Help with the search for Madeleine McCann

[flyingfairy]

DO YOU WANT TO HELP IN THE SEARCH FOR MADELEINE AND OTHER CHILDREN?

Our group is not a discussion group - there are lots of forum's on the internet where you can discuss the rights and wrongs of what happened on 3 May 2007. Our group is an action group, therefore if you feel the same way as we do, and would like to help in however way - large or small - please get in touch to [email protected] - (stating where you saw this message).

During our campaigning throughout mainland Europe and the rest of the World, we also highlight cases of other abducted children in countries such as
Spain, Italy, France, Turkey (to name a few). If by highlighting Madeleine's abduction, we make contact with other people whose children have been abducted, and who do not have resources available to highlight their plight, we hope to provide support and assistance.

As at Monday 23 July 2007, Madeleine has been missing from her family for over 81 days, and if we stop now, sit and do nothing then we achieve NOTHING. Your help may be just what Madeleine, and other children need right now. So if you want to do SOMETHING, then please join us and assist the search.

WHAT WOULD I HAVE TO DO?
Each person who joins up is assigned to a group either working on ideas or countries. The type of things we are doing includes direct emailing to specific businesses and industries to raise awareness and asking for help by either putting up the poster, or seeking support to our fund raising efforts.

The Madeleine McCann campaign has chosen not to specifically endorse any particular groups, however our founding member is in direct contact with the Spokesperson for the campaign.

As my old granny used to say (or was it Thumper's mum in Bambi)...if you can't find anything nice to say, don't say anything at all....

Thank you flying fairy. You helping ofmadeleine also resulted in helping Denise in Italy. She has been missing for 3 years in September, and is only now having attention drawn to her plight because of your group.

'if Madeleine is still alive, which is highly doubtful'

Jesus H Christ

BigPantsRule- I was going to say the same.

I am quite shocked at some of the reactions to a well-meaning post. I read it as wanting to raise awareness of many missing children, not jumping on some bandwagon. Some people do come across as quite mean sometimes. I know, if you don't like it, go away (sarcastic emoticon). Well I don't like it, am usually far too polite to say, and am going no-where!

Good lord - is it a full moon tonight? Flying fairy your post is welcomed by myself and from my point of view you have every right to post whatever the hell you like - if there are some people out there who are clearly not interested in Maddy or similar cases which was clearly stated in her OP then don't bloody read or respond to the post!

Kidnapping is more common than a lot of people realise and MM disappearance is high profile and IMO raising awareness to an ongoing occurance.

YAY for flying fairy - poor girl she's probably feeling like shit now....there was not one bit of offensive matter in her post and her first response was completely rude.

Message withdrawn

Hello all you rationale sympathetic people. Its great to see the supportive post for this OP and this topic.

My Nan said the same - if you've nothing nice to say, say nothing at all. There's a few on this forum who should take that advise.

My support to flyingfairy too.

i read the op as somebody who'd heard about MN on sky news or something trying to stir up trouble again.but i am an old cynic

Its always the same few names that are involved in these types of attacks here on MN. Apparently its the way it is on here, if you have a strong opinion about anything, your posts and your opinions take a pounding that lasts several hours or days! You will find yourself being ridiculed, your posts pick to pieces, your every word criticised and spellchecked. If your not on their wavelength then youd better be strong, because they are! Before you know it, youll even be doubting your own words, theyll have all twisted out of proportion in a barrage of abuse.
Admittedly some, can accept the difference of opinion, but remain firm in their beliefs in a far more considerate manner, from these MNers you can learn alot, but there are about 20 who are not so welcoming.

More seriously, the saddest fact is that sometimes these viscous threads sometimes pull in newbies or are even highlighted on the national news! What a representation of UK mothers do we have here? Some parents who spend far too much time on MN and have nothing better to do than poke their noses in where it wasnt invited. And then, promptly tear down the OP with comments like,

By mumofmonsters on Tue 24-Jul-07 16:37:22
are u also searching for 15 yo Smantha Osborn who went missing from Bucks in April? or is she too old and not high profile enough?

or,

By allgonebellyup on Tue 24-Jul-07 16:31:37
this is funny lol

Prime examples of the charitable, considerate and warm mothers we have here in the UK.

Go get `em flyingfairy what harm can be done? There is NOTHING wrong about going after a cause! a needy cause! There are lots of needsy causes and if we all took a leaf out of your book and backed a cause, we would be living and bringing up our children in a far more secure world in a warm society with no hostility or fear. Its such a shame that your honest hopeful post was met by some of the ruder bunch on here, these are the regulars, the ones who cant be away from MN for longer than 1 day! Its outragous really, quite a tight nit of a particular few.
Keep going for MMC and all the other dear children lost in the world. If you only help one child or even just give hope to them and their families, that would be enough.

Here come the bucketheads again...

bucketheads? sounds like a highly intelligent adult type phrase.

umm actually I agree with some of what haychee is saying

excuse me from being naive/soft/unaware but i've quite innocently read this post and have been astounded by some of the "mums'" responses.at the end of the day, we're all wary of what's going on in the world because of this and other similar goings on (eg:the Soham girls etc.).We are all-most of us- scared to let our kids out of our sight for more than a couple of minutes when out and about for fear of what might happen. Why the hell are there so many on this website HAVING A GO at someone/people who are actively trying to find a lost little girl? I'm gobsmacked that people are so cynical.Whatever your opinions,surely -God forbid- if anything were to happen to our own we would be doing everything to find them. This hostility is worthless. Let's learn from this and hope to GOD it doesn't happen to any of our own kids.

