Because my work deadline is over and I have some free time this morning, I thought I'd have a leisurely breakfast in one of my favorite writing cafes and write, rather than rush in to the office. Be warned. :-)
This warning may particularly apply to this post, because it's going to be one of those OPEN LETTERs that Robin Carlsen became so infamous for here on FFL. It is directed to a small group of people here, and its subject is...uh...in the Subject line. This small group -- consisting primarily of Judy, Ann, Jim, Ravi, and Richard/Willytex -- seem to spend almost ALL of their time on this forum penning screeds about the people they don't like, telling these people what's *wrong* with them, and exhorting them to *change*, and presumably become "more like them." So in this rap I'm asking the question that should be obvious to anyone who has noticed these people's "posting trends" -- WHO THE FUCK ARE *YOU* THAT WE SHOULD GIVE A SHIT WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT US? It's a question worth asking, n'est-ce pas? It was a question that should have been asked more often about Robin, too, back when he was penning his short-story-length "You *must* listen to all the things I'm telling you are wrong with you, and you *must* reply to each point I make, so that I can demonstrate how 'in control' I am" screeds. I mean, the guy was a substitute school teacher whose real-world accomplishments, as far as I can tell, consisted of having become a minor cult leader before being run out of town, writing a few books that no one read, and then hiding out for 25 years. And *we* were supposed to CARE what *he* thought of us? Give me a break. And Robin actually had more "street cred" than any of these others, who have taken up his mantle of "Read every word I write about you, respond to it point by point, and *change* into what I want you to change into." Judy is basically a stay-at-home glorified schoolmarm, correcting other people's writing for a living. She never met Maharishi, and never was any closer than the "cheap seats" to the spiritual movement she constantly tries to defend and make excuses for. She doesn't seem to have had any spiritual experiences worth writing about, and doesn't seem to have any personal life worth writing about. That's probably why she focuses so much on other people. Jimbo is a retired tech trainer whose primary accomplishment in life seems to be being the only person on planet Earth to believe his claim that he's enlightened. As far as I know, he never met Maharishi or was really involved with anything TMO, either. Ravi never even *learned* TM, and is here only because he can get people to pay attention to him, something he never seems to have accomplished in real life. I mean, we're talking about a guy who has left "breadcrumbs" of his life in his posts here that record a steady stream of losing jobs, losing his family, and losing his mind. And yet he feels that *he* has the right to lecture others and tell them what's *wrong* with them? Ann I don't know much about, and to be honest don't care to. She has struck me since shortly after her first appearance here as primarily a spoiled-little-rich-girl groupie type, who has a history of glomming onto people more charismatic than she is and emulating them. I don't know whether she ever met Maharishi, either, or any other real spiritual teacher. (Hint: Robin doesn't count.) Richard's an Internet troll from Texas with a sordid past involving prairie dogs that we won't go into here for reasons of propriety. But these are just the impressions I've gained of these people based on what they've written to Fairfield Life, and may not reflect the whole story. So I'm offering each of them the opportunity to reply to this OPEN LETTER and "set the record straight." We all know by this time that nothing we can possibly say can stop you from spending most if not all of your 50 posts per week ragging on your avowed "enemies" on this forum and exhorting them to "Change, damnit!" We know that you will all continue to demand apologies for actions that didn't concern you, and that only affected other people. We may *suspect* that the reason you do this is that you have nothing else going on in your own lives, and thus have to spend all your time focusing on the lives of others. But here is your chance to correct all these "false impressions" of who you are, and present some reason WHY we should bother to read the stuff you write about your "enemies" here, much less CARE about it if one of us happens to be the "enemy du jour." Tell us a little about yourselves. Go into detail. Tell us about your real-world accomplishments, and the number of people who in real life look to you as a veritable pillar of wisdom on the basis of them. Explain to us the WHY of your seeming assumption that we "should" take you seriously, and "should" be affected by the things you write about us. Here's your chance. Don't blow it. We'll wait...
