Madeleine McCann: On The Road
MADELEINE McCann is missing. And the Sun brings news on its front page.
“A butterfly gave hope to brave Kate McCann yesterday – as it landed softly on her hair before an emotional audience with the Pope.” This gives the Sun its front page headline: “BUTTERFLY OF HOPE.”
And the Sun says the red admiral butterfly landed on the yellow ribbon tied to Kate’s hair.
A sign. Not a sign that a yellow ribbon high off the ground looks, to a butterfly, not unlike a yellow flower. This is a sign of hope, that in some way this insect, Vanessa atalanta, personifies Madeleine’s spirit.
Says Kate: “It was strange, but lovely, like a symbol of hope.”
With emotions running high, chances are Kate McCann will seek out hope and solace wherever she can get it, whether in an audience with the Pope, in a TV appeal or through a butterfly.
But where is Madeleine McCann? What happened to her? It’s the mystery that the Sun has no word on. Instead readers get news of a butterfly. And hear Kate McCann tell the Pope: “We need to find Madeleine.”
The Pope takes her hands in his. The Pope whispers something. “I know that. Yes,” replies Kate. She hands the Pope a picture of her missing daughter. The Pope blesses the image with the sign of the cross.
The Sun tells us: “The GP had been clutching Maddie’s favourite pink stuffed toy, Cuddle Cat, as the Pontiff offered words of comfort.”
Important indeed to know what Kate McCann does for a living. It saves the Pope asking “So what do you do?” as he walks among the faithful at an open air audience in St Peter’s Square.
But the Pope makes no special mention of Madeleine McCann. He addresses the crowd and, as the Mail reports, says a “special blessing for children everywhere”.
An English-speaking priest steps forward. A crowd of 35,000 people look on. He declares: “In a special way, his blessing goes to your children and your loved ones.”
This is said to one and all. But the Mail knows. As it says: “Those words must have cut deeper into the McCanns than anyone else in the square.”
How does the Mail know this? Might it be that others in the square are suffering? Others are seeking hope through the Pope? Others want a butterfly to land on them?
But this is for the “Leicestershire GP”, says the Mail. “The now familiar green and yellow ribbon in her hair fluttered softly in the breeze.”
We are watching the parents. They are doing all they can. But this is turning into the Madeleine McCann roadshow. We are experiencing the private grief made public spectacle.
We are looking at the McCanns. But how long before we grow weary of the public display? We want a happy ending. But how long until we stop caring..?
Posted: 31st, May 2007 | In: Tabloids Comments (108) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
October 1st, 2007 at 5:13 pm
But how do you know they are suffering all that much? Not all parents have the supposedly universal instinctive strong love for their children (almost “being in love with” them). Kate said in her first interview “We are very responsible parents”. Think how close “responsibility” is to ” liability” or “burden (bravely borne)”. She did not say “we love our children very, very much” – and that would indeed have sounded false, because if you do love your children very very much, you cannot BEAR to sit in a bar and drink while they are alone. I know that since when our child was small, we kept a constant eye on him NOT because with thought in terms of “responsible parenting” or prided ourselves on being good parents but for the entirely selfish reason of knowing that if anything bad happened to him (and just think how many things can happen to a 3-year-old left alone in ten minutes, let alone half an hour), WE would not survive it. I am not being sanctimonious at the expense of the McCanns who “made a mistake”, I do not at all think that our love for our child makes us in any way superior. You either have that love or you dont. I do know parents who are not that much in love with their toddlers, they would behave exactly as the McCanns did (“it’s our holiday, too!”). But why keep saying that they are going through hell now? Why not think that if they were able to bear leaving THREE children alone in the room and have a good time with bottles and bottles of wine, instead of fidgeting miserably and leaving the party in a few minutes, they may be equally perfectly able to come to terms of being just one child short. <they do keep repeating, after all, that they have the twins left… What they do seem to care desperately about is their (professional) reputation.
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Mods and Admin
Distant observer: just an observation that could be discussed? 7 years to become a doctor, 9 months to become a parent… ‘blood’ or ‘vocation’ which is really that much stronger? or is parenthood a vocation anyway, or as some see it, a burden?
September 10th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
I might seem odd here, but when I’m on holiday, I go out to eat with my children and I enjoy having them with me. My husband and I both work and we enjoy being on holiday as a family, any normal loving family unit would do the same. You would think that the McCann’s both in proffessional full time work would feel the same – but no they would rather leave them unattended even though there is a babysitting service available – this is neglect pure and simple. However you look at it it is pure selfishness and they should be investigated/monitored by social services. I agree with the loerson who says that they being treated differently because of thier social status as proffessionals and doctors, they have advisors, spokespersons and are paying a very prominant solictor. Please remember that being a doctor does not make you above the law and does not make them incapable of being involved in something more sinister (Shipman was a doctor) they were selfish enough to leave the poor children alone – what else are they capable of.
