I guess you missed where this post of Ann's was discussed at some length in the recent discussion, Xeno, huh? Too bad; you thought you had discovered something that was being kept under wraps.
Now, any ideas about who the Mystery Cultist might be that I quoted, the one person here who actually tried to excuse Robin's striking his students in the private setting before there were any seminars? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Xenophaneros Anartaxius" <anartaxius@...> wrote: > > The following is the text from post #302425 posted by Ann on Jan 22, 2012: > ----------------- > > OK, this subject of seminars and physical violence seems to be a very > important one for some of you. I am going to include a quote I received today > from my newly-connected friend/FFL lurker/former Robin follower who has given > me permission to use part of her email to me. She has been following my posts > and obviously saw that I was going to address this subject tonight. She is an > avid FFL follower as I told you before. We shall call her GL. You should also > know that she is no apologist for Robin but was a Canadian involved very > early on with Robin's Victoria days. > > I want to start with this incident she outlines in her email because > chronologically it is the first real seminar setting which took place in FF > back in 1982. It is the session when Lavern was allegedly struck by Robin. It > is fortunate GL emailed me what she did otherwise I could tell you nothing of > the incident as I was not there, I had not yet attended any Robin gathering. > It is the seminar I told you my friend had attended and had piqued my > interest in Robin initially. But I digress. > > Here is the excerpt from GL's email to me regarding the event: > Dear Ann, > Here's what I remember about 'hitting' or not. I think R's account Jan.17 > was about right, message# 302057 (his last post). Were you in Fairfield in > summer of 1982? Somewhere in the bottom of my storage boxes is a videotape of > the Fairfield incident. (I was there, on the video crew.) I don't remember > who else was on stage, who hit Lavern on the shoulder/back. One of R's > devoted assistants, I have a couple of ideas, but don't want to name here. He > said it was an accident, he turned and accidentally made contact with her, or > was trying to keep her from falling off the edge of the platform. oops! It > was a shock for all of us. R was furious, and found a way to somehow > incorporate the incident into the bigger unfolding story of Fairfield. > > Now I am not sure, because I don't have the will or the stamina to go > through the long list of posts dealing with the hitting issues, why this is > such a hot topic or by who(m?) it has been brought up (but I am guessing > perhaps Vaj) or even what the exact questions regarding hitting are. So bear > with me and may I assume it is a simple question like," Did Robin ever make > physical contact with a confrontee that could be described as assault ?" > Hopefully that is close enough. The simple answer is, "Yes, I saw Robin > make/imply physical contact with a confrontee that could be described as > assault." > > There is something you first need to know about Robin in the old days. He > abhorred being touched or touching people (at least the people I know). He > used a silk cloth to sit on, especially in public places, he would often have > a wet cloth handed to him after making contact with his hand with someone on > stage. It was so rare to get a touch from Robin that it was considered a > great honour to have him lay a gentle hand on your shoulder. > > I have witnessed so many confrontations they must number in the hundreds. > They could arise during a meal, a walk or in the far more formal setting of a > taped seminar. I missed virtually nothing as I was a permanent fixture as one > of two camera operators. Hours and hours standing behind a big tripod my eye > to the viewfinder watching every second with our switcher in the back > punching between cameras for optimal camera angles. > > Assault figurative attack or bombard (someone or the senses) with > something undesirable or unpleasant. > My dictionary gave me this definition so let's run with it. > > Confrontation was not that fun. Trust me on this. It could be an assault on > the senses, yelling or just having to hear what you did not want to hear. And > in one case I remember there was what I believe to be an assault on the body, > by Robin. I only remember it as an assault because the result was that the > confrontee's eyeglasses were broken. The glasses fell off of the confrontee's > face and hit the ground and were broken. I do not know if they were broken > while still on this man's face or broke when they hit the ground. I remember > feeling very shocked and very sad because this was Robin's best, oldest male > friend and the vulnerability of this man standing there with his eyeglasses > shattered at his feet was deep enough to stick in my memory. I can not say if > there was real force involved and there certainly wasn't blood and I can not > even say if there was contact or just implied contact and the confrontee > moved his head quickly and the glasses spun off. But to me this was an > assault because in that moment a man appeared shattered along with his > glasses. And at the time I did not understand why it had to be. > > So I am sorry to have to disappoint anyone hoping for a real knock down drag > 'em out expose. Robin simply did not punch or kick or throw people around. He > was not a physically violent man. No one ended up with stitches or bruises or > bloody noses. > > This writing has been hard on me. I think I want to stop now. > ----------------------- >
