Shannon Matthews

[Purple Light]

I'll apologise if I'm speaking out of turn here but did anyone else think it'd just be a matter of time before this little girl turned up? History of running away from home apparently & a blatantly disfunctional family (if U didn't get news coverage, trust me, the mother was your typical feral mother).

I'd even go as far as to say they needed the money ( being a family on the dole) & they probably cooked up a story to sell & make a bit of money. After all, she was found only a mile away from her home.

[Pat]

Time will tell.
What surprised me about this disappearance was the lack of coverage,the lack of celebrity support and this probably had something to do with her family , the way the child looks and her age.
Compare the coverage to the first few months of the Madelaine Mcann disappearance.
Shannon had not been left unattended while her parents went out on the razz yet the outpouring of sympathy for the Mcanns was everywhere.Shannons disappearance has been greeted with "look at the family, what do you expect".I like to believe Shannon's family experienced the same guilt, grief , fear and loss as the rest of us would have in that situation.

[Hexe Luciferia]

I'm in the same mindset as Pat.
I only knew about this little girl's disappearance only because I check the BBC website on an almost daily basis, 'cause in Italy, for instance, no one talked about it, whilst the Mcann case is still discussed every now and then...

[Silver_Owl]

It's also unusual the Police not allowing her to go straight home.
Maybe a bit cynical but it does all seem a strange kettle of fish.

[Ramone]

Maybe she didn't go straight home because of the award ceremony for winning the Dewsbury Under 10's Hide and Seek competition ?

That's the word on the street I hear.

[psichonaut]

Under 10's Hide and Seek competition

[Ramone]

I gotta agree with the a lot of the cynics on here. I felt exactly the same way at the time of the Madelaine coverage "What if this had been a Jeremy kyle style family instead of the pretty little white middle class family"? - Well, lo and behold here we are. Like people have said so far, the coverage had been minimal - and why is this? It's because Madelaine was very photogenic and fitted perfectly into that media friendly idealistic mould of blonde hair, gorgeous smile and big blue eyes.

Shannon on the other hand is that daughter you see being screamed at by some Vicky Pollard like feral mum in Aldi when you you stand behind then at the till and thank God she's not your child.

It's all down to genetics and the luck of the draw as to where and who your parents are. Rich dentist types with lots of media appeal = Good Sky 24 hour global news but Council estate douche-bags called Wayne and Waynetta = Why bother this happens every day anyway, and whats one less chav on the streets? Which is a sad snap shot of life in this country today and the medias perception of some people.

I guarantee this story will die down soon but come the anniversary of Baby Madelaine's 'abduction' you won't be ale to take a dump with out hearing her name or seeing her face in the papers for days on end.

[timsinister]

I didn't tag you as an ALDI shopper, Ramone!

[boudicca]

Argh, I find this constant bleating (ironically generated by the media) that the media's response to this has been so different to Madeline's case, infuriating to say the least. Have people conveniently forgotten that that little girls parents were slated from the off for leaving her alone, then eventually accused of her murder? That's not an "outpouring of sympathy", that's just about the worst thing you can accuse a human being of.

If there's any snobbery in this I'd say it was mostly inverse snobbery aganist the McCanns - the very fact that they seemed so "perfect" is one of the things that counts against them in the public eye, and makes people suspicious of them. I'd argue we have, if anything, a lot more time for a more unfortunate, lower class family (in general, though Alastair's post obviously counts against this point). For a lot of people they're much more "human", we can feel sorry for them more easily.

I'm just delighted that she is OK - I didn't think she was dead because I thought she may have been running away herself from complicated family situations... but I think it's taking it a bit far to suggest this was an an elaborate conspiracy. There are no solid grounds for that so far. And whatever happened, that little girl has been an innocent victim.

[Hexe Luciferia]

I don't think it was something organized by her parents. Or better, I hope it wasn't something plotted by her parents; not because I've "faith in the human kind and faith in the parental figure" (I'm actually way too cynical for that, even if I don't show it every five seconds, and don't really trust human kind, exception made for some people here and there) but because, if they did really make this up, she's going to be a victim twice and, from what I gathered,she had already her fair share of "not so nice happenings" in her life...
People talk a lot about saving the children, protecting them, but most of the time we tend to look too far away and don't notice that something wrong (not necessarely serious abuse or such, I think that a difficult family environment could be enough) is going on right next door to us. We notice that only when the damage has happened, and then there's the outpour of "sympathy"...maybe it's a way of "making up" for not being there from the beginning. I don't know.
I'm not saying that we all should be always aware and blah blah blah, I'm only saying that, yes, it turned out well, 'cause the lil one is safe, but still, it's a very bitter story...
Sorry for the rambling...

[GC]

After watching the news coverage I was very surprised to see teenagers celebrating and drinking cans of John Smith. Bitter? I would have much more expected White Lightening Cider. What's becoming of the world.

(I'm such a snobby c**t)

[psichonaut]

"faith in the human kind and faith in the parental figure"

well...then you don't need me to remeber that most of the sexual crimes are consumed in parental environment, especially pedophilia

[emilystrange]

stepfather's uncle, in this case.

