The Smear Machine

Character assassination is at once easier and surer than physical assault; and it involves far less risk for the assassin. It leaves him free to commit the same deed over and over again, and may, indeed, win him the honors of a hero in the country of his victims. (Alan Barth)

On 5th August last year, just three weeks after the events of July 18th - 21st, there was a contrived effort on the part of staff and certain 'key players' of SBFII to 'move on' despite the fact that nothing had been resolved as far as determining who had created so much confusion on the forum.  The voices of those who had posted most accusingly in July were heard loudest in August, whilst those members whose names had been smeared were equally as determined that they would not allow the matter to be merely swept under the carpet.  Despite the fact that the party line was to move on, with the general understanding that mistakes had been made on all sides, posts continued to be made by staff members that were inflammatory and that belied acceptance of that premise.  Here is one such example.

LonniR posted the following in a thread started by Pickled Tink entitled, 'Debunking Rumours':

"...Neither Tink nor I resigned until after the hacking and 3 of the new mods never did. That night all the mods were suddently and without warning stripped of our accesses. For a while there we did not know why or what had happened, and then realized we were being inundated with banned members on the forum and were powerless to stop them. I later understood we were locked out for security reasons, but at the time it was as though we had all been fired without notice. It was a very trying situation for everyone involved, but it's all been resolved now and we can move on.

At the time of the July incident, members could join the forum provisionally, subject to moderator approval. No banned members were approved during that period, yet LonniR still perpetuated the rumour and exaggerated the run of events.  Inundated? As a moderator she would have been aware that only three former members had joined, and that none had been approved. 

LonniR claimed that it had 'all been resolved' last August, but had anything been resolved?  Had members discovered the truth about what happened?  Was any retraction made by the Staff or Board of Directors of SBFII regarding the ludicrous claim that 'the DJGers' had planned to take over the forum?  No. The facts had not been uncovered.

Is the truth of what happened then worth any less today than it was then? 

Despite the apparent effort on the part of Staff to persuade members to 'move on', beyond the July events, permission was granted by management to CanadianBill to attack members of another Susan Boyle Fan Site, in the form of his thread entitled "Some Urgent Questions For All".  This information was given to him by Mark Conner/Orgonon (aka the cyber stalker bully.) 

Was the sanctioning of this thread conducive to 'moving on''? 

Now Paulie's forum members and I had become victims of the SBFII smear machine.  The attack against me, personally, was scathing.

The smear machine is the opus operandi by which several members and former members of SBFII (formerly susan-boyle.com) had their characters assassinated either actively or by passive resistance of the administrators.  

The cyber-troll promoted the notion that several forum members, who had had the good fortune to attend Susan's performances several times were stalkers. No firm statement was made to deny or counteract those  allegations by the administrators at SBFII.  Not only were those allegations not denied; they were in at least in one case passed along by Pickled Tink! There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind that the rebuttals should have been immediate and unambiguous.  No such  support was forthcoming from the administration and so these good peoples' names were smeared.  Why?

At the time of the trouble last summer, Danileo inappropriately used her professional nursing experience to lend credibility to her false claim that Dyebat was suffering from dementia.  This unsubstantiated, incorrect and damning diagnosis was perpetuated by Mirrim, and others.  

It was, obviously, a total fabrication that was both erroneous and malicious.

JudyOkla also started making none too subtle references to lchris's state of mind, feigning concern for her well-being within the community.  Every effort was made to suggest that lchris's judgement was impaired through lack of sleep and overwork.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Whilst outwardly the impression of 'moving forward together' was promoted by the staff, a very different story was being played out behind the scenes.  The cyber-stalker was still in communication with staff and certain members. He was still believed, despite the fact that the staff themselves recognised him as the pest they had banned on many previous occasions.  Why?

In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same. (Albert Einstein)

"What! Can the Devil Speak True?"

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.  (Macbeth)

Against all propriety, and rule no.10, CanadianBill started a thread accusing me (and members of another forum) of attempting to take over susan-boyle.com.  It was outrageous.  It was false.  It was defamatory.

Where did he get such an idea?

He got it because he was in communication with  a cyber-stalker bully-troll who had made it his mission to divide the Susan Boyle fan community and to do Susan Boyle's reputation harm.

Why did the cyber-troll target me?  Because I had recently banned him from a forum where I am an administrator.  

He told CanadianBill many things that were not true and distorted others.

That was abominable in itself.  It hit even harder when another member shared with me a PM she had received from CanadianBill in which he gave her assurances that he had the full support of administrators to post such a thread, because they had approved it.  I still have that PM.

CanadianBill put a very sinister slant on ordinary activities.  He noted the fact that members of a forum, accused by moderators of being involved in the 'takeover plot',  posted in defence of Dyebat and lchris. He insinuated that 'proved' they were involved in some kind of conspiracy.  The fact is those individuals knew there was no plot and were simply stating the truth.

CanadianBill claimed falsely that there was a 'hit list' and that he was on it.  

I have described in an earlier post how the cyber-troll was 'all things to all people'.  Maybe what he said appealed to Bill's vanity.  That is the only explanation I can come up with, because in all honesty I rarely give CanadianBill more than a passing thought.  I have no reason whatsoever to be in the least interested in his whereabouts, or his activities.  I do remember the cyber-troll trying to initiate conversations about personal details of some staff members of susan-boyle.com, but CanadianBill never figured then either.

CanadianBill was somehow convinced that I 'had it in for him' because he opposed me in the great Shipper debate over a year ago.  In reality, CanadianBill had less to do with that debate than Dyebat.  Dyebat started the thread and led the motion opposing me, yet CanadianBill accused me of being in collusion with her. This tends to undermine the idea that I still held a grudge against the pro-shippers.

I initiated a chain of correspondence with CanadianBill in which I asked him to have the thread taken down from the forum as it was libellous.  He refused.  He refused even when he was made aware that he had received his information from the cyber-stalker troll.  

CanadianBill wrote to me that even should he feel there was reason to apologise, he had to consider the 'knock on effects'  for the Forum and the bigger picture. He told me he had consulted with the admin  and they had said that he should do whatever he believed was right for him. He told me that he knew the staff was concerned about resurrecting the issue, and whilst 'he and I' might be civilised, experience had told him that not every one would be. In the interest of avoiding 'discord' he was willing to let the lies stand.

After the series of emails, in which clearly no real progress was being made, I came to the conclusion that pride was a very great factor in what had happened, and that it prevented 'closure.'  Nothing has happened since to make me change my mind. 

CanadianBill's refusal to retract his accusations has allowed the cyber-stalker bully to win.  Shame on that criminal for doing what he did.  Shame on CanadianBill for aiding him.

The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge. (Stephen Hawking)

Addendum:  CanadianBill's  thread was only taken down after speaking at length with Pickled Tink when it was pointed out that the thread was libelous. It had stood, on the forum, for well over a week.

Susan Boyle's Second Interview With Oprah Winfrey, October 2010.

I was so relieved to see how much more comfortable Susan and Oprah were with each other, in this second interview, but I do wish someone somewhere would find Susan a suitable chair to sit on!

This was an interview with a purpose.

In her recent autobiography, Susan Boyle revealed that she had been bullied mercilessly as a child, and it was around this topic that the interview was based.  Oprah asked Susan to describe what had happened to her.

No-one could fail to be moved by Susan's recollections of bring bullied as a child.  

Despite having her clothes burnt by cigarettes, Susan revealed that it was the persistent name-calling that caused her permanent scars.  She felt as if she was a target; that she didn't matter.  That is a soul destroying experience for anyone, much less a child.

Her experiences made Susan feel as if nobody loved her, and that gave the bullies power.

Susan told Oprah,  "In my case it was a small group of teenage girls that put me to that place. They're the worst kind. It can really hold you back and damage you. Mental bullying is the worst kind of bullying."

It would have been difficult for an outsider to detect what kind of childhood Susan had experienced.  She looked every part the princess she claimed to feel now.

Bullying comes in many different forms.  No-one should hesitate to seek help, especially from those best-placed to do something about it. But if they refuse, what then?

What can we do if we are being bullied and those in a position to help, refuse?

Keep seeking help in whatever way you can, wherever you can and do not become intimidated.

Each time you fail to demand help, another bully wins. 

Susan Boyle's Interview With Piers Morgan - Taking the Path of Truth

I sat and watched the Piers Morgan's interview with Susan Boyle this evening and was impressed by Susan's refreshing honesty above all else.  Susan confided openly, for the first time, an introspective view of her enforced stay at The Priory.  She felt she had lost everyone.  She felt 'dumped'.  It took her a year to get over that experience.  How easy it was to imagine that she quickly put it behind her in the light of the phenomenal success of her career.

Susan spoke about the childhood experiences that shaped her life.  The psychological damage Susan suffered at the hands of the bullies who haunted her childhood has left scars.  It seems in many ways her childhood was an uphill battle.  She resented bitterly that she had been labelled as 'less than whole'; that she would 'never amount to anything' and made it quite clear that she has spent her life proving doctors and other people wrong.

That is a very natural response when one has been labeled as something one is not.  I applaud her for her courage and for her tenacity.  Through sheer determination she persisted because she knew they were wrong. 

I can relate to that.....

Susan Boyle has struggled all her life for the truth she knew existed to be recognised.  Her path was hard and it took courage for her to remain fixed on her goal whilst all around her used their best powers of persuasion to stifle her.

The recognition that she is 'a worthwhile person' is a truth that she fought hard for, and ultimately won.  It was confidence in her God-given talent that ensured she never fell from her chosen path.  That reminds me of a quotation I read somewhere,

"Hiding in the shadows of falsehood, makes it impossible to move forward."  How true that is and well it can be applied to life generally.