Questioning Anne Rice

I have been sworn to secrecy which is why I will not reveal my sources for this post. It appears, despite Athena Parker's claims, Carroll Bryant can keep secrets, and there are some who know this to be true. There are plenty of people out there who trust me just fine. That being said, let me fill you in on some thoughts and questions I have been having lately regarding Anne Rice's involvement with this fight against author bullying, and show you some evidence of Ms. Rice's own words that leads me to question perhaps her own agenda.

Back when Anne Rice first started to get involved with this fight, I just naturally assumed, like others have done, that she did her homework on all the players involved. At the very least, I figured she did / or would do soon enough, her homework on the primary players anyway. But I was wrong. She didn't. Not my words, but hers. You'll see them for yourself shortly in this post. Meanwhile, when she appeared onto the scene, my first thought was: "Great, now we will get big-time media attention and maybe other well known and well established authors will follow her lead."

That never materialized either. 

So here we are, six months later after Anne Rice got involved and still, no other big time author has joined the fight. No major media attention. Not on the major news media outlets on the internet nor on the major news stations on TV like Fox, CNN, or even MSNBC. It would appear as though the great Anne Rice can't inspire others to get involved. But why? It should be major news, right? It's cyber bullying we are talking about here and cyber bullying in general is big time news! So why all the crickets surrounding Anne Rice's involvement? The answer is simple. The answer is obvious. (At least it should be.) The answer can be found in Anne Rice's own words. 

But first, I sent out some emails to various websites / news sites to try and make contact with someone who might be able to help me with this question. Lucky for me, a few decided to FINALLY respond. To those people I say, thank you very much. 

While I had already came to my own possible conclusions to that question, I was elated to learn that I wasn't the only one who saw it too. Now let's kick this off and get right to the nitty gritty of it all. We'll begin with this screenshot from Anne Rice's Facebook page. (These screenshots no longer can be found due to the fact that Anne Rice herself has already deleted them.) 

You see, it all looks good on the surface, doesn't it? I mean, Anne Rice trying to explain her position and why she supports STGRB. Unfortunately, and what you will soon learn, this is more a case of the blind leading the blind. The fact is, Anne Rice doesn't have a clue as to why she is supporting STGRB and soon, her own words will demonstrate this. Truth be told, because of her own words, I, like many others more important than myself, question the Anne Rice agenda. You'll see what I am talking about shortly. 

Now, in her post, she shows a screenshot of Nenia Campbell "carpet bombing." And while I totally agree with Anne Rice in her post, and support ending fake ratings and reviews of books, my primary objective was to help STGRB stomp out the attacking of authors in book reviews. (Real reviews or fake reviews.) That to me is where the real bullying aspect derives from. 

While I also would like to end fake ratings and reviews altogether, I am realistic enough to know that this is a slippery slope. The slippery part being how to prove a rating of any kind is indeed a fake rating? There are times when a bully will confess their fake one star rating by saying they never read the book and yet they still leave a one star rating on it. These obvious fakes should be deleted by Goodreads and Amazon period! But too often times they are not. And where Anne Rice and I differ (as well as STGRB and Athena Parker) is that I am also against 5 star ratings. We'll get into that later in the post. (Like right now.)

This next screenshot raises that very issue. 

Mary Ingles mentions fake 5 star reviews.

Here is the Anne Rice response.

Did you see it? Anne Rice doesn't assume that 5 star ratings are fake. She also asks why should fake 5 star ratings be considered a problem? Evidently, she sees nothing wrong with fake 5 star ratings. Unfortunately, Anne Rice, fake 5 star ratings are just as bad as fake one star ratings because ... because ... wait for it ... because ..... THEY'RE FAKE! THEY'RE FRAUDULENT! 

In my book, fake 5 star ratings are just as much bullying as fake one stars. They do just as much - if not more - damage than fake one stars. The reason is because they are still misleading potential readers. 

But as I stated earlier, fake ratings and reviews are difficult to prove unless the person doing the fake rating / reviewing admits that they never read the book. Beyond that, it's a tough call. A slippery slope. I have mentioned before that if I had to choose between a fake one star rating and trashing of my book or a book review / rating (real or fake) of the reviewer trashing me on a personal level in a book review, I would choose the fake one star. It's the attacking of authors on a personal level in a book review that I consider true actual bullying. You know what I'm talking about. The ones that say, "I hate this author. This author is a stalker. This author is a rapist. This author is a pedophile." - And so on and so forth. 

But after reading that comment by Anne Rice, I am led to believe that she only stands against fake one stars, but fake five stars are just peachy keen?

This is not right. This is flat out wrong. And this is why questions of Anne Rice's agenda come to the forefront of my mind. Is she really against author bullying or just against one star reviews? Over the past few weeks I have discovered that I am not the only one who asks that question and or is confused by what it is exactly that Anne Rice truly stands for. On top of that, it seems to be okay with her that people who leave five star reviews needn't leave an in-depth review of the book to prove they actually read it, yet she seems to be against one star ratings where the reviewer fails to leave a full in-depth review of the book to prove they read it. And again, I find this terribly wrong and hypocritical of her. 

Now Zarah Robinson comes forth to ask a question. Anne Rice responds. 

At this point, it is apparent that Ms. Rice isn't aware of Zarah's history. Zarah posts again and then Athena Parker chimes in. 

Now the two seem to work things out. The conversation goes on a little longer, but my point with this is that even in the heat of the war, there are innocent casualties. My point of reason is that there shouldn't be. STGRB needs to be more careful. It is apparent that even Athena Parker makes mistakes yet I get the feeling she doesn't want to be condemned for it like she condemned me for my one time mistake. After all, we have already seen first hand on this blog how much of a liar and hypocrite Athena really is. 

Now we come to an interesting slew of comments. It starts with Yvonne Mason then leads to an outright battle between Yvonne and Flora Bellini. (Not to worry, we're getting closer to some sketchy comments made by Anne Rice.)

