De Menezes family

[claireybear]

Does anybody else think that they are over-egging it a bit in public?

[andy hughes]

I don't watch the news these days, but I suspect ytou refer to what is priobably a very demonstrative outpouring of grief by the family?

It is simply the way most Europeans express their emotions, far more graphically and readily than the British - and amen to that. We are far too repressed in our expression of grief in particular, and it's bad for us.

As I say, can't comment specifically, but please do re-post if I'm barking up the wrong tree here.

[cliffsdoll]

they.ve lost a beloved son and are greifstricken, how would you feel if it were your son/brother,  and the police seem to be covering it all up, not giving any real andwers to what really happened and why he was shot.

[nedflanders]

Yes I do.  The media are lapping it up and stirring the $hit pot to get as many stories as possible!  The media couldnt give a f*** about them but they are a good story!

[ianess]

What I have difficulty with is all the talk about compensation as if this would make a bad situation any better.  Was his family dependant on him for financial support?  Surely anyone due compensation should be only his wife/partner and/or children if any?

OK...it would appear from what we've been told the police made an enormous blunder and admitted to it......but what say any payment be made to a charity nominated by his extended but non-dependant family?

What say others?

[Chessman]

I think they have every right to.

[Laurinha]

A lot of Brazillians who are in the UK are working and sending money home to their famillies.  The same with thousands of Africans and Asians - there's a strong possibility his family were dependent on him and even if they weren't I think that monetary compensation is the least they should receive.  Monetary compensation is the way people compensate those who have been wrong done by all the time - why should this be any different?

[Dom Tuk]

The news item of the parents in the tube station where he was killed showed them to be very dignified and restrained. the grief at losing a son was clear to see. No they are not milking it. They have every right to see the place where their son was slain and say their prayers. If the press want to go on about it you cant blame the parents. As for calling for resignations, most parents would under the circs.

[netibiza]

Cannot say until my child is shot by the police.

[twiglet4frog]

i feel very sorry for the family, they are suffering something we cant even imagine but i do think the brazilian media and government have intervened far too much. They are saying its a disgrace what has happened here when they have at least 1 murder a day caused by their own police! It was shown on television a couple of months ago police arresting people in cars, dragging them out of sight and shooting them dead, then taking the handcuffs off them and placing a a clean gun on them to make it look like they tried to kill the officer and was shot dead. This is done because the police have grudges to settle, dont like certain cultures/races or just find it easier to kill someone than to proceed through a time consuming court case where the cases fall apart from corruption.

[jno]

so Brazilian lives are worth less than British ones twig? Disagree. Don't imagine foreigners feel less. The family are entitled to their grief.

[surfer mike]

No i have every sympathy for them...they are not over-egging it, but want answers for the tragic death of their son... but the unholy alliance of the likes of british far right muslim extremists and the socialist workers alliance sure as hell are, as a recent newsnight programme revealed some of these groups are exploiting this family for their own cynical narrow political agenda...some of these groups have used this incident to compare the british police to the ss...typical, but these groups go all silent when al zakawi's fascist homicidal maniacs deliberately slaughter for example 80 children in iraq recently..and then can be heard again when a british soldier is accused of mistreating a iraqi prisoner..

[jno]

fair's fair, surfer mike, they're speaking up when Brits, or Britain, are involved, which is to say when their opinion may carry some weight. They could say all they liked about al Zarkawi, it would make no difference. I mostly take the same line, and so probably do you: why waste my breath complaining about what Iraqis do to each other, however repellent it may be?

[spinchimp]

I think nebitza has said it al.

[Buddy]

I think they are - didnt see too much press on the 50 odd people who lost their loved ones in the bombings.

No doubt they are grieving - but I strongly suspect a newspaper deal lurking in the background.

They would appear to be simple people (not stupid) and I think they have been co-erced for financial or political reasons and dont know it.

[gerry]

Not really considering all they are looking for is some straight answers about what actually happened that day & for some reason they are not getting the answers.

Losing a child is never easy for a family

[Buddy]

Why are they allowing the press and cameras to follow them in their private grief then.

I am no way being callous but this was not the only tragedy in that fortnight and they were all innocent victims and most families lost a child mother father then.

My heart aches for them and all the victims but I feel they are being mis-guided.

[mullein2]

i think they are milking it..the police are paying for this visit and they have allready recieved �15.000 ..just the mother and father should have come over..i dont see why we have to pay for the whole family..as someone said their is bound to be a news paper deal lurking..i am not unsympathetic to their loss..but it was during a stressfull time and things were not normal..it was tragic but it happend..i have found some of their behaviour on the tv way over the top..and they seem to have forgotton he was here as an illegal immigrant his visa had run out...i see thats not mentioned anymore..

[grannyg]

Well said Mullein2

[jno]

there is no death penalty for having an outdated visa, and I cannot understaand how people can suggest that this somehow excuses his killing. The difference between his death and those of others was that the others were killed by terrorists, he was killed by the British police. If you say his death was the same as theirs, you imply that there's no difference between the police and al-Qaeda, which I imagine even the police would be embarrassed to hear.

[Buddy]

jno - the police were on high alert -  in their defence.

It would have been a different story if he had been a terrorist.

Its a case of damned if you and damned if you dont.

In other civilised societies I could bet we would be speaking about more than one innocent victim mistaken for a terrorist.

I am lucky I did not see or have to deal with the carnage and especially the mass excavation at Kings X.Think people would have a different perception if they had dealt with that.The police were not trigger happy they were only trying albeit misguidedly to avoid more carnage.

There is more to this than meets the eye - from both sides.