Madeleine's Fund : Leaving No Stone Unturned

mae

So many assumptions are being made here.. Firstly how does anyone know that they don't wholeheartedly regret what they have done? How does anyone know that even though they are able to stand and talk to the media that they are not in full blown anguish and despair??
We can not say how these people are feeling , we can only imagine. And I for one feel their hurt every time I see them and its unbearable to watch.

All that aside at the end of the day to the people who want to see them punished do you really think that the parents should be,at this time,being interviewed by social services and being given no coverage or is it better that they are being proactive in keeping the little girls face in the media?

Also people keep mentioning the fact that Ben Needham didn't get this coverage but it was 18 years ago and we didn't have the resources of the media, internet,sky as we do now and what is wrong with family using the media and resources we do have at the present time to their full advantage?How is that to be berated? If it was me I know I would certainly use is to my full ability and also I hope that their actions set the standards for other parents who have missing children and I hope they follow their lead and set up their own campaigns as they also deserve the same coverage but it has to come from the as it has from the McCanns its not sole special treatment its just the way they have chosen to use it and as far as I can see it was extended family who started the campaigns off and then Gerry and Kate have seen the public reactions and decided that this is something they should keep rolling. And I am sure that if Ben Needhams parents had the same resources all those years ago they too would have used them fully.

In America they have Amber alerts and other resources and they are not being mocked for it??


The argument people keep making about 'single parents' is not on my radar because I don't judge people by status I go off my gut feeling which would be the same if a child of a single parent had been taken from her bed while her mum was at a nearby restaurant I still would be of the attiitude of help this poor mother and her child and if that help comes in the form of ribbons, posters, emails, media coverage etc etc then again I would do all I could no matter how tiny and the single parent status would be irrelevant completely.

As for the people who are saying the money raising is ridiculous and they should use their own. Well I am sure that is exactly what these people would have done if offers of financial help hadn't come without them even asking for it. So once these offers started coming in do you people seriously think they should have said ' No thank you we do not want your help'? Surely not?
They have taken the help graciously and I am sure that they are praying they don't have to use the money and she is found soon and then they can donate the money to another family who are suffering in the same way.

No one is saying that those who do not want to donate should as that would be wrong all we are saying is that people who want to can and wht this is being mocked is beyond me.

I have argued the case in other threads and it just becomes a slanging match and it pointless really because the black and white of it is help if you want to and don't if you don't
Emmariods is nasty about every eventuality not just this subject so people try not to take it personally he/she is just very negative and bitter on most subjects unless she/he is being helped with financial matters because lets face it people who get into debt have made a mistake and then they come on here wanting help but according to some on here you don't deserve help if you've made a mistake so its kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Anyway hats off to the majority because the McCanns site has had a tremendous amount of support and their fund is growing admirably by the day so thank goodness there are people with hearts out there and the whole world is not full of negative, bitter, cold judging people. I am so grateful.

Sally14

mae - wonderfully put!

whereishergar

I am all for democracy but for heavens sake, some of you should be hanging your heads in shame, a child has gone missing - everyone should unite on this - period.

EagerLearner

Agreed - and those slating the parents for still being in Portugal and that they 'should be back in the UK working' you must be joking - I am not a parent but I KNOW I would stay put wherever the child had gone missing for as long as humanly possible.

The last thing I would want is my baby to try and find me and I have dissapeared back to another country as the child would assume I had forgotten about her and feel abandoned! That is the same reason I disagree with the photos recently shown, as if she saw those, she may think they have moved on and forgotten her, although I do understand why they were used so that the dissapearance could get more coverage.

In terms of the soaps, well, they are not really doing it out of compassion so much as ratings, if viewers found the topic distasteful they would switch off and complain, so they prefer to remove the storyline to keep ratings up and not offend anyone.

emmaroids

mae wrote: »

Emmariods is nasty about every eventuality not just this subject so people try not to take it personally he/she is just very negative and bitter on most subjects

err i think you are so wrong lol
i stated that if a single parent or some one from a poorer background had done this then they would have been crucified from every angle by now AND YOU DAMN WELL KNOW IT sorry i had to shout that bit cos you dont seem to listen.
and where is the help for all the other kids who go missing?? where is the help for all the other kids dieing through no fault of there own??
its the parents fault she went missing yet none of these media muppets (or the parents themselves) will acknowledge this.

edit:: its not like there child was snatched while at the beach with her familly, they made a pre-meditated dicision to leave there 3 kids all under 4 in an unlocked hotel room while they went out and sat in a bar/cafe/watever.
and that where i come from is a criminal offence, its called neglect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neglect

doitmyself

EagerLearner wrote: »

Agreed - and those slating the parents for still being in Portugal and that they 'should be back in the UK working' you must be joking - I am not a parent but I KNOW I would stay put wherever the child had gone missing for as long as humanly possible.

