Friday, November 17, 2017

Cameron Cook, 17, Intervenes for Young Girl

Cameron Cook helped protect a little girl from a pervert at the South Bay Target. (WBZ-TV)

 

Cameron Cook, a teenager,  and his mom were doing some shopping at the South Bay Plaza Target when something odd caught his eye–a man with what he describes as a demonic look on his face.

“I seen the guy grabbing himself, and my mom goes, ‘Cam let’s go, keep walking,’ I was like, no, something’s going on.”

It is interesting to see two distinctly different protective capacities clash:

They saw a man grabbing himself in public.  Recognizing the inappropriate behavior, the mother's instinct to to protect her offspring.  This is her feminine instinct:  Cameron is her baby. 

But Cameron is 17 and his masculinity is to intervene.  Sociologists call this the "three P's" of masculinity:  Procreate, Provide and Protect and that men are fulfilled when they exercise all three.  

Cameron is both her baby, but he is also older than the victim, which may thus incite his desire to protect. 

Yet, we learn from the article:  he is both younger and smaller than the perpetrator.  

The 17-year-old noticed that man fixated on a young girl pushing a shopping cart.

I was close enough that I could smell the liquor coming from his mouth,” said Cameron’s mother, Heather Cook. “It was horrible.”

This is sensory language that suggests not so much that she smelled it on his "breath" but his "mouth"; a possible indication that she not only heard what he said, but was troubled by it.  

But it got worse when the man thrust himself up against the somewhat startled youngster, prompting Cameron to step in. Here we see:

"The Rule of the Negative" intuitively understood by the brave young man.  What someone tells us in the negative is elevated in importance.  When it comes freely, without being questioned:  it is very important information. 

So I went up to him, I was like, ‘Excuse me sir, do you know her?’ And then the first thing he said was, ‘I’m not a pervert, I’m not a pervert.’ 

I was like, I didn’t ask you that sir,” said Cameron.

Cameron paraphrased his own language, consistent with a teenager, though reduced in reliability for exact language.  This is particularly interesting because:

a.  Cameron does not editorialize his statement by claiming to be polite.  If he said, "I was like, excuse me sir', as politely as I could..." we would consider possible deception of categorization. Instead, he uses it twice, about his own language but not for the language of the alleged perpetrator. 

Why not?

b.  Cameron was in logic with the numeric of what was said "first", but does not tell us what came after that.  

This may be due to editing but it also may be due to the same reason as the above, "Why not?" question:

the elevated importance of hearing the Rule of the Negative, instinctively may have arrested his attention.  

Cameron recognized that the alleged perpetrator offered to him, in the negative, an open statement and it was strong enough to drop the word "like" and repeat it.  

"I'm not a pervert" is to offer, without being asked, what he is not. 

He then repeats it, increasing the sensitivity with "I'm not a pervert."

This is where people often feel to ask within themselves, "who is this person trying to convince; me or himself?" 

The mother's protective capacities over her baby remain.  She sized up the two, instinctively: 


He was big, and Cameron had no fear at all,” said his mother. “He just stood firm on the fact that he knew what this man was doing was wrong.”

The mother knew why Cameron was not intimidated into staying away from the situation, by the size disparity:  right from wrong, or "righteousness."

An old definition of masculinity is as follows:  "masculinity is the sacrifice of strength for righteousness."

This is why Western civilization embraced the slogan of the Titanic of "women and children first", something eyewitness accounts gave that was so powerful, millions joined the "Titanic Society" pledging to sacrifice themselves for those weaker than themselves and to put "women and children first."

This is not a philosophy shared by the world, even at the beginning of the 20th Century. 

Cameron put himself in harm's way with an older and bigger man.  This is what sacrifice looks like.  He risked harm to self for a greater purpose:  a child. 

Cameron suggested the man leave the store, and he did–denying and cursing all the way.  The article did not give us quotes, which would have been interesting.  
The Target at South Bay Plaza. (WBZ-TV)

Surveillance video had been turned over to police.  His mother is rightfully proud of the young man: 

“I’m very proud of him, but it’s totally within his character. He’s not afraid to do what’s right.”

