I am so sick of all the rubber-necking that has been going on with regard to a recent and tragic news topic.

[Bubble99]

And all under the guise of 'concerned fellow-parent/s'

I met a mother at school today (never spoken to her before) who approached me and said ..'Have you heard about? What do you think about?' and the freak was almost smiling. It's as if this nightmare has become entertainment for some people.

There is a voyeuristic, collective sickness going on , safe under the umbrella of 'concerned parents.'

Yuk.

Or Innocence in Danger

There are lots of charities working to help children who are taken from their homes, helping find their families. Here is one, another here , this is the charity I used to work for and this one is set up to stop child prostitution and traffiking.

I'm sure they would appreciate a donation.

Here's the UK site for donations in pounds

Yes, so we need to campaign en masse for tougher sentences for child rapists and people involved in the trafficking of children for slavery and all the other hideous things that exploit the most vulnerable people in our world.

Thanks for the links Rantum (Ta?tum.) Wouldn't it be nice if the back biting bitchiness that has clouded these threads over the past few days turned into something positive?

There are enough people on MN to make a difference. To stop children having to go through this. Even those of us who can't afford to donate money can do something.

I do not know if this has been braoched on this thread before, but I have read that the British police have given names of known sex offenders who have travelled recently to Spain or Portugal. Why have these people passports and free access to travel where they wish? Whatever political allegiances you have Blair, Brown and Cameron are all fathers and seem generally decent, human people. When is someone going to put the safety of our precious children first without bleating about the human rights of those whose crimes put them beyond humanity.

Albania has not joined the EU. Crime is high in Albania and bordering countries like Greece and Macedonia suffer as a result [although they have their own problems too.]
I agreed with Aitch early on in one of the other threads that the media has pounced on this because it is a nice middle class white girl, and that i found it distasteful when people kept saying 'oh a i have a blonde daughter too, etc' But i do not care more about Madeleine because she is white and middle class. I care because it seems a situation that any of us could find ourselves in. Probably also because my attention has been brought to it big time by the media. And also because there are no other possibilities about what has happened to her - she has definitely been abducted, and that is a terrible nightmarish thing.
Save the Children is a brilliant organisation and have donated/fundraised a few times in the past - will try to do so more regularly in future.

I am donating here as the charity campaign to end child trafficking and prostitution. They look like a bloody good charity too.

There you go, first rule of new law.

Convicted of paedophilia or a sex crime in general, lose your passport. Personally I would gladly see them all dumped on Rockall, apologies to the kittiwakes and gannets but there you go (otherwise I suppose a quick snippity snip.)

Thankyou Rhubarb. {{{{hug}}}}}

Also keep in mind work by:

Human Right Watch

As well as Amnesty.

You can also write to your MP stating your views about the need for stronger sentences for child abusers - I personally do not believe that a sex offenders register is good enough. Predators of children - rapists etc - do belong in prison. I believe that the rights of the child to make it to adulthood unscathed by violent/deviant/greedy actions of conscienceless adults should supercede the rights of a person convicted of a abusive crime towards a vulnerable child.There are so many ways to work towards a safer world for children.

Bubble99, Different people deal with stress differntly. Some people need to talk things through, to protect their mental health. While I think there have been some very unsavoury comments made on MN recently, I can see that certain threads are providing an out let which may not be found in RL.

Could the mother at school been nervous?

Does the voyeuristic collective sickness not aply to all TV news reports which include other peoples grief?

I think that we are all too aware today. Noboby on here will ever do the Mark Warner/or any other babysitting thing.

We will not let our children out of our sights any more. Any of us who let our kids play out will think differently. Think Sarah Payne.

A boy was drowned in the Lakes where I grew up and all of a sudden, we were not allowed there (1979)

DH wanted us to get a tent with compartments, my argument (before this tragedy) was that someone could stanley knife the tent and take the baby.

Someone summed this up earlier, it's not the parents who were neglectful, its' the sick bastard who took her.................

Worth remembering that people have been falsely accused of paedophilia. Operation Ore, for instance, targetted some people who were actually the victims of credit card fraud (ie fraudsters had used their card details to access child porn sites). The accused had to go through the torment of a year long investigation. So if you are thinking about locking people up and throwing away the key, it could be any of our dhs who are wrongly suspected.

looks like a good charity rhubarb. Agree edam.

I agree with Expatinscotland. Both Roy Whiting and Ian Huntley had previous convictions for child sex abuse. Surely once someone has such a conviction - especially if it has involved child abduction - then they should be put in Rampton, or another high security mental hospital, as a danger to others for the rest of their lives. This happens to plenty of people who are a danger to others, let alone a danger to children. There would need to be an element of common sense in sentencing, ie not extending it to 16 year old boys who have sex with a 15 year old girl. But that can't be beyond the wit of judges, can it?

Do you know what, I find it very strange indeed that people think that by saying 'I don't care about this, and never give this child a second thought,' they are claiming to be morally superior.

yes having a conviction is a different matter.

I agree Aloha - it's odd isn't it?

Was out with some friends last night - all girls and we were talking about Madeleine and a few of the girls were saying that their DHs were upset about it and torn between watching the news to see if she had been found and not watching as it was so upsetting. Normal behaviour really - but they'd be accused of all sorts on here.

The photographs of her are lovely, she's a beautiful child.

It was sad to hear the search had been narrowed down today, I hope the police are not giving up hope.

There was an article today in the Times by Mick Hume which put some sanity back into the hysteria the media have whipped over this. We don't normally see the TV news, but I looked in last night, and won't be watching again. No one needs hundreds of new media types descending on the resort, milking it, least of all the police who are trying to find Madeleine. They are there to sell newspapers and advertising by cashing in people's ghoulishness and schadenfreude. Everyone is muscling in on the act to push forward their own agenda. Of course we all care because we are parents and we identify with Madeleine's parents, and personally I will admit to feeling sick every time the James Bulger case is referred to.
Why should the police give a running commentary on their work? The only people who need to know what they are doing is the immediate family.
Why do we assume the British police parachuted in will do a better job than those 'foreign' plice? The 'expert' detective from Surrey who turned up did not find Milly Dowler - that was a spectacular failure, so why is suddenly in a position to outsmart the Portugese? There is whole lot of Xenophobia being whipped up here - none of which will help find Madeleine.

I don't think anyone is saying that, Aloha. Just that some people think although we all react to it, as parents, it is tasteless to turn it into 'me, me, me, MY feelings' rather than appreciating that it is the parents who are suffering here, not any of us.

The British CEOPS department is actually one of only two in Europe that are experts on crimes against children. So the police do have some skills that may be useful to the Portugese.