But excuse me, it was you that drew a comparison between the parents in the two cases...
I stated that the advice given seemed kind of logical to me in a missing persons case; that would be
any missing persons case - it's a general statement related to a general subject, not fixed to or implying one precise set of circumstances, and the fact that the perceived status of the two parties involved may be different does not materially affect the relevance of the statement itself. The example of a statement shared between two parties does not imply comparison of those two parties, beyond the fact that they may be connected by a certain set of general circumstances. Which they are.
...What is obvious to most people is that the behaviour of the parents is a form of denial that they could be in any way responsible, when, to some degree, they are. Very few other parents will be happy with that attitude to that particular 'detail'.
I've never denied that the McCanns have done themselves few favours over the years - and in fact, I've clearly stated that they will inevitably bear some form of guilt. But really, how relevant is this to moving the case forward?
Over time the subject has effectively split into two parallel narratives:
1: A Missing child
2: That child’s parents - and whether they are: a) Culpable through neglect; b) Directly responsible through purposeful action.
So, is this about a missing child - or that child's parents? Should the search for a child really be influenced by how much we empathise with those parents, how 'deserving' they are of support - or how bad they are at being parent? And if you really don't believe those parents deserve the support they seek - where does that leave the case? Posh kid, or working class, bad parents, or good; when do you stop trying, as a parent, as the authorities, as a society?
(And the argument shouldn't be about why this case gets so much attention, but why others get less; the former fact should be used to question the latter, not the latter to undermine the former).
For many, the subject of the elder McCanns has clearly become a thing in and of itself, and it seems to me that for many of those it has now almost completely eclipsed the memory of their missing child. As even a cursory reading of this thread will tell you, in a very significant proportion of the published posts Madeleine McCann herself barely gets a mention – and sometimes, not even that.