HOW HATE IS USED TO STOP DEBATE

It is only in the last decade or so that the word ‘Hater’ has appeared in our lexicon. I first encountered it in the crazy online world of missing Madeleine McCann.  It was applied to everyone who questioned the validity of the abduction story. It was the answer to every question.  Why didn’t Madeleine wake up? Why was there no sign of an intruder? Why wouldn’t the parents and their friends co-operate with the police? Answer to all three questions and hundreds more besides ‘it’s because you hate the parents’.  Err, why would we hate the parents we ask? ‘Because they are articulate, successful and slim, doubters are clearly insane with jealousy and probably fat’.

 

The case against Goncalo Amaral, he hates the parents. He built an entire case against them, purely because he didn’t like the cut of their jib. He blamed them for the disappearance of their daughter because he wanted to get back to his long lunches and getting his ears pierced.  

 

Now I have spent most of my life out of sorts with the rest of the world, but I very rarely, if ever, think it is because everyone hates me.  Actually that’s not entirely true, it was an intense feeling that overwhelmed me often, when I was 5.  As an adult however, I apply logic.  Ie. that probably was the last sausage roll and they have haven't got any hidden under the counter. 

 

The McCanns were very canny in their choice of inflammatory words to describe those ‘tiny few’ who did not believe them. Words like hater and pitchforker were applied day in and day out, used often enough to ‘become the truth’. How could anyone not sympathise with two parents who lost a child? They MUST be monsters. Kudos to the McCann publicity machine, they managed to isolate and ostracize a ‘minority’ - those members of the public who did not believe them. Criticising the McCanns was taboo, non supporters of them were the enemy. It divided friends, it divided families.

Even the rich and famous were not immune, Katie Price and Sharon Osborn have had to apologise and walk back their criticism of Gerry and Kate.

 

Most rational, reasonable, thinking adults interpret all of the above 'hate' arguments as the nonsense they are.  Though, the word 'pitchforker' is perhaps an insight into the thought process behind the hate shield.  It's medieval, it brings to mind an angry torch carrying mob storming a castle with, literally, pitchforks.  It may have been the McCanns' greatest fear, an angry mob.   A not unrealistic fear as who knows how a mob may have reacted if Gerry and Kate had been charged.  Nothing angers a mob more than crimes against children and having been lied to. 

 

Happily for everyone there have never been any angry mobs in this case, though it has had more than it's fair share of rabble rousers.  I personally think the first reaction to any breaking news from Scotland Yard will be stunned silence.  For many, it will take a while to sink in.  Those involved will be declared cunning geniuses for duping not only the Authorities, but the MSM and several British police agencies. 

 

Accusing your opponent, enemy or whatever, of personal hatred is the defence of those scraping the barrel.  It actually demeans the one using it - it screams 'look how hateful I am'.  Not a good bluff if you haven't got hundreds rushing to your defence.  The public have no reason to hate Kate and Gerry - or do they?  The hate defence suggests they might have?  No-one else was looking at them, that way. 

 

Did Goncalo Amaral hate them so much that he framed them for their daughter's disappearance?  Is that how detectives and investigations work?  Let's leave a child predator on the loose and frame these two because they are smug b'stards?  The hate arguments barely hold up in a playground, they didn't hold up in the Portuguese civil courts and they are not working on  here despite their constant repetition. 

 

Gerry and Kate presented the mystery of Madeleine's disappearance to the world, and have done their utmost to keep it in the headlines ever since.  The audience they hate, is the audience they created, it is their reality show, they pull the strings, they keep their names in the news.  They don't need to keep their fight with Goncalo Amaral going, they choose to.  They want to abuse the European Court of Human Rights, with demands that GA's human rights be taken away. His right to freedom of speech and his right to publish a book.  They also want all the money he earned from that book and the proceeds of his family home.  Financial compensation of £1.25m - quarter of a million for each of them, and as Isabelle Duarte said, they are Five.  Compensation for Madeleine was included in the claim.  The rather spoilt Kate and Gerry just can't take no for answer. 

 

That the McCanns are still able to hate Goncalo Amaral with the same intensity after all these years is bizarre.  Why waste time chasing the former detective through the European Courts when their daughter is still missing?  Why not hate the monster who stole their daughter? 

