I'm only up to episode 3 but I remember when the story broke and watching the news footage and reactions to G & K. It cannot be stressed enough just how significant their background in medicine influences reactions to something like this. If you're in medicine and health, it's fundamental that you learn to not show your emotions publicly. You let it out in private, your grief is for you to see, not everyone else. It is such as huge part of the job that you do it automatically.
I and many people I know work in medicine and trust me, we have all been called cold and heartless before. That we aren't grieving the loss of loved ones 'properly', that we aren't feeling or acting the 'right' way. But when you work in an industry where you might be dealing with some truly stomach churning or deeply emotional things, you HAVE to compartmentalize and learn how to put your feelings aside until a time when you can allow yourself to feel it.
G&K would be no different. There is a difference between being unfeeling and choosing not to feel right now. I see pain in G&K. I have seen that look on my own face, on the faces of my friends and coworkers. Their reactions and actions aren't that of people who don't care, who are cold or heartless. Their faces are ones of people putting their emotions in a box until the time they can let them out safely.
And they weren't just feeling pain and deep, deep devastating loss. You can see they were immensely touched and grateful for the public's support at the time. But there is most definitely anger in there too. Look and you can absolutely see it. They would have had to be angry at the situation, at the way the police were handling the case, and the fact they were then judged for their 'wrong' responses. And if you feel like the police weren't doing enough to find your child, then it makes total sense that you would raise hell and high water to ensure people were looking for her. You'd shout, scream and rattle cages so PEOPLE KNEW. And that's exactly what they did and are still doing. That's what the media can be good for. But of course it's a double-edged sword. By utilizing the media it can very easily be questioned and people treat it as suspicious.
Now I'm by no means their stans, honestly I cannot ever imagine I would have left my children unsupervised like that. But then I think back to my childhood holiday in an area much like that and my parents doing exactly the same thing. Worse really, because it was standard practice that parents would leave the room doors wide open so they could hear the kids. It makes me shudder to think of how reckless that was, but when it's just what is done, when you are comfortable and feel safe, then you really don't think that the worst could happen. But frankly I think it's irresponsible, even if I can understand the reasons for doing it.
But I do not think their reactions are abnormal when you put it in the greater context of who they were and what was going on. If anything, it would have been more suspicious if they were incredibly emotional publicly. And that whole 'laughing in private' thing...utter crap. People are capable of laughing whilst in the midst of sheer, devastating grief. I think we've all laughed at a wake, hell I've been to funerals and people have laughed in the middle of it. You simply cannot predict nor dictate how someone responds to something like that and one emotion does not mean others are not being felt.
This is very long-winded, lol. But yeah. Just a small comment on one element about this case. But I don't think they are responsible for her death/abduction, particularly not if you're basing that predominantly on how they did or didn't respond emotionally to the situation.
*edit* I think the mantra a lot of us have had to repeat to ourselves in really tough moments sums up my point succinctly: "True grief you carry without witness". Oversimplified of course, but still very true.