On the surface, it would appear that Flora makes an interesting case. On the one hand, if authors don't want to be bullied by reviewers, then maybe some authors should stop bullying reviewers. It makes logical sense except, where Flora is concerned, it's none of her business. None of Yvonne's comments towards those other reviewers have anything to do with her personally, so my question to Flora would be, what business is it of yours? Whomever Yvonne picks a fight with it is strictly between her and that reviewer. Not between Flora and or any other person, bully or otherwise. Wouldn't you agree? 

Personally, I think authors are perfectly justified to question any reviewer's review. The bullies seem to think that after an author writes and publishes their work, that work now belongs to them and or readers and reviewers. Nothing could be further from the truth. That work still belongs to the author. And I don't think that authors truly believe their books are their children, that would be borderline dementia to me. But it's still their work. No different than if I built a house and someone came along and began telling me where I went wrong in my design. I have every right to turn to them and say, "Shut the hell up." if I so please. From that point on, that little battle is between me and that person, not me and that person and their friends. Catching my drift here? 

There lies the problem. When an author gets into it with one of their readers or reviewers, backup is always called in and then the proverbial shit really does hit the fan. And that's where the problem truly lies. All of this bullying is nothing more than others, who have no business with other people's squabbles, get involved. So while I understand where Flora is coming from, and to a certain point, I agree with her, she has to understand that whatever takes place between an author and someone else is of no business of hers. Even if the reader / reviewer involved is a friend of hers. It is, flat out simply, none of her business.

But in this next series of comments, I can really begin to see Flora's point even more when Yvonne comments back to Flora. 

Yvonne says the absolutely wrong thing here. She tells Flora that she (Flora) - "should have asked her (Yvonne) before she (Flora) went looking" for information about her (Yvonne.)

Seriously Yvonne? Still, Flora lets her have it. (Keeping in mind that this is still (or was) on Anne Rice's Facebook page which she later deleted.) I now wonder why Anne Rice deleted it? Maybe because it made her argument look bad. You know, Yvonne's attitude was more out of line than that of Flora. (And Yvonne is the author here.)

The only problem I have with Flora's response to Yvonne is: "... Sure she was wrong posting one star reviews on your book, but you provoked her ..." 

Just because two people do not get along and someone provoked the other is still no excuse for that person in question to falsely rate and review books one never read in the first place. That is a bully maneuver plain and simple. If the person who was provoked by an author wants to retreat to their blog and or group and bitch about an author and their behavior, fine, but to falsely lie about reading a book and or attacking that author by way of their books is one hundred percent wrong - end of story. In my world, there is absolutely no defense what-so-ever to lying about reading a book when you didn't, no matter the situation. Unfortunately, Flora doesn't seem to understand this. As for the rest of Flora's comment? I totally agree. 

And as for Yvonne's behavior to this point? Huge fail! 

Now let's move on to another comment. 

There's no way to confirm Nettie's comment, but in short, I do agree with her assertions that it is hard to stand behind STGRB when they resort to using bully tactics themselves. And I can relate to her position. Before they covered my attack, STGRB did doc drop. Sure, they deleted it afterwards, but they still doc dropped. I saw the screenshot first hand once. Even Rick Carufel has evidence / screenshots of where STGRB doc dropped - posted on his blog. And as we seen earlier, even STGRB leaves casualties of war behind like Zarah Robinson. 

The comment by Mysti Parker (any relation, Athena?) is a bit concerning though, and I'll tell you why. It has a little bit to do with my opening to this post where I question Anne Rice's reason for fighting this fight. You see, Anne Rice gave the appearance that she knows why she supports STGRB when in truth, and as we are about to see, she doesn't know why. Poor Mysti thinks Anne is telling the truth about everything, unfortunately, we are about to discover that Anne Rice herself doesn't really know the truth about STGRB. And it all starts to come out when Autumn Turner leaves a comment. At this point, Anne doesn't realize that Autumn has been covered by STGRB as a bully. 

My problem with Anne Rice and her "truthfulness" is; she is not very truthful here in her comment. STGRB are NOT the only ones out there trying to do something about the filth on Amazon. I do posts about the bullies and news flash! So does Rick Carufel. (Sorry if that bursts the Anne Rice "truth" bubble for you, Mysti.) So when I see Anne Rice asking; "Who else is doing anything about it?" - The answer is clear. I am. Rick Carufel is.

The only difference is, Rick and I use our real identities. That takes a lot more courage. Plus, he and I do not attack and or bully others who might simply disagree with us like STGRB does. And Anne Rice would know this if she ever did her research. But she doesn't. (Her words, not mine.) 

In her second comment, Anne Rice states how much the bullies lie. That is true. They lie at every turn. However, had she ever done her research about STGRB, she would see that they lie too. Just saying. Now we get to the meat and potatoes of this post. 

Anne Rice is thinking the exact way I used to think when it came to STGRB using fake names to fight the bullies. However, what I later learned is, there is a reason why Athena Parker is using a fake name. And that reason isn't exactly what Anne Rice thinks it is. The cause would be better served if everyone knew who STGRB really was. And in fact, through my sources, one of the reasons why the major media outlets won't pick up this story despite Anne Rice's involvement is because STGRB uses fake names to fight the fight. 

You see, there is too many questions revolving around Athena Parker being Melissa Douthit. And it is a fact that Melissa Douthit was caught on Goodreads using in excess of 20 sock puppets. This is why she got banned from Goodreads in the first place. And no reputable news outlet or author will join the "fight" with Anne Rice because of this. And this is why, six months later, even someone as widely famous as Anne Rice isn't able to get the mainstream media to cover it. Evidently, from what I have learned, these reputable news sites share the same concern as most others do. That STGRB is now a "liability" to the integrity of the fight. And let's face it, at this point, it would only benefit the fight if STGRB finally, once and for all, revealed themselves. But maybe the reason they continue to not do this is because their identities alone would kill their credibility, and that of the fight against the bullies. It's something to think about. 