 

GONCALO AMARAL WINS, AGAIN

With over 230 posts on the last blog, I think the case for Goncalo Amaral has been made.  No matter how much mud is thrown at him it is all canceled out by his own words and actions. He published his side of the story and has defended his right to tell his story for over a decade.  He was David .v. Goliath, he was up against, not only the British establishment but also the British media.  Against all odds and with very limited resources he won.

 

And he won again on here, albeit vicariously, via those of us not prepared to believe all the vicious rumours put out about him by those who claim to support the parents.  You have lost the battle if you have to belittle your opponent in order to make yourself look good.  Every onlooker can see that. The more GA has been demonised, the more he has been elevated in the public’s opinion. The GoFundMe for his legal expenses was proof of that.  It even included a large donation from ‘the Met’.  

 

Realistically, the enemy of the McCanns should be the monster who stole their daughter, not the detective who searched for her. How can they not hate that monster with every breath in their bodies, he is the one hurt their child and wrecked their lives.  Where is their rage against him, where is their determination to track him down?  Where is the support for Operation Grange, their best hope of getting closure on their nightmare.  

 

The ‘pros’ have as little faith in Operation Grange as the more anarchic section of the ‘antis’ (including Pat Brown?), once again their erm, aims coincide. I’m not suggesting Pat Brown is an undercover agent btw, just a little single minded in some areas. I think John Blacksmith and I are the only ones keeping the faith and quietly cheering OG on from the sidelines. We are probably both wizened enough to know that corruption on the scale suggested by the anti OG’s (a new sub-division) simply isn’t possible in a democratic society.  Our laws are chocka block full of checks and balances.  And the media (the Fifth Estate?) fill in the gaps. Mostly.  When they fall down, writers like myself and JB step up.  

 

I don’t believe the McCanns are protected by anyone other than their own, very small, barmy army.  Now, probably less than a handful, who gamely plough on, on Twitter and on here. All they have proved is how thorough unpleasant they are.  Ultimately, they have lost the social media battle. People are no longer flocking to their website or facebook page.  They have no presence on twitter other than a few deranged odd bods who think they are ‘hard’ cases. They are not winning friends and influencing people.

 

Their war against online trolls was less successful than their war against Goncalo Amaral.  It resulted in tragedy and another tidal wave of bad publicity for Gerry and Kate.  It didn't stop the online discussion, it increased it. 

 

Who knows if those who post here are the last remaining hardcore McCann supporters or the McCanns themselves.  It is hard to imagine anyone other than Gerry and Kate hating Goncalo Amaral as much as these posters do. There needs to be some personal affiliation to feel that passionate.  Blood ties perhaps.   Whatever the driving force may be, it is not healthy, it's not logical, it's not sane and it's not nice. 

THE CASE FOR GONCALO AMARAL

 

So much effort to destroy the name of Goncalo Amaral, even now 12 years on.  So much rage and hatred, especially when I state, for the record, that Goncalo Amaral is a hero.  Well tough, he is a hero, to those of us who could see what was going on, he was the one man to stand up and tell the truth. I can see why the McCanns could never forgive him for that, they were doing so well at the time.  He shattered their dreams of turning Madeleine's Fund into a large corporation (with a TV channel) and holding a global Madeleine Day every year.  No wonder they were pissed.

 

But here's a thing.  It was Gerry and Kate being made arguidos that ended their dreams of world domination and stopped the flow of donations to their Fund. They continue to blame GA, but they are ignoring all the other circumstances that existed at the time.  

 

Focusing all their anger and hatred towards GA has been Kate and Gerry's downfall.  As Confucius said, 'when you go on a journey of revenge, dig two graves'.  In their efforts to destroy GA, they have destroyed themselves. They have blown all the millions that were so generously given to them to find Madeleine, on pursuing Goncalo Amaral in every civil court in Portugal.

 

They destroyed their reputations, such as they were with the arguido status, by suing, for cash, the detective who searched for their daughter. Even they know how unpopular that decision was because the public have never rushed to refill their coffers.

 

Goncalo Amaral had no option but to write his book. The very efficient Team McCann were trashing his name all over British media.  They thought his status as a former detective would prevent him from telling his side of the story.  They were wrong.  They thought the medical code of ethics that apply to them as doctors, should apply to detectives and journalists also.  If they have professional rules to abide by, so should they.

 

Unfortunately for them, Goncalo Amaral turned out to be not only a gifted writer but his book was corroborated by the official police files that had been released a  month earlier.  His account of the summer of 2007 was verified by the police investigation. 

