Clarification & Apology

by Amazing 60 Replies latest jw friends

  • Amazing
    Amazing

    First a clarification, then my apology, and last comment regarding TH:

    Mr. Eakins (Aka Trauma_Hound) has stated a number of times that he wishes I would take matters off-board to settle in private email as he has done with others. However, the problem that began between he an I started on JWOL, where his first reaction was to rip me apart in public ... no email, no nice civil efforts to settle a concern in private. So, I decided to take a stand in public because I did not like the abusive bullying treatment I received.

    After my last post December 29 th , 2002, where I made mention of Trauma_Hound, I received the following email on December 30, 2003. This, evidently, is Mr. Eakins idea of how he wants to settle matters privately and it seems to me to be no different than what he says in public. So, I had little incentive to respond. Rather, I blocked his email from being received to my account, and decided to forget matters. Here is the email in question as I received it:

    From :

    Charles Eakins < [email protected]>

    To :

    [email protected]

    Subject :

    Amazingly you didn't head my words.

    Date :

    Mon, 30 Dec 2002 11:38:41 -0800

    Abviously you are too dense to get it. You spout off about Bill Bowen, on JWD, then you start pulling the same shit on JWO, I got tired of hearing about it, your a redundant fool. The day I said what I did, I found out the molestor of my Sister, and 6 of my cousins was back in town, now it being too late to do anything, because of the fucked up statute of limitations in the state of washington. To top it off, you had to make a remark about me not loving children, I haven't seen my child in over a year. You don't know me from squat, you had to bring something back to light, and shove it in my face, and act all fucking high and mighty. Maybe you should consider what the fuck you say to people. You called me a wuss? OH big fucking man, I'm not the whiny little fuck, that has to dig old shit up,and bring it back up. If your such a courages man, then you would have e-mailed me, now who's the wuss. Fuck you asshole!

    I wrote a long response to this email, but never sent it or posted it. I will only mention that I never dug up old stuff on Mr. Eakins, since as he admits I don't know him, and therefore, knew of nothing to dig up. And I never stated that he did not love children. I only questioned his claims to be so loving in light of how he treats people. This is an example of contextual butchering I see all too often.

    _____________

    Then, the other day, I was feeling bad (self-pity), so, I decided to deal with Mr. Eakins email in public. My reason for mentioning my health again was not to elicit sympathy, but to link the value of our short life with many needless negative things we all do in life ... thus wasting our time on unproductive activities. My health issues have made me more keenly aware of how short life is, and the folly of such unproductive acts. Unfortunately, my response was nearly four weeks after Mr. Eakins email to me.

    MY APOLOGY TO THE BOARD: Since Mr. Eakins email was sent nearly four weeks ago, and my intent to spend my time in other pursuits was plainly stated, then I really had no business bringing this issue up again. I should have stuck to my original resolve to let it die. I was having a moment of self-pity the other day, and because Mr. Eakins seems to like to cut me to ribbons, I felt that I should not have to tolerate such abusive, harassing, and bully-like behavior. And in that moment of licking my wounds, I made my post. Nevertheless, my recent post was still not necessary or appropriate. I apologize to all of you.

    Since then, Mr. Eakins sent me another email that is nicely worded --- at least no expletives --- and did not make threatening statements. Here it is:

    From :

    Charles Eakins < [email protected]>

    To :

    [email protected]

    Subject :

    Next Time

    Date :

    Sun, 26 Jan 2003 02:55:11 -0800

    Don't you think the adult thing to do would be to directly contact me, rather then drag me through the mud? Your not the only person with health problems.

    ____________________

    Here is my response:

    Dear Mr. Eakins,

    Never in this life will I have private correspondence with you. Please do not email me, ever. I have blocked your entire domain, so please do not attempt to get around this by emailing from another domain. My reason is that you started this in public, and your outcry for privacy is disingenuine, though I think you feel sincere about it. Also, the issue is so simple that it does not require any level of negotiation or discussion just please stop ripping people apart when they say things you disagree with. The opinions of others does not make them right or wrong ... well, some are wrong ... however, they do not deserve being ripped they way you do.

    My whole point in bringing you into any discussion was to illustrate what I consider needless angst and negativity, fueling energy into unproductive bullying of people. Life, Mr. Eakins, is way to short, and there are to many other important things at stake than spending time cussing people out the way you do. And, as I stated above, my mentioning of health issues is not meant to elicit sympathy or excuse of conduct, but to highlight the shortness of life, and the waste of our precious time on negativity.

