Madeleine McCann: The X Factor, Mourning Sickness And Celebrity Tears
MADDIE WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann, Kate McCann and Gerry McCann
THE Dianification of Britain has passed what historians will come to call the X(Factor) Point, the day when the pro-John Sergeant focus group met the lachrymose X Factor warblers in an all-singing, all- dancing tribute to Baby P.
Hey. It’s what Madeleine McCann would have wanted, so too out Princess of Hearts, say the jobbing mourners as the DVD, CD and ribbon hit the shops and broadcasters feel impelled to play it lest they lag behind in the celebrity caring stakes.
There is no escape. There is escapism, because while you watch to see the rubbish singers and the rubbish dancers fail, you are not allowed to point and laugh. That could be you. There for the grace of God…
And having exhausted themselves cheerleading and ululating with mourning sickness, the hacks have noticed.
DAILY MAIL, AN WILSON: “Why I weep for crybaby Britain”
It’s a sign of moral emptiness that we let ourselves be gulled by cheap tears on TV, yet cast those with self-control as uncaring villains
The story is illustrated by a “compare and contrast” pictures Kate McCann [not crying] and X Factor contestant Eoghan Quigg [giving it the full Jeremiah].
Wilson then plays tabloid bingo, making his point but missing the clearer one that when fact is blurred with fiction – when you can talk about child abuse and a missing child in the same breath as a weeping wannabe – all sense of proportion has been lost. It’s all fish and chips.
We are too often taken in by tears, and the consequences are far reaching. Karen Matthews, mother of poor nine-year-old Shannon, made tearful appeals on behalf of her daughter we all now know she had kidnapped – and her baleful pleading convinced much of the nation.
In contrast, Madeleine McCann’s mother Kate showed control. Among the many haunting things about that case was her extraordinary poise.
Indeed. But she did cry. The Mirror was there. Tears to entertain.
* HER face crumpled in despair, tears streaming down, Kate McCann lays bare her utter grief at being separated from her daughter.
* “Tears of relief and sadness as McCanns come home”
* “Never has such a terrible personal ordeal been played on so public a stage. Yet, every night, after the backbiters have done their worst, Kate must stand in Maddie’s silent bedroom and shed her tears in private.”
* “SO EMPTY: Kate tries to explain her loss on TV”
“TOO MUCH: She can’t hold back the tears”
“SOBBING: Kate and Gerry on TV”* Some days I just can’t stop the tears, says Maddie’s mother” (Daily Mail)
* “Kate McCann has been told by British police not to cry in public for fear it could play into the hands of Madeleine’s abductor”
Yet this very self-control was what made the more ghoulish members of the public brand Mrs McCann a villain, and even nurse the palpably false suspicion that she’d had a hand in the tragedy. The ghouls would have preferred her to sob.
That much is certain. And the ghouls wallow in it, experiencing the tragedy of a missing child. Bring the kids. Make a day of it. Leave a teddy. Bang on the peado van. Watch the parents.
BLACKBURN CITIZEN: “Thousands join East Lancashire group’s prayers for Madeleine McCann”
THOUSANDS of people around the world joined an East Lancashire group’s online prayer day for Madeleine McCann.
This is stay-at-home caring. It’s caring in the bedroom or the hole under the stairs.
Madeleine’s mother Kate McCann is thought to be one of the 20,000 Christians who joined the Accrington and Burnley-based prayer circle in a day of remembrance for Madeleine and all missing children worldwide on Friday
Can you hold hands and form a circle over the internet? Thought for today: Prayer circle. Paedophile ring. Is this group a rival to the Madeleine McCann Prayer Circle?
The prayer circle known as ‘music download revolution’ has been up and running for a year and members say they are becoming increasingly popular. The core of the organisation is the Christian music download site, from which the group’s campaign to raise awareness of child trafficking has attracted global attention.
Yeah, it’s PR. Show how much you care and don’t; forget to download Jesus Was My Rock God on the way out. How very tasteful.
John Wearne, who belongs to St Paul’s Church in Accrington and co-runs the site, said: “Eight jumbo jet loads of children disappear every single day for the purposes of sex trafficking and the church has a responsibility, a duty, to impact this evil.”
By selling records, a little in-flight music?
“We still believe that Madeleine is out there and we believe in spiritual warfare and that prayers for her will help bring her home. I have also spoken to Madeleine’s mother, Kate McCann, who is happy we are promoting this for her lost little angel. She confirmed to me that she would be joining in.”
Promoting being the operative word.
HAWICK NEWS: “Teenager’s ‘despicable’ crime”
Residents willingly donated for charity, told they were contributing to the Madeleine McCann fund. When police received a call raising suspicions about the collection, Dale Armstrong’s “despicable” crime was uncovered.
Making money from the missing child. Pray for them. (And pass the collection bowl.)
At Jedburgh Sheriff Court last Thursday, 16-year-old Armstrong of North Bridge Street, admitted, along with 18-year-old co-accused Gareth Trainer of McLagan Drive, obtaining money by fraud from an address in Wilton Glebe, and two addresses in Wilton Terrace, on September 13.
Depute fiscal Alasdair Fay said Armstrong and Trainer, who was her boyfriend at the time, pretended to residents they were collecting on behalf of missing toddler Madeleine McCann.
They cleaned up, right?
“They managed to get donations totalling £4, until police received a call raising suspicion,” explained Mr Fay. Defence lawyer Rory Bannerman described Armstrong’s behaviour as “a gross act of stupidity.”
Four pounds. That it?
Sheriff Kevin Drummond sentenced her to 80 hours’ community service, describing the offence as “despicable.” A warrant was granted for the arrest of Trainer.
BAD IDEA: TalkSport Get £20,000 Reminder Why Not To Employ Really Crass, Offensive People
TalkSport has been fined £20,000 today, thanks to rightwing nut-job James Whale (pictured in attire not befitting his age, left) telling everyone to go and vote for Boris Johnson on his show earlier this year.…
That’s Gaunty’s old gig…
But perhaps the finest example is Mike Mendoza, who was suspended for a week in circumstances that would see you fired, from a cannon, in other lines of work. On the search for Madeline McCann, he mooted that: “Paedophiles in general are the type of people that surely would not follow football… not many gay people to the best of my knowledge are great football fans”. Gays and paedos – it’s easy to get them mixed up, isn’t it?
Just as now it’s easy to mix up a budding celebrity with a grieving woman…
Posted: 9th, December 2008 | In: Key Posts, Madeleine McCann, Reviews Comments (124) | TrackBack | Permalink
