Official "I'm sorry for what I said about Elizabeth Smart" thread

[Grig]

OK all you freepers who where claiming ES was somehow a willing participant, easily dupped, or a runnaway.

Here is your chance to show us how mature and adult you can be. read this http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/867965/posts?q=1&&page=51#14 then post here to admit your error and apologize. I will freely forgive anyone who does so.

[Alberta's Child]

That's certainly a possibility, but think about what you just said and ask yourself if that is any less "speculative" than anything else you've read here on FreeRepublic about this case.

Let's make this real simple. Suppose there are two possibilities in a case: A) a child was abducted, or B) a child ran away.

If the child, upon being found, refers to himself as "the boy who ran away," it would seem perfectly rational for anyone to conclude that he ran away.

Am I missing something here?

[Alberta's Child]

I want you to take a test here, and be honest.

Forget about the particulars of this case for a moment. A young girl disappears, is found nine months later, and refers to herself as "the girl who ran away" when the police find her.

Did she run away, or was she abducted?

[sinkspur]

ok, i'll bite.. what little social experiment?

Having watched the young war that erupted on this website with the David Westerfield trial, myself and a couple of other posters predicted that FReepers would be at each other's throats within days, that the sides would harden (abduction vs. runaway), that the feud would continue through the trial, and get worse.

It's like clockwork. And it's due to the emotional investment that is made at the beginning of the event.

FReepers got banned in their exuberant defense of David Westerfield. Those who felt that he might be guilty were ridiculed, ripped, told they didn't know what the hell they were talking about because they hadn't followed the trial like a soap opera, and generally shunned.

There are still members here who won't speak to each other because David Westerfield was found guilty.

Whether that kind of extreme reaction will be provoked here...well...the raw emotion is already evident.

I'm just glad Elizabeth is home. I couldn't care less about any of the details of this case.

It's just a hoot to watch the indignation around here over something nobody has any control over.

[ewing]

I think the evidence is weighing heavily in Elizabeth's favor here.

According to local reports, she took the police to a campsite that was not visible from the air in the mountains and provided DNA evidence of her sexual assault (plus the rope used to tie her up)

The girl earns a Purple Heart for Bravery in my book.

[Alberta's Child]

The perps are now behind bars, which pretty much speaks for itself, wouldn't you say?

[SerpentDove]

I'm not saying she was complicit...I mean, how would I know?

All I know is, this story is too weird for me to comfortably come to ANY kind of conclusion, you know?

[tracer]

"If you don't want anyone to speculate about the facts of a case like this, then I'd suggest you shut off that "Amber Alert" system and leave me alone when I drive down a highway."

Deal. Everyone will leave you alone when you drive down the highway.

Now that you have, over the course of several days and too many posts, established your credentials, such as they are, live up to your part of the deal and simply shut the hell up....

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Whenever you are called to account for your irresponsible comments, you turn attention to the behavior of Mr. Smart and the freakin' Amber Alert program. How utterly Clintonian of you!

[alnick]

There was eye-witness testimony that she was kidnapped at knifepoint and that evidence has been part of the case since the first thread that I read following ES's rescue. The fact that the little sister first thought that it was a gun is easily understood considering that the room was dark and the little sister pretended to be sleeping. The fact is that she saw that the kidnapper hold a weapon to her sister.

It's just that kind of blowing little things like that out of proportion that led to a lot of people maligning ES and concocting a sordid tale of a teenage Lolitta running away with her lover.

[lady lawyer]

For some people, it's hopeless. They think that the nasty scenarios they have spun out in their minds about this poor little girl and her parents are the result of "discernment," which they believe is a "gift from God." I actually saw that on a thread or two when some of these people were asked for evidence to support their hateful theories.

Hmmm. Where have I heard that logic before? No wonder they're madder at the victims than they are at Mitchell/Emmanuel.

[SerpentDove]

Hey, sink....note the tagline. If you have time, hope you can make it!

;-)

SD

[Alberta's Child]

Whenever you are called to account for your irresponsible comments, you turn attention to the behavior of Mr. Smart and the freakin' Amber Alert program. How utterly Clintonian of you!

Nothing "Clintonian" about it -- it was precisely that rant of his that made me question the guy's credibility.

[MAWG]

" Am I missing something here?"

Only a brain. Shame on you. The irony is that I'm sure Elizabeth would forgive you. I wont.

[Voice in your head]

Bacon is good.

[Alberta's Child]

The fact that the little sister first thought that it was a gun is easily understood considering that the room was dark and the little sister pretended to be sleeping. The fact is that she saw that the kidnapper hold a weapon to her sister.

That simple fact in and of itself is perfectly reasonable. But for the same girl to help the police come up with a remarkably accurate composite sketch of the guy's face four months later certianly raises a reasonable question, I think.

[UnsinkableMollyBrown]

That's SerpentDove for you. He/She had the gall to say that Elizabeth should make amends with her family. That she had made their life miserable. SerpentDove, you are disgusting to still believe your depraved illusions. You should be an FReeper Outcast. Be Gone.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

You day that I have you at a disadvantage because you are not familiar with the ire of my passion. I guess I can conclude from that you would never passionately defend someone who is innocent. If that is the case, you must be some strange form of pond scum. Adios, Pilgrim. I have better things to do than engage in dialog with a poltroon.