    Were you to have really read my December 29 th post, you would have seen my conciliatory remarks about you, my recognition that, like everyone else, you too have your own problems to deal with. My comment about you being a wuss could, would, and should have been taken in a better context by you. But, then again, I dont know; I see too many people who "blow-by" context without understanding the intent and flavor of what was meant by the single-dimension written word.

    Finally, Mr. Eakins, I do understand that you are hurting as an ex-JW as well as many hundreds of thousands of others are. One would think that we ex-JWs would be kinder and gentler to one another than we are ... that our common bond, and our common angst with the Watchtower religion would lead us to show one another more compassion ... but, somehow we all seem to beat one one another as much as we try to help one another heal. Because of this, I recognize that I may not have been entirely fair with you, even though I am not sure just how I have wronged you, as you started this entire scenario. Nevertheless, I offer my public apology for engaging with you and feeding fuel to the fire. I apologize if any of my comments offended you. And I offer a hand in peace, and to let us agree to disagree as gentlemen, not as bullies.

    A response from you will be difficult since I cut off all email from you effectively immediately, and I no longer read any other ex-JW board, except I do read JWD and Concord from time to time. So, I will just leave this alone and hope that my offer is acceptable to you. If not, well ... I dont know what to say ... perhaps the best thing from here on is for us both to cease saying anymore to one another. I hope that you can at least respect my response, and trust that I will not discuss you again. - Jim Whitney

    Edited by - Amazing on 27 January 2003 23:51:44

  • OUTLAW
    OUTLAW

    Hey Amazing,after reading your post it is evident TH is in a lot of pain,,just as you are..Posting your concerns 4 weeks after the fact got TH so upset,he got himself booted off the board..That wasn`t fair to anyone..You, because you don`t need the stress.TH,because it opened old wounds.Simon,because he had to bare the brunt of it all,and may not have given TH the boot had he known all the facts..Do both of you a favour,let it go..I wish you both well...OUTLAW

  • Golden Girl
    Golden Girl

    Been there done that!..Believe me...it's not worth it!...Life is to short!...We have enough stress in our lives without stirring up more here!..

    Snoozy...who graduated from board fights! Had enough of them....I did want to post this because I know the pain it can cause you and the other person... trying to prove that someone is right and someone is wrong!

    Just chalk it up to personal differences....no one will win this fight..you will both just feel bad....

  • CoolBreeze
    CoolBreeze

    Somone walks into a house, and in a moment of weakness somone inadvertantly leaves an open can of gasoline in the middle of the living room. Visitors come and go for a couple of days most being careful not to ignite any sparks. The owner of the home as well as the caretakers of the home in question leave the can of gasoline there. They neither remove the gasoline, nor lock the room, fully aware of the danger should somone come in with a lit match. At this point the fumes have built up for couple of days and the fumes are so thick you can see the air shimmer; and somone not only walks in with a lit match, but a whole handful of them. The whole thing ends in an ugly explosion that goes on and on and carries on into other rooms. Finnally the both the owners and the caretakers decide the time is ripe to lock the living room and any other rooms affected by the explosion. Who's to blame? You decide. Me ... I think I'm gonna leave this house for a while.

    Anton

    Edited to add : Amazing, I have read your many posts and found them to a true inspiration. I wish you well and a speedy recovery.

    Edited by - coolbreeze on 28 January 2003 1:16:46

  • pettygrudger
    pettygrudger

    Excellent Analogy Coolbreeze - excellent!

    Amazing - once again my wishes for a speedy recovery.

    TH cannot read this response as he has been entirely cut off from this site - but I will make sure he sees your response.

  • Englishman
    Englishman

    Amazing,

    Thanks for that, it takes a real man to admit to his mistakes.

    I wouldn't feel too badly about TH. It's part of the leaving of the dubs process to be able to learn to discuss volatile matters without resorting to bad language and threats. Whilst I agree he was way out of line, and despite the fact that I think he needs a resounding telling off, I think that there is probably a big heart in there somewhere. Maybe he'll be back with a little more politeness one day.

    I hope things go well for you Jim, take care,

    Englishman.

