Amanda Knox Verdict: The Anguish of a Parent
by Graham on December 5, 2009
American student Amanda Knox was found guilty yesterday, along with her boyfriend, of the murder of British student Meredith Kirchner.
There are a million news sites covering this story, but it was the interview I stumbled across on the BBC News website with Knox’s father that caught my attention.
What came across from the interview was the absolute anguish any parent in this situation would go through. Mr. Knox started by saying how you let your daughter abroad for a summer, with all the worries of a parent, but thinking in your mind is the worst that could happen is they get sick. What transpired here was clearly a lot worse than the greatest fears of most parents.
This case has one main victim, of course, Meredith Kirchner, but there are a lot of other people who are suffering too. Though in different ways, the Knox and Kercher parents will suffer pain and sorrow for the rest of their lives as a result of the events in Perugia.
In essence, this is the agony and the ecstasy of parenthood – it a constant dilemma of risk versus return. You’ve got to let your children the freedom they need to engage with the world for themselves, and the risk is they will get hurt or fall along the way. The return is they will learn from their hurts and grow stronger from them – this is what allows them to develop as people.
In the case of the Knoxs and the Kirchners, this clearly went horribly wrong, but as parents we have no choice but to read of these horrible events and despite this carry on encouraging our own children to engage with the world – give them the support and guidance they need (when they let us) – and hope that everything turns out for the best.
As I worry about letting my young daughter out of the kitchen and let her roam free on all fours crawling down the hallway, my worries about her safety are put into perspective – but I am also conscious of the need every day to let her go a little further – this is her engagement with the world, not mine.
Tagged as:
amanda knox verdict meredith kirchner
Amanda Knox Verdict: The Anguish of a Parent
by Graham on December 5, 2009
American student Amanda Knox was found guilty yesterday, along with her boyfriend, of the murder of British student Meredith Kirchner.
There are a million news sites covering this story, but it was the interview I stumbled across on the BBC News website with Knox’s father that caught my attention.
What came across from the interview was the absolute anguish any parent in this situation would go through. Mr. Knox started by saying how you let your daughter abroad for a summer, with all the worries of a parent, but thinking in your mind is the worst that could happen is they get sick. What transpired here was clearly a lot worse than the greatest fears of most parents.
This case has one main victim, of course, Meredith Kirchner, but there are a lot of other people who are suffering too. Though in different ways, the Knox and Kercher parents will suffer pain and sorrow for the rest of their lives as a result of the events in Perugia.
In essence, this is the agony and the ecstasy of parenthood – it a constant dilemma of risk versus return. You’ve got to let your children the freedom they need to engage with the world for themselves, and the risk is they will get hurt or fall along the way. The return is they will learn from their hurts and grow stronger from them – this is what allows them to develop as people.
In the case of the Knoxs and the Kirchners, this clearly went horribly wrong, but as parents we have no choice but to read of these horrible events and despite this carry on encouraging our own children to engage with the world – give them the support and guidance they need (when they let us) – and hope that everything turns out for the best.
As I worry about letting my young daughter out of the kitchen and let her roam free on all fours crawling down the hallway, my worries about her safety are put into perspective – but I am also conscious of the need every day to let her go a little further – this is her engagement with the world, not mine.
Tagged as: amanda knox verdict meredith kirchner