Then Anne Rice lies again. She says she has been to the STGRB site and that she has read their posts, and in doing so, she doesn't see STGRB attacking or bullying people. I guess she missed the part where they called Rick Carufel a "coke monkey"? Sounds like an attack and bullying to me. But only when you consider that Rick isn't going around bullying people and you know, STGRB is an anti-bullying site? Nor does she see where they attack me. So again, I struggle with the accuracy of her words there. Especially in some upcoming screenshots where she confesses that she doesn't keep up with everything. That's coming. Meanwhile, we also saw Autumn, to her small credit, inform Anne Rice that STGRB did a post on her and labelled her as a bully. Why is this significant? You'll see. 

Yes, Athena Parker jumps in to update Anne Rice (publicly) about Autumn Turner. (Why she couldn't have done this privately? I don't know. Just saying.) 

Then Athena states that their hosting company didn't ask them to leave. Instead, Athena left them because she didn't agree with their ToS. 

Really, Athena? And was this the same ToS you read before / when you signed up with them? Or did you not read their ToS prior to signing up with them? I may not be a smart man, but I do know that if I am going to sign up with a host for my website, one of the first things I am going to do is read their ToS. If I have a problem with it, that would be the time to NOT sign up with them. Especially after I just left a host prior to signing up with the second host after having problems with their ToS too.

If you all recall, back at the beginning of 2013, STGRB left their first host because they didn't agree with their ToS. The bullies were making so many complaints that the host kept taking them off-line periodically. So STGRB made a switch. I would think, after dealing with those ToS problems, the first thing I would have done when switching to the second host, I would read their ToS. But apparently, Athena Parker didn't do that. Perhaps she has done this with her current host, her third host in three years.

In this next screenshot, we see Anne Rice going off the rails and laying into Autumn big-time. 

First off, Anne says; "It's all so dense and hard to follow." - Really Anne? But I thought you were following everything just fine? What is so difficult? Hearing truths about STGRB? Is that what is so dense and hard to follow for you? Just asking. 

Then Anne rips Autumn for having so many "identities". Funny, I don't see her ripping Athena Parker / Melissa Douthit for having so many identities. *Scratches head*

Apparently, if you're a fake and a fraud, and passing yourself off as a good guy, you're okay. But if the fake good guy posts about a fake bad guy then ..... you know what? These shenanigans are confusing me. 

Anne's second comment accuses Autumn of not informing her that STGRB has posted about her when she started asking questions and leaving comments on Anne's Facebook page. But wait! Sorry Anne Rice, but you lie again. To her credit, she did mention it to you. Here, let me show you. Please read the last comment.

You see Anne, she did mention it. So maybe next time you will slow your roll a little. Just saying. And she mentioned it actually before Athena got involved with the conversation. Normally, I don't agree with bullies, but in this case, you were actually wrong here, Anne. Maybe that's why you deleted this thread? Just asking.

Then Anne reiterates her support for STGRB while ranting on about all the games being played. She leaves it with a saying that she actually got wrong. She says: "What a tangled web we weave when we purpose to deceive."

Actually, it goes like this: "What a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive."

Just saying.

Any hoot, perhaps that's a question she could ask STGRB? Good guys or bad guys, it is wrong to hide behind a fake name or multiple fake names. Credibility for either side is questionable both ways. I like to look at it like this: Would you support a website that condemns child molestation? Of course you would. But what if that website was run by an anonymous owner? Probably yes, right? You would still support their cause of condemning child molestation. However, what if at some point it was revealed that the owner of that site was a convicted child molester? See what I mean? Wouldn't you have liked to know about that person ahead of time? Now translate that to the anonymous folks over at STGRB. 

But that fact that Anne says everything is so hard to follow tells me that perhaps she isn't doing her homework on STGRB or the situation. Perhaps she jumped into the water before testing the depth. If you remove your emotions from the equation, it's not very hard to follow at all. Perhaps if Anne Rice did her research, she would be more knowledgeable about the players involved. The thing is, Anne Rice simply sees the surface of the water and not what lies beneath it. Heck, she seems to think that STGRB are the only ones fighting and reporting on the bullies. That should be the tell tale sign of her lack of research. 

And again, this is why after six months of campaigning, no major news media outlet has jumped on the train. Because, from what I was told, not only are there lingering questions surrounding STGRB, Athena Parker and others, but nobody is really sure where Anne Rice stands. Is she against author bullying, or one star reviews? (Fake or otherwise?) And if she is against author bullying, why support a website that evidence shows they bully authors too? And leave innocent victims (casualties of war) in their wake? And who uses fake names? 

If it's a stand against fake ratings and reviews, then why are one stars not allowed and yet, fake five stars are okay? 

You see Ms. Rice, it's really not as complicated as you make it out to be. The thing is, you got too close to a fake person and bought into her lies based on what you see on the surface. Perhaps it would be wise for you to don your scuba suit and go below the surface of the waters and investigate. Perhaps it's time to start doing your research? Better late than never. I was fooled once too, and for over a year, which is why I am holding out hope for you to come around and face the ugly truth. That yes indeed, STGRB really is a hate site. You just can't see the forest because of the trees. I was like that once upon time also. 

Perhaps if you read other blogs and posts regarding STGRB then you would realize your situation. Yes, I am with you that these bullies are horrible people. No argument there. I fight them head on using my real identity. So does Rick Carufel. And yes, for the most part, STGRB has done a lot of good. But they are not completely innocent. They are like a good cop who breaks the law just to nail the bad guys. I could never support such a cop or that kind of method. If you're going to fight the good fight, do so in the proper manner. You need not have to become a crook to catch a crook. And that's exactly what STGRB has resorted to. Their tactics have come under scrutiny. The rest of the reputable media sees this, so why can't you? Your love affair with Athena is blinding you from the truth. 

And the reputable media outlets will not cover you and your campaign because they know that you will lead everyone to STGRB .... and STGRB is cluttered with controversy and question marks galore. And no reputable media outlet will risk their reputation for a website full of anons. And that's what my sources tell me. 

I am not defending Autumn Turner in the least here. But if she insulted you in the beginning, Anne, then why didn't you state that in your first response? And again, as for her hiding the fact that STGRB did a post about her, why should that even matter? Just because STGRB says someone is a bully you just believe it at their word? You don't investigate the facts? Wouldn't it stand to reason that sometimes, STGRB could be wrong? And again, Autumn did mention that STGRB labeled her as a bully. I showed it twice. It just seems to me that you are jumping off a diving board with your eyes closed, and into an empty pool. The reputable media outlets will not do this. They did their research on STGRB. They have concluded that STGRB is not reputable. And the primary reason is, because you simply can't trust an anon from either side of the fight. 