That was me I think, most recently anyway. I didn't actually say they should be back in the UK working (right now? Of course not), I said I think they should be back in the UK, because at some point they will have to do that and also return to (some kind of) work. That actually is a fact.
And I said that because of their 2 other children and because home is, well, home and is where their family and friends are. Furthermore there is nothing they are currently doing that can't be done/arranged/co-ordinated from home, and from where it would be very much easier to do than from where they are now I would think.

This is the reason you say I was 'joking':

The last thing I would want is my baby to try and find me and I have dissapeared back to another country as the child would assume I had forgotten about her and feel abandoned!

I certainly wasn't joking, and this is more sentiment than sensibility really.
6 or 7 pages previously here, Rachie describes how she lost her young son for 10 minutes or so whilst on holiday. She described the panic and her actions in those minutes and how she found him, - hugs, tears, all done (but not forgotten!). But Madeleine has been missing for nearly 3 weeks now and if she is found alive it will not simply be a case of rushing to mummy's arms, hugs, tears and all go home.

The McCanns are not achieveing anything themselves by staying where they are IMO, and seemingly have plans to take their mission to find their daughter to other countries anyway. You would not agree with them doing that, or is it that whatever they decide to do is ok by you? Is this simply a pro vs anti McCann thing now?
Opinion about them and their actions is quite clearly divided, and about 50:50 too it seems.

And on that note, I think the debate about them leaving the kids on their own that night and whether it was ok/not ok or whether, in the circumstances it matters/doesn't matter keeps rumbling on because there's actually no known developments in this search for Madeleine so far and no facts for people to express their opinions on, and most people are (rightly) avoiding too much speculation for now.
I personally find it very surprising that there is no news though, and particularly considering the reward money and all the publicity! (and before anyone quotes that Portguese laws are different bla bla there is (was) an army of journos out there).

I'm quoting you here Eager, and I do disagree with you but only in a debating way, something you yourself said in an earlier post you appreciated.
It's interesting to read people's thoughts and opinions on this. It will of course be much better when we don't have to discuss it any more..

FRUGAL_4

emmaroids wrote: »

err i think you are so wrong lol
i stated that if a single parent or some one from a poorer background had done this then they would have been crucified from every angle by now AND YOU DAMN WELL KNOW IT sorry i had to shout that bit cos you dont seem to listen.
and where is the help for all the other kids who go missing?? where is the help for all the other kids dieing through no fault of there own??
its the parents fault she went missing yet none of these media muppets (or the parents themselves) will acknowledge this.

edit:: its not like there child was snatched while at the beach with her familly, they made a pre-meditated dicision to leave there 3 kids all under 4 in an unlocked hotel room while they went out and sat in a bar/cafe/watever.
and that where i come from is a criminal offence, its called neglect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neglect

Well said emmaroids.

Initially when the story broke about the missing child I gave the parents the benefit of the doubt, until I heard on Sky news that it was likely that the parents did not secure the apartment that evening when they left the children unattended and that Madeleine got up and probably walked out of the apartment and down to the shop (the dogs apparently lost the scent there), the parents are totally to blame in this case, two highly intelligent people should know better, I doubt very much the wee girl will be found now and that the Mccanns should leave Portugal together to face criminal charges of neglect.

I know this will upset some of you, and you may say I don't have a heart, I DO AND I HAVE TWO YOUNG CHILDREN AND I WOULD NEVER LEAVE THEM UNATTENDED. The parents are suffering (through their own neglect) and rightly so , I just hope Madeleine isn't, its not her fault she had irresponsible parents.

FRUGAL

Twopints

whereishergar wrote: »

I am all for democracy but for heavens sake, some of you should be hanging your heads in shame, a child has gone missing - everyone should unite on this - period.

But why this one thing, why this one child? Why should "everyone" make this their number one priority? It isn't mine, it probably isn't yours - is it? Really?. I have other priorities - I decide what they are; they are not dictated to me by newsreaders, forum-posters, distressed parents or anyone else. They may influence my decisions but they do not make them.

black-saturn

I havn't got the time or the patience to read all the thread but I'd like to ask what they want the money for? The police get paid to do their job and I don't know how any extra money can help them. I believe I heard that her mum is a doctor and the dad a lawyer so they obviously have quite a bit of money of their own. Before anyone starts I have every sympathy with their plight and even have a Madeline poster in my front window.

I'd also like to ask what's going to happen to the money if they don't find her?

FRUGAL_4

whereishergar wrote: »

I am all for democracy but for heavens sake, some of you should be hanging your heads in shame, a child has gone missing - everyone should unite on this - period.

I am not going to hang my head in shame, it wasn't me who left three young children unattended in an apartment! I can hold my head up high and say I have/will never do this, it is irresponsible parenting and the McCanns should be charged with neglect!