History Main / TooSmartForStrangers

Compare DrugsAreBad, another favorite kids-show message in the 1980s.

->''"Kids, there's nothing more cool than being hugged by someone you like! But if someone tries to touch you in a place or in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, that's ''no'' good! It's your body; no one has the right to touch you if you don't want them to. So, what do you do? First, you say 'NO!' Then, you get outta there! Most important, you gotta tell someone you trust, like your parents, your teacher; a police officer."''

* ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears'' ''Learn About Strangers'' has a comparatively realistic and intelligent handling of the subject.

->''"Kids, there's nothing more cool than being hugged by someone you like! But if someone tries to touch you in a place or in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, that's NO GOOD! It's your body; no one has the right to touch you if you don't want them to. So what do you do? First, you say 'NO!' Then, you get outta there! Most important, you gotta tell someone you trust, like your parents, your teacher, a police officer."''

It's also worth noting that in the vast majority of child kidnappings and sexual abuse cases, [[WorryingForTheWrongReason the abuser is not a stranger]] but someone the child knows and trusts, usually because they have easy access to the child and, in custody cases (which are almost all kidnappings) the kidnapper has something to gain by kidnapping the child. The fact that [[CluelessAesop this Aesop is based on faulty information]] renders it almost entirely useless, so it fell out of favor by the end of TheNineties. A couple of high profile cases where lost children ''actively hid from the police or other adults trying to find and rescue them'', as [[JustForFun/TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs they'd had it drilled into them that all strangers were dangerous]] and would kidnap them given the opportunity, [[DiscreditedTrope put the final nails]] into the simplistic interpretation of this idea. These days, experts advise caregivers to warn their children against "[[https://safelyeverafter.com/prevention/ Tricky People]]" rather than "Strangers," putting the focus on suspicious ''actions'' rather than on whether you know someone.

* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': "Lesson, lesson... If you see a stranger, follow him!"

* In ''FanFic/YouGotHaruhiRolled'', [[HumanoidAbomination Kuyou]] somehow ends up trapped in a cardboard box, and, in a parody of Creator/EliezerYudkowsky's "AI in a Box" thought experiment, is reduced to begging passers-by to let her out. Shortly afterwards, [[HisNameReallyIsBarkeep Imouto]] and Miyoko walk by, and Kuyou tries to persuade them to release her. Miyoko is all set to do it, but Imouto refuses, bringing up this trope. So Kuyou is forced to stay in the box until a rainstorm ruins the cardboard. According to [[WordOfGod the writer of the fic]], his incarnation of Miyoko is a NightmareFetishist, so that may have something to do with her willingness to release Kuyou.

-->'''Hero:''' "And Kel, I get that you're meeting your childhood dream heroes. Meeting the Psychonauts must be a great experience for you. But do you know what Mom said about strangers?"
'''Kel:''' "Never trust them on first sight?"

* There's one segment on this featuring Fonzie from ''Series/HappyDays''.

It's also worth noting that in the vast majority of child kidnappings and sexual abuse cases, [[WorryingForTheWrongReason the abuser is not a stranger]] but '''[[ParanoiaFuel someone the child knows and trusts]]''', usually because they have easy access to the child and, in custody cases (which are almost all kidnappings) the kidnapper has something to gain by kidnapping the child. The fact that [[CluelessAesop this Aesop is based on faulty information]] renders it almost entirely useless, so it fell out of favor by the end of TheNineties. A couple of high profile cases where lost children ''actively hid from the police or other adults trying to find and rescue them'', as [[JustForFun/TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs they'd had it drilled into them that all strangers were dangerous]] and would kidnap them given the opportunity, [[DiscreditedTrope put the final nails]] into the simplistic interpretation of this idea. These days, experts advise caregivers to warn their children against "[[https://safelyeverafter.com/prevention/ Tricky People]]" rather than "Strangers," putting the focus on suspicious ''actions'' rather than on whether you know someone.

It's also worth noting that in the vast majority of child kidnappings and sexual abuse cases, [[WorryingForTheWrongReason the abuser is not a stranger]] but '''[[ParanoiaFuel someone the child knows and trusts]]''', usually because they have easy access to the child and, in custody cases (which are almost all kidnappings) the kidnapper has something to gain by kidnapping the child. The fact that [[CluelessAesop this Aesop is based on faulty information]] renders it almost entirely useless, so it fell out of favor by the end of TheNineties. A couple of high profile cases where lost children ''actively hid from the police or other adults trying to find and rescue them'' as [[JustForFun/TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs they'd had it drilled into them that all strangers were dangerous]] and would kidnap them given the opportunity [[DiscreditedTrope put the final nails]] into the simplistic interpretation of this idea. These days, experts advise caregivers to warn their children against "[[https://safelyeverafter.com/prevention/ Tricky People]]" rather than "Strangers," putting the focus on suspicious ''actions'' rather than on whether you know someone.

