Here are some pics:
Yes indeed this is truly horrible. Imagine, a company here in the north east of Scotland - in Aberdeenshire - which has as its main aim the manufacture and promotion of a system which enables young children to be taken outside - without a car! Disgusting. It's a kind of abuse, isn't it? We must assume that these are the children of poor people because otherwise they would be in a car, wouldn't they? In which case, what were they doing in Ferryhill? We considered calling the police.
On the other hand, if children must go outside (and we suppose that in these PC-brigade-dominated days it is necessary to do a bit of greenwashing here and there), there is something to be said for a system that teaches young children that walking about outside is something which requires special planning, special high-visibility clothing, special equipment and special permission. It is not something you can do independently; you are required to be part of a team which is tethered in a rigid and arbitrary hierarchy. Moreover, it teaches these kids that they will, for the rest of their lives, be constrained and chained. Freedom but a dream, they will be forced into rigid and arbitrary hierarchies, ordered where to go and when to go there. It is great that this lesson will be forced upon the coming generation from their pre-school days - by the time they are ready to join the workforce they will be pre-conditioned for unquestioning obediance. Indeed, they will have become dependent upon the constraints and chains which are put upon them from their earliest memory. They will be unquestionably and unquestioningly ready to service capital in the pursuit of endless economic growth. And that's all that really matters, isn't it?
Check out the inventor, she is really clever:
What.The.F**k. That looks like something that could (or has?) comes from a Dragons Den candidate!!
ReplyDeleteI've only just got back from buying my lunch near St Paul's in London and as I exited the lovely shop I noticed a small hi-vis'd up contingent of school children being lead up the road. Is this really what we've come to?
Apart from the fact that it's just bloody silly, I spot a flaw with this device. If one child should unfortunately be dragged up the road by a car, the rest will be dragged along by the "child safety walker".
ReplyDeleteHowever, I might be interested in one anyway for my next Arctic expedition. In these parts, children are more easily available than huskies, and this would be great for pulling a sledge.
The "really clever" inventor has won 10 awards for this product, including an MBE for services to child safety. Do your research and stop displaying your ignorance please.
ReplyDeleteJeeeeezus. This thing really is astonishing. So, rather than consider motor-traffic management policies along principles of shared space or filtered permeability - restricting the unhindered high-speed movement of motor traffic along residential roads where primary schools and community facilities are situated - we are presented instead with measures and systems which restrict the movement of children.
ReplyDeleteRather than address the issue of irresponsible and uncivilised motorist behaviour around schools, we have this locally invented “Walkodile” which is particularly execrable, resembling - actually no: replicating - as it does a chain gang for pre-teens. Locking them together in shackles, wearing high-vis sashes, restricting free movement, reinforcing the message that going outside is a dangerous and special activity, something which requires special planning, special clothing, special equipment and special permission.
This teaches children that being outside is not something you can do independently; you are required to be part of a team which is tethered in a rigid and arbitrary hierarchy. Moreover, it conditions these kids that they will, for the rest of their lives, be constrained and chained. Freedom but a dream, they will be forever forced into rigid and arbitrary hierarchies, ordered where to go and when to go there. And this lesson will be forced upon the coming generation of Aberdonians from their pre-school days - by the time they are ready to join the workforce they will be pre-conditioned for unquestioning obedience. Indeed, they will have become dependent upon the constraints and chains which were put upon them from their earliest memory. They will be unquestionably and unquestioningly ready to service capital in the pursuit of endless economic growth. And that's all that really matters in this town, isn't it?
I hope that the business behind the “Walkodile” fails, and I hope that anyone who has invested in it suffers the humiliating loss of their capital. Below is a video of the inventor demonstrating her "product" and attempting to explain herself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6S9bGhqzxg
If it were up to me she would be prosecuted and jailed. But then, she's already a hopeless prisoner of her own world-view, isn't she?
I note that the inventors of the Walkodile are now promoting the "Walkodile Song" which bears an astonishing similarity to those songs sung in the 'call out and reply' style by chain gangs, cotton-picking slave teams and yolked together galley-slaves. Coincidence?