As always, I wish you luck in your quest to fight the bullies. But my advice would be, do your research first. Make sure you know who the good guys really are. Support those who are brave enough to fight the bullies using their real identities. If you really are a spokesperson for authors, or hope to be, then support the authors, not a website full of anons. Support authors who were victimized by the bullies, not a website of anons who attack authors who were victimized by them, and call people "coke monkey". Not a website of anons where the owner has been proven a liar right here on this blog. Maybe you should try reaching out to various people and take a look at their evidence against STGRB. I tried to do that for you once upon a time but you refused to look at it. Don't get so hooked on the good cop gone bad, this isn't one of your novels. You can't write the happy ending to this story, fortunately, it will write itself one day. The fact is, if you want mainstream media outlets to pick up this story and assist your crusade against these bullies, you are going to have to do your research on STGRB. And then, you are going to have to accept the findings of that research and do the right thing. But only do your research when you can come down from your girl crush with Athena. It worked for me. I'm quite positive it will work for you as well.  Just saying.

I'm Carroll Bryant .... and this is The Looking Glass.

 
UPDATE:

I just learned of Rick Carufel's latest post regarding STGRB's lack of professionalism. Without any evidence to support their claim, they accused author Gavin Hetherington of being a thief. Because of their lack of responsibility for getting the truth, Gavin suffered at the hands of both the bullies, and STGRB. To make things worse, STGRB refuses to apologize to him for their mistake. Instead, they announced that Gavin! apologized to them? Yet another example of how STGRB leaves behind innocent victims (casualties of war) in the wake of their hate. And their disregard to any damages they may have caused him or emotional distress. 

This attack on Gavin, by STGRB, didn't happen because Gavin attacked an author or anything, oh no, they attacked Gavin after stalking the bullies and watching them "eat their own". They proceeded to mock the internal battles of the bullies by doing a series of posts titled, "Once Upon A Time In The Land Of Booklikes", as if they were trying to pick some kind of fight. This aggressive behavior by STGRB also led them to do a post titled, "Gavin The Thief Fiasco". 

While it is always humorous to watch the bullies turn on one another like animals, and we have seen that plenty of times the past couple of years, for STGRB to jump on that bandwagon and accuse Gavin of being a thief without evidence is a clear indictment on how STGRB lacks the proper training and qualifications to haphazardly call themselves an anti-bullying site. It also demonstrates why major news outlets and websites refuse to cover the great Anne Rice and her campaign to fight the bullies. It's also why Bullying.org doesn't want to be associated with them also. 

After condemning me for my mistake of writing a post about Mr. Lucy Flood in my effort to try and help, she goes out and hatefully (and wrongfully) accuses an author of being a thief, and we're all supposed to be okay with that?  Athena now sits upon her golden throne and accepts an apology from Gavin when in truth, she is the one who should have been apologizing to him. But that has always been my point, Athena never apologizes for her actions. Never! And she never will either. She never will because in truth, and as the evidence continues to show, she simply doesn't care. She's operating for her own personal and private agenda, which continues to roll on as she hides behind a fake name. I guess when you're sock puppet, you are entitled to operate that way. There's no accountability what-so-ever. Must be nice to be a sock. I wouldn't know. You would have to ask Athena Parker about that. Maybe even Anne Rice. But be fore warned, don't be surprised if Anne bans you for asking. Just saying. 

More than anything else, this should be further evidence that STGRB and Athena Parker simply can't be trusted. They are causing more harm to authors than helping them anymore. They are also hurting the fight against the bullies. They need to be held accountable for their indecent indiscretions against Gavin, and since they won't hold themselves accountable, you the people need to do it! 

Myself and Rick Carufel have been trying to warn you all about STGRB and their new practices. I hope now many more of you will start paying attention. You could be next on their hit list. And as for Gavin Hetherington? I don't know you. We have never interacted. Nonetheless, I am truly sympathetic to your unfortunate plight and encounter with the hate-site known as STGRB. I hope their premeditated assault on you didn't hurt your book sales. Not only do I hope you demand an apology from them, but I also hope you get it. You deserve it. 

On a lighter side, you'll never see myself or Rick Carufel do this. But that's only because we are motivated by truth, and justice .... not hate. He and I are fighting for a cause, not a hidden agenda.  

 

  

Bullying.org Denounces STGRB

Talk about being behind the times, I stumbled across a tweet posted by "Bullying.org" (posted in 2012) proclaiming that they do not endorse STGRB, and on top of that, Athena Parker put their banner up on STGRB "without" their permission.

One would think that for all of her belly-aching about me not getting people's permission to post stories about them (none of which she can give an example of) that she would practice what she preaches and get the permission of other websites first before "pretending" to be associated with them. Or at the very least, make it appear that those websites support STGRB. (Which they don't.)

Be that as it may, it would appear that Athena Parker can't even uphold the expectations for herself that of which she demands from others. In her world, only she is allowed to post without permission, and nobody else can!

Think she would adhere to their wishes of her taking any link to them down and off her hate site? Think again!

She still posts a link to "Bullying.org" - despite the fact that "Bullying.org" really doesn't want her linking to them. They want nothing to do with STGRB. They would rather STGRB didn't demonstrate any association with them. Apparently, Athena Parker couldn't care less what "Bullying.org" wants, she's too busy self-serving her own agenda. So much so that she lists them twice!

Hey Athena, practice what you preach! You don't have "Bullying.org" permission to link to them. They want nothing to do with you. You're not an anti-bullying site, despite your delusions otherwise.

I'm Carroll Bryant .... and this is The Looking Glass

Rick Carufel Files Complaint Against STGRB

Author Rick Carufel has officially filed a complaint against STGRB in the 3rd District Court of Minnesota. You can read all about it here.

This announcement also appears on his Facebook page. 

