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3 Ways Parents are Ruining Halloween
Reason.com ^ | October 29, 2014 | Jim Epstein & Lenore Skenazy

Posted on 11/01/2015 12:30:41 PM PST by Forgotten Amendments

Happy Halloween! It's that time of year when your neighbors are secretly unwrapping candy, brushing lollipops with poison, and inserting razor blades into Snickers bars!

Actually, while it may be a holiday tradition view your neighbors as psychopaths who patiently wait for the one day of the year to kill the local kids, in fact no child has ever been killed by a stranger's poisoned candy. Ever. But facts don't stop fear. Here are three ways in which our misguided terror on Halloween is killing all the fun.

Don't Go Outside

Parents are so scared of letting their kids roam free, that—no joke—there's a trend called "Trunk or Treat." Cars gather in a circle and kids go from one trunk to the next to grab candy, as if walking in a circle in a parking lot and collecting sugar is the whole point of the holiday. Sugar is important, but so is going outside on your own with your friends.

Some towns are so scared of the holiday that they've placed curfews on trick or treating. It's medieval. It's as if they really believe the ghouls come out at night.

(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government
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To: ClearCase_guy

Yes, the world has changed since then. It’s not the normal people that we fear. We don’t trust the gay, party throwing couples in our neighborhood. Little kids walking around on unlit streets with real life ghouls lurking in the bushes hoping for a bit of sport. No, thanks.


21 posted on 11/01/2015 1:16:07 PM PST by mom of young patriots
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To: Forgotten Amendments
When I was a kid, I never had my parents with me on Halloween - except maybe when I was 6 years old.

They didn't even help me with my costume. I'd take an old sheet, cut holes for eyes and grab pillow cases. Now my parents would always want the candy so they they could dole it out over time. But what they never found out was that I filled maybe three or four pillowcases of candy and then I'd hand over the one pillowcase full of the candy I did not really care for. The other two or three, I'd have all for myself whenever I wanted it. When they would magnanimously offer me my ration of JuJubes, Malted Milk Balls, Tootsie Rolls and other candy I didn't much care for, I'd act so appreciative and thankful. Then I'd go back up to my bedroom and gorge on Milky Ways, M&Ms and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.

22 posted on 11/01/2015 1:16:13 PM PST by SamAdams76 (Businessmen use their own money to succeed. Politicians take other people's money and fail.)
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To: I want the USA back
That mistrust should have started in the 70’s. My daughter and I were talking the other day. She told me people tried to get her in their cars numerous times back then. She said one man tried to pull her in the car through the window. She never said a word back then. We all thought it were a safe neighborhood. We moved there when she was 4 and moved away when she was 12.
23 posted on 11/01/2015 1:16:57 PM PST by MamaB (Heb. 13:2)
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To: Forgotten Amendments

All of this can be summed up in a term:

“Vaginization”

Used to be a pair of balls beat everything. Now you can’t hold down a job and maintain a full set.

The vaginization of America. Ayn Rand was right. Any female manager who runs a department of women will tell you estrogen is what we need to be crusading against, not CO2.


24 posted on 11/01/2015 1:17:33 PM PST by RinaseaofDs
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To: SharpRightTurn

In all reality, up until the age of Obama, crime of all kinds has been dropping.

Almost all crime, particularly violent crime is way down from its’ peak in the Eighties and early Nineties. It is most certainly due to better and more police procedures, stop & frisk, broken windows, community policing measures and most importantly the increased use of mandatory prison sentences and truth in sentencing laws.

80% of all crime is committed by 20% of the population. Of that 20%, 20% of those constitute hard core repeat violent offenders. This 5% of the population is now the ones regularly incarcerated and therefor separated from the population as a whole. That makes us all safer.

If we could rid ourselves of the Illegals, we could reduce crime another 30% at least as they are responsible for at least a third of all crimes presently committed.

It is the safest time ever to be a kid.


25 posted on 11/01/2015 1:19:52 PM PST by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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To: ponygirl

I trick or treated until I was about 14; the teens who came last night with parents were about that age.
I had a few kids around 4 to 7 years old had parents with them..appropriate at that age, IMHO.
Yeah, terrible about the child molesters being released into neighborhoods with kids. They’re never released in the judge’s neighborhood, are they?


26 posted on 11/01/2015 1:20:09 PM PST by Radagast the Fool (At my signal, UNLEASH PALIN!!)
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To: Forgotten Amendments

Five sewing needles found in Twix bars by four different families in
Chester Co.,PA last night. Halloween is more dangerous now.


27 posted on 11/01/2015 1:21:42 PM PST by WestTexasWend
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To: Zack Attack

The country is far safer now than it had been in decades past. All crime statistics bear that out. Obama, however wants to change that as he will release tens of thousands of convicted felons by the time he leaves office.

