ONTD

Same. Whenever I think of kidnapped children I just can't believe they're ever coming home. It's a miracle she survived what she did.

That's one thing that makes me wary. It's seemed at times that LDS is using her as a marketing tool.

Even if it is, if thats what got her through it personally I can't hate even if I think its BS. You'd need something to believe in when in a situation like that.

What's wrong with her believing in something? It's obviously a big part of who she is.

well, with her religion, and what she went through, i'd be surprised if there wasn't even a word about religion. religion can be a source of strength and coping for some people, and in that sense i can't knock it. it's when religion is turned and used against other people in an ungodly way that gets me up in arms about it. have your faith, but don't use it as a weapon against people.

Yes. In reading about her since then, there is always a hint of how their prayer helped her come back to them.

I hate that because I am quite sure that plenty of other parents/family/friends of missing people pray a lot too.

I hate the "God loves us best" attitude some people adopt.

So? Given what she went through, I don't think anyone should be criticizing how she coped with it. Religion can really help people and if that's what got her through nine months of torture and fear then no one should be knocking it.

I can. This man kidnapped her from her HOME. She knew he had access to her parents and her little sister, which he surely used as leverage, not to mention all of the psychological warfare he and his accomplice heaped on her daily—she was a kid trying to survive.

if it was like 2 or three days after i wouldn't understand why maybe but anything longer, it makes sense she didn't

Yeah, we're the same age, so I couldn't get over that when I heard the details after she was found. My 16 year old self was confused as fuck.

ia with what maerhys said

also i think shawn hornbeck had a friend while in captivity and even saw his own missing ad while he was at the kid's house but never said anything

She said something in her trial that she felt ashamed and worthless because she'd been raped and feared going home or something like that.

with how young she was? captors really fuck with their victims head. i mean i know it wasn't stockholm syndrome and she wasn't in love with her captor, but the manipulation and the fear can keep many a victim in line.

too lazy to reply to everyone but i didn't follow the story religiously but i heard a cop legit came up to her and asked if she was elizabeth smart...wouldn't you trust a cop to help your fam as well if you were scared about that? w/e idek how long she was captured so ig they could've messed with her mind...

Edited at 2012-11-24 10:21 pm (UTC)

Jaycee Duggard was out in public A LOT and never once went for help or told someone who she was. She even worked for her kidnapper's business and spoke to the neighbors. In her book she said she was so terrified and brainwashed that it was like she literally couldn't say anything, and also the fact that people didn't just recognize her on the spot or see that something was wrong made her feel invisible.

I'm guessing Elizabeth's experiences aren't too far off. Her kidnapper probably used her religion against her. Told her things like "Your parents will never love you if you tell them what we're doing!", etc. I'm sure this book will shed light on the topic of her going out in public.

like maerhys said, he knew where she lived so I'm sure he used that to blackmail her. I just wiki'd her because I couldn't remember the details, and wiki says that when she was abducted he told her that if she tried to call for help while they were still in/near the house he'd kill her family. it's not too crazy to believe that he'd do the same afterwards.

idk how much supervision she had when she was outside, but if she was w/ them, they could sabotage her efforts to get help pretty easily.

I hate to add to the thread, but it's so common to be manipulated to never want to leave your kidnapper/believe they'll kill you the second you look a bit shifty. I read Natascha Kampusch's book and it was a really fascinating insight into the unbelievable trauma she endured at her kidnappers hand...towards the end of her time with him she had numerous chances to escape but just couldn't because of the mental block he'd put in place.

yeah she testified in court

yeah i thought it was longer than that tbh. i thought it was YEARS.

Yeah. That was awesome. I was surprised with how self-assured she is.

I loved that.

I was just going to post that.
She was awesome.

That is pure gold. My dad starting cheering at the TV when he saw that.

I haven't seen said video (I'll watch it later when I have sound) but anyone who manages to survive a traumatic kidnapping/imprisonment and then goes on to shut down Nancy Grace sounds like a living legend to me

I can spend hours going from link to link on Wiki. Now I'm going to check this one out.

I got sucked into that page one day too. I was horrified too, but I couldn't stop.

I remember when I first read about elisabeth fritzl. it haunts me.

i can't do it

not only will it make me depressed, i can't and won't lose myself in wikipedia. i did it one night reading about serial killers. never again.

oh shit
I am not leaving the internet today

i'm not too surprised. the news seems to grab on to certain kidnapped children, and the fact that she was found (especially so long after being kidnapped) made her story even more memorable/newsworthy.

this being said, i hate both the selective coverage of kidnapped children on the news and how this country's obsession with people who have suffered through a tragedy.

Yeah I think that's really weird that she had a People cover for her wedding... nothing wrong with her being the face of survival or anything though.

that's the thing. religion can be great. it gives people faith, hope, something to lean on when they can't understand something. it's a support system... and i can't knock it for that... but when it's used as a weapon and to but other people down, it just makes me smh.

IA. Given what she went through, I don't think anyone has the right to criticize how she handled or what she claims got her through it. In her situation, she could've been praying to dirt for magical powers and I would've been okay with. The people that criticize her talking about her faith are really inconsiderate.