It did not mention Kinsley.
It did not mention the sedan.
It did not mention Silas.
That was the right thing legally.
But online, the town did what towns do now.
They filled in the blanks.
Some people demanded to know why a sanitation worker had been “allowed near children.”
Others defended him.
Some blamed Kinsley’s father for letting her have a phone.
Others blamed the bus driver.
Me.
One woman wrote, “Where were her parents?”
Another wrote, “Where was the community?”
A man wrote, “Kids need privacy.”
Another replied, “Privacy from parents is how danger hides.”
That one went on for 412 comments.
And there it was.
The real argument.
Not left or right.
Not rich or poor.
Not young or old.
Something deeper.
Who owns a child’s safety in the age of the internet?
The parents?
The school?
The child?
The platform?
The neighbors?
The rough-looking man nobody trusts until they need him?
