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I don't think they'll find her alive now, unless whoever took her for the want of having a child. I can't believe it's been three quarters of a year. I really hope they do find her though; every alleged sighting must have been torture for the parents; especially with the teenager calling out Maddie's name, even though they were initially at fault for leaving her in the apartment.
This is more to do with Shannon Matthews going missing than Maddie, but I do think there is some truth in Carole Malone's report and the lack of media attention on finding out what has happened to Shannon. Both Shannon and Maddie's upbringing are a million miles apart but at the end of the day these innocent children are missing and they shouldn't be discrimated just because of their life style. Do other members think that the lack of media attention in finding Shannon is down to her coming from a working class neighbourhood.
KAREN Matthews has seven kids by five different fathers. She lives in a scruffy council house on an impoverished council estate near Leeds.
Her boyfriend, who is ten years younger than her, looks both simple and scruffy, not surprising as Karen herself looks a bit rough around the edges.
Karen and her 22-year-old boyfriend, Craig Meehan, live just 100 miles from Kate and Gerry McCann.
But it might as well be a million.
Karen's little girl Shannon has been missing for 19 days—but you might not know that or even care, judging by the media coverage.
The problem is that Shannon Matthews isn't as pretty as Maddie McCann.
She's not blonde or cute or beautiful. You don't look at her and want to cry.
What do you think? Leave your comments here
The other problem is that her parents weren't on a posh holiday in Portugal when she went missing.
And in the only photos we've seen of her, she doesn't look angelic or entrancing—more like a naughty tomboy.
All of which might explain why the media coverage of Shannon's disappearance has been what some might call lukewarm—and others might call a bloody disgrace.
But I wonder if our media aren't just reacting to an unspoken mood in the country, a feeling that a woman who has seven kids by five different men and who isn't living with any of them, must be a pretty dire mother—and so must bear SOME of the responsibility for her missing daughter?
Come on. Admit it. What did YOU think when you first looked at Karen Matthews? What did you feel when you read her story, looked at how she lived? Was there a part of you that sneered and looked down on her because she didn't fit the image of the perfect mum—all smiles, posh clothes, ordered house?
Wasn't there a part of you that looked at her and thought, "living on benefits" and "never heard of the word contraception"?
Shannon Matthews has been missing for nearly three weeks and, apart from her immediate neighbours, no one seems to give a toss. Not the right profile, you see. Not the right class. And the media aren't entirely to blame for that.
Trash
I was brought up in an area just like the one where Shannon lives. I've never been to the Dewsbury Moor estate but I know about the people who live there. I know their values, their lives, their circumstances.
And, yes, while, there's a hefty percentage of what we might slate as "trailer trash" on that estate, there are just as many good, decent, disadvantaged people who, because of a lack of education, money, opportunity and ambition, find themselves stuck there—people who love their kids every bit as much as Kate and Gerry McCann love Maddie but who can never show it in the way they do.
It's not often I'm ashamed of myself or the values of the country I live in. But this week I am. Because I'm one of those people who initially sneered at Karen Matthews—who thought Shannon's disappearance had to do with the way she lived.
But this is an innocent child, for God's sake—a girl whose life is no more, no less valid than Maddie McCann's. A little girl who, if she is still alive, must be so terrified, so lost, so miserable, that it's unbearable to even contemplate.
But because she doesn't fit the template of The Angel Child of Professional Loving Parents, we've all but turned our backs on her.
Our reaction to her disappearance has been tepid. It's as if we're saying that disadvantaged Brits don't feel, don't hurt, don't "do" emotion in the same way the middle classes do. Which is tosh.
The harsh reality is that if we forget about Shannon Matthews, we're signing her death warrant. This mite needs our help even more than Maddie. It's not her fault but Karen Matthews just isn't capable of mounting sophisticated media campaigns. She doesn't have the wherewithal or the connections of the McCanns.
But she IS doing her damnedest to save her little girl—and we have to help her. Because she's hurting every bit as much as the McCanns are. Her agony, her angst, her guilt, eat into her soul just like they eat into Kate and Gerry's.
The fact is that evil is no respecter of class. It's everywhere—on the streets of rundown council estates AND on the white sandy beaches of Portugal.
Shannon Matthews' class and where she lives are irrelevant. She's a lost, frightened little girl and it is this nation's shame that we've not only judged her—we've abandoned her as well.
I completely agree with that article. It's not Shannon's fault that her mother is poor and has seven children by five different men any more than it's Maddie's that her parents left her in the apartment while they went out for the meal. I have a lot more sympathy for Maddie than Kate and Gerry, but it shouldn't mean that any effort made to find her is compromised because of the actions of her parents, and the same with Shannon.
It's hard to admit but the report is spot on. Shannon has been missing for almost 3 weeks now and myself included have never posted a comment about it,yet the nation went wild last year when little Maddie was abducted. I still believe that the McCanns should face charges over neglect.
We as a nation need to put aside our opinions of Shannon's mum circumstances and her upbringing Shannon is an innocent child who's family are going through hell at the moment and they deserve our support and thoughts just the same as any other child who has gone missing over the years.
Exactly. I actually remember having more sympathy for Shannon's friend than her mother when I saw the news on which it said Shannon had been abducted; but just because Shannon's mum has different kids by different dads doesn't mean that she doesn't love them all and love them all equally.
Yeah, maybe it is to a certain point a class thing...but also I reckon its to do the age of the child too. Maddy is a very young little girl, whereas Shannon is older, seems on photos more streetwise and initally there were reports that she might have run away...where as with Maddie, we all knew that wasnt (as it wasnt possible) the case.
Also isnt it to do with the fact that Maddie disappeared in another country...it seemed acceptable for the press to go overboard without fear gripping the nation, because it wasnt in our 'backyard'. Where the Shannon case, is a bit too close to home...
I think the lack of press coverage in the Shannon case, says a lot about the press and their values and how they look down upon poorer 'benefit' people than the rest of us - we dont have a say/control the media.
I hope Shannon is found alive. Having a good job, and having money doesnt make you a more responsible parent...I think the McCanns are proof of that.
I think I do sadly, agree with that article as well. The issue of class really shouldn't come into this at all though - the fact is another young girl has gone missing, and there are only a few differences between her dissapearance and Maddie's (Maddie dissapeared abroad, slightly younger than Shannon) but both girls should be treated equally and Shannon should get the same amount of media coverage that Maddie did, despite the difference between the girls and both their backgrounds. The bottom line is another young girl is missing, and if she is still alive, her life is in real danger.
I can't say I've heard that much about Shannon on the news! It's about time the media took more of an interest.
Sorry guys, know this is about Madeline but we have already mentioned Shannon.. just wanted to add the following:
Spanish police have identified the body of a girl found floating in a river estuary in southwest Spain last night as that of missing five-year-old Mari Luz Cortes.
God bless Mari Luz xxxx
Shannon Matthews has apparently been found alive..
http://news.uk.msn.com/shannon-matth...und-alive.aspx
that is great news.. Sky says it is her and Mail says it might be herQuote:
Originally Posted by DaVeyWaVey