ShadowSwipe t1_iuge4vr wrote on October 31, 2022 at 2:55 AM

Reply to comment by BYNX0 in When I see families trick or treating on the Sunday before Halloween by TimSPC

One bad thing happens one time and you get all kinds of extremist zealots going "we can never let it happen again" and that's how these stupid rules end up inconveniencing everyone in some ridiculous way.

At some point we need to accept that sometimes, bad things might happen, and not everything can be fixed to be "perfectly splendid", especially not without removing normalcy. One bad incident does not neccesarily mean everyone else in your town needs to change their way of life to make sure it never happens again. A 7PM kid curfew on Halloween is ridiculous. People need to stop with the hopeless pursuit of making the world completely grey and bland with such stupid ordinances/laws. It's hard to argue against pursuing "making things better" so a lot of people just passively accept these extremist approaches and it never stops until you have no semblance of normal left. I've seen this type of attitude in businesses, I've seen it in HOA's, I've seen it in legislative bodies. They always end up worse off and no one can explain how they ended up there.

It reminds me of The Giver.

OkBid1535 t1_iuh39mq wrote on October 31, 2022 at 8:04 AM

My sister lives on base on McGuire and they have a 2 hour window to trick or treat from 5-7. When she told me that, bragging like it was some wonderful rule. I said “yeah us free American civilians can go out starting at 3pm if we so feel like it and we can end at 8…you can keep your two hours I’m going to let my kids be kids and go out as long as there little hearts and feet desire. My kids say there feet hurt and we stop and that could be 4 hours into our adventure, like yesterday.

A curfew or weird block of time to go is ridiculous in my opinion.

Also I agree with other commenters. There is zero need for multiple trunk or treats on every weekend leading up to Halloween. Especially here in Tom’s river. Walking is accessible all over this town and it’s just laziness to have so many trunk or treats.

jailguard81 t1_iuhe0zt wrote on October 31, 2022 at 10:44 AM

2hrs? Not sure how that’s bragging. military rules sounds like communism. we go at like 4-8. Or when kids get tired. You’re not gonna get enough candy in 2 hrs 🤣

OkBid1535 t1_iui18gs wrote on October 31, 2022 at 2:19 PM

Exactly! I laughed so hard when she tried to “sell” there trick or treating, as if it’s some wonderful perk your allowed only 2 hours to enjoy trick or treating. Give me a break!!! I heard hours are between 2-8 pm in most towns, some from 2-9. Allow people to go when the hell they want, not some time slot.

jailguard81 t1_iuibpap wrote on October 31, 2022 at 3:32 PM

Yea that’s the thing about military is that they enforce a lot of rules and can be very strict. I was in it for 20 years and I’m so glad I was done with that part of my life 😂 no freedom what so ever. You go home when they tell u u can go home. there is no 9-5 or whatever your set schedule is lol

BYNX0 t1_iugkpul wrote on October 31, 2022 at 3:55 AM

Very true, i can relate to your comment. I need to start referencing the giver more

Ezl t1_iuhpflr wrote on October 31, 2022 at 12:45 PM

What’s the “one bad thing?”

ShadowSwipe t1_iuij93d wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:23 PM

It's just a general statement as what typically drives these types of rules. One rare terrible thing happens and everyone goes on a crusade to change everything to attempt to make sure nothing terrible ever happens again. Don't get me wrong, there are of course many things that are in fact worth fixing but some people don't understand that not every bad incident ought to require some sweeping solution in a senseless pursuit to make sure everyone is 100% perfectly safe, or tidy, or happy, etc. Sometimes, bad things happen, and we have to accept that and move on.

I don't know what specifically drove the 7PM curfew in this case, but based on the ridiculous nature of the rule, I can only assume the justification is equally bad.

Ezl t1_iuizrsh wrote on October 31, 2022 at 6:12 PM

Oh gotcha. I totally get what you mean but I asked because in other instances (I suspect this one included) the “one bad thing” never even happens, it’s just some weird, unjustified fear. Like, we all know about the “razor blade in an apple” fear but that literally never happened anywhere. But parents have checked their kids candy for decades. This year there was the rumor that drug dealers were (for some reason) disguising fentanyl as candy and giving it to kids which, of course, makes no sense.

So I totally get what you were saying and agree that it happens but I’d bet this 7pm curfew is more the result of baseless fear than any specific event.