  • RevMalk
    RevMalk

    I think this was a baiting. I think TH emailing in private was the correct thing to do. Isn't that what we always say here? Don't start garbage in public, do it in private. Then when a guy does so, it comes out here anyway, each and every time. And then Amazing's post that caused all this was so vague, it simply insinuated TH did some kind of horrible thing, that left way too much to the imagination. Now we see the email, and by the way, posting his full name and email address was wrong as well, and against the rules if I remember correctly. The email doesn't seem so bad to me. Yes, it was abrasive, yes TH is abrasive. We've had it out ourselves (TH and I), but I am understanding to the way he is.

    There are many others that are the same way, like Farkel for one - no offense, just pointing out different personalities, and I DO NOT have a problem with Farkel, but the two of them could be twins. Farkel is allowed to get away with it, TH is not. Why?

    Give me a break people, TH did nothing wrong here, and he should be allowed back in, NOW. Yes, after he was booted, he really went crazy, out of hurt and pain. But he DOES have a good heart, and he IS a positive influence here, whether it appears that way on the surface or not. He's done alot for the community, he's done alot for the Sexual Abuse issues, he's done alot all around, and he's gravely misunderstood. His email to Amazing was not bad at all, he did what he was suppose to do, take the mess in private, and he gets ostracized anyway. That in itself is a crime, and it's not a good example of how things are suppose to work around here.

    I think Amazing was 100% in the wrong here, by bringing this into the public eye for one, and then posting TH's real name and email address. No offense to Amazing, sometimes people screw up, and I commend him for admitting his mistakes. I think TH was wronged here, I'm sorry, I just do. Like I said, TH and I have gotten into it, but we didn't go crying to the public about being hurt by each other, we handled these things like adults and went on with life.

    I think some people need to grow up around here and handle things on their own without the whining and crying.

    TH has been through alot, some of which was explained in the email to Amazing. Does that mean we have to cut TH some slack because he's been through so much? No, we need to cut each other some slack because we've all been through so much. There's not enough of that going around here. I thought we were here to help each other, not push each other away.

    Edited by - Simon on 28 January 2003 12:10:37

  • mouthy
    mouthy

    AS the Granny on board.I am going to ask you all to stop all this. JWs reading this is having a ball.I know I keep bringing up my dead children & No I dont want your sympathy- But life is so short. Why not try to get along- I keep seeing the face & voices of those still in the "lie" saying HA! ha! they fight among themselves.....TH & Amaxing ( Jim you know I have met you & love you-Th I have not had the privledge -my loss) But please shake & make up. Oh the gift that God had give us to see ourselves as others see us- Dont let those still in bondage see that we are not truly free- put all anger aside. Otherwise I can see no other alternative -but to send you to your rooms....lol

  • RevMalk
    RevMalk
    AS the Granny on board.I am going to ask you all to stop all this. JWs reading this is having a ball.I know I keep bringing up my dead children & No I dont want your sympathy- But life is so short. Why not try to get along- I keep seeing the face & voices of those still in the "lie" saying HA! ha! they fight among themselves.....TH & Amaxing ( Jim you know I have met you & love you-Th I have not had the privledge -my loss) But please shake & make up. Oh the gift that God had give us to see ourselves as others see us- Dont let those still in bondage see that we are not truly free- put all anger aside. Otherwise I can see no other alternative -but to send you to your rooms....lol

    I agree 100%, the problem is, TH, an Abuse Survivor, has been kicked off the board, and he was the one wronged.....so ya, we can all go about our business, but he got screwed. Not saying that he was completely innocent, just saying that we'll all screw up from time to time, and if we can't forgive and forget, then YES, the dubs can laugh their butts off at us. Even they can forgive and forget, but out here it's not possible? Come on, give me a break guys, we're all human. He is an abrasive guy, but he's done nothing malicious. We're talking about kicking a guy out because we don't like his personality, that's WRONG.

    I find it really hard to swallow that TH would have an easier time being accepted back at the Kingdom Hall, than being accepted back here. I have a real problem with that.

    Edited by - Simon on 28 January 2003 12:10:13

  • Simon
    Simon

    erm ...

    Give me a break people, TH did nothing wrong here, and he should be allowed back in, NOW. Yes, after he was booted, he really went crazy, out of hurt and pain. But he DOES have a good heart, and he IS a positive influence here

    He was deactivated for good reason and I would remind you that it was not the first time he has been abusive to other forum members or to me. His conduct before and since does not tally at all with your description and he will not be coming back on here, now or ever.

    BTW: I removed the signatures from the site for the time being for a reason, please don't re-add them to every post. Ta

    Edited by - Simon on 28 January 2003 12:11:14

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