Posted on 06/12/2010 5:33:40 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
You know what? She was ‘experienced’ and competent or she was not. An ‘experienced’ sailor KNOWS such things could happen. They know what to expect of the sea. She CHOSE to take all risks when she went off in search of personal glory and her 15 minutes of fame.
Her parents should have prepared for all contingencies- including rescue- and not have ultimately relied on other COUNTRIES to save a CHILD they should never have RISKED.
I really don’t understand the usually ‘pro- parental responsibility’ Freepers who are praising this CHILD and her parents.
They ENCOURAGED her to do something dangerously life-threatening that was NOT NECESSARY. They did it for fame and a place in the record books.
I really don’t see it as any different that if they had allowed her to do any other life-risking stunt for publicity.
The authorities get involved when parents fail to protect their children or intentionally put their children in danger. This is-IMO- the exact same thing.
I hope- at least- that the people who risked THEIR lives to save this girl from recklessness BILL her family,big time.
I was told that I am un-American for saying it is a bad idea to sent a kid across the world solo.
Wow. So I guess our USN sailors at sea for 6 months or more turn into rapists too?
I agree 100%.
Thank You!
The double standard/convenient reasoning infuriates me too!
Since when are CHILDREN encouraged to ‘take risks’ with their lives?
Since when are CHILDREN expected to do the exploring and experimenting?
Now we WANT children to explore and experiment as adults do?
See what smoking, drinking and sex are like? How can we condemn the idea of MINORS taking adult risks, or deny them the right to risk their lives with chemicals or even medical procedures( abortion without parental consent anyone??) yet praise a child acting like an adult in this instance as ‘the American spirit’.
I thought the American spirit valued children and believed in protecting them so they could reach adulthood safely-THEN take adult risks like dying by lung cancer or drowning alone in the middle of the ocean.
In the end, I don’t blame the girl as much as the parents. She, like any other MINOR should have been told ‘no’ when she wanted to do a risky, ADULT , thing. Instead, parents like this pimp their kids out for celebrity.
And the girl herself is surprised that the press ‘jumped on the story’ when things went bad?
The whole idea was always to be a story- make the news. To pretend otherwise is disingenuous.
iF SHE WAITED SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN A YEAR OLDER WHICH WOULD HAVE DISQUALIFIED HER AS THE YOUNGEST.
It was about the win from the get go...safety was secondary.
You statistics are wrong....17 year olds aren’t having babies...they are aborting them....and this trip surely should have been so from the get go!
Interesting you would say she can handle these fisherman when her parents would not plan any stops along the way for her because of thier concern for her safety ...being a girl would make her a target.
Her blog evidences the saga continues.....she has been well prepared even for the press....claiming her astonishment they would know she was there is just poppycock...if she is truly that nieve than she had no business taking on this journey.
None of them were alone and a thousand miles from a support system.
The authorities get involved when people need to be rescued.
At least that's how it worked when I was in the Fire Dept/EMS. You didn't ask whether the wiring was bad in the house or whether some nitwit set the curtains on fire with a birthday cake, you did what needed to be done.
No one asked how old I was, or whether I was competent because if I wasn't I would not have been there. (I was sixteen when I ran both fire and EMS calls, and certified).
She is not the first to sail around the world or attempt it at her age.
You seem to think that age is the only factor here (or what you assume to be her motivation). Was she prepared? Obviously. Or she'd be dead/missing.
Nearly everyone at this site seems to be measuring her capabilities by their own at her age.
Wow. What an awesomely illogical comment.
Your sole basis for the comment was that the sailors had been at sea for some time and might be tempted by a 16 y/o girl on board.
My comment is entirely logical but obviously your way of thinking can’t compute.
Or were you just bashing the French?
Ahh, now you leap to French-bashing. What’s next? I can’t wait for your next response.
"I’d be concerned about a 16 year old on a boat with fishermen who may have been at sea for weeks"
The logical conclusion:
Men at sea for weeks become rapists.
I asked if that included USN sailors. You didn't answer but merely questioned my logic.
If you can't understand it, too bad.
So then the next logical conclusion is if you take umbrage to that, you must only think French sailors become rapists after being at sea for weeks.
Either is ludicrous but we all know what you are implying. Get your mind out of the gutter. They sailed thousands of miles to rescue her and you question their honor? Sad.
You’re an angry person. Angry people are often not logical, but frequently rude and confrontational. So, I won’t waste any more time responding to you.
mmmmkay
Can’t defend what you posted so you stoop to personal attacks? Got it.
Glad to know you have so much respect for sailors at sea.
And no, I’m not generally an angry person, but as the wife of a Navy officer I take great umbrage at the concept that months at sea turns men into rapists.
Have a nice day!
She is no less "safe" among deck hands on a commercial fishing boat whose captain risked his life to save her, than she would be in any other place where a bunch of guys were working whose boss had made it pretty clear "Don't mess with this young lady."
A young girl alone on a boat tied up in a port or a marina, yes, I can certainly see concern for her safety, and hopefully she's experienced and armed in how to spot it and how to defend against it. THAT was undoubtedly the context of her parents' concern for stops along the way. But to think that she's in any kind of danger on a fishing boat that rescued her so publicly is an insult to commercial fishermen -- French, American, Portuguese (pure dreamy! *sigh* They can be the most handsome men on the sea!), or any other kind.
If she's gutsy enough and sea-savvy enough to operate a sailboat on her own, then I'd say she can probably handle the fishermen; they're folks of the sea. Weirdo pervs hanging around marinas are an entirely separate matter, and THAT is what her parents were worried about, in my INFORMED and EXPERIENCED opinion.
My bet is that you have little or zero experience with the maritime world of sailing and commercial fishing. I HAVE, and when I say I figure she can probably handle some randy young deck hands on a fishing boat whose captain risked his life to rescue her, I'm speaking from lifelong experience of being around those kinds of people and their lifestyles.
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