More Evidence of a Downward Spiral

Robin Edgar has not posted anything in over a month. That alone is not a surprise, as this has happened before. No, what’s significant is that an issue of concern has been gaining attention among Unitarian Universalists, yet he remains completely silent about it.

This is very strange to us, for at the very least, we would expect Mister Edgar to harp on any issue of actual “injustices, abuses and hypocrisy” among UUs, and exploit it for all its worth, desperately trying to link it to his supposed persecution. (This is, in fact, why we are not providing any details; no need to give him opportunities to attempt to hijack more blogs and other online discussions.)

Lately, Mister Edgar has remained fixated on attempts by the UUA to have him cease and desist from further online harassment of a number of its ministers – yet another sign of his unhealthy tendency towards rage-filled obsession. He keeps demanding that the UUA “govern [them]selves accordingly”, while he continues his periodic attacks against anybody and everybody who does not adhere to his continual self-centered demands for attention and validation.

Mister Edgar, if you were truly concerned for justice within Unitarian Universalism, you would have put aside your own demands, and used your talents and energy to help others with no thought of reward or recognition for yourself. But, have you ever done so? Every opportunity to raise awareness regarding some concern or issue, you have to twist it like a pretzel to be about you, even commenting on totally irrelevant blog posts to rant and rave about “Big Fat U*Us”, either generally or by name. And now, in this case, you’re not even bothering to do that. You’ve thus made it clear that your so-called “crusade” is all about you, and nobody else.

Truly sad.

An update: Mister Edgar replied with a comment that he was tweeting about the incident in question. What we found was his reply to a satirical UU tweet on the matter … buried under dozens of tweets he has done. Apparently Twitter is better suited to his more manic tendencies.

So What Does Robin Edgar Have to Say About “Operation Save America” Disrupting UU Worship in New Orleans?

Well, to date, … absolutely nothing!

Considering his past behavior, not surprising.

 

Robin “Pot” Edgar Calls the Kettle Black

Once again, Robin Edgar publishes another post with another long, bombastic headline about how he’s been victimised by Unitarian Universalists, and his endless crusade against ‘U*U injustices, abuses and hypocrisy’ (read: not doing what he demands).

His latest post is yet another screed about ‘verbally abusive’ UU ministers.  No specific examples mentioned, but then again, he’s gone on a tear about so many, we’re sure that even he is losing count.

At any rate, Mister Edgar had also sent a comment to this blog.  Considering the content, and his penchant for accusing Unitarian Universalists of ‘hypocrisy’ … well, we shall let our readers decide where he stands:

Oh, nanny nanny boo boo. Having a bad day? Feeling a little insecure about yourself? Talk to your therapist. “RobinEdgarSucks.wordpress.com?” Are you in sixth grade? I just hope to God you’re not Big Fat U*U Ministry. I hope you be annoying you U*Us a lot in the new year. Seems like you U*Us could use it. – TEA

Robin Edgar “Hungers” for the Facts

One of the most ridiculous ways in which Robin Edgar carries on his crusade is to pick one comment by one UU blogger (often out of context) and make it appear to be absolutely true for all Unitarian Universalists everywhere.

Such is his recent appropriation of Reverend Tont Lorentzen’s opinion that UUs ‘suck’ at feeding the hungry.  Mister Edgar would have us believe that this minister will (or should) be subjected to ‘UU bullying’ for his ‘defamation’.

Of course, he doesn’t mention how he has been bullying, harassing and maligning UUs for nearly two decades now, in a personal vendetta of misguided narcissism.

Nor did he even bother to demonstrate that Lorentzen’s opinion is indeed untrue.  A simple websearch (remember those, Mister Edgar) would have revealed the following UU congregations with projects or partnerships on feeding the hungry in various communities:

• UU Church of Columbus
• UU Congregation of Monmouth County
• UU Church in Summit
• UU Church in Cherry Hill
• Gloucester UU Church
• Hope UU Church in Tulsa
• Magic Valley UU Fellowship
• UU Congregation in Santa Rosa
• East Shore UU Church
• First Parish UU Church in Canton
• UU Fellowship of Fayetteville
• UUs of Santa Clarita Valley
• Cedar Lane UU Church
• UU Church of Savannah
• UU Church of Muncie
• UU Congregation of Shelter Rock
• UU Church of Rockville
• UU Congregation of Lakeland
• Harbor UU Congregation
• Tennessee Valley UU Church
• UU Congregation of Hillsboro
• UU Church of Reading
• UU Fellowship of Huntington
• First Parish UU Church in Bridgewater
• UU Church of Haverhill
• UU Fellowship of Waco
• UU Congregation of the Quad Cities

Perhaps Mister Edgar should ‘eat his own words’ – or even bother to do some good himself, like volunteering for a worthy program in Montreal, rather than ranting and picketing and lashing out.

Robin Edgar’s Fatal Attraction for UU Ministers

After Robin Edgar’s latest ‘Emerson Avenger’ post, repeating once again his overblown ‘charges’ against Reverend Cynthia Cain, we can just picture him like Glenn Close’s famous character:

‘I’m not going to be IGNO-O-O-ORED, UUs!!!’

And just like Michael Douglas, we’re left trying to explain to him: ‘You just don’t get it, do you?’

Sadly, no.  Robin Edgar does not ‘get’ how his outlandish behaviour constitutes harassment, or how it differs from the conduct of the UU ministers he obsessively fixates upon.

Cynthia Cain posted a comment on her own blog about the mean-spirited words and actions of certain US Republican leaders.  She pretty much left it at that.

