onja, don't think you have to "leave quietly" if you have something to say. You asked a legitmate question and I think you deserve thoughtful and polite answers.
Like you, I too am curious about the reasons for the huge interest in the Natalee Holloway case.
'sarasota' and 'pamlet' have already given answers I find to be true ... sarasota: "It is a daily dose of mystery and amateur sleuth-ism" and "It is, in fact, my business because I'm the mother of two daughters and this case has taught me a great deal about how to better protect them." and pamlet: "I think it's the BIG element of mystery ..
(LOL, sarasota and pamlet, you always put it so concisely, and nicely too.)
I'd like to expand on those answers, because I think there are several categories of people who are intensely interested:
(1) The ghoulish and prurient. Like rubbernecking at an car accident, that's human nature I guess.
(2) Baby boomers who have sons and daughters who are about the same age as the central characters in this story (Natalee, Joran, Deepak), and who can easily imagine themselves in the shoes of the parents involved.
(3) Amateur sleuths who find it interesting to try to puzzle out the case.
(4) Self-deluded people who fancy themselves the next 'buckhead' and believe they can somehow "solve" a long-distance missing person and/or murder case, using their own self-proclaimed expertise, or speculations based on a steaming pile of non-facts.
I consider myself to be a combination of (2) and (3), but mostly (2). As I've posted before, I'm the mom of a daughter much like Natalee, and a son much like Joran.
I'm very concerned about the effect our trashy popular culture has had on even "good" teenagers, and how "decency has been defined down" to the degree that some Boomer parents find themselves bewilderedly looking the other way while their otherwise-good, high-achieving kids are quite possibly indulging in partying, gambling, excessive drinking, taking drugs, and casual sex. (Sure, when we Boomers were kids, some percentage of us indulged in the same behavior. But now it seems that a much larger percentage do.)
(And btw, lest anyone misintepret that last paragraph to be an "attack" on Natalee, it isn't. Though there are a lot of reports that some Mountain Brook kids who went to Carlos n' Charlies were partying hard, I don't claim to know what Natalee's behavior was; and I have never, ever said an unkind word about Natalee or her parents. I sympathize with them completely and don't blame any of them. And IMHO the same standard should apply for Joran and his parents. Up to this point, we have no absolutely reliable evidence about Joran's character or behavior, and quite a few contradictory reports. False stories have been told about his parents too, but some of those were repeated as "fact.")
But anyway, onja, don't let anyone chase you off the thread. There are some people here who get indignant and pi$$y if anyone dares to ask questions, or to have a different opinion or theory than theirs.
But they don't "own" the thread. This is FreeRepublic, after all, owned by Jim Robinson, not the people who post on these threads. And according to JR, we're free to post our opinions and questions as long as we keep them within civil bounds.
People who don't like our questions or opinions are also completely free to scroll past posts they don't like.
Trouble is that someone like Onja comes along several times a week, and after what, about twelve weeks, the regulars on the thread get a little tired of patiently analyzing everything for them. And a little defensive -- why should they have to explain themselves for being interested in this case?
It's still unfortunate to not have an X to completely ignore certain posters who continue to try to disrupt a thread. Not talking about an idle poster who isn't paying attention of course, I mean people like ..well like you.
Why, yes of course everyone is entitled to their opinions. And when someone disagrees they should be able to respond in kind. That means everyone, GS, not just the ones who diagree in the minority opinion group. If someone visits a thread and posts opinions that are in the minority for that thread they are going to get responses the may not be as nice as they had hoped for.
And, by the way, I have a very difficult time culling any wisdom from someone who describes one of their children as a "chick-magnet" while describing their other children as "pasty white, slightly nerdy kids". And the problem with our children is ... hmmm.
Thanks for the nice words re: my posts. Perhaps I have more patience than most, but I don't mind at all volleying statements that don't appear to be in sync with the group vibe. Nothing gained by getting upset; just don't take it personally.
Thanks for the kind words.. :)
I think you put very well the why's people follow this case. Sometimes I wonder myself why there is so MUCH coverage..
I do think that the most "loved" programs covering this monitor the various threads.. looking for angles to throw out so they'll get the market share.
For instance - last night... right about the time there was SO much speculation regarding the house for rent in Noord... this thread came to the conclusion that the house for rent was the Van der Sloots - THEN came the conclustion that all the other houses by the same owner included a place near the racket club. Nancy Grace threw out a little tidbit saying Joran had access to a place there... that's pretty much all she said. This thread took that as verification that the theory of the house in Noord was correct. I think that Nancy's folks took the info from the thread...
Of course then we find... whoops.. not the Van der Sloots house. It will be interesting to see if Nancy comes up with anymore on the theory tonight... ensuring folks watching her over Greta... it's really about the ratings I think. They KNOW we're dying for info.. so they throw things out as teasers..