Madeleine Mccann Missing Girl

[Pink Freud]

I think there have been many intelligent points made by the so called "torch burners" just because they are parents and no one knows what they are going through does not mean that they should not have questions asked of them.

Who was that daft English backpacker whose boyfriend got killed in mighty suspicious circumstances in Australia a few years ago? She seemed to think she was above and beyond any form of interregation or scrutiny. There does seem to be something of a similarity in the two cases.

Well, I don't remember the couple themselves ever expressing such reservations. Maybe the redtops, though I don't remember that either TBH.

Again, it wasn't the questions that were so nauseating on here, it was the assertions.

[joozy]

I know what you're saying BA, but it strikes me that the McCanns would have sex live in front of a global audience if they thought it would do any good.

Where do i donate? Mummy McCann is a milf.

[Pink Freud]

Where do i donate? Mummy McCann is a milf.

You're not helping.

[H_B]

Well, I don't remember the couple themselves ever expressing such reservations. Maybe the redtops, though I don't remember that either TBH.

Last week's Times and Guardian went into full scale outrage mode when it emerged that the Portuguese press were asking serious questions about the inconsistencies in the stories given, which led to an article which stated it was ludicrous to suggest the McCanns could be suspects because of their demeanour.

Make your own mind up as to why such disbelief exists in the broadsheets, and whether a similar level of disbelief would be expressed should a similar situation arise, and the parents not be white, middle class professionals.

[bluetooner]

Make your own mind up as to why such disbelief exists in the broadsheets, and whether a similar level of disbelief would be expressed should a similar situation arise, and the parents not be white, middle class professionals.

Personally i would like to think that it would be a similar story no matter who the parents are. However any difference in the story would be the problem of the papers, not the Mccans.

[H_B]

Personally i would like to think that it would be a similar story no matter who the parents are. However any difference in the story would be the problem of the papers, not the Mccans.

I didn't say it wouldn't, but it indicates the class bias which exists in the UK.

[Guest Ron Burgundy]

Personally i would like to think that it would be a similar story no matter who the parents are. However any difference in the story would be the problem of the papers, not the Mccans.

The time, money, effort and discussion could have been put to use in saving literally hundreds of children over the past hundred days, with simple innoculations in Africa or digging a fresh water well in Africa. Yet the media has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds traipsing about after this family, it is quite simply disproportionate and the ugly side of supposed compassion. It reeks to high heaven.

We should be asking ourselves why do we allow this whilst proclamining utter guilt over fate of one solitary child.

If I can dig up the story of a kidnapped Indian child will the newspapers even devote a single comumn to it. The short answer is no, despite me having as much genetically in common with the Indian as I do Maddie and the indian childs life being as precious as Maddies.

We are a strange lot (I consider myself a bigger bag of contradictions than most) but perhaps some day all kids will be equal in our eyes and special consideration will not be afforded to some by proxy of their religious leaning. Only then can we talk of anger at others criticising the family for whatever reason.

[bluetooner]

The time, money, effort and discussion could have been put to use in saving literally hundreds of children over the past hundred days, with simple innoculations in Africa or digging a fresh water well in Africa. Yet the media has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds traipsing about after this family, it is quite simply disproportionate and the ugly side of supposed compassion. It reeks to high heaven.

We should be asking ourselves why do we allow this whilst proclamining utter guilt over fate of one solitary child.

If I can dig up the story of a kidnapped Indian child will the newspapers even devote a single comumn to it. The short answer is no, despite me having as much genetically in common with the Indian as I do Maddie and the indian childs life being as precious as Maddies.

We are a strange lot (I consider myself a bigger bag of contradictions than most) but perhaps some day all kids will be equal in our eyes and special consideration will not be afforded to some by proxy of their religious leaning. Only then can we talk of anger at others criticising the family for whatever reason.

Again, blame the media, not the Mccanns.

[Denji]

I just read this the other night... something along the lines of "the patio doors were left open"

WHIT?!?!

What a stupid, stupid, stupid thing to do.

