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I think the "group mentality" that has developed on these threads has been very detrimental to all of us. There are a number of posters here who question the Smarts' behavior......that does not mean that I am in lockstep with them. Once again, to toss one person's thoughts and opinions into a generic classification of "Smart hater" or "Smart lover" is detrimental to what we are doing. If we're going to divide ourselves up into "Smart haters" and "Smart lovers," we might as well only have two individuals posting here.

Jolly, you insist upon "evidence" of the Smarts' possible involvement or complicity in Elizabeth's disappearance. The statements and behaviors of the major players in this saga ARE evidence to us armchair detectives. I think it's safe to say that most of us here aren't at our first rodeo.....we've all followed crime investigations before. Each of us looks for clues based upon our own past experience. Some of us tend to focus upon "hard evidence".....some of us lean more toward intuition and things that just don't seem to pass the "smell test." I'm sure the same can be said of the detectives who are working the case.

I can only speak for myself here. My questioning of the Smart family is based upon how I perceive their BEHAVIOR. It is not based upon a personal hatred of them, jealousy over their social status or distaste for their religious beliefs. As sandude stated long ago, this case is a darn good mystery......I think that choosing up sides into "Smart haters" vs. "Smart lovers" does it a great injustice.

Thanks to both of you for your thoughtful responses. sandude, I disagree about the term "Smart haters" being inoffensive. It is offensive to me. Being suspicious and hating are two very different things. To call someone a "Smart hater" is to demean their thoughts and opinions by reducing them to mere hatefulness. As you know, I am one of those posters who has repeatedly questioned the behavior of the Smart family. It doesn't mean I "hate" them......it simply means that I believe they know more than they are saying, and are perhaps attempting to hide information that might be pertinent to the case. I am just looking for clues here......I am not looking to nail anyone to the wall because I "hate" them.
I think the "group mentality" that has developed on these threads has been very detrimental to all of us. There are a number of posters here who question the Smarts' behavior......that does not mean that I am in lockstep with them. Once again, to toss one person's thoughts and opinions into a generic classification of "Smart hater" or "Smart lover" is detrimental to what we are doing. If we're going to divide ourselves up into "Smart haters" and "Smart lovers," we might as well only have two individuals posting here.
Jolly, you insist upon "evidence" of the Smarts' possible involvement or complicity in Elizabeth's disappearance. The statements and behaviors of the major players in this saga ARE evidence to us armchair detectives. I think it's safe to say that most of us here aren't at our first rodeo.....we've all followed crime investigations before. Each of us looks for clues based upon our own past experience. Some of us tend to focus upon "hard evidence".....some of us lean more toward intuition and things that just don't seem to pass the "smell test." I'm sure the same can be said of the detectives who are working the case.

Excellent Post!