MAILBAG: When the Danger Is Spiritual, Everyone Knows What to Do. When the Danger Is Physical, Suddenly We’re Clueless?

When Rabbanim determined that unrestricted internet posed a serious spiritual danger to our children, they did not shrug their shoulders.

They demanded action.

Massive asifos were held. Standards were created. Schools implemented rules. Parents were required to sign forms. TAG was established. Filters became expected. Rabbanim spoke about the issue constantly. Schools educated students and parents. An entire infrastructure was built around confronting the danger head-on.

Nobody said, “What can we do? Technology is here.”

Nobody said, “The kids are going to use it anyway.”

Nobody said, “Parents can’t control everything.”

The message was simple: Our children are in danger, so we are going to do something about it.

Fine.

Now explain the response to electric scooters and e-bikes.

Children are flying through our streets on powerful electric vehicles — weaving through traffic, shooting through intersections, riding against traffic, suddenly emerging from between parked cars, and operating machines capable of serious speeds without the maturity or judgment to fully understand what can happen in a split second.

Every driver sees it.

Every parent knows about it.

We constantly hear about accidents and near misses.

Yet suddenly, the response is:

“What do you want us to do?”

“Everyone has one.”

“The parents can’t control them.”

“The schools can’t get involved.”

Really?

When the concern was that a child might be exposed to something spiritually harmful, an entire community mobilized.

But when the concern is that a child might actually get killed, suddenly nobody knows what to do?

I’m sorry. I don’t buy it.

If Rabbanim could demand internet policies from schools and families, they can demand basic safety standards for children operating electric vehicles.

If schools could tell parents what technology was acceptable in their homes, they can certainly address students recklessly riding high-speed scooters through the streets on their way to and from school.

If an entire infrastructure could be created to protect children from spiritual danger, surely an infrastructure can be created to protect them from being struck by a vehicle.

This is not a call to ban every scooter or e-bike. They can be used responsibly.

It is a call to recognize that what is happening on our streets right now is dangerous — and that the collective shrug is unacceptable.

Where are the rabbinic statements?

Where are the school policies?

Where are the parent meetings?

Where are the age restrictions, safety standards and consequences?

Where is the urgency?

There is something deeply backwards about demonstrating that we will move heaven and earth when we fear for a child’s neshama, but suddenly becoming powerless when we fear for the child’s actual life.

We have already proven that when communal leadership believes something is dangerous enough, it knows exactly how to get everyone’s attention.

So let’s stop pretending nobody knows what to do.

God forbid, we should not need a funeral before this issue finally becomes important enough for everyone to act.

Avi G.
Monsey

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