How Dare O'Reilly Question the Motives of a Kidnapped Child

I literally gasped out loud last night when I was watching the O'Reilly show and his commentary on the Shawn Hornbeck case. Did Bill O'Reilley really suggest that Shawn Hornbeck actually enjoyed his predicament?

Here is what he said:

"The situation here with this kid is looks to me to be a lot more fun then when he had under his own parents. He didn't have to go to school, He could run around and do what he wanted." Sounds like he is heading in that direction, doesn't it? And then, he said this....

"And I think when it all comes down what's going to happen is there was an element here that this kid liked about his circumstances..." I can honestly say that this was one of the first times I'd literally scratched my head while listening to a news pundit. I expect them to say things I don't necessarily agree with and things that may even offend me but this was idiocy at it's finest.

How insensitive and cruel must someone be to think that this little boy was anything more than a victim of a sick and twisted pervert. In his exchange with fellow pundit and attorney Greta Van Susteren he commented that recent news reports suggested that Shawn Hornbeck had "taunted" his parents through his posts on their Foundation website. Taunted? Are you kidding me? Those of us with a bit of decency and compassion would refer to the posts (if they were written by Shawn himself) as nothing less than a cry for help or his attempt to reach out to them.

I have a little suggestion for Bill (and anyone else who thinks that they can offer insight into the "motives" of this child). Shut up.

Unless you have personally been torn from your family by a stranger, raped, abused, threatened, had your family threatened and held captive physically and emotionally for four years you don't have the right to question this boy's motives for staying put.

I nearly gagged when Bill mentioned that Shawn Hornbeck appeared to be a "troubled" kid. Gee, Bill...do you think that has anything to do with being held captive for four years? Dare I suggest that you might be a bit "troubled" too.

If you are interested in reading the entire exchange (and can stomach it) it is posted on the True Crime Blog.