While I am not at liberty to release any further details, I did get a chance to talk with Rick, and have learned that his intentions is to also hopefully assist others who have been victimized by STGRB in the future to file similar complaints. 

The complaint itself also requests the true identity of the owner of STGRB, and all who post on the website. Speculation persists that the owner listed, Athena Parker, and author Melissa Douthit are one and the same. It is also widely believed that the other contributors of the site are also one person. Whether or not this is actually true, one thing is for certain, we could find out once and for all the identities of all contributors of STGRB.

If this complaint runs it course, this could also be a landmark case in the fight against anonymous owners and contributors of websites and those who use these websites to attack others online in an attempt to damage reputations and careers. 

STGRB originally came onto the scene about two years or so ago in an effort to combat online bullies and their attacks on authors on the book website Goodreads.com, and the Amazon Forum Boards. However, in recent months, they have turned their attacks towards select authors such as Rick Carufel, myself and others. 

STGRB has publicly referred to Rick Carufel as a "coke monkey" in the past, as well as targeting those who oppose their views. While their intentions may have been honorable in the beginning, it has become a place now where if you do not agree with STGRB on any level or issue, they publicly attack those people for the sake of public humiliation. 

If the lawsuit goes through, Mr. Carufel hopes to collect financial damages that STGRB has caused to his career. 

No word yet as to what world renowned author Anne Rice feels about this filing, or if she is even aware of it. Anne Rice has recently been endorsing STGRB while refusing to endorse Goodreads. One can only wonder the impact this could make on Ms. Rice's reputation and public image if STGRB is found guilty of any wrong-doing. 

I'll be keeping up on this story as it develops.  

I'm Carroll Bryant .... and this is The Looking Glass

STGRB Coattails Ellen Painter Dollar/Legal Issues

In the beginning, they were fighting for a purpose. Now, there are many scratching their heads over what exactly is the point of STGRB?

Here are screenshots of a post they published on May 13th, 2014, talking about troll-proofing the internet.

It would seem at this juncture, STGRB is against bullying of authors, and they claim that the comments made by Ellen Painter Dollar in her article represents the exact point that they (STGRB) has been driving home for two years. I ask, really, STGRB?

STGRB also says in the screenshot above that "Bullies have turned the web into a virtual cesspool of hate filled impropriety, targeted at anyone who ventured to articulate their disapproval of this behavior."

I think we should store this in our memory banks for now as this statement, and more to come, will come back to haunt them shortly.

I read the article by Ellen Painter Dollar and agree with it very much. 

But it appears to me that STGRB is once again flapping in the wind of hypocrisy. More of this hypocrisy can be seen further into their post. 

STGRB proudly proclaims that: "Time and again, STGRB has written blog posts of the damage "cyber-bullying" causes." And they ask you to "remember" their Charlotte Dawson post. Then they finish out that screenshot talking about how you should ignore the bullies and the horrible things they say about authors. And how it was considered dangerous to give these bullies any kind of attention or publicity. Then they state: "Mostly because there was so little support other than this site (STGRB) and a few brave authors who had taken it upon themselves (Carroll Bryant and Rick Carufel) to expose this abominable behavior. They did this knowing they were placing a bulls-eye on their foreheads for the bullies to throw poison laced knives at. But we (STGRB) did not quit."

Now obviously, STGRB did not mention who the few brave authors were that placed themselves in harms way of the bullies by standing up to them, nor did they mention myself or Rick Carufel. And since STGRB praises themselves in this post, allow me to do the same for myself and Rick Carufel. 

In the beginning, yes, STGRB did take a stand against bullying. I followed their lead and did the same. Then Rick Carufel emerged as one who stood up to the bullying. Look where it got us. Evidently STGRB has forgotten this in their memory banks. They took my attack and rode it like a white knight into the kingdom of Fame. (Until they made their deal with the GR devil.) It didn't take them long to turn on those who were / are fighting for the cause. The problem with this was: STGRB was fighting / is fighting for a different cause now. The Melissa Douthit cause. 

But at the end of the that screenshot above, they quote Ellen: "So when people attack us - when they don't merely disagree, but ridicule and dismiss and name call - it feels personal and is personal." - End of quote. 

I want you to keep that in mind also. "It feels personal because it is personal."

Then STGRB goes on in their post. 

STGRB admits that: "It's personal because the trolls mean it to be personal." AND "They want the feeling of satisfaction it gives them to "decimate another human-being" without being challenged."

Those are your words, STGRB. And here are your actions.

My questions to STGRB are this: 

1) Do you take satisfaction in attacking authors?

2) How is this not personal?

3) If you're a anti-bully site, then why bully authors who are not bullying others?

4) Does it please you to "decimate another human-being" like calling author Rick Carufel a "coke monkey"?

5) Did you go to the lengths you did to keep him and I from reading your posts in so that we wouldn't challenge you?

6) Are you not concerned that your attacks against Rick and myself could lead to another "Charlotte Dawson" tragedy? Or is it, you just don't care?

So which is it? Is STGRB and Athena Parker / Melissa Douthit really concerned about the bullying THEY do? Or the damage they might cause because of it? Especially when they claim to be an anti-bullying site and yet, they intentionally bully Rick Carufel and myself without any regards to the fact that he nor I have ever bullied anyone? What gives here? 

But as it turns out, Rick and I are no longer exclusive in their attacks. They are now beginning to attack other authors. (Rick would know more about that than I. Read his blog for more info on that subject matter.) 

My concern is this: That riding the coattails of Anne Rice wasn't enough, now they are going to ride the coattails of Ellen Painter Dollar too? And in hypocritical fashion at that. If I could give Ms. Dollar any advice it would be, contact STGRB and ask them, no, demand them to remove any mention of you or your article. 

Miss Dollar appears to be a very nice lady. It would be a shame to have her name tainted by association with that of the recently tainted name of STGRB.

Then STGRB posts some comments made by Ms. Rice - still riding that coattail. 