September 10th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
I might seem odd here, but when I’m on holiday, I go out to eat with my children and I enjoy having them with me. My husband and I both work and we enjoy being on holiday as a family, any normal loving family unit would do the same. You would think that the McCann’s both in proffessional full time work would feel the same – but no they would rather leave them unattended even though there is a babysitting service available – this is neglect pure and simple. However you look at it it is pure selfishness and they should be investigated/monitored by social services. I agree with the loerson who says that they being treated differently because of thier social status as proffessionals and doctors, they have advisors, spokespersons and are paying a very prominant solictor. Please remember that being a doctor does not make you above the law and does not make them incapable of being involved in something more sinister (Shipman was a doctor) they were selfish enough to leave the poor children alone – what else arfe they capable of.
August 15th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
The fact that many people leave their children to go and have dinner (I do not Know anybody who does it) doesnt mean it is not a crime for which many parents get their children taken away, and they might have done it to work. The parents commited a crime against Maddie. There is proof of that Why hasnt any action been taken to take the other children until further investigation of their doings? And if Madelaine appears, what trauma is she going to have to carry for the rest of her life living with the ones who abandoned her totally unprotected? In a holiday resort? Will she have to gorgive her parents so that they are happy? They have committed a crime against three minors. Lets wake up, and call for an international action on the thousands of children that dissappear every day.
June 14th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Obviously, billyB, you are a sick F****R. As a parent, I cannot begin to imagine what suffering the McCann fmaily must be going through. Yes, I am sure they gravely regret leaving their kids in the room whilst they ate, but I, and many others, have done this on vacation. It was only 50metres or so from room to table, where they ate.
They will blame themselves, but blame will not return Maddie.
God willing, she will be found safely.
Ciaran, Wicklow, Ireland.
June 7th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Whats all his praying and God shit, what a bunch of weak and useless wankers you are, its your pathetic God that watched the kid get abducted, and havent you got anything better to do than buy twatty bracelets you hypocrytical shallow dumb council estate chav scum!
June 1st, 2007 at 2:48 pm
exactly! bit like a drunk driver or a hit and run driver apologising makes it ok.
Actually if Team Negligent could only understand, the McCanns have let their own daughter down so badly, and it will be viewed by the courts as contributory negligence.
June 1st, 2007 at 2:09 pm
As DL said -
It’s that “We REALLY didn’t do anything wrong” attitude of theirs that is rubbing people the wrong way..
It’s difficult for me to understand why some of you seem to accept their attitude as appropriate..
June 1st, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Yes I agree with DL, it really grates me that the McCanns show no sense of responsibility for the criminal offence (in Britain at least) of leaving their three children unattended, while they selfishly went out for a meal. I lose compassion for every excuse and careless statement that comes out of the mouth of Team Negligent. Weve already heard the comparison to coming towards the end of a student bank account, and the “thousands of people do it” excuse. The latest gem is “This is what we’ve always wanted to achieve as a family.” on meeting the pope for all of 30 seconds. Shame they had to leave the twins behind though! Funny what a regular occurence leaving the kids behind is. Still at least they arranged childcare this time. Theres nothing like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
If you think my opinion shows a lack of compassion then I have some questions for you. Will you still be compassionate if it turns out that Madeleine has wandered off and fallen into a well? Are you going to be equally as compassionate to her abductor?? If not why not? The McCanns are at least partially to blame for Madeleine going missing by leaving their kids home alone. If they hadnt, then Madeleine wouldnt be missing.
So instead of sympathising with the neglectful parents, show sympathy with the innocent victimin this charade, Madeleine.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Sadly no-one has yet realized that the butterfly is not a symbol of hope, but the symbol of death. Do a google on butterfly after death and there are thousands of accounts of butterflys visiting after death. Most find it a comfort to see the butterfly but they already know that their loved one is gone. It is often believed that the butterfly symbolizes the safe departure from this world into the next.
The butterfly always pays attention to something ‘significant’ in my own dad’s case, it was
the clothes my mum took for him to wear to the grave and then the car she drove to the funeral directors – the butterfly once again hovered on her head when she arrived at the funeral directors ( she had to drive 20km to get there – fast butterfly!!) and sat on her head till she went inside. Our butterfly came back everyday until my dad’s funeral – a week in all. The strangest thing about this, is the butterfly, tends to return when the loved ones are at their lowest point. Butterflies only live for up to 48 hours so why keep coming back?
I think in this case the significance is the ribbon. Many people believe that this was a butterfly of hope, if you speak to someone who has had their own butterfly, they will no doubt say without hesitation that Maddi has left this world and was trying to tell her Mum she is ok.
I hope as much as the next person that Madeleine is alive and well. You read up on the butterfly yourself and come up with your own opinion.
June 1st, 2007 at 9:52 am
I said in my previous post…… The lack of any compassion on here is quite mind-blowingly. So frighteningly poisonous…
Ignore my error everyone… should have been ‘mind-blowing’. Typo cos I changed a sentence.
June 1st, 2007 at 9:46 am
I tell you, British people aren’t happy unless they are putting someone else down, we’ve always gotta have someone in the public eye to ridicule and be horrid to. It makes me ashamed to Be a Brit to think we have lost all our compassion humanity and humility!
June 1st, 2007 at 8:54 am
I dont normally get involved in these blog things but I just need to put my thoughts into writing.
I am a parent and if any of my children went missing be it my 4 year old or my 21 year old and the ones in between, and it doesnt matter under what circumstances, I too would not leave ANY STONE UNTURNED until I had found them. If someone offered me a plane a car a rocket, Yes I would take it, If I got the opportunity to meet the Pope, the president the queen of england, if I thought it would help, I would use it.
dont blame Kate and Gerry, I firmly belive that Maddie was singled out for abduction and would have taken her no matter where she was, protected or not.
Kate must carry on taking strength from whatever she can, a butterfly, a cuddle cat, a support system,
Please everyone, there is too much hate and misery in this world already, out there is an evil evil person who TOOK without permission a small baby child away from her devoted parents. Please all pray to which ever god – icon – leader, for her safe return. I know I am
June 1st, 2007 at 8:30 am
[...] Jun KATE and Gerry McCann are in Madrid. Scheduled to appear on a Spanish TV show, the parents of Madeleine McCann will appeal for help in [...]
June 1st, 2007 at 8:01 am
Well said Alison and of course Pixie Girl! The lack of any compassion on here is quite mind-blowingly. So frighteningly poisonous……
June 1st, 2007 at 7:31 am
I find the attitude of many people hypocritical – no parents are perfect and I’m sure we have all made mistakes or taken risks that could have resulted in something happening to our child. Just because you didn’t get caught or have something bad happen, doesn’t make it right to condemn the Mccanns for leaving their children alone. Where is the forgiveness? The Mccanns seem like good loving parents who don’t deserve to be going through this and having their daughter taken from them. The Mccanns are the victims in all this – the perpertrators are still to be caught and brought to justice. He who casts the first stone….
June 1st, 2007 at 3:44 am
Anyone with more than two brain cells can see they were negligent. What sticks in my craw is that they continue to minimize the significance of leaving their children alone and refuse to take even partial responsibility for Madeleine’s disappearance. All they (mainly Gerry) keep yakking about is:
1. “We didn’t REALLY leave them alone.” Yes, you did. Unless you want to go on the slimmest of technicalities that by leaving 3 children in a room TOGETHER unsupervised, they were not ALONE. Madeleine did have the twins, so she was not alone in the most absolute sense.
2. “Everyone does it.” No, they do not. I do not know a single person who does this. We take our children with us or we get take out or……here’s a novel idea for a hotel……we order room service. Besides, using the “everyone is doing it” argument is pathetic after age 13 or so.
3. “It was no different than being in your garden.” Yes, it was. Unless your garden is 10 times the size of most, includes a pool and has parking lots, busy streets and lots of strangers walking about, then your garden is VERY different.
4. “Just as if we had been in the next bedroom.” But you WEREN’T in the next bedroom. Had you been, she would not have wandered off or been abducted.
5. “We are responsible parents.” Obviously, you are not. Being well-educated and wealthy does not mean a person is a responsible parent. Responsible parents do not leave 3 small children alone in a strange hotel room for hours, exposed to any number of possible hazards. They certainly do not leave the door unlocked so the children can wander off or a stranger could walk right in. If this is responsible parenting, God help all the children of the world.
