An Open Letter to Cindy & George Anthony

Dear Cindy and George.
I heard you voiced a very bad opinion of "bloggers" on your latest appearance on the Larry King Live show. (Which I refused to watch!) Well, I am a blogger, and I am proud of it. I have my own blog, and I post on another blog that reports on news about fires and disasters. I also post on message boards, which some people call "blogging". From what I've heard, Cindy, you feel that I am a bad person because of my "blogging". You say that bloggers don't know what "unconditional love" is.
I beg to differ with you, Cindy, I am a Mom and a Grandma in addition to being a blogger. And I love my daughters, my sons-in-law, my grandchildren and the rest of my extended family. I do not put conditions on any of my family members in order for them to have my love. If one of my family members managed to get in trouble with the law, I would still love them. But I wouldn't try to cover up their "problem" by lying the way you and George have. There is a difference between "unconditional love" and trying to cover up for them.
Yes, I have written posts on this blog about the Anthony family. And the posts have not been "supportive" because I have reported on what I observed on the television screen and in the news papers that I read online. I have read the documents that have been released and I have watched most of the videos of interviews with investigators and the visits at the jail. There hasn't been a whole lot in all of those news items, documents or videos that warrant a "positive" reaction from me.
From the very start, Cindy, you were not a sympathetic person. When I first heard the news about the disappearance of Caylee, I actually felt sorry for you and George. But, you chose to try to control all of the interviews when you were trying to get Caylee's face on the nation's television screens. And if you weren't trying to control what the news casters were saying, you were playing the "drama queen". How can anyone be sympathetic towards someone who got in everyone's faces when they mentioned your daughter's involvement with the disappearance of your granddaughter during the interviews. How can anyone be sympathetic towards a woman who stood up at a vigil in your front yard and demanded that everyone get off their asses and go out and search for your granddaughter. (Did you ever get off your ass and search for Caylee?) How could anyone be sympathetic towards someone who tells one story to the media one day and an entirely different story the next? How could anyone be sympathetic towards someone who tells the investigators one thing and then switches around and tells the investigators and the media something completely different in the next interview? How could anyone be sympathetic towards a family with a missing child who berates the searchers for that child because they aren't searching in the way that you wanted?
I understand that you wanted to believe that Caylee was alive. Somewhere. And you wanted people to go out searching for a live child. Not a body. But, you have to agree that the "search" for that child was a futile task from day one. Or perhaps I should say, it was a futile search from day 31 because your daughter chose not to tell anyone that Caylee was missing. Your daughter did not report her child missing. You, Cindy, were the one who called the police. 31 days late. You put Caylee's picture on our TV screens. But, we never had a description of the "kidnapper". We never even had an accurate description of when the child went missing! Where the hell was anyone even to start searching?
Yes, I understand that you are grieving for the loss of your beautiful little granddaughter. Yes, I understand that you are worried that your daughter is facing at the very least, life in prison with no parole. But, in my opinion, you are and have been handling the whole ordeal badly. Very badly. And you blame the "bloggers" for your bad image. I'm sorry, Cindy. Your bad image has been earned by you. If there had been more truth from you, George and Lee, perhaps the "bloggers" would have been more sympathetic towards you. If your daughter had spoken more truths, perhaps your granddaughter would have been found much sooner than December 11th.
And now, you want the world to send you money for this "foundation" that you've started. And your first "product" is a bear for first responders to give to children? Are you aware that first responders have been doing that very thing for years? Your grand idea is an old one. I'm sorry, George and Cindy, I will not be sending money to your organization. I also won't be sending money to your friends, the Milsteads with their billboard company or their "extreme" fishing boat. I will be sending my hard earned money to real organizations who have done more for victims that either of you will ever do.

I would rather send my money to Tim Miller and Equusearch.
I would rather send money to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
I would rather send money to Mark Klaas and the Klaas Kids Foundation.
I would rather send money to the Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation.

And I'm sure there are a few other worthwhile organizations that I've missed listing. No, George and Cindy. Don't be expecting any checks from me or my family.
I do have some questions for the pair of you, though. For instance, why on earth are the two of you working so hard to get more media coverage for yourselves and your daughter? Your daughter's defense "team" are trying to get a change of venue for her murder trial because they say that there has been too much information in the media. Why are you trying to get more media coverage? And national media coverage at that! Why are you rushing into this "foundation" thing so fast? You still have a trial to get through! Why on earth do you two think you could advise another family with a missing child when you've handled your own tragedy so horribly? Are you going to have them turn water hoses on people? Are you going to tell them to shake hammers at people? Are you going to tell them to stand up and scream that the media and the public are maggots and parasites? Are you going to tell them to demand that the searchers are only allowed to look for a "live" child? Are you going to advise them to lie to investigators?
My advice to you, George and Cindy, is to shut up, get out of the media and wait for the trial to be over before you try doing something in Caylee's name. Wait until after the trial before you decide whether or not you've learned anything that could possibly help the another family with a missing child. I honestly do not think you've learned anything.... Yet.
Sincerely from a "blogger",
Lorraine
aka: Anakerie


P.S. I could have written much, much more, but I didn't want this blog post to become a book about my opinion of the behavior of the Anthony family in general.