The Madeleine abduction case

[Asmodean]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/05/09/portugal.girl.reut/index.html

Background: The family is on vacation in Portugal. One evening, after Madeleine is asleep, her mother and father go to a nearby tapas restaurant to enjoy a late night dinner, while checking on her every 30 minutes. When they check on her at 10 PM (or was it 10:30 PM), she is missing.

Accusations have been made from Britain, that the portuguese police have been too slow in reacting to this case, and that they have been conducting a poor investigation.

But one issue is overlooked in this case, IMHO:

What parent in his or her right mind leaves their child to go to a restaurant??? I mean, obviously, I feel for them, as this is a truly horrible situation they find themselves in, but really!! Just don't leave your child like that, ok!!

What do you think - was it ok for them to leave her asleep in the hotel room, to go to a restaurant, while checking on her every 30 minutes??

/discuss

Asmodean

[Cort Haus]

Re: The Madeleine abduction case

Originally posted by Asmodean
But one issue is overlooked in this case, IMHO:

Not overlooked at all. I haven't followed the media reaction in detail, but UK message boards have been obsessing about the parents' neglect ever since.

[Asmodean]

Yeah - perhaps on boards, but it surprises me very muc that this hasn't been more of an issue in the media. The case is sure highly profiled, so it's not lack of opportunity.

Asmodean

[Emetri]

It's a sign of the times. People give a higher priority to their own partying needs than supervising toddlers properly. Plus, I don't believe for a minute that they were "checking on her every 30 minutes". Criminal negligence is what this amounts to in my opinion.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Emetri
It's a sign of the times.

Hardly. This was a rare case, and generally kids are more closely supervised than ever. See the 40's-70's thread.

[Eli]

WTF?! What's wrong with leaving a kid soundly asleep in a room?

[Cort Haus]

and Emetri, they weren't 'partying' as you put it. They were eating.

Eli, the restaurant was a couple of hundred yards away I think, not in the same building.

[Eli]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
Eli, the restaurant was a couple of hundred yards away I think, not in the same building.

That would get me uncomfortable, but I still don't see it as something extremely negligent.

Let's be realistic here. Kids don't usually get kidnapped when left alone. The coverage this story gets is a sign of how extremely rarely it happens. I'd bet that much more damage was done by parents who smoke near their children or stuff along those lines, than by parents who left their kids sleeping in a room, even without checking up on them every 30 minutes.

[Ecthy]

I find it absolutely normal to put a baby child to sleep and leave the house if it's at home.

In a holiday you generally wouldn't expect anyone to steal your baby child so it shouldn't be any different.

[Emetri]

Sure, it's just like having a cat, really. Only with less shedding.

[Ecthy]

We're talking about the late night when kids are asleep. Do you see this Emetri?

Or are you one of those new generation people who don't let their kids play outside because they might be ass raped?

[Cort Haus]

Opinion piece on the reaction :

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/mick_hume/article1774744.ece

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Asmodean
Yeah - perhaps on boards, but it surprises me very muc that this hasn't been more of an issue in the media. The case is sure highly profiled, so it's not lack of opportunity.

Asmodean

I have only heard one report on this story but the "negligence" issue was raised....

I tend to agree with Eli. Sure, hindsight is 20/20 and the parents would do things differently now but I suspect this sort of thing (leaving sleeping kids in a nearby building) happens quite frequently. As was pointed out, it is the abduction that is extremely rare.

[Jon Miller]

I think I was left at home alone for hours as early as I can remember (5). I can't remember being a toddler though.

Jon Miller

[Footie Mad]

A tragedy for the family and the little girl, but why is this massive news around the world?

1. Cute young white girl
2. Playing on parent's fears and sympathy, "could this happen to me"

Good way to sell issues of your tabloid paper.

This is a perfect example of something that is news but is blown into "BIG NEWS", what about the integrity of this family? I saw a picture in a paper of the mother going for a walk with the missing girls plush toy in her hands

That's disgusting to publish a picture like that, and the people reading about it feeling "sorry" are disgusting as well. You don't give a **** about this really, but it's like a movie where the bizarre and horrible can be watched without any real consequence to yourself.

Don't let me hear about how you feel so sorry for this girl and her family, there are millions of kids over the world living in sewers, brothels, slave labour factorys and harshly abused. Your only feeling is intimidation that this happened to someone in "your world".