[Diamonds are Forever]

my problem is not with the couple in question but rather with the faux emotional reaction of many individuals.

This is one little girl and the grief her family have is nothing/nada/f**k all/zip/zero to do with anyone apart from them. Those fawning disgust at some posts should perhaps cast their emotional net a little wider than middle class blonde pretty kidnapees and understand that the anger towards this family stems from disgust at the pedestal their situation has been placed on whilst every day children die that could have been saved with a fiver from their ill gotten campaign fund. Thats the tragedy here, our hearts are ruling our heads and our energy is being used to flog a dead horse when their are thousands of children in positions to be helped right now but we find it easier to direct al our faux emotion towards one wee girl. Fucking absurd.

ANYONE who says they understand what they are going through is kidding themself on. What you are doing is recalling personal experiences of guilt, fear and mourning and reconstuting them when you read about this little girl. Ask yourself why, given it is enough to make your stomach churn, you are able to continue with life normally when thousdands of children are starving in Sudan, thousands are homeless in India etc etc etc. Is it simply that this wee girl is better than them?

There is a great deal of self deliusion happening here to assuage guilt and I fully undertand it.

It would be nice perhaps if a small fund was set up to help other children...perhaps a Pie & Bovril based charity to help donate strips/money to less fortunate children because the example of Maddie has enough money/resources etc etc to choke a horse. then instead of all this backbiting sniping and emotional oneupmanship some good may come of the thread.

Even if it was just one wee wean the P&B massive sponsored it is at least equal in ther bigger picture to helping find Maddie.

I'm sorry for the family but this little girl is the new peoples princess and the reaction is just another Diana story. We have already had the arm band, song and vigils.

Misadventure involving pretty white blonde brit abroad = national tragedy and null & voids any criticism.

Fantastic post

Good post, and I agree entirely. But for the torch carrying mob, here's a question: do you think that it is inappropriate that a family who can do what they have done have done what they have done?

I don't think anyone can dispute the issues regarding starving masses, lost children from poorer families etc., but what pisses me off on this thread are the unfounded attacks on two people who are doing their level best to rectify the results of a horrible mistake. It's the fact that they have been so succesfull at maintaining their public profile that appears to be what is annoying so many people on here. Footychick makes the one valid point IMO-how is this affecting their other children. That is a matter for them to address, but the fact that they haven't given up, and are perfectly happy to continue to plaster themselves all over whatever front covers that will have them seems to me to be wholly sensible and admirable, if a little desperate.

This isn't about the McCanns being a special case for me. That is a totally different debate. What I've found so nauseating on this thread is the queue of people basically saying that they deserved it (where Madeleine fits into this I don't know, you'd have to ask the posters) or that they are milking it for cash. Or in one particularly vile instance, that they killed the child themselves.

Their tragedy is no different from thousands of others. What is different is that they have used every single resource at their disposal in order to keep it going, and that they had considerably more resources than most people have. I can't understand why that surprises, infuriates or is questionable to anybody.

Indeed it is, well I'm not annoyed at them as such as they believe what they are doing will help them, and good luck to them, but I'm annoyed at the Press for giving them so much coverage. I remember thinking after only a few days this had an inproportionate amount of coverage. And, like it or not, it's because it's a glamorous story. For example, there are British soldiers getting killed abroad all the time it seems, but that's now just a wee side issue because we would rather - to quote RB - "flog a dead horse". As people have said here many, many times, if they were black, lower class, unemployed parents who had gone on a cheap package holiday who had lost their child, they would be slaughtered for it. And while I in no way think the parents killed her, what's wrong with questioning their story ? There are no witnesses (as far as I'm aware), and no real suspects, they are 2 of the very few people they know were in that area when she went missing and their stories don't appear to match exactly, so why aren't people allowed to question them ? Seems common sense to me. Infact if you weren't to at the very least question them the police wouldn't be doing their job properly. They have to remove all emotion from the situation, and actually look at the facts. You can't just say "Oh well, they are her Parents, they couldn't possibly have done anything", and just dismiss them. Although anyone who says that they did it for certain, without any proof, is out of order.

