quote:"It's unfortunate that this gentleman was so selfish and in an effort to get back at his wife he took the two most loved people in the world away from her," Mr Hernandez added.
. . .
He left no clue explaining his actions, Mr Hernandez said.
Anyone else see a conflict between these two statements?
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
In one way, yes, a glaring Mack truck-sized hole. In another...no, after thinking about it for a moment. Hey may have loved no one in the world, except his children and them very little indeed.
But I think the speaker was wrong in any case, because clearly they were at most the second and third most loved people by him in the world. Topped by himself.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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I haven't read the article, so context my make me wrong, but by itself that sentence reads to me as though the estranged wife was the one doing the loving of the children, rather than the homicidal father.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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The first time I read the quote, I took it to mean the speaker was conveying the message that the father loved those two most in the world. The second time I read it, I thought it literally said that the two sons were the two most loved children in the world. Now I don't know what to think!
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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I saw the litertal interpretation too, but figured that there was no way the author was being that hyperbolic.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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The conflict I see is that the investigator says he left no clue explaining his actions right after he states what (he assumes) the guy's motive was. How does he know the guy did it to "get back at his wife"?
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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hehe. I thought I was totally misunderstanding you:)
You're quite right. If there was no note, motive can only be guessed at. Hell, even if there IS a note it can only, ultimately, be guessed at.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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I think as human beings it's hard to attribute a plausible motive to a parent who throws their children to their deaths.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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I still haven't read the article--don't plan to, really--but the first thing that the story made me think of was Medea. She didn't throw her kids to their death, but the result was the same.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Noemon, that's what I thought of too, even though she doesn't commit suicide after killing them. The article is very short, btw, and it doesn't really say much beyond what's been quoted here.
Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Mine too, but I belatedly decided that maybe it wasn't a good idea to let out the flippancy here.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Gallows humor is actually a well-studied response to stress. Whether it's appropriate or not here at Hatrack is another question, course, but in and of itself I don't find it to be any less adaptive than any other response to stress. It totally depends on the person and the situation.
Wall St. brokers (young people in high stress occupations who generally follow the news on a minute-by-minute basis) are a particularly well-studied group. The latency from shocking news story to the first sick joke making the rounds (via e-mail nowadays) is often measured in portions of a minute.
I believe this was even true as the events of 9/11 unfolded, but I'd have to check that.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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Oh, sure. I just wasn't quite sure if it was appropriate here, after I'd made the comment (and really the comment wasn't anything outstandingly irreverent or funny, either one).
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote:"It's unfortunate that this gentleman was so selfish and in an effort to get back at his wife he took the two most loved people in the world away from her," Mr Hernandez added.
I think he meant: "It's unfortunate that this gentleman was so selfish and in an effort to get back at his wife he took the two people she loved most in the world away from her," Mr Hernandez added. (putting words in his mouth)
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Not to derail, but I think the headline given to this story on the Comcast homepage is a little unfortunate. I did a screen-capture before they changed it.
Maybe I'm just the biggest nerd in the world, but my first thought when I saw that headline was, "I didn't even know Doctor Who had kids."
Posts: 563 | Registered: Feb 2006
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