Reply #191: Dire Straits: "Solid Rock" (lyrics) 'When you point your finger 'cause

[loudsue]

your plans fell through,
you've got three more fingers,
pointin' back at YOU!'

Since the "Let's Stone Bev Harris Into Oblivion" threads, it seems Bev has become the scape-goat du jour on DU. I have seen a few posters link some very flammable threads that showed the WORST examples of DUers disagreements with Bev, and her attacks toward them.

Glaringly conspicuous by their absence, are the dozens, if not hundreds of threads from the past 4 years, that show where Bev told THE TRUTH!

The TRUTH about Diebold, and the research her 'team' had done, and what they had uncovered...TRUTH that swayed the Atty. General and Sec. of State of California to FOCUS on the criminality of Diebold in California. TRUTH that exposed the how and where of the voting manipulation/deception that was prevailing in our election system.

Why doesn't anyone link to all the threads where she helped direct everyone's attention and focus to R. Doug Lewis, and his unelected monopoly on the elections in the U.S.? Bev always gave kudos and thanks to the other researchers that were doing the deep work on those threads, openly admitting that others were better at it than her...giving credit where credit was due. She also took one helluva lot of bashing from a few posters whose e-names I won't mention, all along the way...and she handled it fairly well, at first, and even after I was more than sick of it.

Bev Harris, many here have forgotten, is also the one who had the charisma, leadership, enthusiasm, 'balls', focus....call it all what you will... but she got the ENERGY behind the issue of Black Box Voting. There were several other groups who were working on the issue, yes, and they were and are doing great work! But Bev was able to GET ON TELEVISION, GET ON THE RADIO, GET IN THE NEWSPAPERS....riding on her trusty steed through the airwaves of America yelling "THE DIEBOLDS ARE COMING!! THE DIEBOLDS ARE COMING!!"

David, Symbolman, AmericanStranger, Eloriel, Maddy...and all the rest that took a hit to the jaws....I really am sorry you got cold-cocked. You all have done nice work, as well. And I hope we never see the day on DU when any of YOU become the scape-goat du jour.

Remember Ewing? And IndianaGreen? In fact, I even believe someone like AmericanStranger or BPilgrim, or one of the other stellar old-timers got banned...can't remember who all got axed at that same time! Remember that, old timers?

The difference is....Bev was out there in THE REAL WORLD...not just slinging shit around on DU, but going from Washington, to California to DC, to Florida, to Maryland, to Texas, to Ohio...AND PUBLICLY RAISING HELL THE WHOLE WAY!!

Maybe she didn't always tell EVERYTHING, or always tell everything straight! Maybe she has enough of the 'showman' in her that she drew the attention to herself, while the researchers remained safely at home behind their monitors. It takes BOTH, you know.

Maybe she didn't always ACT or RE-ACT just the way the Virgin Mary or Mother Theresa would have done. Maybe she holds a grudge! (oooo! scary!!) Maybe she's PARANOID! (I SURE AS HELL would be paranoid if I was taking on the kind of power structures she's taken on, with HER OWN FACE out front...not always hiding behind, or within, a 'group' or 'organization'!)

I'm just sayin'..... How 'bout some <due>diligent DUer going through the archives and providing links to the OTHER 90 or 100 threads that are ALSO indicative of the actions of Bev Harris, rather than just the 8 or 10 threads that are totally incriminating?

Pointing to the book, BBV, has made thousands of people around the world, and not just on the internet, familiar with the electoral problems we have. Bev lent her face and name to that. And it was OBVIOUSLY to her own peril, as I can see by the lynch-mob mentality that has arisen since her banning from DU. Any money I have given in response to her work was more than well spent, and hardly begins to compensate her for the execution she has endured here.

Did I know Bev was emotionally volatile all along? OF COURSE I DID!! Any first grader could have gleaned that small detail from her first few threads! I'm sorry that the people who got burned ... got burned! She didn't hide any part of that! EVER!! It was right out in the open! Did that make HER the bad guy? Nope! She is a fiery woman. Adults should understand how to deal with fiery people. If you don't like to play with them, then don't! But if you see their value, and are willing to step up to the plate, then adults should KNOW THE DAMN RULES IN DEALING WITH THEM!! They often, like Bev, have a great deal to offer...not just you, but society, and the world! With a GREAT MANY powerful people, there is a price to pay in the relationship. You just have to decide if it's worth it to you, or not.

So, is all this 'stoning of Bev' justified if she's "become a freeper"? Gimme a break on the scarlet letter theme. She has said from the VERY BEGINNING that this is a BIPARTISAN issue to her, and Dem. Secy of State of Georgia Cathy Cox has been one of her major targets since the 2002 midterms.

Is Bev's day in the sun past? Who knows! That's up to her, and how she recruits and works with her contacts and researchers. SOME of her methods may suck. SOME of her methods HAVE BEEN very successful in getting the word out, and getting some very important questions asked publicly. Is smearing her reputation good FOR THE COUNTRY? I sure as hell don't think so. Is smearing her reputation and continually slamming her on a web site where she can't come defend herself the new kewl thing to do? Actually, it's been making me sick, and I am appalled at the play-ground mentality I've seen here since she got banned. Are the ones throwing stones memories so damn short that you can't see the good that she did, along with the things you don't agree with, or that hurt you?

Maybe if we start adding links to the other 90 or 100 threads where she got people working together, focusing on the important arms of the octopus, following the lines of thought that helped frame the entire issue, introducing concepts in a way that engaged and motivated people....maybe THEN we can have a more balanced discussion of the woman who is getting executed here.

How many times have I heard someone lamenting that "Bev Harris USED DU?? Has it ever occurred to anyone that WE USED BEV HARRIS, as well? We used HER name to get the word out about BBV, we sent e-mails all across the world with HER NAME on the topic to show what SHE had written, or what SHE had discovered. How many sent e-mails to all the foreign and domestic press, or our congress critters saying "I did this research and clearly show that...."? No. We cited Bev.

I sent her money because I was using HER! HER time, HER trips through the airports, HER web site as a reference, HER book as a reference, citing HER push for lawsuits against Diebold in California, HER efforts to stop Diebold EVEN IN THEIR HOME STATE OF OHIO... And by USING her, I educated one helluva lot of people about the BBV issue BEFORE the election.

As for putting the 'rubber to the road', the only other person on DU I've seen do as much publicly, in the years I've been here, is Will Pitt. When someone has the courage to stick their necks out FOR REAL, IN PUBLIC, it seems there's always someone around who's willing to try to chop it off. It's easy to tell who is ACTING in the NATIONAL (not "local") public arena, and who is "chopping" in the privacy of their computer.

Chopping's cheap.

:kick::kick::kick: