The Internet & Kyron's Case - Helping or Hurting?

[BlOnDe_GuRrL]

The internet can be helpful in the sense that it can get his picture and info out there.. and there are times (it's happened here a few times) where a random stranger can crack the case.

However, each case is different.. In this case, I think it's hurting.
All I'm seeing (not on WS) is people just slamming Terri for this and that.. picking her and the family apart, making assumptions based on stupid little things that we're all guilty of doing ourselves... and it seems like people are more concerned with the next bit of juicy gossip rather than trying to figure out what happened to Kyron.

I'd imagine that Le has gotten all kinds of crack head calls from people with negative opinions of Terri because she wants the media to leave her alone and because she isn't acting they way everyone would want to her act given the circumstances, psychics claiming that this or that happened to him.
I'm sure they're getting bombarded with BS and that's why they are asking the public to leave the investigation to the trained professionals..

Don't get me wrong.. sleuthing is helpfula nd it would be great if oen of our own could crack the case.. but there's a huge difference between getting to the bottom of things and trying to dig up dirt to slander people

 

[BeanE]

In this particular case, I don't think it's doing any good, because LE has practically issued a gag-order on those with info. But it can be used to help.

This case is very tight on info. Unusually tight. It would definitely help to get just a few questions answered. But I do trust LE that they have good reasons for it at this point. Hopefully soon they'll release some more.

 

[6angels]

Talking about a case and getting the word out and keeping his photo out in the public can't hurt a case. IMO

 

[Mylou]

I totally understand what you are saying.
For me, why I say it, is because the more I see of a child, the more they touch my heart, and when my heart gets touched the more feeling I have about that child, their welfare and safety, if that makes any sense, for me its not so much a person's physical appearance as the more you can see within a person. Their personality etc... makes them beautiful.

 

[Sherbie]

The way I look at it is that internet chatter is the voice of our society. I don't see its function as a tool of LE, but as a witness to the crime, the job that LE is doing, and the justice that gives society its moral center. The disappearance of a young child is a huge wound to our collective sense of what humans are to each other, and we are all involved in every crime.

However, since the reaction is collective, the singular voices are going to vary wildly. Some members of society are, frankly, nasty dirtbags; others are naive or have an unrelated agenda or psychological fixation that skews their judgment. But, taken as a whole, I think a large number of people witnessing what is happening and voicing their opinions leads us close to the truth in most cases. I think LE can filter out the unhelpful chatter and gain insight from the whole.

I also think that if huge numbers of people think you're doing something suspicious, you probably are. The analogy I've seen to "witch hunts" fails, IMO, to take into account that witch hunts were conducted by superstitious people in insular societies where information was extremely limited and the "powers that be" had a vested interest in witch hunting. Nowadays, information is widely and instantly available and we're as free as we've ever been to have our own voices and come to our own, well-founded conclusions, based on a wide knowledge of the world and our fellow humans -- I don't mean everybody does that, just that, taken as a whole, a free, vocal society tends toward insight.

That said, I'm extremely thankful that Websleuths insists that the input here is well-founded, sensitive and courteous and also thankful that my fellow posters don't stand for a weak argument. i don't post (or even read) any other crime site because of the atmosphere of civility and the quality of argument here.

That was so well said that it deserves repeating, Steadfast! Thank you!

 

[Sherbie]

This case is very tight on info. Unusually tight. It would definitely help to get just a few questions answered. But I do trust LE that they have good reasons for it at this point. Hopefully soon they'll release some more.

That's the thing, BeanE! It's too bad LE can't invite the WS posters to a private board and give us a few little nuggets to work with. With the varied backgrounds and sheer number of our members, and all the smarts and determination here, I guarantee we would come up with at least a little something -- a name, a connection, a theory -- that LE had not yet considered and that might well help.

It's certainly happened before, hasn't it? Unfortunately, the rest of the web is not as responsible as we are here, and I completely understand why LE might need to hold back in this case.

 

[Tricia]

The way I look at it is that internet chatter is the voice of our society. I don't see its function as a tool of LE, but as a witness to the crime, the job that LE is doing, and the justice that gives society its moral center. The disappearance of a young child is a huge wound to our collective sense of what humans are to each other, and we are all involved in every crime.

However, since the reaction is collective, the singular voices are going to vary wildly. Some members of society are, frankly, nasty dirtbags; others are naive or have an unrelated agenda or psychological fixation that skews their judgment. But, taken as a whole, I think a large number of people witnessing what is happening and voicing their opinions leads us close to the truth in most cases. I think LE can filter out the unhelpful chatter and gain insight from the whole.

I also think that if huge numbers of people think you're doing something suspicious, you probably are. The analogy I've seen to "witch hunts" fails, IMO, to take into account that witch hunts were conducted by superstitious people in insular societies where information was extremely limited and the "powers that be" had a vested interest in witch hunting. Nowadays, information is widely and instantly available and we're as free as we've ever been to have our own voices and come to our own, well-founded conclusions, based on a wide knowledge of the world and our fellow humans -- I don't mean everybody does that, just that, taken as a whole, a free, vocal society tends toward insight.

