If Robin Edgar Loves ‘Protest’ So Much,…

Another repetitious blog post from Robin Edgar, this time standing in front of the Unitarian Church of Montreal (and his mounted video camera), twirling his big orange signs, often looking over his shoulder, as he delivers yet another monologue about how so many people have done him wrong.  Unitarian Universalists have done him wrong.  Quebec Crown prosecutors have done him wrong.  Judges and police have done him wrong.  Why?

Well, let’s see now.  He engaged in a relentless campaign of harassment and disruptive behaviour, all because he did not like what Reverend Ray Drennan had to say about his insistence that an ‘interfaith celebration’ be held at the church every time there was a solar eclipse, all based on his own personal ‘revelation’.  It continues, and even escalates, long after he has been twice suspended from the church, and finally removed from membership.  He files a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission, which is dismissed as being without merity.  He begins to harass the current minister, Reverend Diane Rollert, who gets a restraining order.

The church exercised its right to exclude a disruptive and malicious person from his attempts to impose his will on the rest of the congregation.  The police did their duty by responding to complaints.  The prosecutors and judges of Montreal’s courts did their duty in following through with those complaints.

So, what exactly did they do that was so wrong?  What did they do to deserve Robin Edgar?

From what we can tell, the only ‘crime’ these individuals and organizations did was dare to disagree with Robin Edgar.

Right now, the prime assertion which Robin Edgar is defending is an absolute right to engage in ‘peaceful public protest,’ as he is so apt to repeat over and over again (including a number of times in his three minute video).  How dare anybody try to intimidate him from trying to intimidate the Unitarian Church of Montreal and the Quebec Crown prosecutors by means of ‘peaceful public protest’, a/k/a ‘alternative spiritual practice’!  No, no, no!  The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that right, and so he will exercise it whenever and wherever he wants, as often as he wants!

All right, then, Mister Edgar.  What if Unitarian, Crown prosecutors, and others who are fed up with your antics, decide to engage in ‘peaceful public protest’ against you?  Picketing outside of your home, your workplace, the coffee shop that you frequent?  Following you wherever you go, demanding ‘justice’ for your hypocritical and outrageous behaviour?  If you have the absolute right to harass others under the guise of ‘peaceful public protest’, then shouldn’t others have the absolute right to do the same to you?

It would not surprise us if somebody decided to do that.  Mind you, we are not saying that they should.  But, if they did, what possible argument would Robin Edgar have to say that they couldn’t?

Robin Edgar: Desperate for Attention

As we reported earlier, Robin Edgar has now directed his ire at Quebec’s Crown Prosecutors.  How curious that he waits for their strike and picket line at Montreal’s Palais de Justice in order to express his displeasure at them for … doing their jobs.

He has now been picketing their pickets for the past few days, carrying signs accusing them of ‘undermining [Canadian] Charter Rights and Freedoms’, taking pictures and videos of himself, and at one point arguing with one of the picketers.

A noteworthy line from his latest video monologue: ‘There goes the RDI truck, or maybe it’s just arriving…’

RDI, by the way, is Le Réseau de l’information, Radio Canada’s Francophone news channel.  Tell us, Mister Edgar, is this the reason you’ve decided to latch onto the Crown Prosecutor’s protest like a leech?  Are you now so desperate for attention that you must lash out at public servants for fulfilling their obligations under law?

Apparently so.  Robin Edgar has been craving attention for years now, and he doesn’t care how obnoxious or irrelevant his actions in order to get it.  So long as he has eyes and cameras turned towards him (even if it’s only his own, with him standing giving yet another rambling statement about how others are trying to ‘intimidate’ him from trying to intimidate others) his narcissism is being fed.  The problem with all of that is that narcissism is a very hungry beast indeed; if you do not feed it continually, then it will feed on you!

How pitiful a sight to see a man waste so much energy and effort, all for the hope of getting more attention, and wondering why others find him so annoying.  He calls it a ‘counter-protest’, but all we see is someone being counter-productive.

Robin Edgar Targets Crown Prosecutors

The latest post from Robin Edgar shows him adding yet another group to his ‘hit list’.  After attempting to gain attention by waving his anti-UU picket signs during the Crown Prosecutor strike in Montreal, he has decided to picket the prosecutors themselves.

He displays photos of himself holding signs, in English and French, reading: “Quebec Crown Prosecutors Endanger Charter Rights and Freedoms”.

At the bottom of his post, his labels include: “U*U criminalization of dissent” and “Unitarian Church of Montreal”.

We can only deduce that, since prosecutors in the area had seen fit to pursue criminal charges against him at least once, Robin Edgar has lumped them in with Unitarian Universalists as his sworn enemies, against whom he claims the right to lash out in his usual petulant manner.

Strange that a man who would punish any and every UU minister for publishing blog comments of which he disapproves, claims in the name of ‘dissent’ that he has the right to engage in criminal harassment of others, and that prosecutors should therefore ignore their obligation to pursue criminal cases.  Another example of hypocrisy rooted in this man’s narcissistic view of the world.

