Open Letters

The Odd Emperor’s been caught in a dilemma. strangely enough, it’s One I knew was coming, one that I anticipated and now that’s here I feel strangely elated an not a little bit relived.

Some of you out there are probably telling yourself that I’m lying and so on. That’s just fine, please keep telling yourselves that. You also don’t need to read any further and you are not welcome to come back here.

Ever.

I know you will though.

Last week my bro Alfred Lehmberg sent a comment containing a whole smacking lot of personal information. It also contained some out and out lies. You can read an edited version of the letter here.

My first impulse is to laugh this off, pretend it didn’t happen. “So what?” I said, “the editor’¢s name has been attached to the Odd Empire web page for a long time now.”

My second thought is to sanction Lehmberg for making an attempt at publishing such a thing, (on my dime too! I have to commend him on having the nads to do that!)

But I didn’t do either, I stepped back for a moment, took a deep breath and thought about the implications.

On the one hand the letter speaks the truth. It describes a real person. One with a job, a home, family, and friends. On the surface the information seems harmless. I mean, big deal! It’s quite easy to get personal info on people via the internet. Heck my web logs tell me all kinds of stuff about who’s visiting the Odd Empire and where they come from. Before some of you react in horror at this idea, remember that *all* web servers do this, even the free ones.

It’s one thing getting personal info, it’s quite another thing to spray it around in such a reckless manner. Attaching someone’s name to the terms slander, libel liar or lying is nothing short of defamation. See, those things impinge directly on reputation and unsupported they are by definition libel themselves. This is why the writer of the letter remains anonymous (more or less.) They know that such an allegation unproven and unsupported amounts to an offence to the persons named in the allegation.

What the letter really says is this;
‘“Look at what you have to lose now Odd Emperor if you keep speaking like this– I will take your home, your job, your family away from you. I will do these things and urge others to do this to you if you do not shut your mouth.”

Such letters are simply and completely an attempt to silence people. An implied threat. A cowardly plea for The Odd Empire to shut down, shut up and go away.

Well so I thought about it. This is what I decided.

Screw you! Bring it on!

You don’t like what I have to say? That’s sad for you my friend!

Some of you out there think that slinking around in the shadows is a good way to sway opinion? You think lying about paranormal stuff, UFOs, this and that is going to validate your own beliefs? You think telling lies about people will silence them?

And that letter is full of lies. I would address the author of the letter but Mr. Lehmberg didn’t supply me with his source. By doing so he has in a legal sense become author of the letter whether he meant to or not.

Shame on you for supporting that sir!

The Odd Empire is nothing less than a litmus test, an illustration at how far down the rabbit hole some “researchers” are prepared to go in search for validation. Now we all want validation and certainly the Odd Empire seldom provides this. It’s not my purpose to sit around and say “ooh you are so wonderful and your outer space theories are SO out of this world! They have to be true. Marry me?”

Nope, the Odd Empire is about what I really think. You don’t have to like it, you don’t have to read it!

The Odd Empire didn’t start out that way. Truthfully it was a bit of a joke at first. I was writing little blurbs in my bookmark folders. A friend thought they were funny and suggested that I start publishing them. So I did, end of story.

Over the years I”ve encountered people who have implied that I”m doing something wrong. A couple have gone so far as to say that I’m libeling them. No one has made the allegations stick, if I am truly libeling that can be easily proven but so far no one has come close.

In those cases I have a specific method for working out differences, its called communication. I very carefully describe how this is done on the Empire of the Odd web page.

So far as my commentary goes, I call it directly as I see it. If  I’m wrong you have the privilege of commenting or complaining. If I go across the line you have the right *and the opportunity* to protest.

If I libel you have the right to take legal action.

You do not have the right to say that I liable, or stalk or harass without support. You do not have the right to say that I’m insane, that I’m evil, that I’¢m stupid, an idiot, pathetic or any of the other vile crap you people have flung at me. You can tell me that my *words* are stupid et-al, you have a right to say that all you want.

But the other stuff? You have to prove such things because they are specific legal definitions. Stating them without support is *itself* a clear example of defamation by way of the published word I.E. libel. Attempting to attach names, employers and personal information to such allegations a clear attempt at harassment.

Think about this.

Please comment if you like.

Thanks for listening!