That said, I'm extremely thankful that Websleuths insists that the input here is well-founded, sensitive and courteous and also thankful that my fellow posters don't stand for a weak argument. i don't post (or even read) any other crime site because of the atmosphere of civility and the quality of argument here.

Thank you so much Steadfast. Your post means a great deal to all of the mods and myself.

Whenever a new big case happens it is a very stressful time for the mods. We all have to decide what is allowed and what isn't allowed.

We walk the line between what is best of the discussion and the case in general and what is harmful to the innocent people who, by no fault of their own, have been dragged into the case.

The mods on this forum have done an amazing job. Kimster, GrandmaJ, , thank you. And a big thanks to the other mods who have stepped in to help when things become crazy.

The Internet is not going away. Discussion forums will continue to pop up. It is up to us as human beings to do our best not to harm while trying to tell the truth about a case.

I am very proud of the posters at Websleuths. You are very dedicated and smart. We are lucky you chose Websleuths.

Thanks Everyone.

Tricia Griffith
Owner/Websleuths.com

 

[Sherbie]

Tricia, we're lucky that you have us. Thank you for this amazing forum. I don't know how you keep up with it all. I am so appreciative of all your and our mods' efforts! :grouphug:

 

[Emma Peel]

:gomods:

from emmabgoodmostly

 

[txsvicki]

I don't see how any internet forums or blog comments could really hurt Kyron's case since LE is investigating and getting all the facts, and they are the ones responsible for doing that not internet bloggers. If the family learns of some finger pointing and hurtful things said it just bothers them. National TV making insinuations at the very beginning could hurt the investigation by making SM become more suspicious of LE and cause local viewers to not be quite as alert to the case and their memories if they believe "oh well, the SM is not quite right in what she says". I say TV hurts lots more than internet opinions and comments. The internet could actually loosen up a person to make an incriminating remark if there is free flow comments.

 

[GrainneDhu]

I also think that if huge numbers of people think you're doing something suspicious, you probably are. The analogy I've seen to "witch hunts" fails, IMO, to take into account that witch hunts were conducted by superstitious people in insular societies where information was extremely limited and the "powers that be" had a vested interest in witch hunting. Nowadays, information is widely and instantly available and we're as free as we've ever been to have our own voices and come to our own, well-founded conclusions, based on a wide knowledge of the world and our fellow humans -- I don't mean everybody does that, just that, taken as a whole, a free, vocal society tends toward insight.

As recently as 1992, the hysteria over Satanic Ritual Abuse was sweeping the USA. Numerous people's lives, mostly day care workers, were ruined. There are still people in prison today who were convicted during the height of the hysteria and whose appeals have not been granted, despite the truly pitiful quality of the evidence that convicted them.

When there are still living victims of a witch hunt suffering without justice, I find it very difficult to view witch hunts as merely being a historical phenomenon. They seem to me to be a very current danger.

 

[Cher352]

Talking about a case and getting the word out and keeping his photo out in the public can't hurt a case. IMO

Totally agree and a lot of good questions, discussions and theories come out on so many of the news articles and boards.

The only bad thing about the internet covererage is I am sure LE gets a lot of crazy "tips" from all over the country that only slows the investigation down.

 

[kbl8201]

i think it would be more helpful then hurtful if we could find real evidence and not sling mud about facebook pages, letters from mom to son, bodybuilding, steroids and narracissim and what other stuff that is pure speculation like 'body language' or 'they dont hold many press confrences, what does that mean?" witch hunts are not helpful, they will not find kyron any faster by asking what step mom meant on face book or how 'selfish' mom was when she wrote that letter to kyron.

just the same the stuff with the cell phone pings really dont mean much cause they are apperentley searching those areas over and over again and finding nothing? is the focus of LE as far one sided as the internet seems to be? this is why i compare this case to kevin and riley fox. im deadly afraid this is a witchunt that is gonna let th real pepertrator(s) slip out the back door.

 

[STEADFAST]

As recently as 1992, the hysteria over Satanic Ritual Abuse was sweeping the USA. Numerous people's lives, mostly day care workers, were ruined. There are still people in prison today who were convicted during the height of the hysteria and whose appeals have not been granted, despite the truly pitiful quality of the evidence that convicted them.

When there are still living victims of a witch hunt suffering without justice, I find it very difficult to view witch hunts as merely being a historical phenomenon. They seem to me to be a very current danger.

That was an awful phenomena, and a huge, enduring injustice. It happened, though, years before the internet was an everyday part of most people's lives. I don't think the same thing would be as likely to happen now because, instead of these pockets of local accusations, and the whole nation thinking, "Gee, these people are close to the situation; they must know what's happening," people all over the country would, like you, cry "witch hunt." Now, I think the power of the internet could free the unjustly convicted, if some people would get together and bring enough attention to these cases.
In TH's case, there are some people who are wildly slandering her, some who defend her at every turn, and many who suspect her. Suspecting her and giving reasons for the suspicion is not the same as a witch hunt, IMO.