You are correct Ms. Rice, it isn't about authentic ratings and reviews, not for STGRB anyway, it's about "PERSONAL" to them. And you are endorsing this site? STGRB is attacking a friend of yours and fellow author, Rick Carufel, and you haven't a problem with that? Sorry if I have to scratch my head on that one. I mean, no offense, Ms. Rice, but if you are against bullying of authors, or any kind, which you claim, and I am trusted to believe, then how can you endorse a site that does just that? It really makes no sense. Or am I not allowed to question your position? 

I'm not trying to pick a fight with Ms. Rice in any way, shape or form, just asking a question or two. I hope at some point some of these, if not, all of these questions get answered someday. Perhaps someone can send Ms. Rice these questions and see if she cares to answer. That would be interesting. I have already conceded to the notion that my questions to STGRB will never be answered. Or maybe they already have been answered by their actions and words not meshing like they should. It seems to me that Ms. Rice is doing more to cover up the truth about STGRB than anything else. And this worries me. But how will that eventually go? I mean, her endorsement of STGRB? You see, STGRB is now in bed with Goodreads and I have it on record right here on The Glass that Anne Rice does not endorse Goodreads. Eventually, this may cause a conflict of interest between the parties, one would imagine, except for the fact that STGRB is riding the Anne Rice coattails for attention. 

That's what I'm seeing anyway. And how would I know that STGRB and GR are in cahoots? Maybe this comment from Rick Carufel will explain it. 

So, STGRB is waiting to hear back from Goodreads? Can we take that comment made by Athena Parker to indicate that Goodreads is revealing private information to Athena Parker and STGRB? Or is Athena Parker simply lying yet again to stir up the crowd? It has to be one or the other. I'll leave you all to figure which one of the two is correct. But if GR is providing STGRB with private / personal information, wouldn't that be against the law? Some of you may want to dig deeper on that one. If I were a member of Goodreads, I would certainly want to know the answer to that one. If they deny it, then I guess that would mean Athena Parker / STGRB / Melissa Douthit would be lying again. Kind of like the following lie by "Chewey" and "Johnny".

Oh, but "Chewey", I have debunked many Athena and STGRB lies against me. And now, we have another one that may be debunked because if GR is indeed turning over private information on members to STGRB, then someone is in a lot of serious legal hot-water. If not, then Athena / STGRB is lying. AGAIN!

I'm Carroll Bryant .... and this is The Looking Glass.

 

 

  

Compassion: Real Friends

Well, that didn't take long. I got two emails today already from a couple of people who stumbled onto an Amazon Forum Board link titled "STGRB", and they noticed that Rick Carufel is talking in a friendly manner with people who were once his enemy. These two people in question, who emailed me, wanted to know if Rick has jumped to the other side?

Before I get anymore emails from anyone else asking me that question, allow me to answer right here; No, Rick hasn't jumped to the other side.

To be honest, I think it's great if he has made friends with some of his enemies. Isn't that what life is all about? But does it bother me? Absolutely not! You see, I don't make it a habit to try and tell my friends who they can and cannot be friends with. It's not a good habit to get into. Seeing Rick talk respectfully to those who were once his enemy tells me that Rick has the ability for compassion. And it is from that compassion that allows him (all of us, really) to forgive and be forgiven.

Hey, we all make mistakes, it's only human of us to do so. In my past, I have wronged some people, we all have. It's human nature. But humans have the ability to make amends for those wrongs and ask for forgiveness. Without compassion, we cannot ask for forgiveness nor can we be expected to forgive.

I have had plenty of people who started out as my enemy in life only to become a friend later. I have also had friends who became an enemy. We all have. And it is within that compassion that humans are separated by the animals.

When I saw the same thing in that Amazon thread, I was instantly happy for Rick, and so damn proud too. It shows me that Rick has compassion. That's one of the highest qualities you can have in a friend. But here's the thing; it's also none of my business who rick is friends with. If Rick has the compassion within to mend fences, then I hope he mends them all. I really do.

A few months after I started this blog I had a few enemies (or bullies) who emailed me and apologized for their actions against me. When they asked me to forgive them, I did so. When they backed that apology up with actions and un-did their actions against me, I forgave them. I have never refused an honest and sincere apology in my life.

And again, it is that compassion we carry that allows us as people to make friends out of our enemies, and that's a good thing! Right? In fact, I think that if Rick can make friends out of some of his enemies, then that is something we all can take a lesson from. It sets a great example.

Hate is a disease. No doubt about it. Once you let it inside your heart, it is hard as hell to get rid of it. I have been there before. I know first hand how great it feels to hate something, or someone. It starts with a good reason but eventually, you find more and more things and people to hate and more and more reasons to hate them. Before you know it, you start looking for reasons to hate rather than looking for reasons to love or forgive. You start out one day hating one person and by the end of a year, you hate a hundred people. Years later, it turns into a thousand people until pretty much, you hate everyone. You lose that ability to show compassion. You have become an animal.

Trust me, I know how that story goes. It never does end well either. 

Take Athena Parker, and some of the members of the WIN group for example. When I made that mistake regarding Mr. Lucy Flood, didn't I own it? Didn't I apologize for it? And I did so publicly. But that wasn't good enough for Athena and the gang. They didn't accept that apology. They lacked compassion and in return, did to me what they did to Rick. They turned on me. 

Then Athena began to lie about me. Sent private emails I sent her to other people to get them to turn on me too. She even sent it to Rick to get him and me to fight. Athena and WIN began acting like the bullies they claim to stand against. And just like those bullies, they demonstrated a lack of compassion. An inability to forgive. And just like with the bullies, I had to turn to this blog to defend myself from her lies. 

Athena, and some of the WIN members, they show a lack of compassion. This is why a few of them are no longer my friend. This is why I left the group. I wasn't seeing a lot of compassion from them, only a lot of hate. That and because I left before they could boot me out.

But that's the thing: They didn't show Rick any compassion either. Don't think that little tidbit didn't sneak by me because it didn't. It always concerns me when a friend of mine shows a lack of compassion. I knew when they turned on Rick that anyone could be next. Even me. Especially me! Because I was one of a handful who stood by Rick during that time. And maybe it was because I continued to publicly support him as my friend that those people turned on me to. And maybe that's why they used the Lucy Flood post as "their reason".

