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You said:
Stupid for the parents to trot their son out on Oprah...regardless of whether the kid wanted to do it or not.

Of course, I don't know what I would do if in this situation. Pray to God I never have to find out.

However, I suggest that by allowing their son to talk in generalities to Oprah may help with one very HUGE problem, and that is the nuisance of the intrusive media.

By exposing their son to the best possible interview situation, it may cause the media to "back off" and allow the family some privacy. On the other hand, sometimes by guardine one's privacy, it only makes the press more determined than ever to get any tiny piece of information to the public.

I'm reminded of how Elvis Presley chose to hide and avoid the press -- on the advise of his manager -- to make the public PAY to see Elvis. The result, Elvis was forced to live a very unnatural life. Compare with how a singing idol from an earlier generation, Frank Sinatra, handled the media hype, which was every bit as fanatical as that surrounding Elvis. Mr. Sinatra decided early-on to make himself assessible by TV appearances, fund raisers, restaurants, etc., so that the press had some access to him, but at Mr. Sanatra's choice.

I can't help but think that this child's parents did this Oprah interview in an attempt to somewhat satisfy the natural curiosity of the public, with the hope that the press will leave the family alone in the future.

I am willing to give these parents a break and I certainly wish them well.

Let's face it. People in the media are mercilessly trashing both Shawn and his family. They really don't need this right now. It's kind of like spitting in the face of a returning soldier. The family had the choice of letting the victim bashing continue or to use the media to their advantage. Strangely enough, once people actually heard from Shawn, they became more convinced he actually was a victim who is relieved to finally be home with his family.

Shawn and his parents also said they wanted to offer hope to other families like theirs. Letting Shawn decide this for himself could be healing. He hasn't had such freedom for 41/2 years. The parents have been consulting with child advocates and arraigned the interview with perimeters set by the FBI.

Sometimes one well publicized media event is the best way to end gossip and suspicion. I think I would have done the same thing. The parents arraigned some initial interviews, including this one with Oprah, and then put people on notice they were going to be unavailable for awhile after that. They took no money from Oprah.

Let's just give the family the benefit of the doubt. If we really care about Shawn, it's best not to cast aspersions on his parents right now.