Setting the record straight…one more time
I’m as tired of writing about stuff like this as you are reading about it, I assure you.
But I have no other place to express it, so once again forgive me, and bear with me.
Two entries ago(Entry L), I wondered out loud why certain individuals would put up information on gospel music sites and in books that might not be true(which was the whole point of the entry, for the unaware), and I cited a couple of examples I was familiar with to illustrate my QUESTION(as opposed to statement).
To gauge by the feedback I’ve received thus far, one would think the point of that entry was why it would be claimed that Michael English was a member of the Happy Goodmans, since his role with them(if at all)was decidedly transitional and minor.
Well, as one can see(IF one bothers to read everything here, not just certain passages that reinforce their personal prejudices), my good friend RevTabasco pointed out to me that he indeed HAD seen English perform with the Goodmans, so even though that point was tangential to my main one, it is nice to know that at least English’s publicity people were right about THAT.
But one person(who is not worthy of the publicity I would give her if I identifed her here)decided to take things a little farther…by going to a gospel music message board and asking to verify if that information was correct.
Now, that person had an ulterior motive in doing so(as I will demonstrate below), but on the surface it seemed like an innocuous enough question, and many there tried to answer her.
Obviously, this blog has more readers than even I imagine…where else would she have gotten the inspiration to ask the question?
If I may, in the past, this particular message board has been the home base for a few embittered, resentful, and malicious individuals bent upon trying to damage my credibility and exalt their own among their uninformed peers, and this appears to be one more such instance of a person unwilling to keep private concerns private, and instead try to slander my reputation in front of a sycophantic forum.
Well, John, then what are you doing bringing it up here, then, huh? I initially tried to address this person with a response, but found out this person is not accepying ANY private messages there. But since she obviously reads this blog, she can read my response to her here.
Her question was partially answered by the people on the board who tried to be helpful to her, but not categorically…as it was here ultimately. She then concluded with a typically puerile “shot”…”I should have known the source in question was unreliable from previous experience”.
The obvious question then is, if I’m so unreliable, why put such weight on my observations? Why not let me fester in my ignorance?
Well,the answer is, I’m not that unreliable…and she knows it. I usually get more things right than I do wrong…I try anyway! And my past record is out there, and speaks for itself..it doesn’t need defending against some resentful young person whose sole aim is to discredit me anyway!
So, John, why are you doing it, then?
Because I’ve had prior experience with this person…we used to dialogue at another such board, where she would delight in pointing out my occasional errors there. No problem…I made them…and I corrected them, and actually enjoyed the brio this person showed for a time. I even thanked her for keeping me on my toes.
But, as sometimes happens, things got misunderstood. This person got the idea that my friendliness was disingenuous…and consequently got more hostile in her comments toward me.
Finally, I tried to make peace with this person, and was sharply rebuffed for my trouble. C’est la vie, these things happen…life went on.
But after a sabbatical she took from this other board, she returned today, with her question, ostensibly to discredit me once again. I have no place else to address this…since I’ve been denied the opportunity to.
So there you are…my side of the story, and my explanation of why I wasted so much bandwidth here addresing it.
I hope it stops here. There is no more need for this sort of exchange. And no, anticipating a series of flames from either her, or other representatives of that board, I am NOT focused on myself, nor am I trying to play the role of the “victim”…the title of this entry explains what I’m trying to do.
So if anyone feels led to take issue with what I’ve said, there is a place for comments here…please go to WalMart, buy a spine, and post them there. But don’t take “sniper shots” from behind your so-called “friends” at a message board…that is really unfair and unbecoming.
As Rush Limbaugh speaks of the “drive-by” media, there are apparently “drive-by” message boards as well.
That is all I intend to say about this subject in this lifetime…back tomorrow to your regularly scheduled blog.
Posted on Jul 05, 2006 - 08:50 PM | [0]
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