Community Chat

[Oznell]

February 4 will mark the anniversary of the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst, occurring on February 4, 1974, by the Symbionese Liberation Army.  Hearst, an heiress and granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, was 19 years old at the time.

That abduction, her crime-spree time spent with her captors, and her trial and imprisonment, are a series of almost surrealistic events that, even now, make for the most fascinating reading.

Patricia Hearst has always maintained that she committed her acts under the worst duress, threat of rape, torture and of course, death.  Even so, the public at the time was divided on the issue of her compliance with the murderous group that had kidnapped her.  I could be wrong, but am thinking that an understanding of what has come to be known as "Stockholm syndrome" was furthered as a result of her experience.

Of course there were tons of books, including her own.  In her mid-sixties now, she is relatively low-profile, publicly emerging every once in awhile, appearing in occasional documentaries and films, and at dog judging competitions and the like.

Do you remember the events, and did your perception of them and her, shift over time?

[NickNack]

I always believed her and couldn't believe she was convicted.  I thought her trial was awful.

[50Mickey]

I remember the events well. I was glued to the TV everytime there was an update especially the day when members of the SLA died in the fire and the authorities were trying to determine if Patty Hearst was in the house. I read her book and the one written by her fiance at the time. I think his name was Stephen Weed.

She was 19 years old when she was violently kidnapped. She said that she was raped and threatened and I am sure that she did what she needed to do to stay alive.  

[NicksmomESQ]

 I too followed the case closely,at the time.At first I believed she was kidnapped.As the case unfolded I changed my mind. JMO but I think she was a spoiled rich girl who rebelled against her stuffy parents. When she got caught her parents bought her a top notch defense in attorney F. Lee Bailey.

   Fortunately, the jury didn't buy her story and she was convicted.I think her family's influence got her pardoned.

[GrailSeeker]

I very well remember when it happened, too.  I had just turned 19 myself the day before, so identified with Patty. 

I remember discussing it at work and a co-worker, a young man who was 30, speculating that she was in on it herself.  I could not believe that, but later it did appear that Patty was in on it.

Years later, I drew a mental connection to the JonBenet case- the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) and the SBTC "foreign faction", the very rich family, the press conferences, and "being in on it herself".  

By 1996 the Patty Hearst case was no longer in much of the public's memory and I never heard any speculation from law enforcement that maybe the Ramsey case shared patterns connected to the Hearst case - though I do remember perhaps a reference to Patsy dressing for press conferences in much the same manner that Mrs. Hearst had, always in very good taste.

[mspatmac]

I always believed her.  @Oznell  I also believe in today's world she would have been believed and never put on trial. 

[beckyb1012]

I do remember, I was only 13 at the time but still had my memories also of Helter Skelter a few years earlier.  I was terrified of what could happen to any of us at that time in our lives.  Not to mention the war I paid attention to nightly on the news as well. 

I never could pick a side about her involvement but I was very disappointed in her thinking she may have been lead astray at some point.  The photo holding the gun did not help.

[ROMARY]

All I can say is that kidnappers can be extremely cruel.

Anyone here watching the latest season of Happy Valley on PBS?

My gosh.  Can't describe.

I encourage interested viewers to watch the particular season: (that is, the kidnapping of a young woman) from the beginning.  

Don't skip the beginning episodes.

[GoneButNotForgotten]

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@NickNack wrote:

I always believed her and couldn't believe she was convicted.  I thought her trial was awful.

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Me too.

[GoneButNotForgotten]

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@NicksmomESQ wrote:

 I too followed the case closely,at the time.At first I believed she was kidnapped.As the case unfolded I changed my mind. JMO but I think she was a spoiled rich girl who rebelled against her stuffy parents. When she got caught her parents bought her a top notch defense in attorney F. Lee Bailey.

   Fortunately, the jury didn't buy her story and she was convicted.I think her family's influence got her pardoned.

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Maybe being kept in a dark closet for 7 weeks and being repeatedly raped might change your mind.