Last spring, her son, 10, announced he wanted to walk to soccer practice rather than be driven, a distance of about a mile. Several people who saw the boy walking alone called 911. A police officer stopped him, drove him the rest of the way and then reprimanded Mrs. Pierce.
To me, this is just insane. Walking a mile alone when you're ten years old shouldn't be an issue unless there's a riot going on or something.
What are you telling the kids about the world around them when you're terrified of letting them out into it? Not that people in general are decent people who can be trusted to not cause them any trouble, at least. Maybe this is connected to how "many" Americans feel they need guns to protect themselves?