Incarceration of criminals works. We have tried it now for over three decades and have enjoyed among the lowest crime rates ever recorded. Obama wants to change all that.


28 posted on 11/01/2015 1:22:21 PM PST by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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I live in the “old southwest” section of Reno. Halloween is taken seriously here, and people spend tens of thousands of dollars doing up their houses. It is quite incredible and unbelievably impressive. I counted 500 kids at our house (no joke) but a few blocks over at the epicenter there were literally thousands of people. If you are ever in Reno on halloween, I highly suggest old southwest...i have been to 49 states, and 35 countries and have never seen anything quite like it


29 posted on 11/01/2015 1:23:27 PM PST by dsrtsage (One half of all people have below average IQ. In the US the number is 54%)
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To: Radagast the Fool
My nine year old went off with a few of his friends. I think one of their parents was with them. My wife and I took the four year olds and the two year old. They where minions. Nick, Phil & Charles photo Holoween 2015 018_zpsui9eqwv1.jpg
30 posted on 11/01/2015 1:26:49 PM PST by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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To: ponygirl

My youngest wasn’t allowed on kiddie rides by the time he was 5, because he was too tall.

It hurt to be left out through no fault of his own.

I’m glad none of the neighbors denied him candy on Halloween.

I’d rather err on the side of mercy, and I’d rather have big kids acting like kids than out drinking or causing mischief.

It’s just candy.


31 posted on 11/01/2015 1:30:21 PM PST by Jedidah
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To: darkangel82
My brother lives in Columbus right next to Dublin. One year he went through so much candy he ran out. He started handing out Potatoes and onions. He gave the kids a choice. Potatoes are more popular! More than one exclaimed "I got a potato' Kind of like Charlie Brown.  photo 172eb14cc4705fcaceffda80fbefbaa8_zps3hlxhw2b.jpg
32 posted on 11/01/2015 1:30:55 PM PST by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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To: Snickering Hound

I wore out three of those..


33 posted on 11/01/2015 1:32:18 PM PST by ealgeone
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To: Jim from C-Town

.....Because he KNOWS, that is, Obama, that the Donald will most likely be the next President and as the “new sheriff” in town, will work hard to bring positive changes.


34 posted on 11/01/2015 1:33:05 PM PST by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: Grams A

Same here, lots of kids from two-year-olds to teens in my neighborhood.


35 posted on 11/01/2015 1:35:32 PM PST by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: Forgotten Amendments
"Sugar is important, but so is going outside on your own with your friends."

This "trunk or treat" thing sounds like stupid nonsense, but if I had kids of trick-or-treating age (I'd assume under 12 y/o) I don't know if I'd let them out on their own to wander around in search of candy, either. The way things are these days, I'd definitely want to go along with them. No telling what bleeped-up creeps are out looking for kids who look like easy prey.

36 posted on 11/01/2015 1:44:20 PM PST by Wyrd bið ful aræd (Exsurge, Domine, et judica causam tuam)
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To: Forgotten Amendments

#4. Carry a bag for themselves when the escorting their kids.


37 posted on 11/01/2015 1:51:44 PM PST by Kartographer ("We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.")
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To: Forgotten Amendments
New (older) neighborhood for us. Took the kids around. Including ours, there were four houses with candy, and the lights on. The rest were either not home, or not handing out candy.

We'd hoped for some kids, as there are several families in the neighborhood.

After lucking out in our own neighborhood, I took the kids to another neighborhood with some friends, we walked for about 1.5 hours, and I'd say well over 30% of the homes were participating. The kids easily scored 5 lbs of candy each.

My wife stayed home to hand out candy. Not counting the kids in our group, my wife had 8 people visit. A group of seven, and a single kid. Both of which came after 9 PM. We were bummed.

My folks' area (Idaho, we're in New Mexico) seems hit or miss year-to-year, they didn't have hardly anyone last year (we made the trip there, so they had our kids and the neighbor kids), this year, they ran out of candy.

38 posted on 11/01/2015 2:04:36 PM PST by IYAS9YAS (I got nothin'.)
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To: Drew68
"Seem to be" on the increase and "are" on the increase are two different things.

Oh, they are on the increase. The numbers of sickos are up, but the rates with respect to the population usually run about the same.

39 posted on 11/01/2015 2:06:56 PM PST by IYAS9YAS (I got nothin'.)
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To: Jim from C-Town
My brother lives in Columbus right next to Dublin.

I happen to know the RCA pastor in Dublin (schoolmates way back when), and he said no one came to his home this year. We had maybe 20 total in five groups show up, more than the previous few years.

40 posted on 11/01/2015 2:08:37 PM PST by chajin ("There is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12)
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