Have you seen this?

Blueyed228 · June 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_have-you-seen-this?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:57c79157-fb88-45e4-a9c3-0659fec01753Post:45930562-bedf-4114-a8ca-6cd0a8bc4da2">Re: Have you seen this?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Have you seen this? : [QUOTE] He should sue the shiiiiit out of them. Posted by Blueyed228[/QUOTE I think sueing is a little over-reacting. I think that the guy in the article is the winner in this in the way he's handling himself. Good on him, he's a good example of classiness. Did B&N fuuck up? Hell yeah! Sueworthy? Nope. And Brandi, no way was there any policy like that in place when I worked for B&N. Crap, I just realized that I've been gone for 6 years...I was with B&N for 17 years. And jcb, yes, the Tattered Cover is hippy dippy! Big time hippy dippy.
Posted by Bkseller13[/QUOTE]

They basically accused him of being a pedophile. I would sue and I hate when people sue.

AllAboutTheBenjamin · June 2012

The last B&N I went to was on my college's campus so it was where I bought all my textbooks, definitely not suburban housewife, more like, broke college student. I'm sure it depends on where it is who the clientele are.

But yeah, that policy is crap. A grandpa shopping for a book for his grandkid is not the same as some pervo with his wang hanging out staring at Dora the Explorer. FFS.

Wiscisbliss · June 2012

This is pissing me off. Even if the guy was a pedo, kicking him out of the store isn't the best course of action. Calling the police is. If you kick him out of the store he'll just find his way to Chuck E Cheese.

NuggetBrain · June 2012

If somebody did that to my grandpa I would have lost my sh*t. Somebody would have been assaulted, probably the busybody b*tch who got her grandma panties in a wad over a man alone in the children's section. Because you know that heifer doesn't own anything other than white cotton Hanes-Her-F*cking-Way.

LetsHikeToday · June 2012

So I'm wondering what exactly their policy is? It seems as though they agreed with what they did until the public outrage.

Does that mean my H will never be able to go buy a book for our kid?

anna.oskar · June 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_have-you-seen-this?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:57c79157-fb88-45e4-a9c3-0659fec01753Post:596d2f93-5979-4cc6-a91c-a179630ffd51">Re: Have you seen this?</a>:
[QUOTE]So I'm wondering what exactly their policy is? It seems as though they agreed with what they did until the public outrage. Does that mean my H will never be able to go buy a book for our kid?
Posted by LetsHikeToday[/QUOTE]

<div>My H wouldn't go to B&N last year by himself to pick up some books to add to the gifts for our nieces and nephews. He says he feels uncomfortable in the kids' section because everyone always looks at a man alone like he's "scamming on babies".</div><div>
</div><div>It's so sad that our society has gotten to the point where a man is automatically looked at in a distrustful light.</div>

brilibby4 · June 2012

Oh FFS he was at a bookstore. Its not like he was hanging around a school playground taking pictures of kids or something. I don't even remotely understand it being policy to kick out men in bookstores because you assume they are pedophiles. Stereotype much?

JenGin74 · June 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_have-you-seen-this?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:57c79157-fb88-45e4-a9c3-0659fec01753Post:e5ca94fb-f428-410d-b6fe-3373ed02f975">Re: Have you seen this?</a>:
[QUOTE]Lenore, I'm not a parent either but I'd side eye an old guy alone in the kids section. <em><strong>And I can't tell you how often I see parents drop their kids off in the kids section and head off to look for their own stuff.</strong></em> Our B&N isn't that huge so I guess they feel it's ok.
Posted by Girlie1030[/QUOTE]

This bothers me more than you could imagine. Total parenting fail. If something did happen to their kid, they'd probably try to blame the store because how dare anyone question their stellar parenting skills. Eyeroll.

On a similar note pertaining to the OP, my husband is friendly to children when we're out to eat, shopping etc. If a child were to smile at him or say something to him, he'll make kid-friendly conversation with them. It's sad that I have to constantly remind him (although it feels like scolding) that he shouldn't talk to other people's children because they'll take it the wrong way.

