No complaints about your summation and it was instructive to see another opinion on something I was so inside of. I might ad that during the craziest period Bob was trying to play both Robin and me, and it was Robin who got the worst of that.
When Robin first came here I viewed him as an interesting resource but it took a long time for me to figure out which side of the tracks he rode. And I didn't care. When we were chirping about Lady Gaga I think we both sounded like a couple of old queens! So my comment to you that if I met him in person it wouldn't surprise me if he showed up in a woman's dress was not meant to be a putdown, he was just so unusual and flamboyant that I couldn't put my finger on what he would look like. Nothing would surprise me and if it had been a dress I would have said, "of course, now it all makes sense". But it was the wild unpredictability of him that I enjoyed. It made me write more flamboyantly and I enjoyed that. What I appreciated from you POV was your catching that at a certain point the long time it took to decipher and respond to Robin's posts became a burden. My other responsibilities had changed over the months of our correspondence, so I started picking a few things to comment on and not putting as much time in. I think you put your finger on when the wheels came off. I couldn't sustain it. He needed to also back off instead of doubling down to maintain it. At that time he also reacted to some posts I made to others where my more Christopher Hitchins side came out concerning religion and spirituality. When talking to Robin I naturally held back the amount of snark more natural for me in discussing religion, but given a full unbuffered dose, I think he also came to like me less. I believe he was wary that he might be the next target if he chose to reveal his true inner mystical experiences. He rightly assessed, I think, that my view would probably not follow his own concerning the ultimate importance of his inner world. Of course I could be wrong, but that is my sense. I think he was looking for a substitute for real friendships here with the expectations we have for people in our offline lives and due to the nature of the place that seems unlikely. You just can't stay in rapport with everyone and still use the place to express unfettered opinions about sensitive topics. And for me, that is its deeper value. I need a place to write what I am trying to figure out, not a place to find friends. I have found people I consider friends along the way, but that is also because they don't try to interfere with my main mission here, they egg me one. Sometime in a positive way, you, sometimes in a negative way, Judy. Anyway, thanks for the invitation for my two cents. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > Just to fill in the blanks a little, Ann, from my > > > point of view... > > > > Just a further caution, Ann, pay no attention to that > > scurrilous rumor you may have heard about me once having > > been a synopsis writer for Soap Opera Digest. That's a > > damned lie. I was never in that building on Melrose > > Avenue. :-) > > And, as a request, if Curtis or anyone else feels that > my synopsis of The Robin-Curtis-Vaj Thang is inaccurate, > please say so. Jaded and cynical it may be. But this is > really how I saw what went down. My view is admittedly > hampered by the fact that I never bothered to read Robin's > direct posts. But I *do* read Curtis' posts, and Vaj's, > and they'd quote what Robin had said, usually prefaced > with "ME" or "RC" or "RC1" or "RC2" to distinguish them > from things said by "Not-ME" or "Not-RC." :-) So from > time to time I'd skim what Robin had said that occasioned > such a funny comeback on Curtis' or Vaj's part. > > It is not only possible that my recollection of the whole > tempest in a pisspot is skewed, it is likely. As I've > said many times, I never found Robin very interesting. > But I *did* find some of the responses other people made > to his posts interesting. That's why I followed the Soap > Opera, one step removed. > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, awoelflebater <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > > > You also wrote, and this is interesting to me: > > > > > "He had many ways of phrasing my moral responsibility to > > > > > help make it right between them or speak up for him to > > > > > Barry. I didn't see the point, Barry wasn't ever going > > > > > to see him in a positive light. So what? Happens here > > > > > all the time." > > > > > > > > Now this I have to take exception to. When someone is your > > > > friend, someone who you have shared confidences with and > > > > who you are building a relationship with is it not natural > > > > to stand up for them when they are under fire? Now I don't > > > > know exactly what went down here but it was apparently > > > > enough to make Robin think you should have supported him > > > > under some verbal attack. Barry calling him a "drama queen', > > > > I think I saw it in a recent post, can't keep track, so > > > > many of them, but something like that with more context > > > > than I am aware of. > > > > > > Ann, here's my recollection of what went down. As > > > I'm not nearly as obsessive as Judy, I shall give > > > it from memory, rather than plowing through *literally* > > > hundreds of thousands of lines of text. > > > > > > Curtis was having generally amiable conversations with > > > Robin. At a certain point, I