At the beginning of November, a video recording was leaked in the English press: In Brighton, England, a man speaks to a little girl wearing pink clothing.

It happened on November 5, 2018 near the Churchill Square shopping center in Brighton: someone observed the scene and reported it to the police, a short time later releasing these surveillance camera recordings:

Screenshots mimikama.org
Screenshots mimikama.org

The machinery was set in motion

Helicopters searched the area, every car that left the shopping center was checked, more witnesses were sought, and 400 taxi drivers were given the description of the man and child. Who else was able to observe this? Where did the man go with the child? Does anyone know the people? Is a child missing somewhere?

Clarification after midnight

The police have already said that the man and the child may know each other and may even be related. At half past midnight, seven hours after the recordings were released, the Sussex Police issued this statement :

“Police investigating a report of a possible child abduction in Brighton can confirm that the little girl (…) was indeed with her father , she is sleeping safe and sound at home.”

Shortly before midnight, a man from Brighton reported to the police after he became aware of the footage on TV and social networks.
He is the father of the child;
The footage shows him and his 3-year-old daughter, who didn't want to go home. The police drove to the address given and were able to confirm the father's information.

Would you rather be on the safe side?

These types of events seem familiar to us. For years, white vans have been driving around in this country, either kidnapping children or pets. Users repeatedly post warnings about alleged organ traffickers who are “currently” traveling in XYZ.
In the rarest of cases the claims were correct. Organ traffickers have never been caught, but rumors about their existence persist. For example, in one case it was simply an employee of a company who always parked his van in front of the school in the morning to have his boss give him today's orders by phone.

We see an everyday situation. A father talks to his seemingly whining daughter. But the alarmism in our heads, caused by a lot of (false) reports, turns the situation into something different: we are witnessing a kidnapping!

We don't even think to make sure. We don't listen to what the two of them are saying either. An adult talking to a child? This can only be a pedophile kidnapper, no doubt about it!

But this is no longer “playing it safe”. This is hysteria .
This is an everyday situation in a place where parents travel with their children. But the alarm goes off in your head!

Back to zero

The alarmism in our heads is slowly going too far, the adjustment is completely out of place. Alarmed by constant warnings about pedophiles, about kidnappers, about the horror on every corner and in every white van, our perception of events has shifted.

We see a father with his child and think “pedophile.” You have to look around with concern before you hug your daughter in public, maybe even (how perversely!) kiss her on the cheek. Because this alarmism lurks in everyone. “Just don’t show affection to the child in public, you could be taken for a pervert!”

It's time we just see some things as they are. It's time we stopped suspecting horror behind every everyday situation.

It's time to think humanely again.


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )