Saturday is the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the little British girl abducted from a Portuguese hotel room while her parents ate dinner just a few steps away. While I expect many Americans are aware of the tragedy, the British are absolutely transfixed by it, and they have been utterly savaging the couple, particularly the mother, Kate. “What mother leaves her child alone in a hotel room?” they demand. I watched the McCanns on the BBC this morning, patiently enduring the same abrupt questions and stinging criticisms they have been subjected to from the beginning, trying to keep the story — and the search — alive.
Um, excuse me, but would all you parents out there who have done something INCREDIBLY STUPID whilst rearing your offspring, please raise your hand? (Oh, COME ON! It’s not only ME!) Just leaving my younger son in the care of his older brother, I discovered, put both of them at risk. (I’ve come home and wiped up blood off the floor, trust me.) I’m just fortunate that my stupidity didn’t result in anything tragic. When I look at the McCanns, I immediately think how easily it could have been me or any number of my friends and relatives. You only have to let your guard down or be distracted for just a moment..
To mark the anniversary, the McCanns have launched a new campaign to try to find Madeleine and other missing children. I was surprised to find that the British do not have an equivalent of an Amber Alert, which has so far helped save some 400 missing American children and is apparently fairly low-cost and low-maintenance.
I’m for giving the McCanns a break and putting all that negative energy into finding out what happened to their little girl. Oh, I know a lot of people, including the Portuguese police, think the McCanns are somehow responsible for her disappearance. But there’s scant proof of that, and it doesn’t help get anyone closer to finding any answers. Or Madeleine.
Update. Be careful what you write about your parenting skills.
May 2, 2008 at 10:54 am
ummm… My hand is firmly at my side. I did many things with my sons that blow my mind today.
I hope they find that little girl. A year is a long time to be without your child.