Robin Edgar fails to distinguish between dissent and harassment.  It is not Robin Edgar’s particular beliefs about total eclipses or Unitarian Universalists which has led to criminal actions against him.  It is the manner in which he chose to express those opinions, even to the point of forcing them upon others.  Yes, he has a right to his beliefs (and we and others have the right to respond to them).  No, he does not have the right to use them as an excuse to disrupt activities and bully others.

Robin Edgar’s actions and perseverations have often reminded us of the relentless picketing of Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church, first against gays and lesbians and their allies, and now extending to military funerals, claiming that such deaths are God’s punishment on the United States for its tolerance towards gays.  By adding civil servants to his ‘hit list,’ it appears that this eerie similarity is growing only stronger.

Robin Edgar Picks on Another UU Minister

Robin Edgar has certainly gone out of control lately.  In his seventh blog post in two days, he reproduces his email communication to UUA President Peter Morales and others, announcing that he intends to file a formal complaint against Reverend Cynthia Cain.

Her crime?  Publishing impressions and opinions on her blog.

On ‘A Jersey Girl in Kentucky,’ Reverend Cain talks about the behaviour and rhetoric of specific US Republicans, and how it distressed her.  In his typical hyperbole, Robin Edgar not only accuses her of ‘demonizing and marginalizing’ Republicans in general, he calls on the recipients of his email …

‘to to take steps to personally ensure that my formal unbecoming conduct complaint against Rev. Cynthia P. Cain arising from her anti-Republican bigotry … and her other unbecoming conduct as posted to the interconnected web of the internet in her ‘OMG Mean Peopl DO Suck’ blog post, is handled in a manner that is very transparent and results in Rev. Cynthia P. Cain being subjected to some genuine and appropriate accountability for her conduct which is unbecoming of any minister, let alone a Unitarian Universalist minister.’

Not to mention demanding that Morales and other UUA leaders …

‘respond to this email in a timely manner to inform me about how you intend to deal with this formal unbecoming conduct complaint against Rev. Cynthia P. Cain in a manner that genuinely honors and upholds your publicly stated commitment to UUA transparency and accountability, and which clearly and unequivocally stands on the side of love for Republicans and all of those people who have been unjustly demonized and marginalized by intolerant and bigoted, or otherwise hostile and abusive, Unitarian Universalist clergy.’

Either Robin Edgar is incapable of seeing that Reverend Cain is clearly talking about the actions and words of certain Republicans, or it does not matter to him.  Either he does not believe that UU ministers have the right to express their thoughts and feelings, or that they must somehow reach some bizarre level of perfection with regard to their psychological state.

Not to mention that Reverend Cain’s blog post is from September 3, 2008.  It takes over two years for Robin Edgar to file a ‘formal complaint’ and yet he now demands that the UUA respond ‘in a timely manner’!

Aside from how obviously distorted and frivolous his complaint is, it is another example of how hypocritical this man is.  Robin Edgar has gone out of his way to lash out at UUs, and especially UU ministers, with juvenile and profane insults which are even more ‘demonizing and marginalizing’ than anything he has complained about.  He has even admitted that he is ‘deliberately rude and offensive’, and then attempts to rationalize and justify such outrageous behaviour.  Yet he then declares that he is the authority who will determine which ministers are ethical and which should be punished – and woe to the UUA if they do not do as he says!

We hope and trust that Reverend Morales and the staff at UUA headquarters do indeed handle his complaint appropriately – as yet another attempt by this disturbed narcissist to gain attention and claim yet another reason to lash out at people who have better things to do than to stroke his ego.

What is Robin Edgar Trying to Prove?

It would appear that Robin Edgar has entered another ‘manic phase,’ so to speak, of picketing and posting.  Stimulated by the Crown Prosecutors’ strike in Montreal, it matters not to him that their demands and his demands have not connection whatsoever.  No, he’s going on a binge of pickets in the city, and six blog posts in two days.

And his message in sum?  Perhaps it could reduced to: ‘Lookit me say UUs bad!’

Considering his habit of perseveration, perhaps more appropriate to say: ‘Lookit me!  Lookit me!  Lookit me say UUs bad!  UUs bad! UUs bad!  Lookit, lookit, lookit me say UUs bad!”

He continually attacks and accuses UUs of any and every form of wrongdoing he can think of, even when he fails to provide any proof behind his accusations and allegations.  He continually complains about the same people and same events, even when those people are long since gone, and those events years or decades behind.

Robin Edgar gloats that his crusade for ‘justice’ (translation: Robin Edgar getting whatever he wants, whatever that may be) has been going on for fifteen years.  Let’s see, now.  Mister Edgar has been attacking, harassing, insulting, and by his own admission gone out of his way to be deliberately offensive and annoying, for a decade and a half.  And what progress has be acheived?  As far as we can tell, None!