There were also heartfelt thanks from the young victim’s mom, who apparently was in the bathroom at the time. Does the "hero" or "celebrity status" weigh upon the 17 year old as a priority?  We need to only listen to him to know:  

“I’m just happy I was there to protect her,” said Cameron. “Because you never know what could have went on.”

the word "just" is a dependent and comparative word.  He is comparing something (or some things) to protecting the victim.  In context of being interviewed, it would appear that Cameron's interest in protecting the little girl was more than interest in being a "hero" or interviewed.  

This was what mattered most to him. 

In a time where civility is breaking down and everyone claims to be a victim of some kind, this young man's example is refreshing to read. 

Had the alleged perpetrator molested the young girl, she might have suffered for the rest of her life; she and all those who love her, or will love her.  

Perhaps Cameron will consider a career to "protect and serve", and go into law enforcement.  



30 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an uplifting story. I'm trying to instill those qualities in my own teenage son in a world that tells masculinity is toxic.

D

Bobcat said...

This analysis makes me smile!

Trigger said...

I am proud that Cameron Cook took the initiative took protect a child from harm when he knew something was amiss in spite of the risks. His mother has a fine young man for a son.

I agree, he should think about a career in law enforcement.

I have two children who are Deputy Sheriffs. One of them also stopped a perpetrator who was in the act of sexually abusing a child during recess, at the elementary school she attended. The perp stopped what he was doing when he saw my daughter watching him. He chased after her yelling for her to stop, while pulling the victim along with him, in an effort to keep my daughter from reporting the abuse. She made it to the principle's office and asked for help.

Both girls were second graders. I cringe when I think about what might have happened to my daughter if she had not made it to the principle's office before the perp had the chance to silence her and his victim.

My daughter was a credible witness in court. The perp was successfully prosecuted. It was revealed after the trial that he had prior complaints against him for the same crime.











New England Water Blog said...

One late night as a young man riding a city bus I observed another older bigger guy menacing a young woman on the bus. He was quiet but threatening to her. I didn't acknowledge any of it but when she got off the bus and he exited as well I decided to do the same.

I never spoke to her or looked at her, or him either. I just walked the same way and close enough that the sicko couldn't make his move. She finally got to where she was going and I just kept on,no confrontation with him at all. It took me a long time to get home that night but I've never doubted I did the right thing and without really doing anything at all, just being present.

Anonymous said...

What a great kid, Peter. It's amazing how the 3 P's don't kick in for many men at all at any age. I'm not sure how I even understand how some men have become so unmasculine these days, as I do believe it is normally instinctual, but when these instincts do not develop correctly in men, it becomes quite a disaster.

Anonymous said...

Could I ask your opinion about this study?
Scientific Content Analysis (SCAN) Cannot Distinguish Between Truthful and Fabricated Accounts of a Negative Eventhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4766305/

Anonymous said...

^^ The four 'raters' had a combined training time of less than four days.
Of course they couldn't tell between truthful and fabricated accounts.

Anonymous said...

What did New England Water Blog Do?

He did nothing to prevent nothing. He literally states that the man did nothing and that when he (New England Water Blog) got off the bus he did nothing stating he didn't even look at the man or woman. ???

Am I missing something?

Hey Jude said...

Cameron is a fine young man.

So also was New England Water Blog in his kind and noble act.

Anon, of course there is "quiet but threatening" - looks, staring, a sneering half-smile, hostile body language. Have you never been made uncomfortable by an unfriendly stranger staring at you? NEWB prevented a possible crime, or at least a very uncomfortable walk for the girl, which IS doing something - he also inconvenienced himself in order to see the girl to where she was going, which is also doing something. I can guarantee she was very thankful that the threatening guy was not the only guy who was walking behind her. If he had intended to do anything, he was prevented by NEWB's presence - and if he hadn't intended to do anything other than be an intimidating jerk, the girl could not have been certain of that - she would not have been quite so scared, knowing he was not the only man walking behind her - she would have been hoping NEWB walked as far as she was going, in case the threatening guy did also.

What I like about that is that the girl didn't know he did that for her.

Anonymous said...

