Despite his villainous behaviour, anyone feel a teeny bit sorry for Andrew?

[busymomtoone]

Before I get totally flamed, I despise his attitude, and the things he appears to have done - particularly the subsequent lying and apparent determination to shield/ hide misdemeanours. However, seeing the photo of his release today looking a broken man after such huge public downfall , plus thinking of him going back to an empty house on his birthday with no family support - even though I initially felt he deserves every indignity and consequence - there’s still a teeny part of me that just can’t help feeling just a little bit sorry for him. If it’s true that he was taken to a brothel at age 11 , whilst it would in no way excuse abusing others , it means he has also been a victim of abuse. Additionally it seems the Queen and his entourage have never ever said no to him in his whole life- so to reach his 7th decade before any consequences hit makes me question how resilient he will be able to be. Obviously main sympathies are always rightly with any victims , but even the most hardened and perpetual criminals often retain family support, he seems to have nobody. ( albeit if his own making ) or am I just being too soft?!

Are you joking? Trafficked women and girls aren't prostitutes.

That is a good question. Epstein provided them for him and he probably didn't think beyond that.

I felt sorry for the king. His statement sent a real shiver down my spine. I suppose he’s said what he’s said in that statement because he has to but said a lot more than his mother ever did!

Not really but I can see where you are coming from.

However he was an adult and at every point where he could have made the sensible, decent choice he did the opposite.

I think this goes way back to his childhood - a favourite child, indulged and spoilt?

Used to getting his own way, doing what he wanted. And now it’s come back to bite him on the bum.

I thought Charles’ letter was a good response to the whole debacle.

No and I think anyone who does is majorly deficent intellectually and psychologically.

I agree, OP. It is possible to dislike the (alleged) crimes, but still feel compassion for anyone in a similar situation. If you have ever spoken to a prisoner, and heard them talk about their distress and suicidal thoughts, you don't ask why they're in prison - you just accept that they're a human being who is suffering.

Of course, we don't even have any charges yet in the AMW case, let alone a conviction, so it does worry me that people are so quick to assume the worst - God help us if some of these posters end up on any jury!

I think we're rather glad too.

"Females".... Why do these guys do this? Is it to make women sound like prize sows?

No , and I felt sorry for Saddam Hussein when they found him hiding in a hole with a mini mars bar so that’s saying something.

Absolutely not. He's not in the least sorry for what he's done, just sorry for himself and sorry he's been caught!

Tbf, mini mars bars are terribly unsatisfying.

I don't feel sorry at all.
He is still getting off lightly.
I hope he suffers.

Nope. And I’d seriously question anyone who would. He preyed on the most vulnerable, abused and raped them. Think of him actually doing that. Really think how scared those girls were, how much physical and mental pain they will have been in. Think about how happy he was to rape and abuse his position to do it. How happy he was to mix with sex traffickers and other powerful people who exploited vulnerable girls and women.

If I felt sorry for someone like that, I would seek therapy for myself.

I hope he feels even 1/16 of the hurt, pain, fear and depression he made his victims feel.

I hope he get charged, tried and put in prison.

Could’ve been worse - he could’ve been left with the mini snickers.

I think he should be imprisoned in the Tower of London and become a tourist attraction. He wouldn't know anything was wrong. He could keep his teddies.

I don’t feel sorry for him, but I also don’t think it should be just him. I have an uneasy sense of him being the fall guy- absolutely guilty, absolutely complicit, but also not alone.

At the same time he’s long been known as the Royal that no-one who has ever worked for him had anything good to say about him.

Does that mean I should want him to top himself, as some are saying? It feels hard to imagine many other outcomes right now but I don’t think that would be justice.

What I want is many, many more of these odious men held to account, both here and in the US. But it doesn’t feel like we’re going to get that.

He is possibly being made a scapegoat of sorts - it's ironic, because personally I felt the hounding of Sir Cliff Richard, Paul Gambaccuni and Lord Bramall, oh and Leon Britton too some years ago was misdirection by the Met and Surrey Police to distract from the fact that it was clear the Met had no appetite to investigate Prince Andrew and his links to Epstein.

By going after celebs - and all those I've named were innocent - they could kind of say to the public a) Yes we are going after nonces after Savile b) And all those nonces are connected to YOU - they are not state operatives.

Now, however, it is possible they're going after Andrew to distract from bigger fish, he may be the sacrificial lamb to mix metaphors. I'm not entirely sure he's a paedophile really, and hiring prostitutes isn't illegal, just unsavoury, immoral and ill befitting a royal. If they were trafficked, well, that's not good but some of these 'good time girls' follow a pattern like Christine Keeler who was pilloried by the State because she probably slept with Prince Philip. It's awful but I'm not quite sure Andrew has done the extremely terrible things alleged in those files - I don't object to the OP feeling compassion for someone, it's human - mentally I wouldn't act to improve his lot in any way though.

I will reserve my sympathy for his victims

Odd take really because I imagine they're feeling pretty horrified their dad was raping girls the same age as them

I’m just furious that the major players in all of this are getting with (possibly) murder, and definitely with serious sexual assaults, because the judiciary in the USA are totally nobbled by their political administration. Yes Andrew should be called to account - but what about all of the rest of them!!!

Hell no.

HTH

Not one iota of sympathy for him or his ghastly ex wife. They are both a pair of greedy, selfish, entitled liars who did not contemplate changing their hideous ways even after Epstein's initial arrest and subsequent jail term. Andrew sat there in that notorious inteview and he lied, lied and then lied some more. The arrogance and entitlement, the strutting around at all the royal nonsense that he and Fergie managed to inveigle their way into after the Queen's death, their smug grinning faces thinking they have got one over on the dumb public, ugh, they have brought it all on themselve

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. He has allegedly (but almost certainly) destroyed many lives, hurt people, risked national security, disgraced the monarchy and his family. That's just the headline issues with him.

Feel sorry for him indeed. This must be rage bait.

I’m not sure anyone could gave done it to be realistic, it’s not that easy to be a helicopter pilot under fire, yes he is gross, I feel sad for his daughters too.

His standard of living is still going to be way, way higher than the average person, so what’s to feel sorry for? I feel a little sorry for his daughters, I can’t imagine the horror if I were to ever discover my father had committed such crimes.