 

As a wannabe best seller myself, I know how hard it is to grab the public’s attention.  Kate and Gerry are probably kicking themselves now, because it was they who put GA’s book into the spotlight and onto the best seller list. They have obviously never heard of The Streisand Effect, or they wanted his book to do well.  They held off for a year for the Royalties to come in, before they sued them.  

 

My current rush of correspondents are demonising Goncalo Amaral to such an extent, I feel I should explain how I see him, and probably how most see him, as Kate and Gerry have elevated him so much, he has remained a central character in this drama.  Had they not interfered in fate, his character would have been a bit part at best, now he is the hero.

 

Most popular fictional cops have flaws, but we are OK with that, we like to see these seasoned old thief takers as human, just like us.  Some drink too much, some have relationship problems, some are terrible dads, the list goes on.  These men (and they are mostly men) are so caught up in their work, that their private lives are neglected. 

 

Team McCann and their affiliates in the media industry, went straight for Goncalo Amaral's private life to attack him.  His marriage, his kids.  GA and the Portuguese police were tailed by paparazzi trying to get unflattering pictures of them to put alongside headlines like lazy sardine munchers.  They ignored the fact that these officers were working night and day, and literally sleeping at their desks.  This perfect couple were attacking the imperfections of GA and others to make themselves look better.  It's an oldy but goody, and used by every playground bully.

 

Goncalo Amaral had no option but to write a book.  He had every right to defend himself and the Portuguese Supreme Court agreed.  Unfortunately it is still not available in the UK, which is yet another huge injustice against GA and those who want to buy it.  

 

Unfortunately, no matter how much we have accumulated in life, when we leave this world, the only thing we leave behind is our name and reputation.  Our legacy.   Goncalo Amaral wrote a book, I write a blog.  Like GA, I have confidence in my own words.  Despite what others say about me, I say read my blogs, judge for yourselves. 

 

Gerry and Kate set out to destroy not only GA's name, but his life.  They wanted and going by their plans to appeal to the ECHRs, they still want revenge.  On my last blog they have gone into nuclear mode over their false allegations that just won't stick.  Many thanks Carolina.  GA is not perfect, we accept that, GA accepts that, but he is not a brutal, third world cop, and Gerry and Kate are not victims.

POLITICS AND MADELEINE MCCANN

POLITICS AND MADELEINE MCCANN

 

On 3^rd May 2007 little Madeleine McCann disappeared from her bed whilst her parents dined at the local tapas bar with their holiday companions, claiming they were checking on the children every 30 minutes. While the staff of Warners and the holidaymakers searched throughout the night, the McCanns and their friends hit the phones calling people in the UK from their extensive contact lists claiming no-one was helping them. And planting the story that their batshit crazy idea of childminding was perfectly normal and everyone does it.

 

During the night of frantic phone calls, some hapless Whitehall Clerk on the night shift, picked up that ‘citizens in peril abroad’ call and immediately came down of the side of the parents. The parents were not only victims of child abduction, but also of Portuguese police indifference. They were already planting the lie that the Portuguese were incompetent.  

 

The incumbent Government, New Labour were among the first Brits to don their shining armour and rush out there.  Two PMs, Blair and Brown telephoned Gerry and Kate directly, offering, I would assume, every assistance.  On the 4th May actually, we have this press conference with British Ambassador John Buck stating he has already spoken to British and Portuguese Police chiefs and that Leicester police would be sending Family liaison officers out to the Algarve.  By any standards this was  a remarkable response from the British government, quite literally, both the British Ambassador and the Consul were in PDL and giving a statement within 24 hours of Madeleine's disappearance!  Why and what were they doing? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azj4CLORnlc

 

Then we have the appointment of Clarence Mitchell as government spokesman for the McCanns.  Again, wtf?  Whoever heard of victims of crimes abroad, British, being appointed an official spokesman?  Some think Clarence Mitchell is a politician, some think he is a spy, one of those MI5/6 folks watching over the government's interests and acting as an intermediary between the family and interested parties in the government.  I don't believe either.  Clarence has gone from journalism to spin to sacrificial tory wannabe MP in Brighton. He has no ideology, he is an opportunist.  Put simply, going from Labour government employee to private employee of the McCanns, offered him limitless opportunities to tell the word to stuff money in a brown evelope and address it to Rothley.

