(Thanks, B. :)

Reader B. sends us:

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I grew up in the urban areas of the

cities of New York and Chicago and

I started taking public transportation

to school when I was 8 years old,

with my 6-year-old brother in tow.

In retrospect, the world was a LOT

freakier, back in the '70s and '80s,

than it is today. I was grabbed on

the street, more than once by drug-

addled pedophiles - but I was able to

wriggle away and run like Hell because

I was then training in gymnastics and

was overall, a very physically-active

child.

In other words, I wasn't playng on

my Xbox during all my free time, like

many kids today.

As city kids, we needed to learn how

to live in the city. Sometimes, this

meant beating up other kids, in order

to not get beaten up, ourselves.

Uncannily, my 60-lbs self could knock

out kids with a single punch. I learned

how from watching "Batman." Seriously!

With the attacking kid knocked out cold,

on the sidewalk, that gave me time to

run away - fast.

This was life in the city and as normal

as could be, for me, back then. I'm

not saying this was ideal or aspirational

- but it did give me confidence and I was

never attacked on the street again until

I moved to LA during the Global Financial

Meltdown and got mugged from behind

at night by two very tall young men who

had it all planned out.

But even then, my childhood experiences

served me and I knew how to make the

ordeal end as quickly as possible, while

in a chokehold and getting punched in the

face and kidneys by each. I swiftly moved

to the ground and surrender my purse.

Yes, I was lucky, in all of these encounters

that no one used a knife or gun on me -

but statistics show that these more violent

crimes and murder, in general usually involve

someone you know - not total strangers

on the street.

In earlier adulthood, I saw people from my

generation become "Helicopter Parents" and

kids being required to wear helmets, while

riding bikes, and an onslaught of "Nanny

State" rules, some of which, like mandatory

seatbelts in cars were actually good ideas.

Overall, I feel that this hyper-litigious,

hypervigilant and paranoid society that we've

become, in recent decades has almost taken

the life out of life, itself.

Watching my "Helicoptering" peers raise

their children sealed the deal for my not

wanting any part of that kind of a life. This

is why I'm so glad that someone like Lenore

Skenazy, has finally emerged, to be the

champion of my views on this!

Skenazy, is a regular Reason.com

contributor, a former New York Daily News

and New York Sun columnist, and the host

of a new show on the Discovery Life Channel

called "America's Worst Mom".

Skenazy launched the "Free-Range Kids"

movement in 2008, after getting wide

attention for a column, explaining why she

let her nine-year-old son take the subway

by himself.

She's recently started making house calls

to nervous parents - like the Heath family,

shown here, of New Mexico. They recently

moved to the City. Click the link below, to

find out what happened next.

Video (almost 4 and a half mins):

Would You Let Your Kids Walk All Alone in New York City?

http://www.ForbiddenKnowledgeTV.com/page/27041.html

P.P.S. Please share ForbiddenKnowledgeTV emails

and videos with your friends and colleagues.

That's how we grow. Thanks.

Alexandra Bruce
Publisher, ForbiddenKnowledgeTV.com
Daily Videos from the Edges of Science

Producer, 'Heal for Free,' Feature Film

Buy Books by Alexandra Bruce

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