[psichonaut]

stepfather's uncle, in this case.

not only unfortunately

[Hexe Luciferia]

"faith in the human kind and faith in the parental figure"

well...then you don't need me to remeber that most of the sexual crimes are consumed in parental environment, especially pedophilia

Absolutely not, in fact I don't idealize the human kind and the parental figure, and I know very very very well what are you talking about.
I'm going to say it again: I might seem extremely vapid, stupid and silly headed like no one else, but trust me, I'm not, I have a clear enough idea of what goes on in this world.
I like to jest and joke, but I'm no stupid nor blind.
That said, in a few weeks time, Shannon's case will be forgotten in a way or another, because she was found alive...

[psichonaut]

I like to jest and joke, but I'm no stupid nor blind.

never thought it

[Hexe Luciferia]

I like to jest and joke, but I'm no stupid nor blind.

never thought it

Just making sure

[James Blast]

I could give a shit!

I had no idea about this story until it was flagged up on here
I think I'm banned now... I'll handle it

[Pista]

Is anyone actually glad she's okay FFS?

[boudicca]

Is anyone actually glad she's okay FFS?

See my post. That is the main thing, lest we forget.

[psichonaut]

Is anyone actually glad she's okay FFS?

i'm really glad, but i need to say i haven't heard about her before, and we, in Italy have , these days, a similar fact about 2 little brothers founded after about 2 years dead in a well
...and for the fact their father got arrested, without any evidence

[Hexe Luciferia]

@Pista: I am. I know it may have gone lost into my very bad English ramblings, but I really am glad she's fine.
But as Marco pointed out, it reminded "us italians" a lot about the case of this two lil brothers who were found dead in their own town, when everybody else thought of looking anywhere else but there and their bodies were found by chance. After two years.
Sad story because the two boys had as well a seriously disfunctional family and apparently, before the tragedy, no one really cared about protecting them and such.
I just hope people don't "abandon" Shannon once more, now that she has been found alive and "well"...

[Pat]

Police rescued the nine-year-old from a flat in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire more than three weeks after she disappeared. She is now in social services care.

Her mother Karen Matthews, 32, said she had never given up hope and "just couldn't stop crying, knowing she's back where she belongs and safe".

Sorry , this really appeals to my sense of humour.

[Ramone]

If there's any snobbery in this I'd say it was mostly inverse snobbery aganist the McCanns - the very fact that they seemed so "perfect" is one of the things that counts against them in the public eye, and makes people suspicious of them. I'd argue we have, if anything, a lot more time for a more unfortunate, lower class family (in general, though Alastair's post obviously counts against this point). For a lot of people they're much more "human", we can feel sorry for them more easily.

The tide of sympathy began to wane for these two when the public became sick of the over saturation by the media and the out pouring by celebrities and the whole "Would they be doing do this for little Chantelle-Mercedes Scroggins from the council estate? "

In Liverpool, due to the family's connection, we had constant photos of her wearing her Everton top to garnish support from the footballing community In a some what subliminal way of reminding you that 'she is one us - she's sort of a Scouser just like your daughters'- banners were made and t-shirts worn at games and caught on cameras at games .Robbie Williams ( who had not been seen in the public eye for months) was seen wearing one at boxing match in Vegas ( sympathetic stance or savvy public relations ploy?) Millionaires put up rewards, Bryan Adams offered to re-release 'Everything I do' with an accompanying video, car stickers with 'Don't you forget about me" Sprung up like daffodils in spring, Sky had a link to it's very own micro Madelaine site, but when it was removed the public asked why was Sky turning it's back on the McCanns?

The public I believe lost faith in the McCann case not just because of the over saturation but in due course to the parents themselves. The fallout began with people arguing 'If that had been me leaving my kid alone I'd be found negligent .' to the fathers very calculated body language and his some what 'press officer' like approach to the entire scenario.

I have some sympathy with 24 hour news stations - they have to fill the air time some how without rehashing the most trivial of events. So standing outside the gates of the chief suspect for two hours waiting for a speeding to drive away to the police station with a man in the back seat shrouded by a blanket - is the news of the hour to them, but to us it's mundane and unnecessary. The public want arrests and smoke bombs and Police loud hailers and some one carrying out a girl wrapped in a blanket in slow motion with the sun set behind them.

It was all too much - the public got bored and now when another child is lost the air time is not enough! But deep down you still truly believe, if Madelaine had NEVER happened would the Shannon case of gotten any where near the same attention as a pretty blonde girl from a middle class back ground surrounded by shifty foreigners ?


Sorry for rambling.. I just get irritated by the media very easily
hmmmmm...

[EvilBastard]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 337119.stm

To date, four people in Shannon's extended family have been questioned about her disappearance.

The latest is the person who was closer to her than anyone - her mother, 32-year-old Karen Matthews.

Shannon is one of her seven children by five different fathers.

Before she disappeared they were living together with Karen's partner, Craig Meehan.

FFS - the kid probably ran off to somewhere life was less confusing - I mean, can you imagine Father's Day in that household? You'd need to put a marquee on the lawn...