I don't mean to offend..

[Rubyrose]

I know this might sound a tad bit insensitive and don't for one minute think that I don't care.. but I really don't understand all these people saying they have been constantly crying over Maddy who has gone missing! I understand it is very sad and a terrible terrible situation and you may shed a tear but to be constantly crying about it?

Chirdren go missing every single day and never return or are found dead and it's an awful awful thing to happen but I don't get why everyone is crying! (I don't mean her family and friends.. I mean total strangers)

[4getmenot]

I havent been crying, but I know when they find that little girl which I hope they will I probably will cry with joy. I'm sure everyone feels a bit of sadness about it.

[ELVIS68]

It affects some people different to others, people who have lost children,grandchildren etc

You might feel different if you have kids yourself oneday

[essex bloke]

i know where your coming from but i think that poor family has had so much news coverage . All those other children from around the globe dont get a mention .

[Pippa68]

In a way I agree with you Rubes. I felt the same way when Princess Diana died..why all the tears for someone you didn't actually know?

On the other hand I have cried over things such as documentaries about the holocaust, 911 and even a TV programme about extreme weather the other night!

I also cried when I read about the teenager in Scotland who was tortured and murdered by Muslims.

It is all personal. In no way, shape or form am I taking away the enormity of this situation with Maddie & her parents..but at the moment I am detached from it. I am sure once the outcome is reached I may feel differently..it is all part of my coping mechanism.

[Skreecheeboy]

I hear you Rubyrose, I think it's because they have nothing important happening in their own lives so it makes them feel more of use to society if they share the burden of worry with the parents of the child. It's probably the same people that cryed when Diana died. If they don't want to get upset about it they don't have to watch it on the news, I hope they find the lassie alive and well but I can't see it happening, at the same time, life goes on and it doesn't really affect me.

[unruliejulie]

i can cry when i see the news Rubyrose because as a mum i can understand the pain they must be feeling. I dont see how anyone cant shed a tear to be honest but i suppose it depends on what sort of person you are emotionally. Anything to do with kids just gets me and i suppose its like that for a lot of people. Can i just ask, who is this "everyone" that is constantly crying.? Do you mean the villagers?

[Octavius]

It is called the �identification effect� and has known to cause personal and national, as well as international public outpouring of grief. A lot of people are thinking that they are possibly as guilty of complacency as the parents of this chid have been perceived to be.

The parents of Maddy made a mistake in that they believed their children were safe whilst they were a short distance away - and they were being responsible parents by regularly checking on their well-being. The mistake was not realising the determination of someone who would willingly break into the apartment and snatch the child from the bed. Although we might lock all our doors and windows, nobody could truly prepare for this. It has even been known to happen whilst parents are asleep in another room (who can forget the girl dragged out of a caravan window in Suffolk some years ago?).

I can't say that I have cried, but imagine there are many parents who feel a sense of loss, as they realise that even leaving their children alone for the briefest of moments can cause apocalyptic heartbreak. Sometimes this realisation is too much to bear, even for the hardest of hearts.

[tiny e.a]

I agree with you, no shame in shedding the odd tear or two but no need to be constantly crying, although to be fair I'm not aware of anyone who has been.

One thing I would have laughed at though,had it not been to do with such a tragic situation, was a newspaper today saying:

'Portuguese police have now accepted British offers of help. An officer from the Serious Organised Crime Agency and two officials from the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre have flown out.'

As if at last the real professionals are going in to sort out the 'useless' portugese officers, and then the next paragraph is:

'One is understood to be Det Supt Graham Hill, who led the investigation into the unsolved disappearance of Surrey teenager Milly Dowler.'

Oh really? He'll be useful then!

[nat_84]

I also see where you're coming from rubyrose...

I dunno really, suppose everyone's different and find that certain things effect some more than others. And i suppose mothers have been drawn more into this story due to the circumstances in which this poor young girl was taken.

I have purposefully not read into this story as i know it'll probably keep me awake at night - like many others have done so in the past!

[Champagne]

I wonder if the ones that are crying are the same ones who are pointing the finger of blame at the 'neglectful' parents for leaving their children alone in the room on the resort while they went to dinner. Or the same ones who 'smell a rat' and think that there is more to this story than an abduction.

[cascarelli]

There were reports of some Portuguese families being upset because other children have gone missing in Portugal in the past and there was nowhere near this amount of media coverage then. I guess no one over here will have cried for them?

[mimififi]

I have felt completely devastated by this story. I don't know why really, as I haven't ever before, except when jamie bulger went missing. I think for me it is because I have a daughter who looks much like maddie and is four this month too, and I just keep thinking what would I do if I never saw her again and didn;t know what was happening to her and it has made me think about all the missing people in the world, the child slaves and has just made me really sad bout today's world. I feel guilty for having a good time and laughing etc when there are so many other people feeling so sad and distressed. And, knowing that for me it will pass, but for them it wont.

My other daughter was the same age as jamie bulger too at the time and so perhaps, as octavius says, it's just identifying with the person that made me sad.

When diana died, I wasn't really sad thta she was dead, I was ad hat her boys were left without a mother. It was that that made me cry, as it made m think of my own.

I hope the make a break through soon with maddy, and all lost children. To even find a body must be some relief to just never know, although, where the is life, there is hope.

[Octavius]

see, identification effect ^^^

[ELVIS68]

Champagne......people are crying because of a missing child, whether she`s been abducted by a stranger or killed by her parents....people will still be upset

[4getmenot]

I pointed finger at the parents not keeping an eye on her but I can still be upset for the child cant I

[3Rainbows]

I too pointed the finger!
And i still stand by that. Although i don't think any parent deserves what they are going through. It must be pure hell. I have a 1 1/2 year old and i could not imagine my life without him. It is unbearable.

But if the parents hadn't of left her she wouldn't be missing now.

I have not cried over this but i do find it heartbreaking.

[warpig3]

Have I missed something, who or where was it suggested that her parents killed her?

[Pippa68]

There are still people who maintain America deserved 911 as it was on the cards due to their previous actions.

It doesn't take away the fact that thousands of innocent lives were lost and/or wrecked on that day.

I still feel for Maddy & her parents..despite their lack of judgement.

[Champagne]

Of course you can, 4get. And if they find Madeleine (which they're not going to) then the social services can whisk her away from her neglectful parents and then you can all cry some more for her plight.

[Reverandfunk]

Ruby - probably the same people who cried when Diana died.