 

[kbl8201]

That was an awful phenomena, and a huge, enduring injustice. It happened, though, years before the internet was an everyday part of most people's lives. I don't think the same thing would be as likely to happen now because, instead of these pockets of local accusations, and the whole nation thinking, "Gee, these people are close to the situation; they must know what's happening," people all over the country would, like you, cry "witch hunt." Now, I think the power of the internet could free the unjustly convicted, if some people would get together and bring enough attention to these cases.
In TH's case, there are some people who are wildly slandering her, some who defend her at every turn, and many who suspect her. Suspecting her and giving reasons for the suspicion is not the same as a witch hunt, IMO.

lying about her whereabouts=valid

writing face book messages=not valid

 

[jessigirl]

~snipped

made mean-spirited remarks about Kyron’s physical appearance.

~end snip

This statement makes me sick :sick: and very sad for this precious&innocent :innocent: little boy that's image and every detail of his life has been thrust into the harsh(very harsh)light of the media by no action of his own. Likening it to being on a glass slide, put under the glaring light of a microscope only to be dissected and picked apart by individualsloser[IMO] having nothing better to do with their time than to be overly scrutinizing&assessing every tiny detail of this child and then commenting on such trivial(yet nonetheless extremely hurtful)aspects of this little boy. And I for one am outraged:furious: at such horrendous comments made about Kyron's appearance.

Prayers for precious Kyron and for those who love him so very much

 

[STEADFAST]

lying about her whereabouts=valid

writing face book messages=not valid

I don't agree. As they say in court, "It goes to state of mind."

 

[kbl8201]

all i know is last friday all that was needed to open the floodgates was some third rate website siting 'sources not affiliated' with this case to get the mainstream media to go after every stupid little thing, and BAM heres your facebook witchunt for starters. and then we will sit here tommorow, at a press confrence where step mom isnt even present, and i bet you 95 percent of the people watching will be saying 'is dad shaking out of pain or guilt?" or 'is bio mom twitching out of fear for kyron or herself?'

 

[CarmelEyesD]

I have read the fb. It shows poor taste and poorer judgment, but that doesn't make her a killer..

 

[GrainneDhu]

That was an awful phenomena, and a huge, enduring injustice. It happened, though, years before the internet was an everyday part of most people's lives. I don't think the same thing would be as likely to happen now because, instead of these pockets of local accusations, and the whole nation thinking, "Gee, these people are close to the situation; they must know what's happening," people all over the country would, like you, cry "witch hunt." Now, I think the power of the internet could free the unjustly convicted, if some people would get together and bring enough attention to these cases.
In TH's case, there are some people who are wildly slandering her, some who defend her at every turn, and many who suspect her. Suspecting her and giving reasons for the suspicion is not the same as a witch hunt, IMO.

If you define a witch hunt as a mass movement of irrational behaviour that results in the victimisation of innocent people, then the most recent witch hunt was the housing and financial sector fall beginning in 2006. Four years ago. Well into the age of the internet.

In 2005, I was one of the very, very few people who looked at the housing market and the credit default swaps and said "this is very, very wrong and it is gonna hurt a lot of people." Mortgages were freely available to anyone with a pulse (and for all I know, a pulse wasn't strictly necessary either). Housing prices were going up like mad. Wall Street was making bets that anyone could see they could not possibly cover or recover from making. Seemed clear to me that disaster was on the way.

In 2005, I came down with necrotising fasciitis. I was in ICU for four weeks and in the burn unit for almost four months. I was lying there in that hospital bed shooing my parents out of my room, telling them "don't waste time visiting me, get that house on the market and sold NOW."

The house they were living in was the one they built when their children were young. In their late 70s, it was just too much house for them, so they decided to sell it but they weren't in any great hurry. They admit that due to my advice, they got that house on the market a year or more sooner than they had intended to. They made a lot more money than they thought they would by selling it to a couple who thought they would MacMansion it, then flip it for even more money.

Well, that couple was dead wrong. They still have the house and the last time I saw it advertised, they were asking for less money than they paid for it. I imagine they're probably upside down on their mortgage and I do feel sorry for them. I'm not at all sorry, though, that my parents heeded my advice and were not the ones left holding the bag.

The information I used to predict what was going to happen was all from the internet, from mainstream media sites (mostly The New York Times). I myself have no special education in anything, I'm just a high school graduate. Who knows how to balance a chequebook, a skill that I have to wonder if Wall Street bankers possess.

If the internet can prevent irrational behaviour (aka witch hunts), why did the vast majority of the people in this country have access to all the same information I had and yet completely miss the prediction? I honestly don't know, I'm still stunned that so few people could see what was so glaringly obvious to me.

I do know one thing for sure though: the internet did not stop people from making incorrect predictions that disastrously affected their financial wellbeing.

I am a history buff. After every wave of mass hysteria, no matter what form it takes, people shake their heads afterwards and say that it will never happen again.

So far, those people have been wrong every single time.

I know which way I'm betting on whether witch hunts will never happen again.