Witchy Wednesday: Honor and Gullibility

Instead of a 'how-to' kind of thing, I'm going to speak to the rainbow controversy that's been going on for the past week or so, then I'm putting it to rest. It's wearing down my spirit, and I'm just not going to allow that to continue.

So, unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've heard about this whole "relentlessly gay rainbows" fundraiser where someone allegedly put an anonymous note on Julie Baker's door that threatened to call the police on her if she didn't stop making her yard "relentlessly gay". She asked for 5k and got over 43k. Her friends helped her build a website where she's creating t-shirts and other items for sale.

When I first saw the post, I thought, "Something isn't right about this." I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was that bothered me. I spoke to my closest friends about it, and one of them also had a feeling that something was amiss. The next morning, I woke up out of a sound sleep and said, "The random capitalization!", and shared it with my group.

Julie Baker used to write for the Sunday Stew. She is a very creative and clever writer, but with that gift also comes a lot of grammatical error. She was only with us for a few weeks, but she drove me and my copy editor crazy with her random capitalization of words. It got so bad that my editor had to send the raw material to me for editing, because she didn't have that much time to spend on one person's idiosyncrasies. But, it wasn't just the random capitalization. It was the tone and certain words used that made me even more suspicious about the allegation that this was written by some disgruntled neighbor.

Julie's made it very clear that she is a Christian-hater. Over time, and on several threads of mutual friends, I've watched her go at it. She's even commented on one of my posts using the phrase, "There are Children!", as a way to disparage Christians. The style is too unique to have been someone else. In 25 years of editing other people's work, I've never come across someone who types like that; let me emphasize NEVER.

There are also allegations from those who know her that she couldn't pay her property taxes and this is why the fundraiser began. She also has at least one other Gofundme to provide laptops for her daughters. She believes $4,000 will cover it.

A statement analysis expert who teaches law enforcement  analyzed the "note" versus her Facebook and GoFundMe posts, and found that the note is a fraud.

Her friends are very loyal. They bully every person who questions any part of her integrity or even asks a simple question about where the money is going to go. They immediately assume that someone who asks questions is the bad guy, not someone seeking truth. They attack and bully others worse than anything stated in that anonymous note.

She claims that the police cleared her, but when snopes.com reached out to the officer in question, he claims that she either cannot or will not produce the note, and that she alleges that she no longer has possession of it. So, she lied to the world about the police issue, and no longer has the note? That note is worth 43k+! If that was the note that did you such a favor, wouldn't you frame it? Of course you would. So would she, if she weren't the author.

She also accuses a Christian of being the culprit. In one local paper interview, she states that she believes it is the Presbyterian church nearby. The only Presbyterian church in her neighborhood belongs to the Presbyterian USA chapter and publicly states on their website that they support the LGBT community and gay marriage. 

Now, let me be clear. I'm not here to bash her or to jump on the "lynch mob" that wants to see her arrested for internet fraud. Evidence and proof are two very different animals. The burden of proof for this is way beyond what I believe is available in evidence. So, no, I don't want her to go to jail. Personally, I don't give a rat's ass if she keeps the money and spends it on whatever the hell she wants.

Why? Because even if this were a legitimate note, there are idiots in the world who donated 43 thousand freakin dollars for someone to paint her house in rainbows so she could piss off her neighbors. They deserve to all be scammed, shamed and feel betrayed while she laughs all the way to the bank. The contents of that 'note' are laughable. Seriously, all suspicions aside, someone is complaining that her yard (not her rainbow jars) is relentlessly gay and that they're going to call the police? Rigggggggght.


All it takes to get people to run to your side these days is to claim you were attacked for being LGBT  or being a supporter. (The fact that Baker didn't disclose she was bisexual until AFTER the LGBT community jumped on the bandwagon shouldn't raise your eyebrows at all.)

Legitimate news sources ran the story as fact without attempting to validate the note. George Takei shared it, Ashton Kutcher commented on his twitter feed about it; The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post ran the story, and it ended up in UK news sources as well.

