This is one B&C subject where lines can be drawn with permanent markers, relationships can be strained-- and where comments run the gamut from being prolific, to being so quiet ssshhhh-- that you can almost hear a pin drop.Images from inglorious uncaring bastards to celebrated heroes-- poor souls to those who deserved to die and couldn't die fast enough, fill the minds of B&C enthusiasts-- and those are just the usual debates. Then add the possibility of an unborn child to the mix, and well-- welcome to the great debate. The ambush, always seems to inspire the most interest of all B&C topics. But among Bonnie & Clyde wonderings, the thought of a pregnancy for Bonnie Parker??-- perhaps reaches the greatest depth, within the B&C well of emotion.
I think that because this was and has been the cause of so much debate, it's a matter of great curiosity among so many people for so many different reasons. To me, it's a question that I would love to have answered, although I don't have any special thoughts one way or another - I'm approaching it with a completely open mind!
ReplyDeleteI am of two thoughts on the matter, both of them on the sentimental side: On one hand, if Bonnie were pregnant, it would be the tiny bit of "happily ever after" that she had dreamed of, and if she had known of a pregnancy, she may have begun to make plans for somehow getting herself and Clyde "off the road." There are stories in various books detailing how Clyde supposedly was trying to purchase some land in Louisiana where the family could get together more often - if there were a Bonnie pregnancy, perhaps they had decided to try to lay low and perhaps try to take their lives in another direction. I love the fact that there might have been a pregnancy because I think it could have given them something to look forward to when everything seemed darkest; I hate the possibility that their unborn child died with them. That is the part of me that rather hopes that Bonnie was not pregnant, because I don't like the idea that a pregnant woman and a helpless fetus would be killed by men who were at least aware of the possibility of an unborn child in the line of fire.
As I mentioned earlier, I don't really have any ideas one way or another except for my own personal emotions and feelings! I do think that people deserve to know one way or another - while it doesn't change the facts, it could add new insight to some of Bonnie and Clyde's actions toward the end, and any new facts are always good to discover after such a length of time.
Hi Cindy--
ReplyDeleteThat's a most fair comment all around. Although there are sensitivities exhibited by some, I feel for the sake of this history-- all aspects of it's truth should be explored.
There was more to the conversation held, between myself and one person in particular who wanted me to drop my investigation into a Bonnie pregnancy. That exchange provided both myself and this individual, with clear insights into each other's points of view. I was disturbed by the attitudes I heard, expressed by this person attuned with the lawman's point of view. It seemed the venom was still fresh and flowing, after all these decades, and there was seemingly no allowance for compassion concerning a possible BP pregnancy-- or for any reason to find out.
Obviously, these outlaws needed to be stopped. But a possible BP pregnancy seems to throw a fly in the ointment of this history, that many for one reason or another have trouble dealing with. And rightfully so-- as this possibility calls into question, the mentalities and actions or lack thereof of-- of individuals who may have acted differently to allow for that circumstance. Perhaps some still fear a possible public backlash, which may have come from revelations of the truth?? But I can't understand that-- as there doesn't seem to be much evidence, to support B&C's killings being admonished within the general population. Perhaps a BP pregnancy, would have made a difference in that regard??
For those not aware of this, Capt. Hamer was reportedly not Lee Simmons first choice for this assignment. Others reportedly turned Simmons down, citing their reluctance to kill a woman. And at that point, I'm not sure any inkling was known, concerning a possible BP pregnancy.
I could see where positive confirmation of Bonnie's rumored pregnancy might have caused some uproar if it had been made known at the time of the ambush; perhaps there would have been a great deal of criticism leveled at the police officers for having killed a pregnant woman and not tried to at least get her away before they killed Clyde. However - Bonnie was determined to die with Clyde, and any attempt to get her away from him without killing her may not have been successful at all.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that if Bonnie and Clyde had been allowed to continue going on the way they were, more innocent people and police officers would have died. They were determined not to be taken alive, and would do everything possible to kill anyone who tried to bring them to justice. I am of the opinion that the ambush was necessary - there had certainly been any number of other occasions on which Clyde could have been captured but he somehow always managed to shoot his way out of these situations, and giving Clyde any warning at all that the police had him cornered or surrounded was just an invitation for him to come out shooting. An ambush was probably the only way to guarantee that Clyde would not have a chance to start firing, and because Bonnie would not leave him, an ambush would kill her, too.
I can't imagine that considerations of that type would still be an issue today. The media today allows us to see abuses of power by police officers, and I don't think that letting it be publicly known that in order to stop a band of known criminals who would not hesitate to kill when cornered, it was necessary to kill a pregnant woman as well would make people think any worse of the police than some already do. If it's the police worrying about their reputations after all this time, I don't think their worry is necessarily justified - it's been so long, and so much has happened in between, that most people would probably just see it as another sad little footnote to a very old story.