What a scary world we live in

1. 60

   Ohmaposted 13 years ago

   I just got this e-mail from my sister. I am not sure of the original source but if it is true it is way to scary
   
   
   
   Beware
   On the way to Canton, driving on Michigan Avenue, on Thursday
   morning, I saw an infant car seat on the side of the road with a
   blanket draped over it. I did not stop, even though I had all kinds of
   thoughts running through my head. But when I got to my destination, I
   called the Canton PD and they were going to check it out. This is what
   I was told...
   
        "Several things to be aware of .. gangs and thieves, are now
   plotting different ways to get a person to "stop" their vehicle.
   "There is a gang initiation reported by the local police department
   that gangs are placing a car seat by the road...with a fake baby in
   it...waiting for a woman, of course, to stop and check on the baby.
   Note that the location of this car seat will usually be beside a
   wooded or grassy (field) area ...and the person - woman - will be
   dragged into the woods- beaten and raped- usually left for dead. DO
   NOT STOP.
        DIAL 9-1-1 AND REPORT WHAT YOU SAW.
   
        "IF YOU ARE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND EGGS ARE THROWN AT YOUR
   WINDSHIELD. DO NOT OPERATE THE WIPER AND DO NOT SPRAY ANY WATER
   BECAUSE EGGS
        MIXED WITH WATER BECOME MILKY AND BLOCK YOUR VISION UP TO 92.5%
   YOU ARE THEN FORCED TO STOP BESIDE THE ROAD AND BECOME A VICTIM OF
   THIEVES. THIS IS A NEW TECHNIQUE USED BY GANGS.
   
        PLEASE INFORM YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. THESE ARE DESPERATE
   TIMES AND THESE UNSAVORY INDIVIDUALS WILL TAKE DESPERATE MEASURES TO
   GET WHAT THEY WANT."
   
        Please talk to your loved ones about this. This is a new tactic
   used and I would hate for anyone to fall victim to this kind of crime.

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2. 72

   mythbusterposted 13 years ago

   urban legend?
   
   Ohma, perhaps you and I should check this one out...
   
   Does your sis have any newspaper clips of police warnings in the area or anything like that?

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   1. 60

      Ohmaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      When I googled the first paragraph I found http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2541996/posts but again I do not know if it is reliable. Snopes.com says it is a lie but again who knows.

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3. 60

   logic,commonsenseposted 13 years ago

   A very scary world indeed!  We must not back down or evil will overtake us.  The death penalty and harsher sentence's for people that perpetrate this kind of crimes are part of what needs to be done!

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   1. 60

      Ohmaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I agree and the appeals process needs to be revamped.

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4. 60

   Ohmaposted 13 years ago

   Goodness I hope so.

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5. 72

   mythbusterposted 13 years ago

   Found the same story on a forum...
   
   Next, I will cross-reference newspapers - if I can find 'em...
   
   And headed directly over to Snopes and also to US police warning/"ticker" sites....
   
   Anyone with me on this?

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6. 72

   mythbusterposted 13 years ago

   Ohma, would this alleged police warning be from the Canton-PD in Massachusetts? - or a different state area?
   
   (I have found more than one "Canton" in the US...)

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7. 60

   Ohmaposted 13 years ago

   Mythbuster you seem to know more resources than I do I will be happy to hear what you have learned.

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8. 72

   mythbusterposted 13 years ago

   I can't phone from where I'm at in Canada, but for anyone who CAN phone and ask the Canton-PD in Massachusetts about this alleged "warning," the number off the Canton-PD website is:
   
   (781) 821-5090

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9. 72

   mythbusterposted 13 years ago

   Looks like a copy-paste that is just starting to spread online, Ohma, however...
   
   That is NOT to say that people should never worry about taking care on the road...
   
   I'll keep looking for a way to contact Canton-PD, myself, but I'm finding more forum postings, exactly same wording, cut-and-paste...
   