The bravery of youth!
I ran out of my flat when I was 18. With a bucket of cold water. The reason. A bloke was beating his wife up outside. People were ignoring it or watching. So I had this length of time to fill a bucket with cold water. Exit the flat. Go down a flight if stairs and exit a building to turn right and walk around it.
I dumped the water on the bully then walked back inside.
I have no idea why I did that. It did stop him hitting the woman. Who never got the courage to leave him. Bizarre.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

The study is flawed. They had them choose deceive v truthful without "unreliable."

Give me an average intellect police officer and 12 months and he or she will run at 100% accuracy.

3 1/2 days of training?

The UK voted against the training due to money. Today, rank and file can solve nothing that involves Islam and they have police male officers painting their fingernails and driving vehicles painted with homosexual symbols.

They are not protecting nor serving anyone but politicians and they hate it.

Peter

John Mc Gowan said...

OT:

Peter

Is it a red flag when someone is missing a parent (in most cases it's usually the father) praises volunteers (and not authorities) for their turnout and search efforts.
I know it's a red flag when they [parents] eulogise authoritie (
Deor being an extreme example)

Thanks

John Mcgowan.

Doing this on phone and can't gradp posting. My Google account is playing games so this may post as an anon. Lol

John Mc Gowan said...

It worked, yaaay

Statement Analysis Blog said...

John,

context is mandatory.

Is the missing parent extremely old and fragile?
How long has the parent been missing?
What is the weather?

In other words, it goes to the expectation of the subject.

Someone who is very elderly, missing so long that he cannot survive, and the adult child has processed the info., etc.

Peter

John Mc Gowan said...

Hi, Peter,

sorry i didn't explain that well. I meant a parent praising volunteers, (not authorities) when their son/daughter is missing and yet to be found

Thanks

Anonymous said...

Waffle House patrons claim dead frog was found floating in water glass

Anonymous said...

http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2017/11/17/waffle-house-patrons-say-dead-frog-was-floating-in-water-glass.html

Anonymous said...

@ John McGowan, Are you talking about the missing parent case in Worc county area? I found huge sensitivity in the adult son's language after the father was found & son said something like 'its hard to imagine how a guy could walk around for 48 hrs' (distancing from the father calling him "a guy" and there were like 4 other sensitivitive things in the paragraph. My opiniom was the adult son dropped him off on the other side of the bridge in the city & left him there to get attention. It is not believable the father strayed from his regular routine by "accidentally" walking over a very long and very obvious BRIDGE.

Anonymous said...

Anon @5:00. It sounds like bull (frog).

Paul Flanagan said...

OT

How about some fun with the just released possible DB COOPER LETTER?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5097055/Was-hijacker-DB-Cooper-s-escape-COVERED-FBI.html

Anonymous said...

8Claire Sheats says she and her husband were preparing to dine at a Tallahasse Waffle House on Nov. 5, but soon noticed something amiss about his water glass.

"In my husband's drink, there's a whole frog just floating around in the water," Sheats told WCTV.

Claire Sheats says she and her husband were preparing to dine at a Tallahasse Waffle House on Nov. 5, but soon noticed something amiss about his water glass.

"In my husband's drink, there's a whole frog just floating around in the water," Sheats told WCTV.

Claire Sheats says she and her husband were preparing to dine at a Tallahasse Waffle House on Nov. 5, but soon noticed something amiss about his water glass.

"In my husband's drink, there's a whole frog just floating around in the water," Sheats told WCTV.

According to Sheats, she and her husband emptied the glass on the table for a closer look, and were able to confirm that there had been a small dead frog floating in his drink. Worse yet, Sheats says her husband had already been drinking from the glass before they made the disgusting discovery.

Sheats claims the staff was just as shocked as they were, but the manager offered an apology.

Sheats and her husband also elevated their complaints to Waffle House’s corporate offices and the local health department, the latter of which dispatched health inspectors to the restaurant on Nov. 9.

"It's a whole frog in a water drink and you're at a restaurant,” Sheats told WCTV. “You have hairs in your food sometimes or maybe a little piece of plastic from packaging. But, this is an amphibian and that's not something that — you definitely lose your appetite immediately."

The station reports that health inspectors found 11 violations at the Tallahassee Waffle House location, though none were of immediate concern to the public.

