2007-01-25 08:09:14 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in News & Events ➔ Media & Journalism
It is my belief that he was kidnapped at first and grew to like where he was, as he had freedom to enjoy certain privileges and may have grown accustomed to his kidnapper. But the idea that he lived in fear for almost 5 years is bogus...
2007-01-25 08:18:08 · answer #1 · answered by FavoredbyU 5 · 0⤊ 4⤋
Possible Stockholm syndrome. It is when someone is held hostage and brainwashed so severely they begin to identify with their captor. The fear keeps them there. Sometimes the power that one can hold over another can be so strong that the weaker one begins to take on a new identity, and thus forgets or suppresses the memories of their previous life or self. The younger and more impressionable the individual the tighter the grip of fear and thus more control.
The same thing happened to Elizabeth Smart, if they are strong enough they go along with it until they find an opportune moment to escape.
No one understands why this happens for sure, but it is usually fear and security in knowing as long as you play along, the safer you will be.
Most famous case of this was Patti Hearst...that is where the syndrome gets its name.
2007-01-25 08:20:26 · answer #2 · answered by Tanya N (thesingingbeaner) 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The kidnapper instilled fear into an eleven year old that was so great it paralyzed his will. When Elizabeth Smart, who was a little older when she was kidnapped, was confronted by the police she was so fearful that she denied her true identity while help was standing right next to her.
We cannot judge.
2007-01-25 08:23:12 · answer #3 · answered by madisonian51 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I remember Patty Hearst, age 19, who was kidnapped and brainwashed by a criminal/terrorist type group and eventually participated in a bank robbery with her captors. She was abused sexually and physically and kept in a closet.
A child of 11 is even more vulnerable than she was.
2007-01-25 08:42:24 · answer #4 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Probably developed Stockholm Syndrome, like Patti Hearst did when she was kidnapped years ago.
2007-01-25 08:17:06 · answer #5 · answered by beez 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Stockholm Syndrome
The Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage exhibits loyalty to the hostage-taker, in spite of the danger (or at least risk) in which the hostage has been placed. Stockholm syndrome is also sometimes discussed in reference to other situations with similar tensions, such as battered person syndrome, rape cases, child abuse cases, and bride kidnapping.
2007-01-25 08:12:44 · answer #6 · answered by Blunt Honesty 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
He was terrified. You've got to remember, he was only 11 years old when he was first kidnapped. Who knows what that eveil man did to him or told him would happen if he tried to escape.
2007-01-25 08:13:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Probably because he was scared.
He is after all a kid, not some prisoner of war soldier type character.
2007-01-25 08:13:45 · answer #8 · answered by HP 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I wondered the same thing....I mean, he had to have had a chance sometime. I know I would have tried to break out if I were in a situation like that
2007-01-25 08:13:26 · answer #9 · answered by margarita 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Its called Stockholm Syndrome.
look it up.
2007-01-25 08:12:28 · answer #10 · answered by Kutekymmee 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