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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

[Maddy McCann] Parents suspects. Is anyone surprised?

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by Mustafar_66, Sep 7, 2007.

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  1. Moylesy

    Moylesy Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 2001
    I've never left my kids alone.

    Not even to run down the shops for a loaf of bread, but that's just me*.

    * = edit - Obviously not just me ;) .
     
  2. darth_frared

    darth_frared Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2005
    recent surveys suggest that children need unsupervised play time.

    otherwise may turn into psychos.

    i win the thread![face_dancing]

    I suspect that you also hold strongly to this opinion/expectation and your complaints of our lack of sympathy for the parents, bandwagoning, is becuase you do not want to believe that a parent could do such a thing. You do not want to accept that parents, for whatever reason, can do the unthinkable, and instead of accepting that it does happen, you ignore obvious evidence that bring their story into question, and also ignore the fact that they put the child in danger in the first place by leaving her alone which already begins a pattern of child endangerment which could escalate. In a court of law this would be acceptable in establishing the history of the crime and therefore I believe it is acceptable enough for our little discussion.

    Now, your opinion is valid, I would never deny you having it, but you have little more evidence that the parents didn't do than we have evidence the parents did. Coming in and just telling us that 'we're wrong because we can't prove it' when we're not trying to prove anything but that our own suspicious could be validated is not an arguement but borderline inflammatory. Also, having to resort to childish tatics of "nice try", etc, only furthers this aspect and has nothing to add your case.

    Lastly, in the point above about my assesment of your views, I use my own background in both criminal justice and history to judge your stance in this subject. Your approach I have often seen before, but I will admit that I could be wrong, so gladly request you provide the evidence to prove me wrong.


    can't say what i'm here to prove. that my view exists, that the parents are innocent, that you are wrong???

    again, nowhere have i stated that the parents could not or would not or should not (haha) have done it. your point is moot.

    they are innocent until proven guilty, i will not condemn them to the stigma of having killed their own child, while there's no proof for their guilt and we are looking at mere statistics and our valuable and useful experience. (i wouldn't condemn them after the case is solved either but that seems kinda irrelevant now.)

    i still fail to see how leaving a 4yo to sleep with her siblings is child endangerment. i know i know... i'll turn into the worst mother ever and unsupervised play and sleep never did anyone any good etc etc but i just can't help [face_blush]
     
  3. halibut

    halibut Ex-Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 27, 2000
    What about letting your kids play outside, unsupervised and out of sight (ie not in an enclosed back garden). That would also be leaving them unattended (not that there's anything wrong with that)
     
  4. Qui-Ton-Set

    Qui-Ton-Set Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    May 7, 2006
    I would not let a 4 year old play in the street unattended. (I assume that is how old Maddy is/was)
     
  5. halibut

    halibut Ex-Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 27, 2000
    Quite right too.

    I'm not talking about people here or anyone specific, but the general group of people (as I said from other forums) who basically say that their children have never been out of their sight. It's not just 4 year olds that get abducted after all
     
  6. Qui-Ton-Set

    Qui-Ton-Set Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    May 7, 2006
    The trouble with the issue of child abduction is that the subject is massively distorted way out of proportion. It makes the headlines beacuse of 2 reasons:

    1. It is a subject that people naturally fear.

    2. It is an event that (thankfully) very rarely happens.

    The reality is that in the UK today, less children are adbucted than ever. Less children and adults are murdered than ever. More children are abused and neglected by their own parents than are abducted, yet those examples make a 90 second report on the evening news only to fade into obscurity...

    Quite simply the media has(as always)sensationalised the worse aspects of humanity and told us what to think and fear. It relies on instilling fear so we buy the next edition. How often do you see a good news Headline?

    You only know what you know - seldom do we ask what are we NOT being told?

    The reality is that leaving your child for 5 mins to buy a loaf is fine. Assumiing they are of an age where they aren't going to fall down the stairs, the odds of something going wrong is extremely low. However, the Press and therefore public opinion would lead you to think otherwise. Even I am a victim where I would never leave my kids alone...

    Of course we should be vigilant, but a child is still far more likely to be killed walking to school with an adult only to be hit by a car crossing the road, or as a passenger in a car crash than being abducted; yet not many would say "I can't believe you put your child in a car!"

    Stats are not the be all and end all, but if a parent is to make an a risk-managed decision then all factors need to be taken in to account.

    Fear is the ally of the press aswell as the abductor.

    And don't get me started on how much money we are wasting on the fight on terrorism....!

     
  7. halibut

    halibut Ex-Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 27, 2000
    =D=

    Can't disagree with anything there.

    Talking about stats, I wonder how many children per year are killed by abductors compared to how many children are killed by family. I would THINK (based on no evidence whatsoever) that the family figure would be higher. If that was the case, why do (some) people think it's more likely that Madeline was abducted rather than killed by the parents?

    But what about that war on terrorism eh? We need to fund the troops more. Let's divert cash from the NHS :p
     
  8. darth_frared

    darth_frared Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2005
    i just read it on teletext really and i kept nodding. i can't remember if they were talking about a specific age. the concern is with social learning and interaction at large. overprotection will casue neurosis (among other things).
     
  9. Spike2002

    Spike2002 Former FF-UK RSA and Arena Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2002
    As for letting kids go unsupervised, I think my parents started letting me go out on my own to walk to and from school at about 7-8 years old, and I could go out and play football at the local rec ground (about 2 mins walk) at around the same age. To that age they pretty much supervised me all the time and would only let me hang round with my primary school in my back garden (it was about an acre anyway so plenty of space for us).

    Still, in a foreign country I was only allowed to wander around outside of our accommodation area in big groups of people my own age even when I was about 11-12.
     
  10. halibut

    halibut Ex-Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 27, 2000
    "Kate and Gerry McCann are about to learn whether they can use cash from the Find Madeleine campaign to fund their legal defence.

    The trustees of the fund - which has raised more than £1m - have confirmed they are meeting at 2pm this afternoon to decide whether the money can be used.

    The cash was pledged to help find the missing four-year-old, and there are legal questions over whether it can be used to help the parents."


    The cynic inside me says this was the plan all along. Should the money be released for this, and they are found guilty there will be a LOT of very very angry people, and there will surely be countless lawsuits started for donators to get their money back (Mind you, there'll be lawsuits aplenty anyway if they are found guilty)

    That said, I would be surprised if the trustees allowed the money to be released for a legal defence. The monies were supposed to be used to help find Madeleine, and not for any other purpose.
     
  11. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 25, 2002
    BBC News is saying the McCanns won't be using the money for legal expenses.
     
  12. halibut

    halibut Ex-Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 27, 2000
    Aye

    Reports coming in that the police have seized Kate's diary
     
  13. Moylesy

    Moylesy Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 2001
    The thing that bemuses me about this whole thing is the amount of their "friends and family" who are willing to make statements to the media. Where do they all come from?
     
  14. halibut

    halibut Ex-Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 27, 2000
  15. Moylesy

    Moylesy Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 2001
    What a load of Bull. If there was a conspiracy theory there the goal would be to increase parents fear for their children's safety. It would be an ideal opportunity for someone to make a small comment about tracking microchips, which ties in with control of the populace. The Illuminati want to control and monitor people's activities not open an underage knocking shop :rolleyes: .


    That is if you believe in that sort of thing....
     
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