Why Elizabeth (Smart) ‘Ran Away’ (Not kidnapped)

Newsmax ^ | 3/14/03 | Joan Swirsky

[Fitzcarraldo]

Mitchell will get 30 years for this, and he'll get a chance to use his social skills to stay alive.

[george wythe]

Keep your cool. You have a long history of being an intelligent poster, not a name caller.

This whole article is speculation, and it is presented as such.

If Elizabeth was taken forcibly, she will be vindicated way before Mitchell is tried and convicted.

[alnick]

Good grief. How many rooms did he have to choose from? Five? Seven? You people are trying too hard to make this story into something ugly.

[truthkeeper]

I'm with you, totally. Not to mention that she was probably told that her parents were angry with her, or perhaps that they'd be hurt by these nutcases if she didn't dummy up.

I hope her folks get her in some good therapy, because she'll need it.

[Sacajaweau]

I'm having trouble with the parents willing to publicize this girl all over the place. I'd think it would be kept private.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

And, if the parent's actions made her think he was "okay", only to have her "marry" him! Imagine their horror! No wonder why they are frantic, and want to emphasize the Amber Alert idea. They do not want to be held responsible in any way.

[CyberAnt]

Oh ... you know this family personally ..?

[nfldgirl]

"You think I am that Elizabeth Smart girl who ran away"?

IF (and that's a big IF...) she was brainwashed, psychologically traumatized, etc., is it not possible that he/they could have convinced her that she "ran away" vs. being kidnapped....all a part of reprogramming her to fit what they wanted her to be and what they wanted her to think, so that if/when caught, this would let them off the hook? I think it's possible.

[DCPatriot]

Let's see. You've been with the same person since you'be been 14 years old, and are married to this same person for 45 years. At the same, time, you are an expert on relationships?

The irony.

[tracer]

The prayers of "all" no doubt are with you. Get a life, lightweight...

[CheezyD]

I don't think she left her home willingly. I do think people need to remember that this was an extremely naive, impressionable little girl who was most likely threatened and perhaps beaten or worse by her kidnappers. If you took a 14-year old girl and screamed at her hour after hour, day after day (for nine months) that you would kill her and her family if she ever used her real name or tried to escape, how would that little girl react? I'm no expert by any stretch but I think people need to wait on the facts before condemning this girl for something she may not have any choice in participating in.

[Alberta's Child]

As the father of an eight year old girl, one of my primary duties is to protect her honor and reputation. If you or anyone else started spreading unsubstantiated rumors about my daughter, I would, with all due respect, be required to jack your jaw.

Bravo. And if I were the father of a 15 year-old girl and the "unsubstantiated rumors" about her honor and reputation turned out to be true, I'd have a hard time keeping myself from "jacking her jaw."

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I will be completely unsurprised if she has to enter inpatient psychiatric treatment in the next year.

If she doesn't need extensive psychiatric help after this, it would be a miracle.

I agree with you here. Regardless of how this happened, there will be behavior problems ahead.

[Poohbah]

I see.

You really don't KNOW Elizabeth Smart, just what you've read in the newspapers.

[Cable225]

As a casual observer it's pretty interesting to see how these things play out on this forum. I say casual observer because I don't have the time, energy or desire to follow the soap opera atmosphere these types of issues (Westerfield, Smart, etc) usually generate, so I just glance at it from time to time.

However, once again FR falls into two distinct camps -

* One side, so desperate to believe in the inherent goodness of this girl, is convinced she is a victim. So convinced, that they vehemently attack anyone that suggests something different
* the other side, so convinced that the whole thing is a screen hiding the dark secrets of the family and the girl's true motives that they call into question the sanity of the other group

Right now, the two sides are tolerating each other. As this goes on (and once the trial starts) the level of discourse will get less and less hospitable until it degenerates into flat-out nastiness.

Once you don't take a side, it's pretty fun to watch.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

If you had a daughter that was abducted and raped, would you want the media and psychanalysts giving you and your family the equivalent of a media anal exam? Now that she is back home, the particulars of this matter are NONE of your business. The reports on this are coming out in drips and drabs. The whole story has not been presented. What if the initial reports are contrdicted? She has been smeared in the public and her reputation destroyed. If I was her Daddy, I would tell you and other people who are curious about my daughter to stick it.

This case is the business of the police, the courts and the jurors that will sit on the case, EVEN if the abduction is a fraud. If you had a daughter, I think you would want her to be shielded from public ridicule, even if she did something shameful. Maybe not.

[mel]

Yes, i bet he was fairly ripe, probably never bathed or brushed his teeth. double yuk

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Here is another wild possibility.

If she was kidnapped and raped, her thought might be... "no, if I suggest I ran away, then maybe no one will think too harshly about me now, "... as a rape victim often does feel guilty. If she said she wanted to go, she might falsely believe that that will be the end of it, and no one would think that she was abused.

Just a random thought.