Yet he keeps doing the same thing, over and over again, each time hoping for a different result.  Is that not a classic definition of insanity?

Perhaps that is what Robin Edgar is attempting to prove.

*Another* of Robin Edgar’s *Numerous* Obsessions

We’ve wondered why Robin Edgar uses so many asterisks in his blog posts and comments.  It’s not like he can’t use italics or bold print for emphasis.  He has, in fact.

Look through his blog, however, and you’ll find his observation on a passage from Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions, where the narrator draws a picture of an asshole.  A picture which looks a lot like an asterisk.

As Robin Edgar has often said (plagiarising another blogger) ‘What’s the connection?’ Well, Kurt Vonnegut was a Unitarian Universalist.  Some people have abbreviated Unitarian Universalism as ‘U*U”.  Vonnegut, asterisk, Unitarian Universalism, the human anus.

It doesn’t stop there.  Look how many times Robin Edgar makes rectal references whenever he can.  Not to mention his constantly referring to individuals he does not like as ‘asshats’.

Apparently he thinks this is clever humour.  Sure it is – for preadolescent boys.  After that, it just gets annoying, especially when you repeat it as often as he does.

Many people have compared Robin Edgar to a spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum.  We believe that is both simplistic and an understatement.  But certainly there is a lack of maturity in his behaviour and attitudes.  How sad that such a man cannot find the help he needs to grow up and let go of his unhealthy fixations.

A New Name for Robin Edgar’s Blog

The most tiresome thing about Robin Edgar’s relentless rants is his endless repetition of ridiculous phrases.  Big Fat U*U is clearly one of his favorites.  We wonder if he just sits in his room, staring at his computer screen, yelling over and over and over:

Big Fat U*U!  Big Fat U*U!  Big Fat U*U!  Big Fat U*U!

Mental health professionals refer to such behaviour as ‘perseveration’ – the useless repetition of a phrase or activity long after the external stimulus which initially provoked it has passed.

Robin Edgar’s whole approach to Unitarian Universalism has been a hotbed of perseveration.  He repeats the same phrases over and over.  He harasses and insults the same people over and over.  He pickets churches and conferences over and over.

To what end?  Will there ever be an end?

He calls his blog ‘The Emerson Avenger,’ appropriating a phrase from the famous Unitarian thinker.  We would suggest, however, that it be more accurate and appropriate to call it: ‘The Perseverating Avenger.’

What say you, Mister Edgar?  If you’re going to mindlessly repeat yourself so obsessively, then why not give your platform a name which truly reflects your behaviour?

And He Insists He’s Not Obsessed…

Robin Edgar continually insists that he’s not obsessed or fixated with Unitarian Universalists.  No, all those harassing pickets and repetitive online rants are not symptoms of obsession.  No, no, no.  Because then Robin Edgar would be admitting that there just might be something wrong with him.

So how does he explain holding a ‘peaceful public protest’ against his allegations of ‘U*U injustices, abuses and hypocrisies’ (read: he does not understand how his deliberately offensive behaviour has caused him to alienate so many Unitarian Universalists and others) at an event which has nothing to do with Unitarian Universalism?

Crown Prosecutors in Quebec recently staged a strike over wages in Montreal, and Robin Edgar thought it a good idea to go over with his picket signs and ‘express legitimate grievances’ to a group of people who not only have no interest in his ‘issue’ but no power whatsoever to help him.

He also referred to it as a ‘photo-op’ – yet a search of Canadian and other media coverage indicates that the only photo of his protest is the one he had taken of himself.  Much like the Google links he constantly creates and then tells others to find, to make him look important.

Talk about desperate for attention!

Oh, but Robin Edgar is not obsessed.  No, no, no, there’s nothing wrong with him.  Or with Fred Phelps picketing the funerals of soldiers because of homosexuality.

Robin Edgar: Standing on the Side of His Ego

The UUA’s Standing on the Side of Love campaign speaks to a diversity of issues, from marriage equality to basic human rights for immigrants, to inform and bring together UUs in common cause, and to let the world see that UUs put their compassion to work in the world.

For Robin Edgar, however, all that matters is that his comments get posted.

We have already noted how narcissistic he is.  This is one of the most egregious examples yet.  All of the work that Dan Furmansky and others in SSL and UU congregations across the continent is meaningless to him.  All that matters is that his grudge, his complaints, his criticisms, his self-righteous rants are approved.

Mister Edgar, if all you want is approval, then perhaps you can tell us why, in your own words, you are deliberately offensive and insulting.  Why, if all you want is approval, do you go out of your way to antagonise UUs, as well as so many others who dare to openly criticise, question or disagree with you?

We can only think of two reasons why.  The first is that you really don’t want approval – just attention, even if it’s scorn and ridicule.  The second is that you so believe that you deserve approval, that you simply do not care how many people you offend or hurt along the way.  Either answer fits with your previous egotistical history.