Should America forgive the Heene family for the balloon boy 'publicity stunt?'

Tuesday, October 27 2009 04:49 | By Greg Campbell |

heene_wife_swap The people of Fort Collins might be ready to forget the balloon boy story, but if public reaction to a call for compassion toward the Heene family is any indication, aside from a bundle of flowers on the Heene porch, they’re not yet ready to forgive it. After all, Richard and Mayumi Heene have not uttered anything close to an apology for the elaborate alleged hoax in which their 6-year-old son drifted away inside a giant helium balloon to generate interest in a reality TV show they were shopping around.

The "balloon boy" incident inspired panic around the world before learning the boy allegedly emerged from a hiding place in the family’s garage attic. That's when hte outpouring of compassion for Heenes turned to ugly outrage. Since then, the blogosphere has been ablaze with calls for virtual blood and the Heenes face possible criminal charges, a federal air investigation and questions from child protective services about the welfare of their children.

But today, Fort Collins residents Cheri Foster and her daughter Tamara Failla hope to shower the beleaguered family with a more positive emotion: compassion.

The pair has spearheaded the “first ever Fort Collins Care Movement” in which they hope residents will spend the day rallying to the Heenes’ defense by dropping off letters of support and compassion at their house.

“They might have made a mistake, as we all have done and will continue to do,” Failla told the local newspaper. “So rather than condemn, let’s come together and raise this family up, with our support. Let’s remind them that they are not alone.”

Noble? Perhaps. But the mother-and-daughter duo woefully misread the local sentiment. First, it seems the last thing the Heenes need is more traffic outside their house, where the media have been camped for more than a week awaiting charges, which may be filed soon. The circus atmosphere has already prompted one fistfight between a neighbor and a reporter, and several fruitless pleas by other neighbors to let the story die.

But more to the point, aside from Foster and Failla, no one seems ready to convey to the family that their expensive and thoughtless hoax is water under the bridge. There will be no forgiveness, it seems, without a pound of flesh.

On the Web site for the Coloradoan newspaper, reader reaction to the Fort Collins Care Movement is overwhelmingly negative.

“Let's see,” wrote a poster with the handle collinsguy. “Family wastes untold thousands of taxpayer dollars, exploits and endangers hundreds of rescue/safety workers both paid and volunteer, toys with the emotions of millions throughout the world, and makes their own children central to a big fat lie, all in order to satisfy their desire for both attention and dollars. That really goes quite a bit past the definition of a ‘mistake.’

“I do have sympathy for the Heene children. They've been exploited by two greedy and selfish people posing as their parents, and are now caught in the middle of a miserable poo-storm which I highly doubt their parents have given them the correct perspective to deal with. But support and compassion for the Heene parents? Sorry, no sale. They should pay for the resources they wasted, and Mr. and Mrs. Heene should face punishment for this hoax, so we as a society can send the message that such actions will not be tolerated. Going around calling it a ‘bad decision’ is the exact opposite of what is needed.”

Worse for Foster and Failla, some have turned their anger toward them.

“These women aren't asking for a ‘Day of Compassion’ for the Heenes, they are opportunists looking for a way to get their foot in the door to prey on another pair of opportunists,” wrote poster HeeneIsAFelon. “The Heenes and this mother/daughter Moron Team deserve each other.”