 

The change in Mr. Mitchell's employers did't attract as much attention as it should have, I doubt it was amicable.  When Clarence eventually returned to politics it was as a tory.  I believe he went rogue, he transferred his loyalties to the parents, pretty early on, I'm guessing during his flight out to PDL with Gerry, (opening scene of the movie btw), giving services above and beyond his duty  as  a government employee. Things must certainly have been very uncomfortable when the McCann party were asked to vacate Warners, around the end of June 2007, if I recollect correctly.

Even though Clarence was no longer an employee of the government, his presence gave the impression that the British government was still supporting the McCanns, but were they?  The Vanity Fair interview in January 2008, is very revealing.  Any influence Clarence may have had with his former employers was long gone, he was trying to arrange a meeting with Gordon Brown or a cabinet minister, to put forward the strength of Gerry and Kate's innocence, but all he was offered was a medium level consul meeting which they rejected.  http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/Nigel/id63.htm

I tend to think political interference was all but over by mid summer 2007, but I agree there is  lot of evidence to suggest it went on longer, eg what was Gordon Brown talking to Socrates about?  Why was a case that was heading towards being solved, interrupted by the removal of the leading detective (at the request of the British?) and the eventual filing of the case with no conclusion.  At face value it looks s though political pressure was put on the Portuguese to, shall we say, pursue this case less vigorously than they might have. New Labour and several police chiefs had a  lot invested in this being a genuine child abduction.  Not least their reputations should the parents be incriminated. 

Politically, the McCanns had an ally in Jim Gamble, who appeared to have an ally in Tony Blair and Alan Johnson but not Theresa May and David Cameron.  By early 2010 he was no longer head of CEOP, and of course Kate famously complained that Theresa May had palmed them off with fluffy words.  The Tories may have give Gerry and Kate what they wanted via the front pages of the Sun, but in reality their Petition was a fundraiser and they never expected to reach the required number, 100k I believe.  It was a non gift, a gift with a sting in the tail, one of those dreaded 'be careful what you wish for' moments that you have to pretend to be happy about.  The tories have not done the McCanns any favours. They have stopped campaigning and they have stopped giving interviews.  

Without doubt there was political interference in the early days, the McCanns received an unprecedented amount of support from two British PMs, and who knows how many cabinet ministers.  The Portuguese police went so gently on them, most of the evidence was lost or laundered.  And who pressured the Portuguese police into removing Goncalo Amaral from the case?  Who gave that order?  A Minister? A Consul? A police chief?

There is much to suggest this case can never be solved because of 'politics', but that is too vague a heading because it's basically a bipartisan issue.  Though it must be said the more extremist Madeleine forums both anti and pro, have more than their share of homophobes, racists and right wing loonies.  The House of Commons as a whole however, would appear to be unanimously behind the suffering parents and contemptuous of online discussion and anyone with a non compassionate opinion.  

I think all the games that could be played, have now been played.  Madeleine's disappearance was of it's time.  The internet was in it's infancy, and missing Madeleine was an example of how social media could be used for good (and fundraising).  However politically, any deals Gordon Brown may have made with Portugal are lost in the quagmire of Brexit.  England no longer has the upper hand, or indeed, any hand.  The case of missing Madeleine matters not to this new generation of parliamentarians, there are no careers to wreck, or murky machinations to be uncovered.  If a week is a long time in politics, 12 years is several lifetimes.  

Goncalo Amaral may be right in that there will be a prosecution when the political will is there.  It's possible this case will conclude with an even bigger media storm than when it began, depending of course, on the number and status of the defendants.  Or it may close with a whimper somewhere on page 5, with heartfelt apologies and guarantees that all involved with seek counselling.

As far as I am aware, the police have to prepare a case that meets the demanding criteria of the Crown Prosecution Service, who then take the decision of whether or not to prosecute.  The decision lies with the CPS, not politicians.  How corrupt would our system be if politicians could cherry pick who to prosecute and who to let off. 

The British police, are, I suspect, waiting for the go head from the Portuguese police, that is, their part of the investigation is over.  They have investigated the English side, whatever that might be, but it is the Portuguese who must bring a prosecution.  Of course it might be, that Operation Grange will have a few prosecutions of their own and will have to wait in line.  The long delay may be vexing, but it is more likely down to the Portuguese Judiciary demanding an airtight case against an elite Defence team who have had 12 years to prepare their case.    
 

IN A NUTSHELL

Why thank you for your interesting, informative yet still a tad pompous, reply 13:59 I look forward to tackling every point you raise.  

