Update: Bill O'Reilly turns against Shawn Hornbeck

[Auggie27]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 12:49pm

A fascinating case already. And a troubling response has begun to emerge.

In only 48 hours, the early elation of reuniting parents and child has segued to borderline suspicion about the 15 year old Hornbeck. AOL has already posted a very pointed piece about how "many questions" remain.

Questions do exist. But they shouldn't demonize this kid.

It's easy to observe him as a seemingly self-sufficient teenager, who might've returned home in recent months or years, and grow frustrated that he put his family through such hell. But I don't think judging any of this victim's choices is appropriate. He was taken at age 11, by any definition, still a child. All parents know that a "tween" acts 6 one minute (i.e. when frightened or nostalgic for early childhood), 13 the next (when testing new freedom); volatile behavior is built-in to the age, as adolescence pushes myriad buttons.

And we mustn't forget the powerful grip the perp likely had on this kid. All of this will occur in a culture predicably quick to make unfair assumptions. A boy who falls prey to a pedophile and "stays," runs the risk of forever being pejoratively labeled "willing." Not fleeing will be seen in the court of public (peer) opinion as an admission of comfort. And what if he did grow to accept his fate? Such is the nature of being stolen. And what if he did ultimately have a sexual relationship with this man? To survive? Does anyone think an eleven year old child (or twelve or thirteen year old) makes a "choice?"

Does anyone remember the brilliant movie of the week, "I Know My Name Is Steven?" That sad case mirrors this one, in that kidnapped boy began to see himself as his new idenitity, including his sexual response to the man who captured him. I hope the town and the peer group avoid hasty judgement, and let this still-a-child heal, and find his way home. He needs maximum support, not "questions" that make a victim guilty.

Updated On: 1/18/07 at 12:49 PM

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 12:58pm

Which is exactly why I said that I doubted there would be a "happy ending" when everyone was jumping for joy at his miraculous return. The hell this child and his family have gone through in the past 4 or 5 years is not over by a long shot. So very sad.

[lildogs]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:02pm

Whenever I hear of these cases, I have to keep in mind how wonderfully and terribly adaptable humans are.

We ask why he didn't run away; we also ask how people were complacent during the Holocaust or why the South Africans didn't rise up...I think it's because they/we are used to it.

[Calvin]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:04pm

Didn't Rush Limbaugh or one of his ilk get the ball rolling against Elizabeth Smart fairly early?

I'm betting the opening shot here comes from the AM dial.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:18pm

This country is full of know-it-all, judgemental asswipes.

[lildogs]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:25pm

So is BWW--myself included.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:28pm

Speak for yourself, lildogs.

[blueroses]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:29pm

"I hope the town and the peer group avoid hasty judgement, and let this still-a-child heal, and find his way home. He needs maximum support, not "questions" that make a victim guilty."

I completely agree with you. He was abducted as a child! Who knows what he had to do to survive or the unimaginable things he may have been put through? It's a fact that victims often wind up identifying with their captors. It's a survival instinct. I, too, hope he can heal in peace and rebuild a life with his family.
Updated On: 1/16/07 at 01:29 PM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:29pm

He was probably to scared to run away or tell anyone. None of us know what exactly the captor told him about what would happen if he tried to escape.

[deadparrot]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:42pm

The kid is undoubtedly scared out of his mind. My guess is that he's been physically or mentally intimidated to the degree that he was going to stay silent, even after being given a cell phone and the freedom to move, speak, and drive by his captor.

He was 11 when he was taken (probably naïve and impressionable)... and who knows what was told or done to him? I don't want to think about it, personally. Just give him time and all the help he needs, and help him regain what he can of a typical life.

Anyone who criticizes him hasn't, I would assume, been in a similar situation.

[lildogs]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:43pm

I thought I just did, SM2.

[DG]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:46pm

I think it's a shame this has to play out in the glare of a public spotlight.

[Mamie]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:54pm

All the criticism I've heard so far has come from media types and others - none of whom are trained or have ever personally experienced anything like this.

The experts - those trained in the psychological dynamics of a kidnapping like this - all say that what happened to him and the way he reacted is absolutely normal and to be expected. They talked about how once a victim is removed from his familiar surroundings and family and friends, he psychologically transfers the need for a parent or guardian to the kidnapper. It isn't a conscientious action. It's simply a human being's survival instinct that makes it happen.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:57pm

i turned against him long before those media types and my turning against him predates this thread by hours, if not days! so bippity-boppity-boo!

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:58pm

Fiddle-dee-dee!

[Mamie]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 2:03pm

yada yada yada

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 2:13pm

I hear he's the new Link Larkin, is that true?

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 2:25pm

people already are turning agtainst him.
go to answers.yahoo.com and type in shawn hornbeck... not only are people going after him, they're going after his parents as well.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 2:25pm

You broke the chain, JB. For that you must die!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 2:36pm

Sidebar, but not:

The too media-savvy by half Ed Smart was quick to appear Saturday and tell the world we have to fight "liberal judges," so this doesn't keep happening. Yes, liberals love terrorists and pedophiles, and crawl over the backs of upstanding people with tradtional values to help their cause, no?

I'm fascinated by how quickly even a tragic case like this is fodder for the Great Divide -- America in 2007.

[Calvin]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 2:38pm

Bizarre, since it was conservative leader Michael Savage (not Limbaugh after all -- I looked it up) who called his daughter a slut in the days after her return.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 2:39pm

You broke the chain, JB. For that you must die!

Oh, sorry! How about ...what not.

[Liverpool]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 3:33pm

So, how long til Nancy Grace has him on in an attempt to suck his soul for a few more months of Air Time? That ****ing harpy vampire bitch.

[deadparrot]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 3:44pm

^^ I still shudder to think of her during the Michael Jackson trial.

[iHeartMyGeek]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 3:53pm

I knew this would happen. As son as my mother read me the news story the day they found him I said, "and how do you think this kid and his family are doing? He's probably suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, do you think he'll ever really be able to adapt to being with his family again?" It's so difficult, becuase i'm sure that after years of being together he began to look at his captor as a father figure, no matter how much abuse was there. But we don't know the circumstances he had to deal with, and it's not our place to judge him or his situation at all.