[spitfire]

Originally posted by jackie46
For leaving them alone YES.

Thats why i think 100% the parents are to blame.

[Freddy111]

Isn't it wierd how the parents want to come home now that blood has been found in THEIR apartment. But when there was 'evidence' elsewhere they were willing to stay out there? I reckon their getting cold feet. If this is madelines blood and it is from the night she left. Then there are some questions that need answering.

[Ann]

very true words said there

[Lauren]

Originally posted by spitfire

Thats why i think 100% the parents are to blame.

Same here.

I'd hate to pin blame on parents for such a horrific thing happening - but lets be honest here - I know 100% that if I had kids, in a foreign country, I would NOT leave them in a hotel room alone with the window wide open whilst I swanned off for a meal completely out of sight. It wasn't just Maddie they left, they even left two younger twins - what the hell was going through their mind when they turned down the babysitting services? The thing is, they lied about how often they checked on the children, just to save their own backs - thus potentially confusing times that may have led the police to more information.

There's questions that need answering and they're just not answering them. There's time lapses that they're not explaining. Something is not right here.

[Sunny_01]

exactly Lauren. The best thing is as doctors they would both at some point have been involved in neglect cases and will have been judgemental about other people leaving their children un-supervised. They had the option to have their children looked after and CHOSE to leave them alone.

They can still be prosecuted under Portugese law for leaving their children and I doubt after the way they have behaved that the police will have totally ruled that possibility out.

Poor, poor children left in such a vulnerable position, it's so sad for them.

[gracie24]

I read in the paper that Gerry (the father) had admitted that he went back to the apartment during their meal and found that Madeline wasn't in her room, and he just assumed that she'd gone to play with the twins and he never actually bothered to make sure she was there.

The mother was also quoted to have said she hasn't done anything wrong. I find it hard to believe that leaving your children alone and unsupervised whilst going out for a meal was the right thing to do!

[Jack]

It was wrong for them to leave their children unsupervised whilst out for a meal. They know that and are probably ridden with guilt. However, they are not to blame (yes they hold some responsibility), but it's the sick person/people who hold the blame, no one else.

[gracie24]

Surely though if they hadn't of left her alone none of this would have happened?

[spitfire]

Originally posted by Jack
It was wrong for them to leave their children unsupervised whilst out for a meal. They know that and are probably ridden with guilt. However, they are not to blame (yes they hold some responsibility), but it's the sick person/people who hold the blame, no one else.

Of course they are to blame.If you go out for the day and leave your windows open,then discover youve been broke into,then thats your fault.I know where your comming from/what your getting at but we all no in this day and age the world aint rosey.

[Jack]

Originally posted by gracie24
Surely though if they hadn't of left her alone none of this would have happened?

Yes, obviously. But then if there were no sickos in the world none of this would have happened. They hold responsibilty, yes, but I feel there is a difference between holding responsibility and being blamed. The McCann's were reckless and irresponsible for leaving their children alone but this just gave the abductors an easy oppurtunity. Even the most responsible parents can be victims to this terrible tragedy: all it takes is for their backs to be turned for one second.

[spitfire]

Originally posted by JackYes, obviously. But then if there were no sickos in the world none of this would have happened.

So what if it had been a fire?What if one of the poor kids ate and chocked on something?Wheres there mum and dad to help them?If your a parent you dont leave your child alone.They are crap parents and there other children should be removed for there own saftey.

[gracie24]

I can see where you're coming from. Like you said the parents were reckless and irresponsible and in my personal opinion I class those 'actions' to be ones that can be blameworthy.
From what I've heard and read I just don't really trust or particularly like the parents. There's just something not right about the whole situation.
I can understand your point further when I look at it hypothetically, but when I look at it in this situation my opinion differs slightly.

[gracie24]

Originally posted by spitfire

So what if it had been a fire?What if one of the poor kids ate and chocked on something?Wheres there mum and dad to help them?If your a parent you dont leave your child alone.They are c**p parents and there other children should be removed for there own saftey.

Social services should seriously consider whether the parents are fit to continue looking after the young children.

[spitfire]

Originally posted by gracie24

Social services should seriously consider whether the parents are fit to continue looking after the young children.

They are not that is blatently obvious.Maddie gets kidnapped after they deserted her,then they fly around europe leaving there other children!somthing wrong there,big time.