Where have they all gone? Why are they all so quiet now? Because they know we are right? Because they cant think of anything reasonable and adult to say?

This thread has turned into a discussion of how some MN users behave in an ugly childish manner. And, im pleased to say that there alot of responses from those who agree with me on this. It IS wrong, it IS childish, it IS unacceptable and actually very bitchy.

Because they are now out-numbered i guess they have moved onto other threads to pick on another poor newbie or simply someone who is in a minority opinion. Interesting isnt it? That when they are together on line here on MN they gang up and dont give you a chance to respond, but when they are out-numbered they disappear and keep quiet. Very cowardly i think.

ooh fighting talk..... am off to raead the thread and kick your arse

ho hum. Not fighting talk, not looking for another battle. Just simply stating the fact, that some Mners are out of order, some are bitchy, some can only make a joke out of you and your opinion, some can only look for errors in posts, either spelling or grammer or a slight mistype. Everything gets twisted out of all proportion so that they can agree that the offending poster can be ridiculed. I see it here regularly with Leati, Flyngfairy and myself all have been recent targets to name just a few. I have been called a liar and that my dogs should be put down simply because they are dogs. I was not welcomed here as a newbie, all i wanted to do when i started here was to make a point (was with regard to MMC and shrek) my point was not allowed, it was a case of agree with us or f#*k off!

i read the thread.

i agree with haychee actually. I'm not sure what being mean to someone who wants to feel like they are doing a good hing will achieve - leave her to it if its not your cup of tea. its not mine - i haven't contributed much to any of the threads.

Even though i was terribly sad i didnt' have the strength of emotion that some people on here have about it.

But i can remember sobbing and sobbing for days when James bulger was abducted and killed.

I think this is becuase my children are older and there is not the link that many paretns with younget children feel to the family.

so i symaphise with over enthused empathy. i wish not to join in with any charitable task. So i leave the people who do.

the comment to STG was outof anger and disproportionate - which if you are STG must feel terribl especially as she gave a measured response and some other people are just being fuckers.

haychee, regardless of whether I agree with you or not,
I have read quite a few of your post and quite frankly,
I like your style, your stamina and your passion.

Hope you stick around

Oh yes im here to stay. Think im really digging my heels in now and being bloody minded because of some of the abuse i have recieved since i started here. Its made me more determined to stay.
Thanks or your encouragement

I'm still here too and still waiting for sherbert to explain her remarks to me.

Pissed off at her reaction would be a bit of an understatement, especially since the thread went exactly the way I (politely) predicted it would.

I guess I am unlikely to get an apology so it's away to the airport and my holidays for me and mine.

But why come onto flyingfairys thread just to point out an error or in your opinion how the thread should be retitled? Thats is of no use to flyingfairy. It holds no gain to be made in respect of the missing children she is campaigning for. What difference does it make how she chooses her words in the thread title? Yes ok, the MMC has been done to death on MN, but why comment on it if your sick of it? Why not just leave it alone and stay away? Her (flyingairy) heart was in the right place, she is doing a good thing, what use is it to demand or request she changes the title to omit the MM name? If you dont want to discuss anything to do with MM then stay out of the thread, simple as that. I dont want to comment on breast or bottle feeding threads, so i stay away or example. And now you want an apology???? Your early posts on this thread where polite but also unecessary and helpful or the cause. No apology needed imo.

I wasn't going to come back onto this thread as I got quite angry the other night, and normally don't get involved in these debates. But what happened to Madeleine, and indeed many other children, is terrible, and there is no harm in trying to raise awareness. I was happy to see the supportive posts are now outnumbering the nasty ones. There is hope.

I think the reason why the thread title, and in fact the whole campaign, is inappropriate is because we shouldn?t just be searching for Madeleine Mccann, we should be searching for any child that is missing. Madeleine Mccann is just one in thousands of children that go missing every year, and yet only Madeleine has received that kind of publicity. And that?s something that a lot of people feel increasingly uncomfortable about.

If the campaign is to find all missing children, and to highlight the fact that children all over the world go missing, then the thread title should have stated that, and the op would then have got a lot more support imo. While I do agree that the treatment of some of the pro Madeleine supporters has been shocking and totally uncalled for, I do think that in some cases it goes both ways. No-one is allowed to have a negative view of this either, I was jumped on for suggesting that it is doubtful Madeleine is even still alive, and yet that is the grim reality, and if people are not even prepared to contemplate that reality, they are being extremely naive.

In the beginning I too was happy to be a part of the email distribution, but three months on I really don't see the point any more, and I do think that although some people feel they still want to help, they do also still need to be open to the fact that not everyone shares that view.

By flyingfairy on Tue 24-Jul-07 14:33:55

During our campaigning throughout mainland Europe and the rest of the World, we also highlight cases of other abducted children in countries such as
Spain, Italy, France, Turkey (to name a few). If by highlighting Madeleine's abduction, we make contact with other people whose children have been abducted, and who do not have resources available to highlight their plight, we hope to provide support and assistance.

She does state the desire to help all missing children, not just mm. The Op should be read alongside the title, not jumped on for the reference of the title.