Assume that he has been less than judicious in his replies.
Assume that he has been condescending at times.
Assume that his knowledge of gum is basic and not as advanced as Judy's.
Assume that he only steps in with vigor when the topic is gum.
Assume that his posts have been technically trite.
Should he have to endure hearsay evidence from a psychiatrist that he has a
"mummy" complex?
Should he be called a "stalker?"
Should he be called a "masher?"
When he says some thing nice, is it always condescending?
As far as starting a thread on his own, I think his threads on the Bath
Symposium speak for themselves. Maybe not technical in the direct scope,
but certainly honorable. I think the implication was that he was not able
to initiate anything on his own. Evidence points otherwise.
Terry's transgressions in his posts, if they are real, are perceptions. I
strongly suspect that once one is in a certain frame of mind to see the
posts and comments in a certain light, that the perception is self
reinforcing. (I too can enlist a little pop psychology.) We have had quite
a bit of help in interpreting them.
One needs no interpreting to understand the character assassination
described above.
I met Terry in Bath and found him to be charming. I discussed briefly the
Judy situation with him, and could not get him to denigrate Judy in the
least, and far from it, he expressed a desire to end the hostilities. Now
we are close to the same age and are both card carrying members of the "old
boy" network, so I suspect that if there was some hidden agenda, I would
have seen a glimpse of it. Having been on this planet for 57 years, and I
pride myself on being a skeptic and a scientist, I think I am pretty good
at spotting these hidden attributes. Of course it may only be evidence of
his total deviousness.
I am sure that if Judy were still on the list, she would not miss the
opportunity to get in the last word and give a new "interpretation" of
Terry's charm.
I have corresponded with and talked to Judy since 1982 -- 17 years -- of
course with some blank years along the way. I correspond frequently
off-line, chatting about current books and other things not related to
photography. I have strong positive feelings for her although please don't
interpret this as a "mummy" complex. As several off-line messages to me
have said that the situation just got out of hand, and I agree.
I just think that Terry, whatever transgressions he might have made, should
not have to endure the kind of character assassination thrown at him
lately. He is not perfect, I am not perfect, and Judy is not perfect. Sure
wish we could all start over.
Dick Sullivan
Bostick & Sullivan
PO Box 16639, Santa Fe
NM 87506
505-474-0890 FAX 505-474-2857