 

Yes, that old human propensity to herd eh?  Or to join tribes.  How about gangs?  How about secret societies with dodgy handshakes, or internet forums with secret rooms?  Yeh, I was clearly talking about those who seek enlightenment, not those like yourself who blend in with the crowd.  The movers and shakers, the music makers and the dreamers of dreams. Man (and woman) will always strive to conquer every mountain and solve every puzzle.  You see herds, I see free spirits, you are glass half empty, I am glass half full, with room for a gin fizz and a micky finn.

 

Ooh you are looking down your long snooty nose 13:59, no matter how you try to dress it up.  You believe you are superior because you haven't reached a conclusion on the Madeleine case, and won't until the investigation is over.  Well good for you, do let the Pope or whoever know, it will give you extra points for The Good Place.  Oh dear on the snake reference, and we were getting on so well.

 

Knock my reference to a 'New Age of Enlightenment', or a 'New Age of Information' as much as you like, but if you if knew anything about history, you would know that the internet is as significant to the evolution of mankind as the printing press and the industrial revolution.  You are a moron if you don't.

 

Your faux pretence at finding my blogs both refreshing and alarming (how so?) is pathetic.  I have never made any claims that I know what happened to Madeleine, like your sanctimonious self, I leave that to the police.  Unlike others, this blog is devoid of outlandish theories, salacious allegations and libel.  It is more a discussion group for those who wait patiently for a conclusion by Scotland Yard and the PJ, hopefully both. Those gripped by the initial sales pitches and still hanging in there for a result 12 years later.  Kudos to the sales team. 

 

Up until your 'interest in the human psyche', I thought you were someone other than Ziggy, a new and improved model, the writing has come on considerably, but now you are going back to your alleged psychology degree, your study of human behaviour.  Ok Zig, (mark ?), your interest is in the 'trolling of the McCann', not the freaky behaviour of two parents who claimed to have had a child stolen.  OK, you chose the boring side of the coin, but heck, someone has to. 

 

Your interest is in isolating and tracking down certain behaviours that would constitute online harassment?  Am I close?  Your interest is in proving that social media can corrupt and obstruct justice, that any jury would have already been influenced by the huge amount of gossip online? Warm? Warmer? 

 

As for finding sanctuary online, I have already spoken to a real psychiatrist about this very issue!  He had no problem whatsoever that I had found people online to share a common interest with.  He saw it as positive!  The 21st century equivalent of speaking over the garden fence.  On this issue, I am not weird, lol.  This is not some dark, underground, plotting, scheming, blog, I am just like those who read here, hooked on this journey of discovery that must lead somewhere!  This is no tribe 13:59, and those who read here and contribute are not sheep. 

 

If you are a long time reader, you will see that I have no aspirations for leadership of any sort, and never have!  I like to think I create leaders, I seem to have had the midas touch where my exes etc are concerned, so I'm quite good at it.  For myself, I seek only enlightenment.  Crazy, because I will take all my cramming to the grave.  I don't think anything enriches your life as much as knowledge, so much to learn, so little time.

 

Tragically, I chose as my specialist subject on Mastermind, the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.  Figurately speaking, I was never on Mastermind, but I did choose the world's most unpopular subject to specialise in.  Had I been pro Gerry and Kate, I would have been made over as Kellyanne Conway and telling you a row of begonias is no different to a concrete wall.  

For all those journalists who look in, and I know you do, criticising the McCanns and their quest to harvest the nation's DNA and beat up transients at the borders, was a no go area.  The Saintly, McCanns were assisting the government in putting the fear of God into it's citizens.  If the cherubic Madeleine could be stolen from responsible (NHS) professionals, every child was at risk!  It was a story the media liked. It sold newspapers, it persuaded the gullible that we needed more government intervention in our lives.  I remember arguing with some dumb woman, Sally, lol, who insisted 'only those with something fear, would resist a government database'.  Where do you begin with that level of ignorance?  I remember once being asked a similarly dim-witted question in an 'A2' class.  Differed slightly in that a religious student asked why we studied such immoral, debased writers such as Shelley and Byron. I threw the question out to the class, and my (yes, my, love 'em) students, answered as I would have, and then some!    It made for interesting discussion among the English lecturers under the smoking shelter.

No 13:59, I do not believe I am psychic.  Actually, I have spent an inordinate amount of time on researching the whole 'psychic' thing and have concluded it is all nonsense.  I pity those who cling onto it, and I despise those who use it to take advantage of the vulnerable.  I don't see how I could make myself any clearer.