   I wrote a hub about "Gang Initiation" urban legend...and this sounds like an extremely COOL variation of the legend... sounding "more authentic" as a warning than the version of urban legend I wrote about... way cool, the added "precautions" about the eggs...

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10. 72

    mythbusterposted 13 years ago

    Hey Ohma, now I have a Canton, Michigan so I'm at a dead end...
    
    What area is your sis from? I have found NO "warnings" from the Canton, Michigan public safety and alert site.
    
    And a Canton Ohio... need some definite help here lol
    
    There are probably towns in Canada with the same name, too - just can only open SO MANY windows at one time from search result links, eh? lol

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11. 60

    Ohmaposted 13 years ago

    I am pretty sure that it came out of Canton Michigan. My Sis is in Del. but she travels a good bit.
    How reliable is Snopes.com they are the only ones I have found that claim it is an urban legend.

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12. 60

    Ohmaposted 13 years ago

    http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.d … 0107010481
    
    
    This is from the local newspaper in Canton. Thank goodness this is not true but still the fact that people can even think like this is scary.

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13. 85

    rebekahELLEposted 13 years ago

    on the other hand, never underestimate the power of the media.. sadly. it's a crazy world out there.

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    1. 61

       SomewayOuttaHereposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       It is...I'm going to take off on a trip by myself - through some areas that are rather remote...but going to do it anyway....I'll just be aware of my surroundings...it's really too bad.

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       1. 60

          Ohmaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Even though this appears to be a hoax there are plenty of real dangers out there please do be careful when traveling.

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             SomewayOuttaHereposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             ..i will...i do pay attention to this kind of info...sometimes there's a bit of truth behind it...you just never know.

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             1. 72

                mythbusterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                I agree...there's SOME truth to it, I think, too...
                
                People NEED TO be more careful about personal safety?
                
                Urban legends often come out in response to cultural needs. There may not be a gang initiation epidemic happening, but probably, SOMETHING frightening has happened that has some portion of the public feeling the need to issue warnings about double-checking for safety issues, etc.

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                1. 61

                   SomewayOuttaHereposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                   yea....it's all so sad....now that i'm not with my former spouse...people tell me I have a 'bubble' all around myself....looking out for myself I guess....it's a good thing too...didn't seem to think about so  much before...and now unfortunately I have to.....darn!

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14. 72

    mythbusterposted 13 years ago

    I emailed the crimestoppers tip people from Canton-Michigan but that's as far as I've gotten...
    
    I'm not sayin' that this warning might not have been issued in good faith somewhere... it just looks SO MUCH LIKE the "gang initiation" urban legend...
    
    And contains sure-fire signs of a really cool process of version alteration... I hope I don't seem too geeky - but I don't get a chance to observe a myth-version-build process like this too often...
    
    The way this story can spread SO FAST across the internet is AMAZING...
    
    Signs of urban legend: the authoritative-sounding data about the egg thing...92.what percent? Now who the heck really knows how much exact percentage of egg-white smears like that?
    
    "[...]dragged into the woods- beaten and raped- usually left for dead [...]" Almost "morphed" into "the Hook" urban legend, so this "alleged" rumour, if it's not really true - is mixing details from other VERY frightening urban legends... the violence mentioned - TYPICAL urban legend "morbid/macabre" shock feature...
    
    
    
    Wayyyyyyyyyy cool stuff .

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15. 72

    mythbusterposted 13 years ago

    Ohma - That's Canton Del- Delaware? (I'm Canadian...not quite up on all your abbreviations).
    
    Snopes staff are pretty well versed in how to tell urban legends - and also on the Snopes site, they do publish "strange but true" articles when an urban legend turns out to be a true event/story.

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    1. 60

       Ohmaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Found an Article in the Canton Mi Newspaper that says it is not true. posted a link earlier.