It’s that “We REALLY didn’t do anything wrong” attitude of theirs that is rubbing people the wrong way. They seem to have learned nothing and are solely blaming “the abductor” without ever looking in the mirror to see the ones that started this whole tragedy in motion. It’s anyone’s fault BUT theirs. I’ve never liked people who shirk responsibility and I don’t like it now. It sickens me that they do not grasp how terribly negligent they were, but still see it as a simple mistake.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:21 am
im sure most would agree with me that this child will not be seen alive again, we live in a world where paedophils are rife in every society, the poor child, she had rotten parents, who left her alone for some monster to take.
no i dont feel for the mccanns at all, they should lose the twins to the state for adoption, their not fit.and be struck off.
poor maddie bless you wherever you are.
im 60 with 2 grown up kids and 4 granchildren, a realist, most of the comments seem to indicate that you want the media hyp. to go away. but with all the comments that are left surely this increases the chances of it staying very much alive.
the public should be quiet now, and not encourage these parents further
June 1st, 2007 at 12:17 am
But no one had said they (the McCanns) were being malicious, or even suggested it. The whole of the thread is about their negligence and the consequences that followed on from that starting with the abduction of their daughter and the ghoulish circus that seems to be developing from that.
Had they or someone responsible been in the apartment , then chances are Madeleine would not have been abducted.
Isn’t it possible that the person who did abduct her had noticed they regularly left the children alone?
However when all is said and done , they are UK resident and its illegal here to leave children under 12 alone.
They are intelligent, well educated and GP’s salaries aren’t low, they could so easily have afforded to pay someone to look after their children.
I am not directing venom at the McCanns, but they did leave their children alone on more than one occasion, thus leaving the way clear for someone to help themselves.
No one is being wise with hindsight either, but people are now shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Could bet you good money the baby sitting services are probably doing a roaring trade in the Algarve now
I have read your contribution four times and the term malicious is completely out of context.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:42 pm
no not at all, i was simply referring back to my earlier comment.
[[And i cannot direct such venom at someone who has not intentionally done wrong. lets save our hate and venom for the people who deliberately consciously hurt others.]]
and stating they may have left their children but it wasn’t a consciously maliscious act, unlike the person who took madeleine.
read the thread to put it in context .
May 31st, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Has any one suggested they were being malicious?
May 31st, 2007 at 10:02 pm
not exactly a intentional malicious act tho was it?
and as for exploiting this tragedy for their own gain, well what can I say, sorry i really cannot believe that anyone has a child abducted and thinks…. ‘kerrrching’
May 31st, 2007 at 9:42 pm
The point is, the did do it intetionally! they intentionally left their children alone in an unlocked apartment in a foreign country!
For those of us who are even more cynical it could be argued that having observed their actions over the last few weeks they have INTENTIONALLY set out to catapult themselves into the media spotlight and exploit this “tragedy” to their own gain.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:33 pm
[[And i cannot direct such venom at someone who has not intentionally done wrong. lets save our hate and venom for the people who deliberately consciously hurt others.]]
I think that answers your question as to whether compassion should extend to the person who abducted Madeleine.
And please do not patronise me, I fully grasp the facts thank you very much, just because I do not agree with your opinion, that does not mean that I am somehow I am ‘away with the fairies’ or I ‘am not able to grasp the facts’
It means that i percieve the world and this situation differently to you do. and I would appreciate if you saved being facetious and condescending for the real idiots who are frequenting this board and not direct your name calling towards me.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:25 pm
pixie girl? Away with the fairies more like! However if as you say you don’t have a life because you put the welfare of your children first then I admire that, because like many others I too am a single parent who forfeited my life when I chose to give birth, and this is where the arguement lies. The McCann’s have behaved selfishly and negligently which has resulted in the loss of an innocent life. The worst of it is that rather than admitting their mistake and showing remorse they are defending their actions by stating that it’s what every other parent does. That is an insult to all the hardworking, responsible parents who struggle from week to week to raise their children in a safe and caring environment. They are hypocrites and what we are trying to say (and what you don’t seem to be able to grasp) is that they should be treated like you would be if you had let your children home alone That is to say the other children should be removed to a home ofsafety and they should be prosecuted as an example to others that this is not acceptable behaviour! If you honestly beleive that the media and the criminal justice system in this country is not elitist you are more naive than you sound. I know, i am a lawyer by profession.
As for you, Rachy babes, what a kind caring and compassionate person you are. I take it that this empathetic, non-judgmental attitude also extends to the alleged abducter? Even if they have tortured and abused her? What of Hitler, Pol Pot, Osama Bin Laden I assume that your understanding and forgiveness includes them, because if you are going to state publically that you do not Judge or condemn people for there actions and mistakes then that has to be universal you can’t just pick and choose because that would make you a hypocrite, right?
