1 year old dropped off Royal Caribbean Cruise ship

[ClaraC]

Originally Posted by city living

I thought about the possibility that he had drinks before getting on or on the ship itself. Also if someone else brought you a drink the cruise ship wouldn't have a record that you got it yourself. If my husband bought a bucket of beers, for example, then it would just look like he got them and they wouldn't know if I drank all of them.



I think they are just trying to save face now---I don't believe their perceptions are skewed---at least not everyone in the family. After everything that is coming out if their lawyer had any sense at all, he would sit down and really try to hash this out with them, because if they go to trial at this point I do not think anyone from that family will look good.


Even now---they are going to bring medical records saying he couldn't see because of the color blindness---that didn't affect his ability to already put his head through the area, see that it was actually open and then continue to hold the baby out of the window for more than ten seconds. And all of that time they were selling the story that the grandfather wanted to let the baby bang on the glass (that he already knew wasn't there) because she did that at her brother's hockey games (and included the widely circulated photo of her doing it to support that.)

I suggest you google cognitive dissonance. It's a real thing, and it's meant to protect a person from a truth they can't bear. It's a protective device, like a turtle's shell.

[JerseyGirl415]

Originally Posted by ClaraC

Look around you. How many people have you known who have WILLFULLY ignored the truth about something, because to do otherwise would kill them?

There's a psych theory called Cognitive Dissonance. Once you've made up your mind about something, depending on how important it is for you to believe in it, it won't change no matter what evidence you're presented with. A new piece of evidence showing that you're wrong makes the person extremely agitated, and then, somehow, they're able to work that evidence into the belief they already hold. The video angle was wrong, etc. And they emerge fully still believing the thing they originally believed.

We can all sit here at our computers and chide them for not being able to see what's on the video, because we never knew that girl and older man, and frankly, are just here as lookyloos with zero stake in what happened.

This is their life. This is their beloved sweet little girl, and their beloved stepfather. And to see what everyone else who doesn't really care at all what happened, that he lifted her out the window and somehow lost his grasp on her, would kill them.

Yeah I think everyone is blinded by their pain and the extra pain that would come with admitting it was his fault. Doesn’t make how the whole family is carrying on about it being Royal Caribbean’s fault any less frustrating though.

[Clemencia53]

Originally Posted by himain

Has anyone thought this could have possibly been planned all along by GP????

I think it was. He's some psycho that finally snapped. How long did he know the family. He is the "step-gradfather".

[saibot]

Originally Posted by jazzcat22

I don't think the video shows him dropping to the ground after Chloe fell (I can't make all that much in the video anyway)---but does that strike anyone else as a weird reaction? If you dropped a child, wouldn't you be racing to get down to that level? I guess he could have been in shock...

There are other videos. I don't know where to find it any more, but I saw another which showed the whole incident from the rear--Grandpa's back as he leaned out the window and then lifted the little girl out. Yes, he held her out there for what seemed like an eternity, then he suddenly dropped to the ground.

I had the same feeling as you, though. I think I would try to get down there as fast as I could, but I've never been in such a situation. I can see someone being so shocked that they just collapse.

[ClaraC]

Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415

Yeah I think everyone is blinded by their pain and the extra pain that would come with admitting it was his fault. Doesn’t make how the whole family is carrying on about it being Royal Caribbean’s fault any less frustrating though.

It's frustrating to RC, for sure, and they've now let their frustration become public, which I think everyone understands.

But it's frustrating for Chloe's parents, who are trying to keep their world together and deal with the death of their child and their love for the man responsible for her death.

[Taffee72]

So is the grandfather some psycho baby killer or just plain stupid (not thinking of the consequence if he accidentally let go)?

[K12144]

Originally Posted by Lodestar 77

This is not the cruise lines fault in any way, shape or form.

That's precisely it. Even if the family wants to insist until kingdom come that it was a horrible accident... even if they want to say he didn't know the window was open... that's fine. In a case like this, I could see someone wanting to believe anything that will help them get through the day. But suing the cruise line... I don't understand how that helps. Just to cement, publicly, how it couldn't possibly have been his fault? I mean, plenty of people do stupid things and will explain to anyone who asks how it was the fault of someone/something else... but they don't sue the someone/something else to prove the point. I assume doing that makes it public enough to try to save face for him, since the whole thing is public?