Will the Pagan and LGBT communities be harmed when the truth inevitably comes out?  Will she be exposed as a dishonorable person and be shamed into doing the right thing?
Who knows?

Frankly, I'm done caring. I deleted Julie from my Facebook, as well as the majority of her cronies. I don't need my newsfeed littered with fraudulent colors. I don't care what she does with the money. She begged for it appropriately and got it.

I once visited Mexico City. We were headed to the main Catholic church there. Along the street were beggars of all kinds. One woman lifted her 5 year old daughter's dress to show me that she had no legs. It turned out that she made her daughter stand in a hole covered up to make it look that way. People fell for it hook, line, and sinker. I saw the farce, and I walked away. If she was able to provide for her family that way, then who was I to point out that the emperor had no clothes?

Along those same lines, I'm walking away. I've had all I care to take of rainbows, relentless fraud, and the entire sickening farce. Those of you who donated and want your money back should talk to GoFundMe. Those of you who want to defend her- just shut up. You will never get me to believe she has a neighbor who types just like her. Your only purpose would be to bully me into backing down, and the last thing you really want is for me to care more than I do right now. Right now, neither you nor Julie is worth another second of my time.

In the words of the Greek Pagan, Sophocles, "I would prefer to fail with honor than to win by cheating."


7 comments:

  1. The sad thing is that it makes me doubt all internet fundraisers, now, unless I really know the person and the situation. Such manipulation and lying!

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  2. I just can't wrap my head around it

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  3. This type of thing is what furthers hate. Lies, the response by the communities, and also by the money given. It was given in the spirit of spite, no different than the bakery against homosexuality. It isn't love that makes the world go round, it is hate.

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  4. If indeed the liar lies, the lies will be known, for all the fools that gave, go give the exact amount to the local LGBT shelter. There your dollars and rainbows are better spent. I am VERY disappointed with the LGBT that contributed to this garbage. it was a note. A poorly written one at that. There was NO harm to her or her yard. There are many LGBT youth that right now, this very moment are in real danger, and those dollars could have saved their lives. LGBT youth matter more than rainbows dammit!

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  5. I agree that when you put it that way, that it was to "spite" the neighbor, it seems very petty. But honestly, when I read her plea, I didn't read it that way. I read it as an encouragement to all those who couldn't be open in an unaccepting community. A way to make her home visibly friendly, and taking a stand for LGBTQ people in the community.

    I didn't give her any money, because I really can't afford to help someone decorate their home when I'm trying hard just to keep my own going. But I didn't view it as spiteful (though I can see why someone would).

    My biggest issue is that whenever someone lies, the next person with a genuine need or issue, will face more doubt. And at a time when we, as Pagans, are finding more acceptance and a greater ability to be open, this will only further the notion that we don't have ethics.

    I have no patience for people who lie and cheat. And while I'm supremely grateful that she wasn't being harassed, I'm equally disappointed in her decision to manufacture hatred.

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  6. Anne, thank you for sharing your perspective. Since you don't know her, it's interesting to see how you perceive what she wrote. From my perspective, as I think is the case for most people, I take into consideration her writing style, other posts she's made, etc... when inferring context.

    I'm also disappointed that she blamed the local Presbyterian church. She claims she's been harassed by them in the past, and yet there is no evidence of that. Given that they are extremely supportive of the LGBT community, it's a defamatory statement. I grew up in the Presbyterian church. They are progressive and modern in their practices. Back in the 70's, we had women ministers. She chose the wrong church to lay that kind of blame on, and she was sloppy by writing in the same unique style she uses naturally.

    That said, I also have to lay blame upon those in the press and on social media who jumped at a chance to blame the Christians for beating up on a widow who is LGBT without stopping for a moment to think that she may not be on the level, particularly after that waitress incident a couple of years' ago.

    The internet is a useful tool and a great social meeting place. But, as in the offline world, don't believe everything you think or see.

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