It's also worth noting that in the vast majority of child kidnappings and sexual abuse cases, [[WorryingForTheWrongReason the abuser is not a stranger]] but '''[[ParanoiaFuel someone the child knows and trusts]]''', usually because they have easy access to the child and, in custody cases (which are almost all kidnappings) the kidnapper has something to gain by kidnapping the child. The fact that [[CluelessAesop this Aesop is based on faulty information]] renders it almost entirely useless, so it fell out of favor by the end of TheNineties. A couple of high profile cases where lost children ''actively hid from the police or other adults trying to find and rescue them'' as [[JustForFun/TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs they'd had it drilled into them that all strangers were dangerous]] and would kidnap them given the opportunity [[DiscreditedTrope put the final nails]] into the simplistic interpretation of this idea. These days, experts advise caregivers to warn their children against "[[http://safelyeverafter.com/tips.html Tricky People]]" rather than "Strangers," putting the focus on suspicious ''actions'' rather than on whether you know someone.

* ''WebVideo/Civvie11'''s review of a game based off ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'' has the debut of Cancer Mouse. Cancer Mouse introduces himself by saying he's going to teach children lessons about stranger danger, which Civvie agrees with... [[MoodWhiplash and then Cancer Mouse adds]] [[EstablishingCharacterMoment lessons about white genocide]]. Civvie kicks him out before he could talk about both topics

* ''WebVideo/Civvie11'''s review of a game based off ''[[Film/FromDuskTillDawn]]'' has the debut of Cancer Mouse. Cancer Mouse introduces himself by saying he's going to teach children lessons about stranger danger, which Civvie agrees with... [[MoodWhiplash and then Cancer Mouse adds]] [[EstablishingCharacterMoment lessons about white genocide]]. Civvie kicks him out before he could talk about both topics

* In ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'', "community theatre" group Legz Akimbo performs a play on this subject in a school. It ends with the moral that ''anyone'' you encounter could be a paedophile, so only trust people you meet online!

A VerySpecialEpisode with a moral about a very important issue: all adults that you don't know are ravenous, sex-thirsty [[PaedoHunt child molesters]] waiting to [[BadSamaritan lure you into the back of their white van with promises of candy and toys]]. This Aesop came along in TheEighties as child abduction and abuse, particularly in the wake of the 1981 abduction and murder of 6-year-old [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Adam_Walsh Adam Walsh]], became a national concern in the United States and shortly thereafter there was a nationwide panic about Satanic cults that were alleged to be kidnapping and sexually abusing children.

A VerySpecialEpisode with a moral about a very important issue: all adults that you don't know are ravenous, sex-thirsty [[PaedoHunt child molesters]] waiting to [[BadSamaritan lure you into the back of their white van with promises of candy and toys]]. This Aesop came along in TheEighties as child abduction and abuse, particularly in the wake of the 1981 abduction and murder of 6-year-old [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Adam_Walsh Adam Walsh]], became a national concern in the United States and shortly thereafter there was a nationwide panic about Satanic cults that were alleged to be kidnapping and sexually abusing children (though after extensive investigation, no such cults were ever actually found).

It's also worth noting that in the vast majority of child kidnappings and sexual abuse cases, the abuser is not a stranger but '''[[ParanoiaFuel someone the child knows and trusts]]''', usually because they have easy access to the child and, in custody cases (which are almost all kidnappings) the kidnapper has something to gain by kidnapping the child. The fact that [[CluelessAesop this Aesop is based on faulty information]] renders it almost entirely useless, so it fell out of favor by the end of TheNineties. A couple of high profile cases where lost children ''actively hid from the police or other adults trying to find and rescue them'' as [[JustForFun/TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs they'd had it drilled into them that all strangers were dangerous]] and would kidnap them given the opportunity [[DiscreditedTrope put the final nails]] into the simplistic interpretation of this idea. These days, experts advise caregivers to warn their children against "[[http://safelyeverafter.com/tips.html Tricky People]]" rather than "Strangers," putting the focus on suspicious ''actions'' rather than on whether you know someone.

* The TV version of ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears Learn About Strangers'', from the 1980s SaturdayMorningCartoon adaptation, is more nuanced than most examples of its era. The BumblingDad decides to ScareEmStraight, until Sister Bear is [[ParanoiaFuel reduced to a terrified wreck who doesn't want to leave the house]]. The CloserToEarth mother (as always) has to reassure Sister Bear that there are dangerous strangers out there, but you can't be paranoid like that. In some ways the book (while sharing this nuance) is creepier because the newspaper pictures are in black-and-white the reader has time to read the text and let it and Sister's wide-eyed expression sink in.

** In "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset", Butters says thar his parents told him to never get in a car with a stranger... unless it's a limousine.