The fact that Athena claims there was a group who was planning to file a class-action against Goodreads on behalf of bullied authors, but left myself and Rick out of the loop shows how little compassion they really have. And that in turn makes them no better than the bullies themselves. In fact, it makes them worse. 

But like Rick, I am proud that I too carry compassion. If one of my enemies reached out to me and asked for forgiveness, and supported that attempt with action, then I would have no problem at all accepting that apology and forgiving them. 

But it's hard for some people to do that. I doubt that Athena, like many of the bullies, would or could ever do that because people like Athena, they think they are always right about everything. That they don't have anything to apologize for. People like Athena allow hate inside and when you do that, forgiving others is not an option. Take her recent actions as a good example.

Athena has blocked so many ISP's and proxies to ensure that I nor Rick can read her blog. Think about that for a minute. How much hate do you have to have in your heart to block thousands, if not millions of potential readers just to ensure that two people you hate cannot see what you post about them on your website? 

That's a lot of hate!

But that's exactly what she has done. And why did she do this? To ensure that Rick could not see her call him a "coke monkey" or that I could not see her posting lies about me that I would probably debunk in a defense post right here on The Glass.

The hate she has displayed against the bullies, she may have had reasons for, but now that hate has manifested itself into a bigger load. So much so, that now she has turned into what she most despises; a bully. A hateful little bully. And that's a shame. 

But back to Rick, I am glad to see that he has that ability to forgive. That compassion. It reaffirms my faith and trust in him as both, a friend and a human being. 

Now I know some of the bullies are going to probably attack this post and start saying, "Hey Carroll, you wronged me, so when can I expect your apology?"

Well, good question. Allow me to counter in advance; "When did I ever attack you?" 

You see, I have never attacked anyone, and no evidence has ever been presented to show that I did. I have only defended what others have said about me. I tried at one point to help others too, and showed what some of the bullies did to them. That backfired in my face with the Mr. Lucy Flood post. 

And just like there is no evidence to show I ever attacked anyone first, neither have I ever seen Rick Carufel attack someone for no good reason. I only saw him defend himself, and sometimes others, too. 

I never attacked Jude, she attacked me and sent her friends to do her dirty work and yet, I have friends who are still friends with her. Go figure. I never attacked Amanda Welling or her husband, they attacked me first. They wrote about me first. They emailed me first. Same for Gen Xavier and her friends. (Jude's friends). So I can't possibly go to them and ask for forgiveness now can I? They were the ones who attacked me first so they would have to be the one's to reach out to me and ask for forgiveness. And if they did, and if they proved themselves sincere with it, I would forgive them. The same for John Green. The same for all of them. 

Even in religion, God had said that even he (or she) cannot forgive those who do not ask for it. And I live the same way. I can't forgive (nor won't forgive) anyone who doesn't ask me for it just as I would not expect anyone to forgive me if I do not ask them for it. Then again, I don't really believe in the same God that many religious people worship. My God is the universe, but at least I still carry the same ability that many of them do and that ability is compassion. 

And let's face it, this blog would not exist if the bullies would have just left well enough alone. 

So, Rick Carufel appears to be making friends out of enemies. That is a good thing. Am I worried he has "slipped" over to the other side? No. Because that isn't what I take from it. I take it as it appears to be, that Rick has the ability to make friends out of enemies. That is something we all could follow his lead on. Rick doesn't hang onto hate or hold grudges. That assures me that if I ever make a mistake and piss him off, all I have to do is apologize and ask for forgiveness and know that he will probably accept and give it to me. That assures me our friendship is real. 

Real friends don't ask each other to hate people. Real friends don't tell each other who they can and cannot be friends with. Real friends don't tell you what you can or cannot post on your blog. Real friends will show compassion and forgiveness towards each other. Real friends won't send private emails to other people in an attempt to get others to hate you when you have disputes with one another. Real friends take a few days if needed to "cool down" when you do have disputes, but in the end, real friends will respect that friendship. I respect Rick's friendship. I know he respects my friendship too. And if Rick has indeed made a few friends from his enemies, then that is a lesson we can all learn from. Hopefully, Athena Parker and others will learn from that as well. I know Rick enough to know that he, like myself, will be friends with anyone who is willing to be his friend. Now, how can that ever be a bad thing? 

So, no more emails please regarding Rick and his friends. It's none of my business who he is friends with as it is none of yours either. Just be glad that there are some people out there who have the ability to forgive. Who have the ability of compassion. Without it, you lose your humanity.

I'm Carroll Bryant ... and this The Looking Glass. 

 

UPDATE:

It appears the kettle is calling the pot black. STGRB is posting about (if not gloating over) the fact that the bullies have dedicated a thread on Amazon about them. 

Yes, STGRB is "obsessing" over the bullies "obsessing" over them. They are monitoring the bullies 24/7 like the bullies are monitoring them. They are basically flattering each other. Hell, aren't we all just "obsessing" over one another? Flattering one another? 

The bullies are plotting, calculating, and formulating plans within plans about how they are going to bring about the demise of STGRB just as STGRB (and WIN) are plotting, calculating, and formulating plans within plans to bring about the demise of the bullies. It's a constant battle. And yet, STGRB fails to see that they have become bullies too. The difference, of course, is that STGRB blocks people from reading the lies they say about others. Maybe it's because they fear of real evidence proving them wrong and proving their lies. 

STGRB has become a shell of their former selves. But the truth remains, that Google has taken STGRB off their "search engines" for a reason. That reason was probably because STGRB has crossed some lines. They have now turned into the stalker - trolls. Once upon a time, they accused Rick Carufel of turning into a stalker troll. Keep up with the hate, STGRB, the world is watching. Well, except for the world that uses Google search engine, and the millions you have blocked just to make some useless point. People are beginning to forget you, STGRB. That can't be such a good feeling. It also can't be good for your cause. Whatever that might be now-a-days - which from where I am standing, appears to be hate for the pleasure of hate. You went from fighting bullies, to hating a lot of people who aren't even bullies, to bullying others yourselves. Believe it or not, more and more people are now actually starting to support the bullies. I would think being "banned" by Google would be your first clue. I thought wrong. What are you going to do when other search engines start following the same game plan? 