May 31st, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Keep it going folks. whether for or against. because your interest is keeping madeleine’s name alive. It may help. Let’s not judge. Just lets hope Madeleine comes back to her mother unharmed because of everyones interest. The people who have taken her will have hoped that interest will have died long before now. Keep it going – it isn’t what they want , even if your comments are cynical and against the parents . Keep it going – all of this might just win through.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:14 pm
The only ones who can bring this whole episode to a conclusion are the Portugese police. Let’s stop all the squabbling about Team McCann – what’s done there… well, it’s done. Their daughter is missing. Period.
Two things now have to happen.
The Portugese police have to eliminate from their inquiry or formally charge Robert Murat – to keep the man beneath a Sword of Damocles any longer than is forensically necessary is inhuman. It’s been nearly a month – just how long does it take a team of international experts to thoroughly examine a few hard disk drives and determine if there’s anything damning on them? It’s a joke – but not a funny one for a man who might still be totally innocent.
International police have to co-ordinate their efforts to locate this little girl and her abductor/s. Again, how can this be difficult? Imagine all the police forces in Europe and North Africa working together – this is surely what must be happening, after all. Think of all that man-power, intelligence, agents in the field…what the hell is taking them so long?
Everything else is peripheral.
The McCanns – whatever the rights and wrongs – will possibly have to answer their critics another day, when they have their daughter back and her abductor/s in jail. Until then, of course they will try everything in their power to garner press time, air time and they will go wherever they think they might do some good. By private jet is necessary. It’s an imperfect world, my friends.
It might offend me to see the craven way politicians and others ruthlessly cash in on ‘the Madeleine Factor’ along the way, but such is the way of these things. Hopefully, when the dust has settled there will time for those who have said stupid things and caused fear and upset quite needlessly to refelect on their actions.
The tabloids will continue to weave their web of disinformation and scaremongering – it’s their stock-in-trade and they have never known any better. Base, ignorant and just plain vile…they are a fetid stench we have to learn to live with. Some columnists in the broadsheets are at least trying to call people to their senses.
I just hope it’s not too late for everyone to step away from the lure of Mob Rule and gain some much-needed perspective.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:14 pm
the item was on an email on msn…im still checking it out
maddy is the only one in this awful situation that is worth considering…[prob the twins too...as they are going to have grow up with this knowledge too]
i still say the parents are shameful for leaving 3 children unsupervised…its something i would never have considered when my daughter was that young…her safety was priority…and still is!
god help ALL the children that are missing from their homes
May 31st, 2007 at 9:00 pm
where has that news item come from?? heard so many hoaxes in the last few weeks
and i dont have a problem with it, I just don’t think its productive to throw blame out at this time.
and as you can see from MY post, you’re not the only one struggling to do the best you can. that’s all we can do. And i cannot direct such venom at someone who has not intentionally done wrong. lets save our hate and venom for the people who deliberately consciously hurt others.
I’m not saying your view is wrong, it would be a very dull world if we all thought the same. x
May 31st, 2007 at 8:55 pm
why is it so hard for some people to just say…the mccanns were so wrong…they did a bad thing….the child would not have been snatched if they had been there with her…..etc
there are thousands of parents who struggle thru life bringing up children…they crave for time out, a chance to chill….but they dont do it if there is no one thereto look after their children….
pixie…have u been eating your mushroom?…because you dont seem to be able to get your head around the fact that those parents abandoned their children…to go for a meal!!!!…have they not heard of takeaways or good home cooking!!!
this mayb a fake news item ive just seen but there is a message coming in that a body has been found in portugal….will check up and see if its hoax
later
May 31st, 2007 at 8:25 pm
[[Pixie girl, would you really want the McCanns to be your parents? or would you prefer lone parent?]]
Now that is a silly question, my own parents are far from perfect but I love em all the same, as I am sure I am far from perfect but my kids love me all the same.
Its so easy to critisise people when you are standing outside the loop. I don’t know what parenting skills or ideas either ‘lone parent’ or the Mccanns have. Only what they have posted on here.
I have 2 children, i work from home so They are here when i am working, I have no family nearby and I live in a city that I moved to at an age where I have no ‘old friends’ nearby. I don’t trust my children to be left in the charge of teenage local babysitters, therefore i never go out, I don’t have a social life, and week on week the only time I spend away from my children is when they are in bed.
does this make me a good parent??
Well I’ll tell you, I despair sometimes and I don’t mind admitting it, I could bloody throttle the both of em !! and they aren’t bad kids.
Am i a bad parent?
hmm maybe, or maybe I’m doing the best I can. Like we all are, Like the Mccanns are.
One thing I am not tho is perfect! would i have left my children and gone for a meal in a restaurant across the pool. No i wouldn’t have.
Like i have said time and time again. i just don’t see what it productive in blaming the Mccanns, aren’t they suffering enough?