fucking people are creating a society where kids (girls especially) will no longer have male role models.

Congratulations you dumb bitches.

Miathermopolis · 2012-11-07T06:32:45+00:00

You totally were being a responsible adult. Keep doing that, and never be ashamed when other people misinterpret. You did the right thing and the only way people are going to accept it is if more people keep doing the right thing. If it were me I would have also thanked you.

Not everyone is an ignorant turd-face!

2012-11-07T07:28:58+00:00

I've seen this kind of psycho reaction too. A somewhat similar thing happened to me about fifteen years ago on a plane. A woman and her young kids were sitting in the seat behind me on the plane. The kids were about 8 to ten years old and were being loud and obnoxious. I ignored it for a while until they started kicking the back of my seat, at which point I turned around and asked them to stop. That's when the woman turned into a psycho bitch and started screaming at me to "turn your ass around and shut the fuck up!" She made such a commotion that people were staring and the stewardess came to find out what all the commotion was about. The woman said I was threatening her kids (I was not!). The stewardess then made me move to another seat, but the cool thing was that she apologized to me for the inconvenience. I was sort of in shock by what happened. Granted, it wasn't as scary as being falsely accused of rape or pedophilia, but it could have turned out worse than it did. Thank god I only had to change seats.

XJXRXVX · 2012-11-08T13:51:01+00:00

That is not the kind of person I want to see raising a child. She didn't take responsibility for her child, and then she didn't take responsibility for her own actions. I wish the worst for people like that.

tyciol · 2012-11-07T06:36:00+00:00

OP, men everywhere, we must learn from our mistakes.

Example of how women treat us:

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/sstzi/a_woman_just_called_me_a_pedophile_after_i/c4grqmk

Example of how we react to it:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/7455183.stm http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,190586,00.html

Look on the bright side gentlemen: if a child drowns because we choose to keep to ourselves to avoid being labelled a molester, perhaps that child was the result of their mother raping the father by conceiving children without his mutual consent.

In that case, you may have helped save him child support payments, and he can go on to spend that money on a child he may actually choose to have, or better the world in other ways.

If children get off by themselves, we're taught to save them because this is the good thing. This is indeed, as a reader of superhero comics and fantasy heroic novels and happy go lucky loli animus, my default instinct.

But in the grand scheme of things, this is probably some bad evolution. We're filling in for the parents, who are probably negligent, and will continue to be, and they may end up becoming bad people.

Anyone dumb enough to run off by themself and drown, if not inherently compromised, is probably so young that they barely graduated from fetusville anyway. The more advanced and learned minds amongst children, those in school and ready to become citizens, they simply don't do this.

I can see more of an effort put forth to save for harder to avoid disasters. Like if someone was kidnapped, or if a giant bear ran into a public park and you intervened to save the children from the bears. Or a fire, or a hurricane, for that matter.

But some kid who gets lost in a store, or on a road, or in a pond, natural selection has to take place at some point.

I say, if women are going to collectively persecute us for doing the gentlemanly thing, let them take care of the lost kids, and bear the entire guilt for it if that's inadequate to protect them. They want all the control, not only on conceiving kids, but on rearing them to. Let them bear that responsibility.

Let's focus on pushing the burden of fiscal responsibility too, upon them, as they deserve, for taking that control.

mx_reddit · 2012-11-06T16:47:28+00:00

I have a question here, say you weren't in Target but somewhere without security cameras. My inclination would be to take out my phone and record the whole incident while taking the child to a police officer or store employee. However, then they could get you saying that you were recording their child. What does the community think of that?

NCender27 · 2012-11-07T06:03:58+00:00

It is responsible parenting to ask questions regardless of the gender that happens upon your child. Were you touched inappropriately? Were you given anything? Did you see anything unusual? You just can not be too careful and I would jot take it personally at all. But asking to call the police is one step too far in my eyes.

Peter_Principle_ · 2012-11-06T19:18:16+00:00

Why do you presume that she treated you like shit because you were a guy? Did you see her do any different when she lost her kid and a woman found the kid?

That woman treated you like shit because she lost her kid and was understandably stressed about it.

I'd be pissed at her for treating you the way she did, but don't assume it's because you're a man. You got that notion out of nowhere.

2012-11-06T21:03:15+00:00

[permanently deleted]

Title	My experience in Target
Author	picnic2812
Upvotes	696
Comments	281
Date	November 6, 2012 2:20 PM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/12q9i4/my_experience_in_target/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/my-experience-in-target.1009815 https://theredarchive.com/post/1009815

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