PSA: Reminder

Thanks Victor! I'm glad that you show up on this stream sometimes tbh, it's a break from how chaotic this place is.

I beg to disagree. Not everyone is a manipulative sexual predator. You're missing a lot of opportunities if you never meet your best friend.

My older half sister met someone on Roblox when she was thirteen and bam. She is now going to be the maid of honor for my sisters wedding.

I've called many people I met online because I trust them and they're the only people I have since many people in person dont like me.

There are many precautions you can take before meeting someone you met online.

I have to get ready for a class. I’ll continue this later when I have time.

Sure.

You are saying this on a WEBSITE FULL OF TEENS. Everyone who reads this, this is not okay. DO. NOT. MEET. WITH. PEOPLE. WHO. YOU. MEET. ONLINE. PERIOD.

Tell me the difference between meeting someone online and in-person that makes it so bad.

https://evolvetreatment.com/blog/meet-online-person-irl/

Nah I'm not going to read an article with no counterargument. I want your opinion.

The f**king article is my opinion.

I meant give me direct feedback with what I stated above. You aren't my favorite user here and I am positive the feeling is mutual. So just make this easier for the both of us.

People can pretend to be ANYONE online. They can say they are 14 when they are 40. They can say they are a girl when they are a boy. They can say whatever the hell they want.

Jade. You are being very aggressive. Nobody will listen to Anger. Please try to calm yourself

So you have yet to learn what trust is?

And like I said, you can take PRECAUTIONS.

Such as video chat.

And you two could even meet at a CONVENTION so if something bad were to happen, there would be witnesses.

That works for an adult.
But this site is full of teenagers with depression and other mental illnesses that make them vulnerable to grooming.

How does that work for a teen as well? Your arguments are so poor it's infuriating.

“How does that work for a teen as well?”
In case you missed my entire points.
It doesn’t.

How does that not*.

Not everyone is, but the chances of meeting one is very great. Your sister is very fortunate in this case, but not many others. Predators are like hunters: they are patient, cunning, and intelligent.

You've mentioned precautions; can you tell me what are they?

All the things that can happen by meeting up with someone you met online can happen just by going to the supermarket, anyways. Every day is a risk.

Conventions are a great place for online friends to meet up. That's one of the main reasons why people go to conventions too.

Video chat before meeting.

Meeting up somewhere public like a convention, a park, a tourist attraction, etc.

OK, I'm impressed. A prior video meet up is good so you can see the person before meeting him/her (although that person can be the lure him/herself).

But in meeting do you have a police presence with you? And what do you do when you're grabbed from behind and sticks a gun on your side?

That is extremely rare.

Most conventions have security or police forces present. Plus, conventions will have other people around.

It is more common than you think. Yes, while there are security in public venues but most security guards are not armed and still others are not allowed to intervene but only to call the Police.

With the Police themselves they do not stay in one spot but conduct patrols. They must do that in order to spot not just criminal activity and appear at a fortunate chance of an incident, but spot suspicious items in a form of an unattended or left behind box, bag, or luggage.

As it is unfortunately, the Police is not called the "Thin Blue Line" for nothing; they are a small force and unfortunately getting smaller because civilian leadership at the local and state level are making it ever harder for the individual law enforcement officer (LEO) to stay in their jobs without getting in legal trouble.

Again, there are witnesses. People can come to your rescue. Plus, if this person is a predator and says that they are only a 14 y/o girl, but you see a 60 something y/o in your meeting spot, red flag right there.

You take risks everytime you walk out your door. A little bit of trust can go a long ways.

Its not fair to exclude someone out of your life just because you met them online first. Plus sexual predators might just be your neighbors.

And if you are really insecure, why not ask some of your in person friends to come with you while you meet up? I doubt someone can pull a gun on 6 people, or even be sneaky around 6. Or even hire an officer.

And.... there is an additional problem.

Have you heard of Bystandard Paralysis? You see, the public, the average citizen, are not trained or conditioned to react to danger or in this case, a sudden kidnapping.

When they see a kidnapping with a victim screaming they don't know what to do. They are frozen on the spot and unsure what to do. Some might think its a prank, and others fearful of lawsuits are unwilling. Still others, not trained in combat, instantly reach a moment of Fight or Flight (and Freeze or Faint) default to freeze. It's not their fault, it is a physiological defense mechanism that gives them the best chance of survival.

More on the Prank, there is another that must be accounted for, and that is Cognitive Dissonance with regard to danger, When an Active Shooting occurs it is all too common for people to think "Hey did I just hear firecrackers"?

Their mind, not used to or accustomed to the said danger, reverts to denial. They do not want their bubble notion of a safe world to burst. Afterward, they're left in disbelief; how could this happen? They're not trained to react, or accept that there is evil in this world.

So in this case, seeing someone being kidnapped before their eyes they revert to denial. "Is this a prank?" "Is this really happening/?"

You are generalizing both the public and everyone online.

I am speaking from experience. There was a man attacking someone else at a berry farm i used to work at. Another person jumped to the rescue. Not every person is like that.

This argument is getting more and more pointless for me. We can agree to disagree, however, this post really upsets me because its closing the door on many opportunities.

The information I've given you are from top law enforcement sources such as Lt. Col. David Grossman who trains both Law Enforcement and Special Operations personnel (including Tier 1 operators) to fight and recognize behavioral indicators, and understand physiological and psychological factors and traits.

His teachings are widely taught all over the country and internationally.

Killology Research Group. https://www.killology.com/

The points I'm making is not an act of Hasty Generalization, but an unfortunate fact.

Yes, we take risks every day, but this is a risk we do not make commonly, so the public, by and large, are not aware of so they do not watch out or recognize criminal indicators of kidnapping.

I said i am finished.

Lives have been lost to this. I've made so many mistakes giving my address to people online. And now I have to face the consequences. We want to keep people safe because I've seen far too many people be harmed by this.

You shouldn't give your personal address out, correct. But after a year or so, whichever you are comfortable with, it is completely fine if you meet up with someone if a mutual feeling of trust has been established, if you took precautions beforehand, have talked to this person on video call, have spoken to other people this person knows in person, etc.

I plan to meet a lot of my online friends once covid is over.

All the things that can happen by meeting up with someone you met online can happen just by going to the supermarket, anyways. Every day is a risk.

Conventions are a great place for online friends to meet up. That's one of the main reasons why people go to conventions too.

Always do that that's how my dad met his best bro on facebook