Certainly you were watching the news Thursday October 15 and hoping that Falcon Henne was safe on that balloon flying through the Colorado sky. Were you scared for Falcon when the balloon came crashing down and he was not there? Were you relieved later when he was found safe and "hiding" in the attic? Maybe you were not even aware of it, although that would have been hard to do! After all he was on all the major news stories and networks that evening.
Of course it was not long until doubts started! This CNN video from that evening seems to indicate that it might have been a stunt! Was it a "stunt" conceived by the family who have been on at least one television reality show, and it is rumored had aspirations to get on another? This news article seems to indicate such. What is even more frightening is that police, National Guard and NORAD spent time tyring to "rescue" the child. The airport in Denver was also closed. Some people estimate that the bill for this may exceed $1 million!
Now it seems that Falcon's mom has admitted that it was all a hoax!
What really happened? Was it a publicity stunt? Or just some unusual plan, gone terribly awry? Of course, many questions remain to be answered. Will police charges be filed against the family. Who will pay the bill?
In your response tell me what you think of all this. Is the news media too interested in sensationalising stories that they are not always unbiased in their reporting? Are they also to blame in the hype this story created, and could have they missed even more important news? Did it cause a drain of resources from the police, National Guard and NORAD that might have been better used elsewhere? If it was a hoax, why haven't the parents bucked up and told the truth? Lots to think about and discuss! Who do get your news from and why?
Please proofread your response and it needs to be at least five sentences long.
31 comments:
The parents of this boy are just plain stupid. It's a shame that they would use their kids to get on T.V. I feel bad for that little boy because he's going to grow up believing lying is right. I think it's funny that he admitted it as being a hoax on national television. It was very interesting.
I think the family was wrong for making up this plan. I'm sure they had alot of people scared. They made everyone think the little boy was in the balloon. People were all following this balloon because they thought there was a little boy in it. People put in alot of money and effort.
Mr. Downing that is the longest blog you have written this year. But the family could have been doing this stunt for publicity to get their own television show. I think this because the young boy said it on the video. If I was his father, I would have beat him for spoiling my plan.
I think that they should have quit talking about it after a few days, not a few weeks. I heard on the Insider that their dad was on Wife Swap and he has anger issues. I also think that the boy, when he was hiding, he should've got out of his hiding place while they were searching for him in the house. I also think that the news media should have fussed out his dad. It was funny though when they didn't find anybody in the balloon.
I really feel for this family. I think it's a shame to used your own kids to be on television. I heard that the family love to be on television anyway.
Hello, I think this is pointless and stupid. I think they all should just be thankful that he was not in the balloon at the time. They are taking it too far like he was in the balloon for days or something. I think they knew that he was not in the balloon, if you are a parent, you would go crazy knowing they are in danger. That balloon looked way to small for the boy to fit in anyway.
I think that they had planned the video just for money. It was so obvious during the interview. When the dad had asked the little boy why didn't he come out, he asked him in a way that he was acting it out. They even made the balloon so you definitely know that it is true about what they did. They made it all up.
I think that the whole balloon boy thing was kind of scary and interesting at the same time. It was wrong how they planned a joke like that, somebody could have been hurt. I’m glad the boy was found safe. I’m glad he wasn’t in there when it came crashing down, it was a relief. The money they spent on this tragic event was ridiculous. The little boy just should have stop playing hide-n-go-seek with his self, and just came out when his parents were looking for him.
Every one was scared for the little boy who was "supposedly" on the balloon. I think that the family put this together as a hoax. In the news video the father completly blew over what his son had told the news. I think that they should stop giving so much attention to that family cause thats what they want. Kendall was very relieved that the little boy was safe.
That kid is crazy, what was he thinking? I want to know what was going through his head. I mean what little boy his age do you know that will do that. And his father is weird; I think he was making stuff up because he went completely off subject. He was lost and didn’t know what he was talking about.
If the boy was truly on the balloon where would he be, the balloon looks too small to carry any passengers. It was kinda hilarious how everybody was looking for him and he was just hiding in the attic. This was a really expensive stunt and I can't believe they went that far just to be on tv.
This story is crazy. They did this as a publicity stunt. They are fools. I don't know why someone would do this to their child. Then the mom wants to admit it was a hoax? Their crazy, that poor kid and his brothers are living with parents that only care about themselves.
I believe the whole balloon story was fake. I think that the little boy was probably just sitting on his couch watching the event on TV . The kid really messed up when he said that his dad told him the balloon event was for a TV show. The father and mother of the child should have to pay the bill for all the expenses from this event. All and all this story was all a fake.
