All Men are Evil

Jeff Zaslow asks the question, Are we teaching our children to be fearful of men? The answer appears to be yes, emphatically so. Thus if a child is lost, they should be taught to seek out a pregnant woman, a woman with a child or a grandmother. Child advocate John Walsh says parents shouldn't hire a male babysitter.

Child-welfare groups say these are necessary precautions, given that most predators are male. But fathers' rights activists and educators now argue that an inflated predator panic is damaging men's relationships with kids. Some men are opting not to get involved with children at all, which partly explains why many youth groups can't find male leaders, and why just 9% of elementary-school teachers are male, down from 18% in 1981.

People assume that all men "have the potential for violence and sexual aggressiveness," says Peter Stearns, a George Mason University professor who studies fear and anxiety. Kids end up viewing every male stranger "as a potential evildoer," he says, and as a byproduct, "there's an overconfidence in female virtues."

In Michigan, the North Macomb Soccer Club has a policy that at least one female parent must always sit on the sidelines, to guard against any untoward behavior by male coaches. In Churchville, Pa., soccer coach Barry Pflueger says young girls often want a hug after scoring a goal, but he refrains. Even when girls are injured, "you must comfort them without touching them, a very difficult thing to do," he says. "It saddens me that this is what we've come to."

It saddens me as well. I have two daughters and I don't want them to grow up fearful of men, but want them to be prudent. Likewise, I don't want their friends to be afraid of me just becase I am a man.

An absurdly small percentage of of the population, including, by the way, some women, are child molesters. The majority of people when they see a lost child are moved to help, but if the fears being played out are the norm, more and more men will be hesitant to help a lost child, or teach young boys or girls or coach sports to our youngsters. Is that not more damaging to society as a whole than one or two perverts? Perverts and molesters can be punished, but society can't take this kind of punishment.





Via the Instapundit