The Wiz and the Challenge

[kewlJ]

I think anyone who crosses you is going to get attacked by you, the same way you attacked me only because I challenged your claim that you can count two tables.

Not everyone agrees with kewlj. Deal with it.

Nope, that’s not it at all. Whether or not you think I can track two tables is irrelevant to me. It really is. Always was. It just so happens that ongoing challenge happened to be where I first encountered how you manipulate everything. Unfortunately that characteristic or trait of your has manifested itself numerous times, concerning different subject matter, since.

I think you have something against the Wizard.

You don't like him. He banned you. No wonder you feel the way you do.

You are correct, I do have something against Mike. But, saying that I don’t like him is inaccurate. I admire and envy his mathematical ability. I greatly admire the path he chose. Mike was a nerdy, math guy in a very safe government job. He was very much of a stereotype. The kind of people that never leave those safe jobs. They put in their 30 years and safely retire. Mike had the ‘ballz’ to break from that mold and follow his passion and dreams and I admire the hell out of him for that. I think he kind of lucked out, into the final success that he had in the end, but that’s great. He took the chance and was rewarded. I am sincerely happy for him in that regard.

Yes, Mike banned me from Wov. But my negative feeling toward him are not the result of him banning me. Sure I was pissed, but I am long over that part of it......mostly. Since you may not know the circumstances, I will fill you in….and you know what….I will be criticized for bring this up again…..but I don’t care.

I’ve honestly come to believe that Mike was a victim. He was used. Mike was manipulated by a bully that he thought was his friend and Mike made a poor decision to get in the middle of something he had no business getting involved in. I don’t hold a grudge concerning poor judgment. I exhibit poor judgment all the time. I try to learn from mistakes, make amends if need be, and move on.

Where I continue to have a problem was with what happened afterwards. Almost immediately in private conversations, Mike admitted he was wrong, numerous times. But he couldn’t bring himself to admit that publicly, coming up with a completely dishonest story instead.

So during this time just after he banned me, and that I was communicating privately with Mike, I also had several members of Wov, friends of Mike’s telling me that “Mike was trying to figure a way to bring me back”. This was bizarre....all he had to do was be honest and say, I made a mistake and should not have gotten involved. He could not bring himself to do that. He cared too much that this somehow would diminish what his members thought of him, when in reality the complete opposite was true. Most people don’t hold it against anyone for making, admitting and fixing a mistake. That is an admirable quality.

Over a year, I waited and waited for Mike to do the right thing, and yes, I was pretty harshly criticizing him, while I waited. But, he never could bring himself to do so. He stuck to his fabricated story. Finally, I had no choice but to publicly post some of his private messages with his many contradictions, including how he admitted he should not have banned me. He forced me to be the bad guy, releasing private messages, because he was too weak, too small of a man, to admit publicly what he told me privately.

So yes, I continue to have very little respect for Michael Shackleford at this point in time.

And here’s another odd little tidbit, that I have never shared before. Remember earlier, when I said I have come to believe Mike was the victim, that he was used, that he was manipulated? The first time I posted that, on another site, I was immediately advised by one of Mike’s “friends”, that I should not repeat that thought. That Mike wouldn’t take kindly to a suggestion that he had been “used” and manipulated, as it made him look weak. This completely exemplifies what the whole aftermath of this incident was about. Mike being more concerned with his image and what people think, than fixing what he knew and admitted was wrong-doing on his part.

Now watch as the Wov-ers spit fire at me.