Your Thoughts On Jennifer Wilbanks?
- Thread starter Piel
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
Oh man what a hoax! She is lucky charges are not being laid. The expense the police force went to and using the 911 emergency service falsely to stage her hoax. What was she thinking? How embarrassing for her family and the groom. Desperate times seek desperate measures, I guess.
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2003
The groom hasn't made a statement yet. I wonder if he'll still marry her after all of this...
thisthingcalledlove said:
I'm wondering the same thing. If she was really freaking out, the thing to do would be to say so and just go off somewhere for a while. Or NOT say anything and go off somewhere for a while. But to come up with some elaborate story claiming you were kidnapped when you weren't? Why on earth would someone want to marry someone who would pull something like that? Going through all those lengths indicates to me something a little bit BEYOND mere "cold feet".
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2003
Who knows? Is my thought....
I suspect women (especially younger women) get cold feet and bolt town before a humongous wedding regularly. This just happens to be the one where the media got all over it. Did she start out to stage a kidnapping? Or was that just what came to her mind first when she realized the media circus that was going on?
Assuming she started out with the intention of staging a kidnapping, then I think there is a screw loose in there somewhere.
If she simply ran scared from a huge wedding ordeal (with 14 female attendants, and 14 male attendants that's one big "freight train" of a wedding roaring down the tracks) then it was just a bad decision.
Don't get me wrong - I think there are many times when media attention helps a kidnap victim be found. However it's so unbalanced I'm not sure it really helps the way it's done today. How many thousands of children (or adults) are kidnapped without an ounce of media support v. the ONE case the media finds that dominates the news 24X7 to the exclusion of any other news?
Call me media jaded...
DG
I suspect women (especially younger women) get cold feet and bolt town before a humongous wedding regularly. This just happens to be the one where the media got all over it. Did she start out to stage a kidnapping? Or was that just what came to her mind first when she realized the media circus that was going on?
Assuming she started out with the intention of staging a kidnapping, then I think there is a screw loose in there somewhere.
If she simply ran scared from a huge wedding ordeal (with 14 female attendants, and 14 male attendants that's one big "freight train" of a wedding roaring down the tracks) then it was just a bad decision.
Don't get me wrong - I think there are many times when media attention helps a kidnap victim be found. However it's so unbalanced I'm not sure it really helps the way it's done today. How many thousands of children (or adults) are kidnapped without an ounce of media support v. the ONE case the media finds that dominates the news 24X7 to the exclusion of any other news?
Call me media jaded...
DG
The DA announced today they may bring charges, and I think they should. I don't think she intended to stage a kidnapping from the start. However, why did it take her four days to come back? it was all over the news. And who doesn't tell their mom, best firned or somebody that you have taken off? That shows a complete lack of caring for your family and friends. It's also a nasty thing to do to a fiance. I wouldn't take her back. The made up story just makes the whole thing worse. She deserves to face charges for making up a false crime.
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2003
If I were that groom, I'd run for the hills! This is not a woman who should be bearing children.
My only comments are that, first, I don't know her or her circumstances and until I hear qualified professionals tell me what went wrong ( and I don't mean a panal of various experts speculating on Fox or CNN, but people that meet and talk to her about what happened. My only guess is whatever triggered this started LONG before any wedding was mentioned.
Secondly, the good people of Duluth need to get over themselves and check their motives. Down here in "Jesusland" ( a slam at religiosity, not Jesus) people are really big on belonging to churches but not neccessarily practicing what they teach. No matter what the motive, she back, unhurt and alive. That's cause enough for celebration. Be the people you say you are and act the way you say christians should act. Wasn't Jesus REALLY BIG on forgiveness?
I guess I just have to pray for them and her too....
Secondly, the good people of Duluth need to get over themselves and check their motives. Down here in "Jesusland" ( a slam at religiosity, not Jesus) people are really big on belonging to churches but not neccessarily practicing what they teach. No matter what the motive, she back, unhurt and alive. That's cause enough for celebration. Be the people you say you are and act the way you say christians should act. Wasn't Jesus REALLY BIG on forgiveness?
I guess I just have to pray for them and her too....
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- Joined
- Jan 30, 2004
I know someone who knew this girl during her school years...here is some info from her:
if she were just jogging and thinking/worrying and freaked out and ran that's one thing but the really telling thing is that there is no Greyhound bus running out of Duluth. So she had to cut her hair to "disguise" herself there in Duluth where they found the hair and then have money for a taxi or something to get her into Atlanta to the bus station and then another $180 for the bus ride itself. And who goes jogging with $200+ dollars on them?? If this was just a case of freaking out that's one thing but if this was premeditated, as it sounds, then that's another thing entirely.
if she were just jogging and thinking/worrying and freaked out and ran that's one thing but the really telling thing is that there is no Greyhound bus running out of Duluth. So she had to cut her hair to "disguise" herself there in Duluth where they found the hair and then have money for a taxi or something to get her into Atlanta to the bus station and then another $180 for the bus ride itself. And who goes jogging with $200+ dollars on them?? If this was just a case of freaking out that's one thing but if this was premeditated, as it sounds, then that's another thing entirely.