That boy did a very bad thing. Faclon Heene pretended to be on a weather baloon. The whole country got caught up a in hoax. People were relieved when they heard he was at home the entire time. Then on a interview with fox news the little boy said the whole thing was a hoax and then the country was schocked. What positive thing would have come out of this for the family?
What the family did was retarded. They should have told the truth. They had everybody looking for their son and he was in the basement. They should have known that one of the kids was going to tell the truth. They really didn’t know what was going on.
I think what the mother and father of Falcon did was wrong. I also think that the father is to blame for all of it. Because he wanted to be on television. They should have charges pressed against him because of the little scam. But all in all it was a joke that could have been VERY serious.
I think that the mother and father acted their childern ages instead of their own age. I think that the father is the one to blame for the whole thing. I would like to know why was it so important for them to be seen on television? I think that they messsed up when they told the kids why they were going to do it.
I think that this is amazing! Balloon Boy rocks! I think the parents were stupid to try something like this just to get on TV though. I went to the article like and watched the video. It was okay, but I think that it was sort of cool and it would seem cool to try if the risks weren’t so high.
Balloon boy's parents are just a little bit stupid. One of the articles said that his parents met at acting school, which i think is very ironic because they're very bad actors. I feel bad for all three of the kids for having parents that would try to make them lie. That just means that they probably lie themselves.
The boy's dad is full of crap. This was obviously a hoax. They were trying to get publicity. I thought that NORAD was pretty interesting. I can't figure out the abbreviation method to it. It doesn't seem like it applies.
Well I cannot believe that this is what America has come to. To believe these people for even a second it is downright crazy. The fact that the media didn’t instantly jump on them about it was scary. It doesn’t make sense. Honestly there should be more charges for taking up all this time from government programs. Mr. Downing I can’t we let this happen.
Well, first of all they weren't very good actors and it says that they met in acting school. This family is way too desperate to be on T.V. I saw basically the whole news cast for this, which was like 3 hours long, and I was laughing the entire time. Why would anyone build a giant balloon as a family project? I really think that they deserve to go to jail if this really was a hoax because they had pretty much all of America watching it and then it wasn't even real. Also, something has to be wrong with the family if they are going to name their kids Falcon, Ryo, and Bradford.
This whole thing is just a bunch of hoopla. It is very obvious of how much of a lie these people are telling. Even the kids looked guilty of lying. I did learn about NORAD. I had no idea that NORAD monitored the aerospace. I always thought that was the airforce.
They are probably working for some terrorist organization. Probably were hired to test the reaction time to a threat like this.
Plus, the moms story about looking for her child in a dresser is obviously a lie. the family should be locked away for life without parole. this is marked as in the U.S.-history as the "beginning of the end of the United States of America".
mr. downing, why not for once, blog about the "United Socialist States of America" (future of USA) that is going to be here soon?
I think that the whole family was not telling the truth. The boy said “we did it for the show” and the news man act like he didn’t hear. When I looked at the article and watched the video I saw that the little boy smirked like it was funny. I think the parents of the children should be punished for having their children lie about it and having the military after an empty balloon. It was a waste of time just to get attention and I think it was unnecessary. I also think that the father was the cause of everything that went on.
Mr.Downing, I think that this video is dumb. I was scared when I heard that Falcon was in the balloon.But I'm relieved that Falcon was safe in the attic. This was a hoax to get on tv. The way they made the balloon makes it look like Falcon was really in it. Thanks for the video.
I think that the family should not be charged for what they did. I think that the family was wrong for making up this story just to be on tv. I am glad that th elittle boy was not injured or harmed in any way. The family should be ashmed of themselves because of what they tried to do. The website I visted was NORAD.
I really think the parents set the whole thing up. In the interview Falcon said his parents told him it was for show. All of the children were holding their heads down as though they were lying. When the father was hugging Falcon it just seem so rehearsed. I think they should be punished somehow for the whole thing.
I think what they did was dumb. You could tell that the little boy wasn't in the balloon. They were just trying to get on t.v. They got what they wanted and also got ratted out because the little boy said that his dad said it was for a show. I went to NORAD.
I'm going to be honest, I don't like the balloon family. The kids are being used to get attention. The father is irresponsible and should not have custody of his children. He's a fine example of bad parenting. I've checked the site where his wife admitted that it was a hoax. His son said they did it for a show. It seems to me that dear old Dad is the only one who holds to the idea that it was real.
I think that the whole thing is a big hoax! I think the parents should take the blame of the whole thing and should be punished for their actions. I also think, that the father needs some mental guidance because he seems unstable. I went to www.cnn.com to get more information about “The Balloon Boy”. I believe that if Falcon and his brothers don’t get some therapy while they’re still kid, that they will have a hard time as adults. The family should also, have to pay for the bill even if it means that they will go in debt. They deserve it!
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