I don’t pretend to understand the background to the “baloon boy” story that is receiving so much attention in the media. In fact, I’ve held off writing about it because everyone seemed so sure it was a hoax. Even while the event was underway, commentators were already suggesting it might be a hoax! That seemed very weird to me then, and it continues to do so now. The idea of a small boy being swept away by a baloon of any sort and then possibly having fallen from a high altitude was just too awful to contemplate.
Now, it did not escape my attention that this baloon appeared to be designed to resemble a flying saucer, nor am I unaware of the emails that have recently come to light indicating that the family was planning a publicity stunt, presumably to land a role on another reality series. (Recall that they had previously appeared on a reality series entitled “Wife Swap”.) But how about some common sense here? A little boy being carried away in a baloon is hardly the type of event that anyone would expect to serve as the basis of a reality series. It is even less plausible to think lying about such an event could lead to a reality series. On the other hand, the baloon appears designed to resemble a UFO, and UFO sightings certainly sound like grist for reality TV. It is entirely plausible that a basket could have been attached to the baloon for holding tools and such (and, in fact, this came up on at least one of the networks’ coverage of the event. If this is all true, it is at least possible that a 6 year old boy could have become entangled in whatever was attached to the baloon and carried away by accident.
And that’s really the point. I don’t know if this baloon was to be used for a publicity stunt – quite possibly it was. I have no reason to doubt that any such plans were illegal. Granting all of that, isn’t it possible that an accident occurred, that the family thought Falcon (the boy) was in imminent danger, and that there was at least a reasonal possibility that the 911 call was neither deceptive nor fraudulent?
Now, we’ve heard a lot about how the family was eccentric, with the parents, at least, doing things we shouldn’t approve of. But that’s not the point! I recall that at an early press conference, a woman representing the sheriff’s department answered a question saying that they didn’t want people to be afraid to call 911 because they weren’t sure there was still an emergency. When did that change?
Now, note what I am not saying: I am not saying that it’s okay to knowingly report an emergency when none exists. In particular it is not okay to tie up emegemcy personnel as part of a prank, or something more nefarious. But what the family may have intended to do is not relevant to whether they thought the emergency was real. Now, it’s possible that there is evidence that shows that the 911 call was fraudulent, I don’t know. But from what I’ve heard reported, it seems that a lot of people are jumping to conclusions.
