The following is an opinion post. Please feel free to disagree, but please don’t just say that’s rubbish. Give me a reason you disagree, especially if you know Elisha personally. My opinions are not set in stone and I’m open to hearing other’s views. Who knows, you may change my mind!
Deep down you may still be that same great kid you used to be. But it’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you. (Batman Begins (2005))
The saying goes – Actions speak louder than words. While I don’t believe any one action defines who someone is, I think there’s something to this. Actions do speak louder than words. Repeated actions are what people see and they shape our reputation.
For example: If someone says they want to spend time with you but repeatedly fails to show up, they are communicating that you aren’t worth the effort or that they aren’t willing to follow through on their promises.
If someone says “believe me” but repeatedly lies, they are showing you that their word can’t be trusted.
If someone says they want to change but repeatedly fails to make an effort, they are communicating they aren’t willing to do things differently.
I thought about the above quote from Batman when thinking about Elisha’s actions. Deep down she may still be that great kid she used to be. But it’s what she does that defines her to the public and also to herself.
“The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them” – Maya Angelou
It was the fourth vigil in Waterville for Ayla, who was reported missing by her father, Justin DiPietro, on Dec. 17.
DiPietro’s sister, Elisha DiPietro, stood in the crowd with her young daughter. She said she was pleased to see the community rally together.
“I’m glad that people are helping to keep Ayla’s name out there in the media, and they’re still supporting Ayla,” she said.
“They did administer a polygraph,” DiPietro said. “I took it. I did fine.”
When DiPietro was asked to clarify whether she passed or failed the exam, DiPietro repeated her initial statement, adding that she’s not concerned how her response will be received by the public.
“I mean, I did fine. It’s what it is. People are going to take things how they take them, and they’re going to call us liars, if they want to call us liars, but I know the truth, and we know the truth, and we know we didn’t do anything wrong. We want Ayla home. We love Ayla.”
DiPietro said she stands by her belief that Ayla was abducted. “Someone took her,” she said. “That’s why (police) haven’t found her yet.”
Elisha has attended events for Ayla, one a vigil with her mother, Phoebe. The other was the Eyes Open Walk for Baby Ayla, an event to raise awareness about the toddler’s disappearance.
Although you would think that the action of going to vigils is showing support, it is passive support. All she had to do was be there.
At the vigil she attended with Phoebe, Elisha addressed the community support for Ayla. At the Walk she attended her words are a bit different. Why does she say “We want” and not “I want Ayla home”, “We love” and not “I love Ayla.” She was alone when interviewed; she was not with her family and speaking for all of them.
Elisha’s comments at the walk are more about how she did on her polygraph. To be fair, it wasn’t her who brought up the subject, she was asked. She does get defensive when asked about the poly though. Why would she say she’s not concerned about how people perceive her and make the statement “they’re going to call us liars, if they want to call us liars,”?
I don’t know about you, but I want people to think the best of me. My name and reputation are important and I wouldn’t like being accused of being dishonest. If I were accused of lying but were indeed truthful, I wouldn’t even entertain the possibility that people will believe what they want. I would want them to know I had not lied, especially about something as serious as a missing child. I would flat out say “I didn’t lie. I passed my polygraph because I told the truth.”
By the way, saying “I know the truth” is not the same as saying “I told the truth”.
“A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inactions, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury” – John Mills
Elisha DiPietro said the public statement about the three adults knowing more than they are saying differs from what she was told in private.
“I’ve had a detective tell me multiple times that he thinks I’m telling the truth. And then to have Steve McCausland publicly say he doesn’t think I am,” she said. “I’m not the person you’re trying to paint me out to be, and I don’t appreciate it.
DiPietro said the past few months have been difficult for her family. They are dealing with a child’s absence, and public opinion is often against them.
“It’s hard to see how many people hate my family without actually knowing my family. We didn’t do anything wrong, and we just want Ayla home. We love Ayla, and we want her home,” she said.
“the three adults who were in the home at the time are withholding information”
What does Elisha’s inaction tell us? As the above quote says, inaction causes just as much damage and you are just as accountable for inaction as for action. She is one of the people that McCausland has said is withholding information and not telling all she knows. Her inaction in not telling MSP all she knows and withholding information is causing untold harm.
With all the publicity that has surrounded this case I have not heard of anything Elisha has done, actions by her on behalf of Ayla – organized a vigil, put up posters, conducted a search for Ayla, appeared on tv to speak out to whoever took Ayla. Her actions are minimal and passive.
Elisha tries to convince us through her words that she misses Ayla and wants her home.
“We want Ayla home. We love Ayla.”
She uses words to try to persuade us she is a good person.
“I’m not the person you’re trying to paint me out to be, and I don’t appreciate it.”
She uses words to try to convince us that she hasn’t lied.
“People are going to take things how they take them, and they’re going to call us liars, if they want to call us liars, but I know the truth, and we know the truth, and we know we didn’t do anything wrong.”
She uses words to persuade us to believe she hasn’t withheld information.
Elisha DiPietro said the public statement about the three adults knowing more than they are saying differs from what she was told in private.
“I’ve had a detective tell me multiple times that he thinks I’m telling the truth. And then to have Steve McCausland publicly say he doesn’t think I am,”
But her actions and her inaction tell another story. Actions really do speak louder than words.
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou
written by Dee
Friends For Ayla 