Forgiving someone really has nothing to do with having to face consequences. IMO there absolutely should be consequences for what this woman has done. The family and community seems happy she is ok first and foremost, as well they should. They prayed for her safety and they got it. However, this does not change what has happened. The community has every right to be angry and embarrassed, whether they forgive her or not. A parent knows to discipline a child when he does something bad so that the action is not repeated. This discipline does not mean there has not been forgiveness.sk8m8 said:
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2003
Piel said:
No kidding!!
I'm really trying to figure out what the NATIONAL outrage is really all about. Yes, plotting to sneak out of town with cold feet about a wedding surely hurt the feelings of the groom, the friends, the family, etc., but it's not a crime, and I guarantee you this happens a lot. That part is really a family matter, and maybe a local matter where people spent time looking for her and worrying about her.
If the issue is really about tax payer money being wasted, then let's all focus our attention on the politicians at the local, state and national level rather than wonder if this girl should be prosecuted. Now THAT is something worthy of our National Outrage.
Mean time, I wish that family peace.
DG
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- Jul 28, 2003
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Well said Lucy. The whole ordeal seems strange, odd and irrational. One of the things that really popped out at me was she said a Hispanic man and a woman kidnapped her. I don't think that went over well with the Hispanic population.Lucy25 said:
Dee
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2004
Having children is not the only reason to get married.RealtorGal said:
sk8m8 said:
The way some of the Duluth residents were talking on the news, you would think this woman kidnapped THEM. I have no problem with her paying a fine for giving a false alarm, but I have heard no evidence of malicious intent.This will be a very unpopluar post.....but oh well.
Personally I think the indicators of irrationality begin with wanting to spend (or more likely have your parents spend) tens of thousands of dollars, invite over 600 people, have 14 bridesmaids to a four or five hour event.... To me, that just screams "I'm a self-centered princess who loves the spotlight."
I have friends (economically comfortable) who quietly donated the thousands of dollars they could have spent on an overblown wedding directly to charity and then slipped away for a private wedding with a little party afterward. The party announcements read "Gift Us Only With Your Presence". I continue to be impressed by this humility.
Some people, like those with conditions like AADD, crave the limelight, love conflict and generate drama; and something like that could very well be involved in this most recent evidence of self-centricity.
I hope Jennifer W. personally steps up to reimburse for the search effort and to thank all the kind people who bought into her melodrama.
Flame away....but my question remains -- who in their right mind would want that type of wedding anyway!? With all the mess in this country and the world right now I am also bemused at the media coverage this story has received.
Personally I think the indicators of irrationality begin with wanting to spend (or more likely have your parents spend) tens of thousands of dollars, invite over 600 people, have 14 bridesmaids to a four or five hour event.... To me, that just screams "I'm a self-centered princess who loves the spotlight."
I have friends (economically comfortable) who quietly donated the thousands of dollars they could have spent on an overblown wedding directly to charity and then slipped away for a private wedding with a little party afterward. The party announcements read "Gift Us Only With Your Presence". I continue to be impressed by this humility.
Some people, like those with conditions like AADD, crave the limelight, love conflict and generate drama; and something like that could very well be involved in this most recent evidence of self-centricity.
I hope Jennifer W. personally steps up to reimburse for the search effort and to thank all the kind people who bought into her melodrama.
Flame away....but my question remains -- who in their right mind would want that type of wedding anyway!? With all the mess in this country and the world right now I am also bemused at the media coverage this story has received.
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
Why didn't she just say she wasn't ready to get married!!!???? Why would anyone want to put their family through what she did? She must have other issues.
I heard on the news that her fiance still wants to marry her :scratch:
I heard on the news that her fiance still wants to marry her :scratch:
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2003
Well she told a whopper of a lie. By cutting her hair she was meaning to deceive since she did not want to be recognized.
OTOH having to attend eight bridal showers is enough to push anyone over the edge especially if she had to play those silly shower games.
OTOH having to attend eight bridal showers is enough to push anyone over the edge especially if she had to play those silly shower games.
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
Lucy25 said:
Exactly.
While Jesus is in the business of Forgiveness, there are certain rules to it.
It's like the siblings that beat on each other. They say they're sorry and won't do it again you turn your back and they're back to beating the snot out of each other. Did they mean it when they were sorry? No.
So if she's lying, then no I don't think the "Jesusland" people need to play stupid and say "well she said she's sorry so ok I'll bend over backwards to feel sorry for her."
and there's my form of 2 cents worth of opinion
From my point of view and from what I have been hearing around where I live, people are genuinely happy that this woman is ok. There have been too many reports of such stories where the results are tragic. We are a caring nation. When there is a story of a missing person, it seems most of the nation reaches out somehow, from physical help to good thoughts and prayers. We are also a nation that does not like to be played the fool. This is where a lot of anger is coming from. Plus, I can't help thinking of all the people whose loved one has gone missing and came to a tragic end. How must they feel about this case? There are just some things people should not mess with. Pretending to go missing and then saying she was kidnapped, especially by a Hispanic male, is one of them. It's like crying wolf; the next time a woman goes missing people are going to wonder if they should really be worried or not.
It seems as thought this woman has a good support system, so hopefully she will get the help she needs.
It seems as thought this woman has a good support system, so hopefully she will get the help she needs.
