Sherri, that must have been a horrible experience for you. I lost my 2nd child through an early miscarriage, and it caused me to go into a deep depression for awhile. So I know what you mean about feeling over-protective.
Okay but just because they used poor jugdement doesn't mean they had anything to do with someone taking her. Fine you can call it "negligent" but I am sure they also feel really bad. As well they have to live with that guilt. But IMO it doesn't add up that they actually had anything to do with the abduction.
I wouldn't go so far as to say I completely disagree...but I still don't see how anyone suspects them of any direct foul play.
I have never had a child disappear or die. I have no personal experience about that kind of grieving, although I've lost both of my parents, numerous other relatives and several very close friends. Even though I experienced profound grief for those I love, I imagine the abduction or death of a child involves a special kind of agony.
That is why the behavior of the McCanns baffles me. If you were to go back and look at pictures of Madeleine's parents right after she disappeared, you would have no choice but to feel sorry for them. They looked so sad and lost. But something funny happened around the second or third week. They "perked up", as my mother used to say.
Parents of children who have been abducted don't just perk up. Look through the newspapers or even through the past threads- we've posted pictures of parents whose children have gone missing and/or died. Most can't function. They stop eating, stop sleeping, imagining all sorts of terrible scenarios happening to their kids. They live at the police station or hang on to every word spoken by LE, grasping at straws to find their child alive and safe. They don't smile and prance around, making long-term plans, and they have a very rough time separating themselves from their remaining children, worried that at any time the kidnapper might strike again.
But what did the McCanns do? They never stopped putting the twins in the creche, for one thing. They began jet-setting around the world, visiting the Pope and heads of state, and IMHO, they don't look like they're grieving the death or abduction of their oldest daughter. They appear to be putting on an act. Oh, KM might be a little thin, but she's fit and tan, hardly immobilized by grief and depression. It's all about photo-ops- showing off the twins, clutching Cuddle Cat, going to church, releasing balloons- primarily to win people to their side and deflect criticism of leaving their children alone.
If you were to go back over the past 106 days worth of posts on this subject you'd find parents who have:
1) Made a lot of lame excuses about leaving their children alone for an entire week while they went out to eat and drink and refused to admit to their neglect.
2) Lied about how far the bar they were drinking in was from the apartment- it's 120 yards, not 50, 40 or 20. It's definitely
NOT like eating in your own back yard.
3) Lied about whether the door was unlocked and whether the window had been tampered with.
4) Lied about how often the children were checked on and by whom.
5) Showed very strange behavior upon finding their daughter gone- Kate screaming "they've taken her" (no idea who
they are), leaving the twins in the room her daughter has supposedly been abducted from, not mentioning Maddie's favorite toy up where it shouldn't have been, the sleeping twins, etc.
6) Set up (through friends) a media show and fund-raising campaign within two days of the abduction.
7) Poo-poohed every single sighting of a child who might have been Madeleine in numerous countries without a single spoken wish/hope that it is or expressed disappointment when they turn out wrong.
8. Not spent a
single dollar hiring private investigators to search for her.
There's lots more if you want to look. This is just a summary. But it's why I suspect the McCanns have something to do with Madeleine's demise.