Waffle House spokesman Pat Warner, meanwhile, tells Fox News that the company is "not clear how this happened," but claims that Waffle House is "trying to get to the bottom of it" to find out how, exactly, the dead frog ended up in Sheats' husband's water glass.

Warner also told Fox News that the regional manager personally called Sheats to apologize, and invited both her and her husband back to the restaurant, where he would personally cook a do-over dinner for them. They accepted, according to Warner.

“Serving quality food and delivering a quality experience are responsibilities we take seriously, and we will continue to review this matter,” he added in a statement o7btained by WCTV.
http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2017/11/17/waffle-house-patrons-say-dead-frog-was-floating-in-water-glass.html

Anonymous said...

Sorry for duplicate paragraphs

Tania Cadogan said...

How dI'd it not get noticed by the server?
It would stand out in a clear clean empty glass.
How would have gotten in via the water since it would not have fitted through the tap which leaves either in the ice container in which case how was it not noticed when it was scooped up in the ice and placed in the glass or it was placed in deliberately either by the server/drink maker or by the customer.


I have worked in restaurants and a fast food place, I always checked what I was putting in the glass,cup or container. It is instinct.
A whole frog is not easy to miss either from size, color or both

John Mc Gowan said...

It's a whole frog in a water drink and you're at a restaurant,” Sheats told WCTV. “You have hairs in your food sometimes or maybe a little piece of plastic from packaging. But, this is an amphibian and that's not something that — you definitely lose your appetite immediately."

The universal "you" this is not universal. Distancing language.

Change in language from "frog" to "amphibian"

"immediately" is not needed. Why wouldn't you loose "your" appetite NTP.

Bobcat said...

"just" floating


It sounds like they considered other options i.e. hair and plastic, as ways to finagle attention and freebies.

Trudy said...

Paul Flanagan @11:58

Sirs,
I knew from the start that I wouldn't be caught.
I didn't rob Northwest Orient because I thought it would be romantic, heroic or any of the other euphemisms that seem to attach themselves to situations of high risk.
I'm no modern day Robin Hood. Unfortunately do have only 14 months to live.
My life has been one of hate, turmoil, hunger and more hate. This seemed to be the fastest and most profitable way to gain a few fast grains of peace of mind.
I don't blame people for hating me for what I've done, nor do I blame anybody for wanting me to be caught and punished, though this can never happen.
Here are some (not all) of the things working against the authorities:
I'm not a boasting man
I left no fingerprints
I wore a toupee
I wore putty make-up
They could add or subtract from the composite a hundred times and not come up with an accurate description; and we both know it.
I've come and gone on several airline flights already and am not holed up in some obscure backwoods town.
Neither am I a psycho-pathic killer. As a matter of fact I've never even received a speeding ticket.
Thank you for your attention.
D.B. COOPER

If the letter is real, and DB,is "not a boasting man" why would he send the letter? there is a lot of information in the negative. Who is "they" (witnesses?) and "we" (Cooper and LE) ? There's something about "I have come and gone " which suggests the writer is in the same city that the crime took place. " never even received" is not reliable. I think it's fake. Written by a white, male. 30-50, who,lives in the city the plane departed from. He possibly worked/works for an agency involved in the investigation.

Anonymous said...

Picture of said frog / amphibian
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5096079/amp/Florida-couple-finds-dead-frog-water-Waffle-House.html

John Mc Gowan said...

Sheats said, "My husband and I have always enjoyed Waffle House. But, being that that happened, it kind of puts a bad taste in your mouth."

http://www.wctv.tv/content/news/Dead-frog-found-in-drink-at-local-Waffle-House-458027903.html

Anonymous said...

Peruvian frog drink is a drink found in Peruvian marketplaces, this juice is prepared by simply dropping frogs into a blender, creating a thick, starchy beverage thought to have medicinal qualities. Usually, the living frogs will be selected by the customer from an aquarium, beaten unconscious, and skinned before being liquefied. Some frog juice connoisseurs swear that the drink can cure respiratory illnesses and even increase sexual stamina -- earning it the nickname "Peruvian Viagra."

I did not make this up.

Anonymous said...

Remind me never to go into a Peruvian marketplace. That is absolutely disgusting, even worse than the dancing squid soup I saw on fb today.