Prized Possessions

I'm sure you have all heard the story of the 4 year-old British girl who went missing from a resort in Portugal recently. The award for finding her is up to about $5 million, with J.K. Rowling as a major contributor. Hopefully, you all have also heard that the girl's parents left her sleeping in their resort apartment while they went to eat dinner. I heard one British reporter say that the parents are not being criticized publicly because they have criticized themselves enough. Well, I disagree. I am so sick of people keeping bettertrack of their cell phones than they do of their kids. And I am disgusted by the suggestion that the suffering of the parents is what matters. We have no idea where this girl is, and there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of kids just like her missing in this world. Most of them are probably dead, but some of them are still suffering. Some are kept by their abductors and raped and abused for months or even years. The regret and fear her parents feel now cannot even compare to what their daughter could be feeling - if she is feeling anything at all anymore. No, these parents have not suffered enough. They never will. Personally, I think they should be prosecuted. I don't think they should be able to keep their other kids without being supervised. How hard is it to watch your kids? If it is too much for you then you shouldn't have them. When you neglect your children, you are putting them at risk for unbelievable suffering. It's not about you, it's about them. I have no sympathy for these people. They are selfish, irresponsible morons, and they deserve what they are getting. Their daughter, however, does not. She is 4. Her parents should have been watching her. The kidnapper is not the only criminal here.