(I feel like without the lawsuit, though, this would've already been gone from the news and forgotten...)

Originally Posted by himain

Has anyone thought this could have possibly been planned all along by GP????

Honestly, no, not at all. I think he made a serious lapse in judgment that led to a horrible accident, but I don't believe there was anything at all intentional about it.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by ClaraC

It's frustrating to RC, for sure, and they've now let their frustration become public, which I think everyone understands.

But it's frustrating for Chloe's parents, who are trying to keep their world together and deal with the death of their child and their love for the man responsible for her death.

They are not the only parents who have had to deal with the great tragedy of losing a child. Their reaction of blaming the cruise ship to the extent of suing for millions of dollars, while blindly exonerating the man actually responsible for the death, is noteworthy because it is so extreme.

What's more, they've kept up the charade for many months now without any signs of accepting the reality of what happened. You can call that "trying to keep their world together," but frankly their actions and words which deny the truth and demand a huge payout are indefensible.

[ClaraC]

Originally Posted by saibot

They are not the only parents who have had to deal with the great tragedy of losing a child. Their reaction of blaming the cruise ship to the extent of suing for millions of dollars, while blindly exonerating the man actually responsible for the death, is noteworthy because it is so extreme.

What's more, they've kept up the charade for many months now without any signs of accepting the reality of what happened. You can call that "trying to keep their world together," but frankly their actions and words which deny the truth and demand a huge payout are indefensible.

They probably won't ever be able to accept the reality, saibot, that's the thing.

We think our brains are meant to process absolute truths, and that's not the case at all. Our brains are meant to keep us well and healthy. For example, if a child has been attacked and mauled by a dog, she might develop an enormous, unjustified fear of dogs, and will no be able to be convinced that that sweet old beagle asleep on the couch isn't going to attack her. There is no amount of convincing her of what everyone else can clearly see - the dog poses no danger whatsoever. And if the dog gets up and tries to get off the couch, we will prevent that.

In the same way, the parents brains are saying no, grandpa isn't responsible for her death. They trusted grandpa to keep their baby safe, and didn't think a thing when he left their side to supervise the child. And the unthinkable (to them) happened.

In my opinion, the culprit here is the lawyer who has taken this case he knows to be fraudulent. He should have had the fortitude to tell them gently that he's not taking the case, it's unwinnable, and offered words of comfort in the loss of their dear baby. But instead, he's going for the money grab that is prolonging their pain and making their journey all that much harder.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by ClaraC

They probably won't ever be able to accept the reality, saibot, that's the thing.

We think our brains are meant to process absolute truths, and that's not the case at all. Our brains are meant to keep us well and healthy. For example, if a child has been attacked and mauled by a dog, she might develop an enormous, unjustified fear of dogs, and will no be able to be convinced that that sweet old beagle asleep on the couch isn't going to attack her. There is no amount of convincing her of what everyone else can clearly see - the dog poses no danger whatsoever. And if the dog gets up and tries to get off the couch, we will prevent that.

In the same way, the parents brains are saying no, grandpa isn't responsible for her death. They trusted grandpa to keep their baby safe, and didn't think a thing when he left their side to supervise the child. And the unthinkable (to them) happened.

In my opinion, the culprit here is the lawyer who has taken this case he knows to be fraudulent. He should have had the fortitude to tell them gently that he's not taking the case, it's unwinnable, and offered words of comfort in the loss of their dear baby. But instead, he's going for the money grab that is prolonging their pain and making their journey all that much harder.

Oh yes, there are no words for that lawyer! From what I can see, he's a shame to a profession which already has a bad name.

I disagree that there is no help for anyone who has experienced a great trauma or tragedy.

I wonder if the parents have had any counseling or therapy. I don't think therapy is the answer for everything, but it could help the child who is afraid of dogs, and it could probably help this family at least a little bit.