I think it's completely fvcked up that in our society someone can't be nice to a child without being thought a pedophile, but parents can just ditch their kids in the children'd section of a bookstore and then act all shocked if something actually does happen to them.

kd.joseph · June 2012

I have an idea! Why not make a policy that parents attend to their children in the children's section! Solve a lot of problems. If a parent leaves their kid there, kindly walk them over to them and tell them their policy is that parents do their job.

Lenore2010 · June 2012

This thread has made me glad that I stopped going to bookstores really about two years ago. Good thing I have the 64g iPad, because that's where I buy my books and magazines now. The time and the trees saved (now there is some hippy dippy!) makes the loss of the traditional print and paper well worth it, not to mention the portability!

monkeysip · June 2012

Wow, poor fellow.

Seriously, this is a terrible policy, unofficial or official.

I think we should assume old men AREN'T pedophiles until there is evidence otherwise. Looking around at kids' books isn't evidence of anything.

I do agree with bookseller though that good customer service can work wonders. Just have someone ask if he needs help, and if necessary, have someone shelve books nearby. You know, it'd be nice if store workers actually walked around and were available often in these stores. For people that actually buy things.

whitsy · June 2012

I think that is so unfortunate

And really, is a bookstore where pedophiles go to pick up kids? Seems like there'd be a huge chance of a camera picking their faces up or someone walking by.

Simply Fated · June 2012

I feel so bad for this man! What if it had been my father trying to surprise me with a new copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? Or my bf trying to find something for his sister?
If it was an old lady, would the policy still apply? This is very, very twisted.

LetsHikeToday · June 2012

I guess I'll send my husband with our kid's birth certificate. Maybe that'll work. :-/

chelseamb11 · June 2012

If I were him, I wouldn't sue for money, but I would sue for them to remove that policy. It's absolute stereotypical crap to assume that every man alone in the kids section is a pedophile. Just because there was an issue with it elsewhere doesn't mean it will happen there too.

And agreed on the unsupervised kids. I obviously don't condone kidnapping/other harmful things done to kids, however, if you leave your kid unattended in a store, part of that blame is on you.

zizibet · June 2012

This scared the crap out of my FI. He isn't youg, and looks older than he is. He buys books all the time for his great nieces and nephews, and for our friends' kids. Sometimes I'm with him, sometimes not.
And I can understand suing. There are various circumstances in which being accused of acting like a pedophile without actually doing anything even, could be really damaging.

Summer2011Bride · June 2012

Yeah the whole thing is ridiculous. And although I'm sure that statistically men might make up the majority of pedophiles or kidnappers, it doesn't mean there hasn't ever been a woman to kidnap someone else's child, yet I bet B&N wouldn't have blinked had some grandmother or mom been in there sans child.

And definitely parents should not be letting kids run around willy nilly unsupervised out in public. I also agree that if there is a suspicious customer, whether you feel they might be shoplifting or watching the kids, etc., all an employee would have to do is ask if he needed help, and if the answer was iffy, stick around and pretend to straighten shelves for awhile to keep an eye on the customer.

SEWF · June 2012

As someone who works at a bookstore (not B&N), it is something we have to be on the lookout for.

However, we know that most men have no ill intent. We are always aware of what is going on, but for the most part, they just want to shop like everyone else. The people at B&N should have asked him if he needed help. Grandfathers shop for their grandchildren, too.

And Girlie is right, a lot of parents leave their kids in the children's section and go to a different part of the store. So I understand the concern of leaving a child there unattended, with ANY stranger. However, THAT'S the problem, not that there was a man alone in the kids section.

And I'll agree with Blue. B&N is not a good place to work. A couple of my coworkers worked there before coming to our store have told me about their business practices, and they are not employee friendly. I recently heard that they cut hours of longtime employees so they didn't have to pay for health insurance. Not cool.

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