I don't think enquiring about the welfare of the kid is out of line. A simple 'he is living with a relative', 'foster care' would have sufficed and would not be a breach of privacy. You told an interesting story and it's completely natural people are curious how the situation unfolded.
The story is about the father, the fact that he had a child figured into his reasoning (and in the wrong way) which is why I mentioned it.
It's a small world and not all curiosity is good, the basic story does not change and the whereabouts of the child are about as private a piece of information that I possess.
It's also a real issue where the privacy of the affected child in question should supercede the curiosity of random questioners on the internet.
There are better ways to try to publicly discuss such things. If someone actually cares about the welfare of the children, they shouldn't have a problem with being told "this is not a good question to ask." If they have a problem with it, that tends to say something about their actual priorities.
> It's also a real issue where the privacy of the affected child in question should supercede the curiosity of random questioners on the internet.
(also responding to jacquesm)
I think there are ways to answer the question that don't compromise the privacy of the child. And I mostly disagree with jacquesm's that the outcome of the child is "nobody's business".
This is a touching anecdote that humanizes a drug trafficker. There are lots of valid questions on how the laws around drugs should be structured and enforced. While anecdotal, being told "the father lost legal custody and the child is now a ward of the state living in a foster home" may impact how people think about long-term incarceration as a solution. And if this answer is "the child is living with his loving grandparents and doing well", while still anecdotal, this may have a different but equally valid impact.
But while 'jacquesm' is under no obligation to answer, I don't think it's wrong or necessarily impolite for 'orthoxerox' to ask about the outcome for the child.