I said it before and I will say it again, "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." (Okay, I didn't say it, Batman did, but still, it rings true.)  

Reviews Vs. Critiques: Suzanne Dome

An interesting video came to my attention recently. It is a video by author Suzanne Dome. It is titled; "Reviews Vs. Critiques".

In it, she talks about, in her opinion, the value of a review, or in some cases, (value) lack thereof. She also compares reviews to critiques and gives her opinion on both. In essence, she is a woman sharing her thoughts in a video about reviews.

I got to see this video and I have to be honest here - I like it. For the most part, I agree totally with her opinion on reviews. At one point, Suzanne recommends that authors, when they see a low rating or negative review on their book(s), to take a deeper look at the individual giving that rating or review. She suggests you find out all that you can about that person through their GR account history, Facebook, and other social media. Look into their past ratings and reviews to see if you notice a trend of constant bad ratings and negative reviews to other authors. This could demonstrate a pattern of "behavior" more than a pattern of reviewing.

The more you learn about those who leave reviews, the more you come to understand that maybe you're not really dealing with a "reviewer" as much as you are dealing with a "bully". (Or disgruntled individual who just simply hates everything in life for whatever reason - as those reasons could vary.) On the whole, I think Suzanne really hits the nail on the head in her video. The value of the review is only worth that of the value of the person leaving it. And since we know that bullies are not worth shit, then you can see where the value of their review would come into play.

Why do I bring it up? Well, I got to talk to Suzanne about it and I learned that one of her reasons for doing the video was to help out a friend and other authors she knows who have been victimized by the Goodreads bullies. She doesn't want to see other writers give up on their dreams just because of a handful of disgruntled people who hate their lives and have dedicated themselves to try and make as many people as they can as disgruntled and talentless as they are.

Here's the thing; When Suzanne posted this video on Youtube, it didn't take long for the bullies to sniff it out and attack her. And this is the most common theme of the bullies, gang style attacks. I have compared these people before to nothing more than street gang thugs who run on the internet. And how many times have these internet gangsters / terrorists complained that it's all about "the reviews"? Or cry over their butthurt that everyone just wants to silence them and their "freedom of speech"? And yet, here they are turning around and trying to silence Suzanne and her "freedom of speech".

Suzanne didn't single anyone out in her video. She wasn't attacking the bullies. She was just generally expressing her views and or opinion about book reviews. And the bullies went after her!

To the bullies, it is in their DNA to believe that writers are not humans and therefor, they are not entitled to an opinion of any sort where writing is concerned. If an author expresses his or her opinion, the bullies find this to be "disrespectful" towards them. You see, in the mind of a bully, they are right and everyone else in the world is wrong.

The attack got to be so much that Suzanne pulled the video from Youtube. Then she contacted me. I got the bright idea that she should post the video up again, however, with a twist. I asked her for a copy of the video and got her permission to post it on my Youtube channel. You see, I like the bullies. I like their attention. It makes me feel special. I figured, if they want to go and leave nasty and hateful comments on the video, I would rather they leave those comments on my Youtube page and or blog. The reason is that I know these bullies. We already have a two year relationship together. They are like that pimple on your right ass-cheek. It's bothersome at first, but when it goes away, you kind of miss it and are a little bit happy when it comes back around a few months later. Yaay, the pimple is back!

Of course, one of the biggest attackers towards Suzanne is the ever so popular bully, John Green. You remember him, right? Currently, John Green "the ex-marine" has been attacking author Anne Rice for her stance against internet bullying. By that standard, that automatically means she is against John Green because he is an internet bully. And apparently, he doesn't like females very much except when they are porn-stars whom will interact with him via the internet. (Pathetic) Anyhow, consider this an invitation "tough guy" to come and attack this video here. Why pick on women John when you could come here and pick on me, a real man. 

Suzanne had no idea when she did the video that these people would respond like they did. She wasn't really aware of the bullies to the magnitude she is aware of them now. Nor did she think such vile people existed like this on the internet. But here is a truth that I have shared before on this blog; the bullies never read the books of the people they bully. So in reality, the bullies really are not readers. And here is another bit of reality; the bullies are destroying the very thing they claim to love - reading. By their actions, and their actions alone, they are destroying the love of reading by smearing the internet with their hate. They are ruining this art form one attacked author at a time. But they can't see this yet. Or maybe they don't really love books as much as they claim they do? That would explain all of their other many lies and hateful attacks. It's like terrorists who claim to be followers of Islam. That is a lie. Terrorists are not "religious" people. Just like the Goodreads bullies are not "readers" (or lovers of books) If they were, they would be spending their time reading and not running off into other people's personal spaces (or even their own hate blogs) to attack the people who are writing the books they claim so much that they love.

Anyhow, I uploaded the video on my Youtube channel now so bullies, if you have something to say then you can say it there, on my Youtube page. Or, if you got the ball-sac to do it, leave a comment here because you may also watch the video right here in this post down below.

I like people who have the gumption to stand up to these bullies. I know Athena Parker and STGRB preaches to ignore them, but that is the wrong way to go about it. (Unless it fits your personality) When I was in high-school, I stood by and watched a few bullies push other people around, but then one day I had had enough and finally stood up for a bullied kid. It felt good! The bully backed down and a lot of the bullying going on started to cease. (At least in my presence.) So the best thing to do when you get bullied by the Goodreads bullies is to stand your ground and defend yourself. Stand up to them, don't coward into a corner. The more people who confront these vile people, the faster they will be run off of Goodreads and Amazon. Show the Goodreads bullies a force and they too will coward into a far away corner of the internet. And as for Athena Parker and STGRB? You can trust sock puppets all you like if you wish, just don't say I didn't warn you. Don't depend on a sock puppet to defend you, defend yourself, and join forces with real people who will have your back. With other people who are not afraid of the Goodreads/Amazon bullies. Join up with people who don't hide in secret groups on Facebook putting together schemes and plans. Join up with others who will not hide in shame or fear. Stand up - stand tall - stand proud - just like Suzanne Dome.