Edited August 14, 2007 by Diamonds are Forever

[Pink Freud]

Last week's Times and Guardian went into full scale outrage mode when it emerged that the Portuguese press were asking serious questions about the inconsistencies in the stories given, which led to an article which stated it was ludicrous to suggest the McCanns could be suspects because of their demeanour.

Make your own mind up as to why such disbelief exists in the broadsheets, and whether a similar level of disbelief would be expressed should a similar situation arise, and the parents not be white, middle class professionals.

Again though, this is (deserved) criticism of the media-I can't see how the McCAnns are guilty of anything other than trying to catch that particular tiger by the tail.

The time, money, effort and discussion could have been put to use in saving literally hundreds of children over the past hundred days, with simple innoculations in Africa or digging a fresh water well in Africa. Yet the media has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds traipsing about after this family, it is quite simply disproportionate and the ugly side of supposed compassion. It reeks to high heaven.

We should be asking ourselves why do we allow this whilst proclamining utter guilt over fate of one solitary child.

If I can dig up the story of a kidnapped Indian child will the newspapers even devote a single comumn to it. The short answer is no, despite me having as much genetically in common with the Indian as I do Maddie and the indian childs life being as precious as Maddies.

We are a strange lot (I consider myself a bigger bag of contradictions than most) but perhaps some day all kids will be equal in our eyes and special consideration will not be afforded to some by proxy of their religious leaning. Only then can we talk of anger at others criticising the family for whatever reason.

All absolutely true. But nothing to do with the world we (and the McCanns) live in. Millions of pounds are spent by charities and the UK government every year in Africa-the trouble with your argument Ron is that it will apply for as long as it applies-do you think, for example, that people should give money to the RSPB, or WWF whilst there is still a single child starving in Africa?

All too damn big for me I'm afraid. BUt just a wee bit of compassion for what is put in front of us really doesn't go amiss IMO.

[H Wragg]

As a wee aside to the story, given that it looks increasingly likely that Robert Murat will be declared as having no involvement in the case will Lori Campbell, the journalist who shopped him to the polis, be as forthcoming with her apology as she was with her suspicions?

[Guest Ron Burgundy]

Again though, this is (deserved) criticism of the media-I can't see how the McCAnns are guilty of anything other than trying to catch that particular tiger by the tail.

All absolutely true. But nothing to do with the world we (and the McCanns) live in. Millions of pounds are spent by charities and the UK government every year in Africa-the trouble with your argument Ron is that it will apply for as long as it applies-do you think, for example, that people should give money to the RSPB, or WWF whilst there is still a single child starving in Africa?

All too damn big for me I'm afraid. BUt just a wee bit of compassion for what is put in front of us really doesn't go amiss IMO.

don't get me fucking started on animal charities Freud I will have an aneurism.... compassion is fine Freud but it seems like we are being coerced into looking for Maddie at the expense of things we could actually make a difference in.

I understand fully the folly of my universal benevolence theory, but I still fail to see why that means I have to agree with the way the media have put this family on a pedestal. I cannot manage to fool myself into thinking that giving to Maddies fund and lauduing her parents campaign wil make me forget about the discrepancies in how we help the less fortunate.

[flogelsleftpeg]

As a wee aside to the story, given that it looks increasingly likely that Robert Murat will be declared as having no involvement in the case will Lori Campbell, the journalist who shopped him to the polis, be as forthcoming with her apology as she was with her suspicions?

Two line apology on page 17 next to the advert for some piece of tacky crockery.

[Pink Freud]

don't get me fucking started on animal charities Freud I will have an aneurism.... compassion is fine Freud but it seems like we are being coerced into looking for Maddie at the expense of things we could actually make a difference in.

I understand fully the folly of my universal benevolence theory, but I still fail to see why that means I have to agree with the way the media have put this family on a pedestal. I cannot manage to fool myself into thinking that giving to Maddies fund and lauduing her parents campaign wil make me forget about the discrepancies in how we help the less fortunate.

Again, I totally agree. Let's just say that I don't give to knee jerk charities and leave it at that.

