Silence the drums ... I wouldn't dream of it
We could, ALL of us, sit here and come up with a fairy story that 'fits'
Don't you understand that even those who encourage you know, deep down, that they shouldn't ?
Even now, when Scotland Yard have said otherwise, you persist with your nonsense 'theory' ... it's time to take a step away ... get back to your own life
I say that sincerely sadie ... and it's meant more kindly than any of the 'pat on the head' rubbish you get from the 'pro's' you so admire
You won't see that though, will you ?
My dear icabod, I am a great admirer of your meaningful and insightful posts, as you probably know, but I do have to correct you on one tiny aspect of the above.
If I, as a so-called 'pro' (though not one who is afraid to question the McCanns if I believe they are not acting in their own and their daughter's best interests), happen to be in agreement with sadie or anyone else on a certain point, it is not a matter of 'patting on the head'. We are all independent enough thinkers on this forum, and confident enough in the business of challenging each other, that such a concept is irrelevant here.
Advancing a theory - with the caveat that all or part of it could be proven wrong - is a crucial part of the investigative process, be that in crime, science, philosophy, or any serious endeavour. A person knows when they advance a theory that there's a good chance it could emerge weatherbeaten after submission to the rigours of inquiry and debate, and that that is the very mechanism for moving things forward.
It takes a great deal of courage to put ideas out there, especially in this case, because to this day nobody knows what has happened to Madeleine. It is an inevitability that many if not most of us on this forum will be proven very wrong in much of what we have postulated and said.
Better to advance a theory and hold it up to the ravages of the various tempests that afflict it in the name of progress, than sit safely in one's armchair saying less for fear of making a mistake.
Not that I'm accusing you of that, icabod.
Just a brief defence of us 'theorists'.