Shannon Mathews

[user1477282676]

This was a shocking case. The child was without a doubt a victim in terrible circumstances. Her own Mother stashing her away under the bed of her partner...drugging her, lying to the public and to her friends about such an awful thing.

But.

Does anyone here think that the press and the public demonised her in a far worse fashion than criminals who do worse have been?

She was pilloried, called terrible names...really made into a sort of figurehead for everything "unwomanly" when there are plenty of men who commit arguably worse crimes and who get away without the public disgrace.

Yes she did a truly awful thing but the fact that she was

A: A woman
B: Working Class
C: Ignorant
D: Unattractive

All added up to ensure that she was the perfect example of a demon woman. Can anyone expand or tell me more about this sort of thing? Do you agree with me? Are there other cases which are similar?

Maxine Carr did not attack any child but she covered up for Ian Huntley and now the public complains that the taxpayer spends a fortune on preserving her anonymity. Well it wouldn’t have to if she could live in peace without fear of reprisals from vengeful vigilantes

A defence of Maxine Carr from Ann Widdecombe.

Carr's crime was perverting the course of justice. The legal system treats this as a very serious crime because, as with perjury, it's fundamental to why law works. The public sometimes don't get that point (I've seen posts on MN on other cases where people have lied to the police which clearly didn't). Carr however did not deserve the vilification at the time nor the ongoing witch hunts.

I know who Robert Black is.

I didn't, I had to Google.

I don't think anyone is seeking to portray Hindley as a victim. I fully accept that she was an evil woman who thoroughly deserved the punishment imposed on her. But that does not stop me from also believing that she wasn't in the same league as Brady and that there is excellent reason to believe that if she hadn't met him she is very likely to have gone down a very different path in life.

I also don't think Robert Black is anything like as well known as Hindley, despite his conviction being much more recent. How many people can honestly bring his face to mind without googling him? Yet that police mugshot of Hindley is so well known that it's even been used as art.

Robert Black murdered 4 little girls and suspected of more how can you not have heard of him? The reason Hindley and Brady is so prominent and notorious is because they refused to say where the children were they also kept themselves notorious

It wasn't just a kidnapping though!

Her kids had been neglected for years. The investigation found that her kids were starved, neglected, unwashed, etc.

So yes, she is a pretty nasty person! Woman or not

Sorry.

I think there is a lot of power in a name: Myra is very distinctive. (Actually, I don't know if it was forty years ago) Robert, Ian, Fred, much less so.

I live in the area where Hindley and Brady kidnapped tortured and murdered . I can see from my house the area where they hid theIr victims. Still struggling to see any value in making dubious points about them.

I can see Robert Black's face without googling.

OP you are scraping the bottom of the barrel now trying to drag Thatcher into this.

I grew up in a well off rural area. The children from the ,admittedly rare, problem families were the children of children from the same families which problematic when my mother was at school. This was decades and many governments before Thatcher.

I hate Thatcher (I grew up in the era) and will blame her for most things, but she's not to blame for Shannon Matthews.

I don't think that was why op mentioned thatcher, I think it was in response to the "benefits class" post rather than directly about Matthews?

Myra Hindley kept herself in the public consciousness by gathering support for her release and by trying to escape prison.

If she'd been truly remorseful she would have accepted her punishment and not waited till 1987 to confess to her crimes (over a decade after she stopped writing to Brady so couldn't be said to be under his 'influence' for many years).

It was her repeated applications for parole which kept her in the news. Because every time it came up she'd have supporters on the TV or radio supporting her release and then the poor family members of her victims were retraumatised by constant requests from the press and having to speak publicly again and again about their pain as they feared her release.

Robert Black - dark, balding, and neatly bearded - arched eyebrows and distinctive eyes. An intelligent looking face, even a not unhandsome face. If you were casting for his life story could be played by Robert de Niro or similar.

No googling needed.

She wasn't working class. She was Benefits class. Never worked.

But her partner did work, how is that different to anyone on here who is a 'stay at home mum'?

I know that she was a terrible mother, but not working when your partner is does not make you a bad mum.

Are we discussing the Matthews because Karen is in the news today?

I agree with a previous poster that the hatred for her is rooted in her absolutely blasé attitude towards the whole thing, which seems undiminished by a prison sentence.

"When I left prison I picked up a Bible and saw a passage about ‘God loves you’. I knew I was hated by everyone, cut off from my family… but here they were, saying I was loved.

I know I did something wrong but I’m not the baddest person people are making out. I am sorry for hurting people."

The reason she is uniquely hated is that she still has no idea what was so wrong with what she did, and she barely even has the brains to pretend she does.

The point we were making were - you felt Robert Black was as well known as Myra Hindley - many of us disagreed on that.

Evil, yes, of course. Terrible people.

Shh on MN it would seem that for some people at least, you're only a SAHM if your husband works AND you have some "taste" and speak in a certain way.

If you wear clothing from a supermarket and you're brash...AND you get Working Tax Credits...well...then you're Benefits Class.

To blame Thatcher really is low i grew up in thatcher era my step father was on strike for a year our area recovered, to say Karen Mathews is a product of this is insulting and ridiculous, Karen Mathews neglected her children Karen Mathews failed to protect her children karen mathews had her child hidden in a house for 20 odd days the only person who was supposed to keep Shannon safe exploited her put her life in danger for publicity and money. Shannon is now a young woman having to live with that but yeah lets excuse her parents behaviour because she was ugly and poor.

QuimReaper so we're to hate her for a lack of intelligence are we?

Just looked up Robert Black - what an awful man. He was arrested around the time my child was born and I avoided reading the news for a long time.

MrsJay I did NOT blame Thatcher. So take your "Low" comment back thanks.

It was in relation to the benefits class comment.

YOUR community recovered. Many, did not. I assume your community recovered because work was provided in other sectors.

Or...don't tell me...they all became entrepreneurs?

user...
did you start this thread to make excuses for KM?
Lots of people come from depressed communities and don't feel the need to drug and fake the abduction of their children.
What point are you trying to make here? Yes women are more vilified because they are supposed to be more nurturing. Obviously this is not always the case...

Black has not promoted himself in the same way as Hindley. No Lord Longford has championed his case.

I think people were angry and outraged theyd had so badly my 'jeremy kyle fodder' British people are sneery and assume we could never be fooled by 'someone like that'...

I think your thinking is skewed user the sympathy should lie with Shannon