I don't like the media take on this kind of thing, I don't like the way in which middle class couples can grab the headlines, be they Stephen Lawrence's or Madeleine McCann's.

My annoyance on this thread is really pretty straightforward-people read what they read, watch what they watch, and make a value judgement on the basis of sensationalised bollocks. In the meantime, two people are doing everything they can think of (some of it possibly misguided from the perspective of the idle news consumer) to avoid facing the inevitable. That's where the compassion is called for Ron. Just two people doing their best, after fucking up monumentally.

[Guest Ron Burgundy]

Again, I totally agree. Let's just say that I don't give to knee jerk charities and leave it at that.

I don't like the media take on this kind of thing, I don't like the way in which middle class couples can grab the headlines, be they Stephen Lawrence's or Madeleine McCann's.

My annoyance on this thread is really pretty straightforward-people read what they read, watch what they watch, and make a value judgement on the basis of sensationalised bollocks. In the meantime, two people are doing everything they can think of (some of it possibly misguided from the perspective of the idle news consumer) to avoid facing the inevitable. That's where the compassion is called for Ron. Just two people doing their best, after fucking up monumentally.

it's an utterly dreadful situation and pretty unprecendented which has probably led to a lot of the dissent...what price a happy ending.

When you think of the hassle folk go to to find missing pets it's not really that mad I spose.

I just dunno...I am temporarily devoid of an opinion.

Is there a right and wrong in this?

[Pink Freud]

it's an utterly dreadful situation and pretty unprecendented which has probably led to a lot of the dissent...what price a happy ending.

When you think of the hassle folk go to to find missing pets it's not really that mad I spose.

I just dunno...I am temporarily devoid of an opinion.

Is there a right and wrong in this?

I remember a line from one of the Hannibal Lecter books-something like "he took a sip of her pain". I think it's a bit like that.

My personal theory is that as a society the media has persuaded us that we are all in so much danger that any kind of criminal disaster is manna from heaven for their agenda.

Then the very people who have been scared shitless of their own communities (the one where I live is about 10 miles from Soham) decide that this vindicates their "bogeyman" stance, regardless of the fact that this sort of crime is vanishingly rare. They have learned to be scared of strangers, and yet ironically the community suffers for that. Suddenly, lacking any real emotional attachment to those immediately around them, they can make themselves as emotional as they like on behalf of strangers who will never know.

To summarise: people are plain weird.

[LiviClyde]

it's an utterly dreadful situation and pretty unprecendented which has probably led to a lot of the dissent...what price a happy ending.

When you think of the hassle folk go to to find missing pets it's not really that mad I spose.

I just dunno...I am temporarily devoid of an opinion.

Is there a right and wrong in this?

There are two wrongs in it.

1. Three children under the age of four (at the time) were left unattended in a holiday apartment while their parents went out with friends to enjoy themselves.

2. Some sick bast*rd(s) took advantage of the situation.

Only after that does the what is right/ what is wrong arguement come into play.

In my opinion.

[BIGQ FAE KDY]

There are two wrongs in it.

1. Three children under the age of four (at the time) were left unattended in a holiday apartment while their parents went out with friends to enjoy themselves.

2. Some sick bast*rd(s) took advantage of the situation.

Only after that does the what is right/ what is wrong arguement come into play.

In my opinion.

great post mate simple and straight to the point

[xbl]

So, after getting British police in to use sniffer dogs, will the Portugese police also be getting British Police in to deal with the horrible mess of contradictions and lies that the McCanns circle of friends have produced?

Weve got people checking on each others kids, everyone for themselves, people opening the doors, others just having a listen, doors closed and left open...its a mess. The McCanns appear to be (either wittingly or not) a part of this parcel of rogues, and Im quite frankly astonished that they have been allowed to fly around the world freely. They should have been kept under close police scrutiny (same with their friends) until one true and definate story emerged.

Still, never mind, at least Freud is nice and comfortable up their on his high horse. Demonstrating that he is to reasonable posting what Gerry McCann is to honesty and straightforwardness.