It’s to Laugh…well almost..
Posted by barnstablebeat on April 4, 2008
One of my favorite television shows is Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone, the original version not the later remakes. The original show ran for 5 seasons with four seasons of 30 minute shows and one season of 60 minute shows. Many actors who appeared on this classic show would go on to bigger and better things in their careers. One of those actors is Jack Klugman who is known best for the series The Odd Couple and Quincy M.E.
Jack Klugman starred in the fifth season premier of The Twilight Zone, in a episode entitle “In praise of Pip”. In the episode Klugman plays a bookie named Max Phillips who receives word that his son Pip has been mortally wounded in Vietnam. After receiving the news Klugman as Phillips delivers a speech about his son. The speech ends with the following line: “It’s to Laugh. I swear it’s to Laugh.
I saw this Twilight Zone episode again recently on the Sci-Fi channel and it made think about some recent happenings in our local blogosphere. In case readers of this blog have not seen it or are unaware, there is another blog here on blogger, that has been set up to lampoon this one. I have until now chosen intentionally not to address this blog. However I have decided that I now must address this impostor blog.
I must begin by saying that my initial reaction to this new blog was heated anger. I was angry because I felt that my hard work and the time I have spent on my blog were being poached. After I decided to let a little time pass I realized that anger was completely the wrong emotion. In fact I have come to the conclusion that the correct emotions for this situation are pity and sadness.
While I don’t know the identity of the owner of this other blog I have a good idea who it is and that is where the sadness comes in. The owner of this other blog is believed by me and many others to be a woman. What brings about the most sadness is the damage that one woman can do to an entire community of bloggers.
People have had to moderate their blogs, close them to only invited or regitsered guests because of one woman. She can’t seem to control her obsessions, needs a place to be a victim, creates multiple websites and blogs, and claims to be a victim. She believes we are all obsessing over her next move, when in reality we are all living our lives, ignoring her. She hammers away at the keyboard finding new ways to spread her hate, while others have closed the doors on her no longer interesting in her role as victim. Very few people are participating in blogs, now, beause she has decided that to blog is to hate.
This blog has never been about hate in any way shape or form but rather a place for information and discussion of issues here in Barnstable. I operate this blog and only this blog, just as Gary Lopez writes and operates only one blog. The person who is running the blog that seeks to poke fun at this one is also operating 18 other blogs attacking The Town of Barnstable by various means.
I can’t begin to fathom the drive that results in the need to create nearly 20 blogs for the purpose of trying to prove a point. In fact I am still not sure why this person created that blog that mimics this one. This is where the pity I mentioned above comes into play because that is what I truly feel about this. It’s a pity that someone has gone to the trouble to mimic this blog because they think that this blog is boring and or a snooze fest.
If the fact that my approach on this blog is to be informative rather then entertaining is this persons biggest cause, then yes I pity them. I myself read and comment on a number of other blogs both local and distant and never once made an isssue of the style or presentation of those blogs. Such behavior by this other blogger has only made me feel the emotions mentioned above and come to the conclusion that my anger would be completely wasted in the case.
It’s to laugh. I swear it’s to laugh. Well almost anyway.
April 4, 2008 at 1:07 pm
The actions of this other blogger are surely symptoms of mental illness. You are right to be sad, but it is also somewhat frightening. It must be terrible to be a target of such an unbalanced individual. Hopefully she will eventually burn out her hate and anger and move on. If not, at some point I hope that the police are able put a stop what seems like an increasingly dangerous situation.
April 4, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Pathetic! spending the time creating numerous blogs and making stories up, pretending to be a victim, sensationalizing and seeking attention. Nobody wants to hear this person and nobody comments on these 20+ blogs except for the operator herself. Pathetic!
April 4, 2008 at 5:09 pm
The Town of Barnstable is far from perfect. If there is any doubt, force yourself to watch last night’s council meeting. Even if town affairs were run perfectly, the many problems this community faces will require a great deal of skill and even luck to surmount. There is room, even a need, for input from many sources. Barnstable needs a responsible and thoughtful opposition to operate at peak efficiency, to constantly offer new approaches and question the status quo. The idiots, thugs, and demagogues who have hijacked political dialogue over the past few years have done damage it will take too long to repair. By pushing their own petty vendettas, by demonstrating a total ignorance of sound tactics and basic decency they have undermined many residents who actually care about Barnstable. We can only hope their current absence becomes permanent.
April 4, 2008 at 10:05 pm
It is sad that one woman can be so obsessed that she spends her days working that hate and setting herself up as a victim. Too bad nothing can be done to stop her, that is an injustice.
So the other blogs have all shut their doors and slowed down or stopped posting.
It is one thing to be critical of a town, but when gadflies become obsessed we all lose.
April 4, 2008 at 11:00 pm
She doesn’t allow comments on her multiple copycat blogs.
She is the only one who comments
April 5, 2008 at 3:51 am
Do sound tactics and decency really work in Barnstable? If so, what are they? What did Mary Clements say on March 6th that was out of order? From what I could gather from the tapes, she was merely commenting on information she found on the blog operated by the town council president. Have you ever examined the wrongful nature of the posts on the seven villages blog? That is what has so many people outraged and turned off to blogs in general. I cannot find six, let alone 18 blogs about this town at the moment. Where are they?
April 5, 2008 at 11:39 am
TJ,
Now that the Wizard of COG has apparently bit the dust, and Muffy has retreated to Boston affairs, Ms. T will soon also be an afterthought, as she is at best a bit player in the drama of Barnstable, not a leading lady.
I hope that we can now start to use blogs to have dialogue on topics of local concern, and end the days of hate.
Barnstable is far from perfect, but then so is every other town and city that I know of. Look at the turmoil in our neighboring towns over budgets, school construction, overrides, firings, etc, and we currently don’t look so bad.
I look forward to some future posts dealing with the ongoing Charter Commission meetings, and the varied public input they have been receiving. I hope your readers have taken the time to get off their asses and go to a CC meeting, and provide their comments, as nothing beats one-on-one dialogue, and even the best blog is a poor second.
April 5, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Any mutant clone blog based on this one is not the product of satire. It is the product of envious resentment. Some psychologist could devote hours analyzing and explaining the mentality behind the delusional and obsessive hatred polluting the local blogosphere. He or she would be well advised to wear a hazmat suit while doing so. Twisted motivations come and go, but disgusting remains disgusting.
April 5, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Do to the fact that some of those blogs I mentioned were opened in the names of family members of town officials I am refraining from publishing the list of them for now
TJ
April 5, 2008 at 8:57 pm
You act like this stuff is illegal when it is not. Are you intentionally trying mislead your readers?
April 5, 2008 at 10:24 pm
No it’s not illegal just highly aggravating and annoying.
April 6, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Coddah hit the nail right on the head. “Ms. T” for the king of cog was never about being a good contributor to his blog, she was all about the entertainment. Now she has become a liability and has been shut off. She has created 18/20 blogs to keep the hate train moving. Unfortunately the only one commenting on her blog’s is herself or her sister from Ohio. There is no interest there at all. She has already become a thing of the past. Thank you TJ for continuing with your blog and keeping her out!