got the subjective impression > > > (which Curtis can correct me on if I got it wrong) that he > > > was starting to either tire of the endless back and forth > > > or express to Robin that he really didn't have the time > > > to respond to Robin's endless, line-by-line demands for > > > further argument or discussion. My impression was that > > > Robin reacted to that slight -- very slight -- "pulling > > > away" on Curtis' part by going into Love Bombing mode. > > > Even in Message View I could see that he was doing every- > > > thing he could to "butter up" or praise Curtis, very much > > > as if he were trying to woo back an errant lover. > > > > > > I commented on the latter by saying something to the > > > effect that I got the subjective impression from Robin's > > > posts that he was writing them while dressed in drag, > > > and that his "Please come back home, little Sheba" > > > routine was starting to sound a lot like drag queens > > > trolling for straight boys on the Net. > > > > > > Robin went ballistic. My feeling is that what set him off > > > was the insinuation that he was gay, because that's what > > > he focused on. He tried to make it into a Really Big Deal > > > (rather than "guy banter" similar to what Curtis and I and > > > many other guys here have exchanged), literally becoming a > > > drama queen. I said so. Robin seemed unaware that there > > > is a difference between "drama queen" and "drag queen," > > > and kept harping on me "attacking him" by calling him gay. > > > Other people (the usual suspects) piled on. > > > > > > At one point, because Judy and the Pips were having such > > > a field day piling on to me, I mentioned that the image > > > of Robin posting in drag was not original with me. Curtis > > > had in fact made a joke about that very image in a > > > private discussion between the two of us. > > > > > > Robin went even more ballistic. He went, in fact, bat > > > shit crazy. He somehow interpreted my use of the word > > > "image" to mean that I (and possibly Curtis) had gotten > > > hold of a photo of him in drag, and were threatening to > > > reveal it. Suffice it to say that I considered this > > > just more drama queen hysteria on his part, although > > > now officially over the line into paranoid psychosis. > > > > > > At that point, Curtis DID in fact step in and take me > > > to task, and rightly. I should never have associated > > > his name with the "posting in drag" imagery, because it > > > took place in an offline discussion between the two of > > > us that I should have kept private. I apologized, and > > > we have continued as friends. I hope. > > > > > > But Robin just couldn't let it alone. *Following Judy's > > > lead* he kept trying to harrange Curtis into dissing > > > me publicly for having dissed him publicly. He accused > > > Curtis of leading him on and only pretending to be his > > > friend. He played the "betrayed lover" to the hilt. > > > Curtis was having none of it, feeling (IMO rightly) > > > that it was up to him who to diss, not Robin or Judy. > > > > > > Robin went even more ballistic, this time towards Curtis, > > > and started writing these long screeds in which he'd do > > > what I assume he used to do in his "confrontations." He > > > listed point after point after point in which Curtis > > > was deficient as a human being or Bad, and literally > > > *demanded* that Curtis reply to them, point by point. > > > There were five original screeds written to Curtis, all > > > of them like this, not one of them (according to my > > > handy Word Count utility, not that I read them) less > > > than several thousand words long. > > > > > > Curtis was still having none of it, and (IMO wisely) > > > refused to be sucked into Robin's game. Robin did not > > > take this lightly. In fact, from my point of view he > > > reacted very similarly to what I inferred in my original > > > dig at him, like a jilted lover. He *kept* writing long, > > > nearly unreadable screeds about Curtis; he became as > > > obsessive and one-pointed about Curtis and trying to > > > "get him back" as a person can get. He embarrassed > > > himself thoroughly. > > > > > > About that time, Vaj brought up the story of the video > > > he'd seen of Robin striking students. And the rest you > > > probably know about. Robin, again allowing Judy to take > > > the lead, tried to imply that Vaj was a liar, and that > > > no such tape could ever exist (implying, of course, that > > > he had never struck any of his students). That snit-fit > > > hit the fan for a while, and then you showed up. > > > > > > If I am not mistaken, THAT is what precipitated Robin > > > leaving the forum, not anything subsequently. If I am > > > not mistaken, he did not *once* react publicly to your > > > presence here, Ann, or acknowledge you in any way. > > > When I made my post saying that your opinion on the > > > matter might be interesting, because of us all you are > > > the only one who witnessed him over a long period of > > > time, he reacted (before you could) with his "Open > > > Letter" to me, basically saying that he HAD, in fact, > > > struck students. > > > > > > And that brings us to the present... > > > > > > This is all subjective, of course, and from memory. > > > But this really IS how I saw what went down. I think > > > I can rest assured that certain persons currently > > > warming the Overposting Bench will have different > > > ways of seeing it. :-) > > > > > >