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       1. 72

          mythbusterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          I saw that, Ohma - that you posted a link - but new forum posts elsewhere are still going up... pretty neat stuff - sorry, just trying to wind down a bit and close a few extra windows now.
          
          I suppose the way most people view a warning like the one in the OP differs very much from how I react and view the same "warning."

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          1. 60

             Ohmaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             That's okay. I think that the people who imagine these kind of things and put them out there are seriously wacky. I really hope that if they find whoever started it that there be some harsh punishment.

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             1. 72

                mythbusterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                It might not be 'imagined' and 'fabricated' stuff in the way you might think...
                
                Often urban legends start because of attribution errors, observational errors and jumping to conclusions which seem logical but are not.
                
                Perhaps wherever and with whomever this legend started (this time), there has been word of an abandoned car and missing person in the community or something...might have sparked details of the "gang initiation" legend to mix with the known facts so far...something like that. That's just one way that an urban legend could start circulating without it being a deliberately planned hoax, a premeditated fiction, etc.

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16. 59

    CulinaryFoolposted 13 years ago

    Your story may not be an urban legend. Several years ago, we were heading to my sister-in-law's house for (yet another) post-Christmas celebration. We were taking back roads towards her house, and when we made a turn, there were several garbage cans and a dumpster in the middle of the road so that we could not pass.
    
    My hubby had to stop the car, and when he did, shots rang out and a bullet flew through my window. My hubby grabbed my head, shoved me to the floor and just--well, not sure what he did but it involved flooring the gas pedal.
    
    My two-month old daughter was in the back seat in her infant seat covered with shards of glass, and I had cuts across the side of my face and I temporarily lost hearing in my right ear. Fortunately, my daughter, hubby and I were all okay, but the police told us pretty much the same thing--it's some kind of gang initiation thing. They block the road and wait for unsuspecting drivers-by to stop their cars.
    
    They then told me that the best thing to do in any situation like this is to get down and get out. If anyone approaches the car, run them over. Yup, that's what they told me. And trust me, after my experience--I would do it in a heartbeat.

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17. 60

    Ohmaposted 13 years ago

    Wow!
    That must have been really bad. I am glad all are okay. and like Mythbuster pointed out there is usually some truth in these things.

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       SomewayOuttaHereposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Wow! again...that's crazy stuff!

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18. 60

    Ohmaposted 13 years ago

    Mythbuster did you read the post above from Culinaryfool. seems like there is some truth to this type of thing happening.

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    1. 72

       mythbusterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Yep, I sure did, Ohma... My brain is pondering... what an awful experience to be shot at...
       
       Which is why I have made sure to add in my posts, the message that urban legends are still IMPORTANT...'cos they contain SOMETHING important that society needs to hear or that someone or some group needs to convey.
       
       I don't like the idea of "debunking" much - 'cos it can keep people from heeding/paying attention to a story like the one CulinaryFool has shared with us.
       
       As for what you say, Ohma, about "seems like there is some truth to this type of thing happening." Yep - I agree. It's "possible" stuff...but without some critical thinking - and double-checking, many urban legends can create a great deal of hysteria and fear.
       
       "Killer in the Back Seat" urban legend has also happened for true, on a few occassions. It's one that should keep people on their toes, attention on lone-traveller tips and driver safety, too.

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19. 72

    mythbusterposted 13 years ago

    Thanks for the OP, Ohma - this is the BEST OP I've seen in MONTHS! U Rock! It gave me some interesting stuff to look up and think about.

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20. 60

    Ohmaposted 13 years ago

    Glad I sparked your enthusiasm.

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21. 82

    timorousposted 13 years ago

    I think it's also possible that as some urban myths gain some traction, it can incite particularly twisted minds to carry out these heinous crimes for real.  The internet is full of foolish behaviour caught on video which becomes popular for a time, then fades away.
    
    As for urban myths and the like, one should be skeptical and just use common sense.
    
    Still...best to be vigilant at all times, but not show fear if confronted by a perilous sitation, if possible.

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