Thanks!
I work with an independent foster care agency rather than DHS directly, so we have a pretty tight-knit community of foster families. I would say that about a quarter of our families have LGBT parent(s). Being a foster parent is great. 
Surprisingly fun too - whenās the last time you played laser tag?
Apropos of nothing, we just started taking two full-time kids on at a time, and our second kid arrives today! Iāll leave to pick him in about 2 hours.
Itās also harder to recognize people as albino in Canada. Pigment deficiency is a national sport.
Authoritarianism is for fascists.
And fear is for idiots.
Few times do you need to actually fear anything anymore.
ā¦because if the situation was going to escalate, much better to have that happen in the bus?
Now thereās a fuckton of privilege on display.
Tell me again how fear is an idiotic irrelevancy after youāve had your loved ones hospitalised by a hate crime.
Well, one person did, but it wasnāt a cop, which is a nice change.
My wife is Chinese, Iām white and very pale. Itās always been apparent that unless people have actually seen us together and weāre introduced as a couple that weāre considered an unlikely pairing. Itās like people are blind to the possibility unless itās pointed out. Or maybe itās because sheās better looking than me, rather than a failure of imagination?
I would be constantly on the phone.
Does anyone have numbers on this?
If a child has actually been reported missing, it makes sense to check anyone fitting the description. But has there ever been a case where someone called the police out of the blue to report someone who didnāt look quite right and it actually turned out to be someone kidnapping a child?
In the Toronto area, stopping a TTC bus? Probably the Toronto Police Service, possibly Peel, Durham or York Regional police, very unlikely OPP, extremely improbable RCMP. .
Yes. And Iām not Torontonian. This is one of those cases where the pretensions of Torontonians lie pretty close to the truth. 
Could be worse - she could be telling them to find a cop.
just a minute, what is your relationship to that GIF?
well I guess it is probably more likely men, but even so given the statistically insignificant amount of sexual predators in the population even just asking any man would not be likely to be a problem. Or maybe the kid could be told to find another mommy or daddy. Anyway, people are crazy, uneducated, and probably too stupid to know what albinism is in a large swathe of the functioning population.
So, the kid gets shot, the dad gets a āhave a nice day, sir.ā
Whoah, I never said you shouldnāt fear the establishment, I was speaking to general fears like ghosts and such.
P.S. Wow, agenda much?
P.P.S. Yep. White privilege on display. What do you want, a plaque? Or equanimity? Iām for equanimity among peoples.
Yes, but then the joke does not work, seeā¦
Perhaps some people missed a line or two:
If an officer canāt or wonāt behave professionally, reasonably, and respectably, that is good reason (probable cause?) to assume that they are not operating within the bounds of their authority. Maybe itās different in Canada, but in the U.S., it would not be unreasonable to expect that youāre about to become a victim.
Anytime theyāre giving orders, the officer should be able to give some explanation, spoken calmly, (without needing to go into detail) to respectfully address the concerns of those being ordered around and avoid escalating to a confrontation.
This is of course the correct line-of-thought and response. Give the cop the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps heās not malicious, just poorly-trained or distracted or having an off day.
Edit: The few times Iāve been stopped or questioned by cops, they have been polite and respectful. Iād like to think thatās the norm and that the reports that make the news are exceptions.
Jokeās on me. I was sure this would be an American story. When my daughter was with my sister and me, people often commented that they could sure tell whose daughter she was, because the two of them have the most spectacular red hair. I donāt. When my son was in high school, he often travelled to Mexico with his best friend and the kidās father. We had to provide him with a notarized statement that we knew Mr. X and that he had our permission to travel with him.
If I were ever to make such a call, it would be due to the behaviour of the two, not the colour of their skin.
Iād be shocked if women offended in the same numbers, but of course we donāt know for certain. The true numbers of sexual assault are certainly higher than what is reported.
Who knows? Maybe for whatever reason, women are far less likely to get caught for pedophilia?
Anecdotally, I know a few men who were sexually assaulted as adults by women. For a laundry list of reasons, the chances of them ever going to the police is basically 0.