[gracie24]

I want to know who's paying for them to stay out there in Portugal!!
I also read in the paper that they were seen relaxing in a bar.....I got so angry!

[Jack]

Originally posted by spitfire

So what if it had been a fire?What if one of the poor kids ate and chocked on something?Wheres there mum and dad to help them?If your a parent you dont leave your child alone.They are c**p parents and there other children should be removed for there own saftey.

I am not at all condoning the parent's actions. I feel they have got off extremely lightly in the media. They definately hold responsibility but "blame" is such a strong word which should only be applied to the sick individuals who abduct children.

50 years ago, a parent could easily have let their child walk to the shops and park unsupervised without fear of them being abducted. I know society has changed and it's down to these sick people. Again, I'm not justifying or condoning the McCann's actions.

[spitfire]

[i]Originally posted by Jack[/i50 years ago, a parent could easily have let their child walk to shops and park unsupervised without fear of them being abducted.

Could they?Tell that to the parents of Brady and Hindleys victims.

[Jack]

Originally posted by spitfire

Could they?Tell that to the parents of Brady and Hindleys victims.

That was an isolated case in the 60s but before that parents were not accused of being irresponsible for letting their child walk to the shops. There just wasn't any risk. My mother used to bike to the other side of the town after school when she was around 10 years old to buy groceries for her mum. Nowadays this would be completely irresponsible but rightly so because society has changed. Paedophilia, which is the route cause of child abduction, has been catalyzed by the internet and media. What used to be isolated and unheard of is now the biggest concern a parent can have.

[spitfire]

Originally posted by Jack What used to be isolated and unheard of is now the biggest concern a parent can have.

Which is why her parents are 100% to blame.

[spitfire]

Originally posted by gracie24
I want to know who's paying for them to stay out there in Portugal!!

That would be the wee website fund they set up.Which has raised Ł1ooo's.What else are the Ł1ooo's being used for?

[Jack]

Originally posted by spitfire

Which is why her parents are 100% to blame.

So the abductors aren't even 1% to blame?

I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say. The parents are responsible, yes, but when it comes to pointing the finger of blame it should be the sick individuals who commit these acts.

[spacebandit]

Originally posted by Jack

So the abductors aren't even 1% to blame?

I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say. The parents are responsible, yes, but when it comes to pointing the finger of blame it should be the sick individuals who commit these acts.

I have serious doubts as to wether there was a kidnapping or not. There are so many inconsistencies that I suspect, and still hope I'm wrong, that the kidnap story is just that, a story, and its purpose is to cover up something else.

[gracie24]

Gerry (Madeline's father) is complaining about all the negative side to the media.
Just because things he doesn't like are being said he comes out with an interview about it. Once again showing no emotion, absolutely nothing.
I still have my doubts about the parents.

[spacebandit]

Originally posted by gracie24
Gerry (Madeline's father) is complaining about all the negative side to the media.
Just because things he doesn't like are being said he comes out with an interview about it. Once again showing no emotion, absolutely nothing.
I still have my doubts about the parents.

Watched him give an interview at the edinburgh festival.

Not one inch the grieving parent

Not one inch the worried /distraught parent of a missing child.

Noticeable again that when they travel europe meeting heads of state and gladhanding anyone in front of a camera, they do it as a couple, but to UK they travel singly. I guess personal condolences from family here at home are not as important as the condolence from the pope in a 30 second public square stage managed "meeting" that he probably doesn't remember 5 minutes later.

and once again, while the eyes of the media were awaiting DNA tests in belgium - they showed not one jot of interest.

Political correctness is crippling the media and even the UK police from asking the pertinent questions.

Will be interesting next time a council estate mother leaves her kid to go out for a couple of hours for a few drinks and gets reported to social services.

Then we'll once again see the real depth of hypocrisy of the british media, social institutions and welfare services when they deal with that "incident" - whisking the child off into care and crucifying the mother, or a child is killed or seriously injured in an avoidable accident at home - lets see those parents get pilloried in the press.

the moral of the story of course is you are free to abandon you child to whatever the fates have in store, provided you are a white collar professional who can afford regular holidays abroad.

[Hugo]

I have actually stayed in the smae part of Portugal as the McCanns adn trust me it seems the safest place in the world. It's got such a friendly atmosphere and the parents would have no second thought about leaving their children their.