Some last words on Karen Matthews.
Evil, as it is, is an overused and generally meaningless word. Even when used to described psychopaths and their crimes, where no remorse is shown and where none is forthcoming, empathy being a completely foreign concept which they have never experienced, it fails because it is a catch-all, because it cannot even begin to truly explain why someone, even in those circumstances, could do what they did and live with themselves, let alone with others around them.It's therefore even less than helpful to use it to describe Karen Matthews, as Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan did today in what even if printed in the tabloids would appear hyperbolic. Matthews real crime, after all, was not abuse, although the apparent drugging of her daughter Shannon with the tranquilliser tamazepam on at least three occasions prior to her "abduction" might well indicate that and could well have been happening at a lower-level (or equally that Shannon herself had problems sleeping and was given it by her parents without consulting a doctor), but deception. All the more galling for everyone involved is that Matthews seems to have been able to turn her tears on and off like a tap, a consummate actor that could play people far above the level that most were ready to give her credit for. There were the indications, of course, and now with additional hindsight they will be all the more apparent, but Matthews more or less convinced everyone: the media, even if some sections of it hardly went out of their way and hardly hid their snobbery; the police, half the reason why Brennan doubtless described Matthews in the way he did, he himself being deceived by her; and indeed this blogger, who got his apology in early for monstering Allison Pearson over her criticism of Matthews' parenting.
The coverage in the press tomorrow will be doubtless all the more bitter, personal and hysterical because of how they themselves were fooled, although already some are claiming they moderated their coverage for fear of falling into "stereotypes", i.e. suggesting it was all Matthews' fault for acting like a stray bitch in heat and having so many different partners while daring to live on a council estate which the Sun, that bastion of working-class conciousness and pride, described as "like Beirut, only worse". The Grauniad, not known for mass working-class readership, had to do something approaching a more balanced view.
I wrote around the time that the press got bored with the idea that the McCanns were innocent bourgeois salts of the earth abroad that if it subsequently turned out that they themselves were involved in Madeleine's disappearance that the fury and hatred directed at them would be possibly beyond anything seen before, because of how they had been played, and while the coverage did subsequently turn, as the libel settlements have shown, none of the criticism which they faced, outside of the Express and Star and online forums, reached the contempt which some had for Matthews before anyone knew what had happened to Shannon. Some of that bile we have instead witnessed directed at those involved in the Baby P case, where "decent mums" without irony on social-networking sites discussed how they would torture his mother to death.
Should we take anything else from the Shannon Matthews case, apart from having our own perceptions and immediate reactions pulled out of joint, our trust in others' apparent grief and playing to the cameras made more circumspect and potentially cynical? If nothing else, we ought to at least take note of the way the Dewsbury estate pulled together in a way which those that talk about Britain being broken and how welfare dependency breeds idleness and fecklessness would not have expected: they searched high and low, held collections, distributed posters, taxi drivers waived fees and helped those searching get around and regardless of their effort, will almost certainly be tarred with the same brush as Matthews and Donovan now will be. They were duped like everyone else, or put their concerns to one side as even they could not imagine someone sinking so low. Evil was not involved, but introspection on all sides ought to be the order of the day.
Labels: crime, Karen Matthews, media coverage, Moorfield estate, Shannon Matthews
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As someone who has worked a great deal with both disadvantaged children and their disfunctional parents, I'm surprised an idea like this wasn't tried earlier and am taken aback by the naivity of much of the UK as to why something like this would happen in the first place.
Posted by
Daniel Hoffmann-Gill |
Friday, December 05, 2008 9:18:00 AM
And so crucifixion by media begins. I too was disturbed by the 'pure evil' remark made by Superintendent Brennan. I am convinced (not) that this epithet had nothing to with the fact that that Ms. 'accomplished Liar' Matthews had duped him repeatedly and she was a member of that most dreaded and derided of groups: the underclass.
Posted by
Louise Mills |
Friday, December 05, 2008 11:49:00 AM
The evil comment struck me too. I mentioned it to someone and had my head bitten off for defending her.
The only saving grace seems to be that the plot was so poorly thought out (no proper exit strategy)that notwithstanding the early hoodwinking, they were caught out.
As a result, Shannon may well be better off than she would have been in this family, which for a whole host of reasons, was disturbing.
I was also touched by the response of the community. This is often seen in times of crisis and why more charity money is raised (proportionate to income) in such areas.
Posted by
eric the fish |
Friday, December 05, 2008 1:45:00 PM
There is an interesting parallel with the Baby P case - the public and media who were taken in by Matthews are crucifying social workers for believing Mother P. The later went to extrordinay lengths to cover up her torture and yet a small group of over-worked people missed it. Wheras all the top teams from the greatest investigating organisations in the world (apparently) didn't spot this one.
Posted by
Phil Parker |
Saturday, December 13, 2008 4:02:00 PM