Robin Edgar, on the other hand, notoriously doesn’t ‘leave it at that’ when he targets you.  No, a single blog post is not enough – he must blog about you constantly.  And comment about you on other blogs and Internet forums constantly.  And barrage you with emails constantly.  And, just for good measure, make a picket sign referring to you, and use it in his ‘peaceful public protests’ constantly.

Do you now see why we are concerned about how far he might be willing to go?  Anybody this obsessed, and who feels ignored, to the point of ruining his own life on a hopeless crusade to ruin others, will not stop merely at verbal abuse and harassment.

Most people would have let go and moved on long ago.  But not when they are as obsessive, self-centered, rage-filled and ‘entitled’ as Robin Edgar.  He’s not going to be ignored.

Perhaps, then, we are doing a service.  By not ignoring him, by warning UUs and others about the potential danger of his warped mindset and behaviour, we are diverting him away from a potential escalation to violence.

We can only hope, just as we hope that he will finally get the help he needs.

Robin Edgar’s Latest Act of Hypocrisy

Seems the intrepid Robin Edgar has to keep outdoing himself.  Not enough to insult people, often for little reason than being a Unitarian Universalist leader, he has to videotape himself making an obscene gesture, post it anywhere and everywhere he can … and then blame UUs for his actions!

Now, he has decided to go after “Internet trolls.”  This man is campaigning against trolling?!  Talk about a fox guarding the hen-house!

Let’s be clear what we’re talking about here, Mister Edgar: “In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.”  Now, look at your voluminous blog posts, comments on other people’s blogs, comments about what you think of UUs on online articles that have nothing to do with Unitarian Universalism, and on and on and on and on…

If you want to do something about trolling, we have a very simple suggestion: Get off the computer and get into a psychiatrist’s office.  You have been doing this for over a decade, with no positive outcome, and still you troll, and now you express extreme disapproval for other people’s acts which pale in comparison to your own.  We have said it before, and we shall keep saying it until you realize it: You need help, Robin Edgar!

‘I know Robin Edgar…’

We had received this comment a couple of months ago, but hesitated to post it until we made some effort to check it out as best as we can.  Even so, we would not be surprised if Robin Edgar goes off on another one of his tirades, accusing us of ‘more moronic Big Fat U*U BS.’

Well, he can make all the accusations he wants.  Read the comment for yourselves, and decide:

Came across your website and read thru it. I know Robin Edgar from years before, none of this surprises me or others I know who know about him. I’m not Unitarian, or any religion for that matter, but I lived with him in a boarding house here in Montreal. He can come across as nice enough, but as you say he is indeed obsessive. Cameras, for example. He can’t just tell you he took a picture, he has to describe in detail exactly what camera he is using, even his technical opinion, showing off what a great photographer he thinks he is.

I was around when he had his revelation, and like everything else he gets fixed on, he could not stop talking about it. Was convinced he could start his own religious movement around total eclipses, that the Unitarians would be a good place to start. Then things started falling apart, and the rest you know.

You also got right how he handles criticism or disagreement. If you ever cross him, he goes halfcocked about you being crazy or stupid or immoral. It’s hot and cold with him, you are either totally with him or you must be totally against him. He keeps losing friends, either driving them away or going all ballistic on him, then he’ll deny saying what he said or how he yells at people, then when he’s cornered and shown yes he said X Y Z or lost his cool, he goes on justifying it because nothing is ever his fault. Also takes a lot of things the wrong way, sometimes twists it around in really bizarre ways.

Robin has driven away more friends than anyone I know, and he is downright oblivious to his own problems.  People have suggested he see someone, get counseling or learn how to deal better with people. Like you said, that is the worst, he will explode like an atom bomb, how dare anyone say he has any kind of problem. Just like before, running hot and cold, he can only think crazy or sane, and if you are crazy he sees it as a moral failing.

The way Robin behaves gets him in so much trouble, he has a very hard time holding down a job or living in any one place long enough. The few people he can still manage to relate with try not to bring up the Unitarian thing, or just humour him. The alternative of going thru the same old routine – blow up, attack people, deny he did it, be shown he did, then hear him justify everything he just denied – is not worth it for some, but most can only handle that for so long. The only thing unusual is how long he has obsessed with the Unitarians, I think because he figures they are the most convenient target so he can keep denying and avoiding his own problems.

Robin Edgar, we know you read this blog.  Rest assured, we did take considerable steps to have some background checked before deciding to post this.  You can continue to deny and lash out at us, but this is not a ‘Big Fat U*U’ problem.  This is your problem, and it is more obvious to those around you than you realize.  We have said it before, we will say it again, as apparently so many have said to you before: You need professional help.  Stop avoiding, denying, blaming and attacking.

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

It’s no surprise that Robin Edgar reads one UU minister’s blog entry, critical of some aspect of Unitarian Universalism, and makes it into a broad denunciation of anything and everything UUs believe and do.  But this time his accusation is the greatest of all hypocrisies.

Yes, Robin Edgar has decreed that Unitarian Universalists are narcissists.

This from the man who, for some two decades, has lashed out at an increasing number of UU ministers and leaders and congregations, indeed the entire UU movement, because they will not do what he demands.  Nothing else matters to Robin Edgar but what Robin Edgar wants.  Fail to do so, and he sees it as justification to insult, belittle, attack and harass those whom he once idealized and now devalues.

Forget that Unitarian Universalists have done so much work for the benefit of others, simply because it is the right thing to do.  Unitarians and Universalists worked for the abolition of slavery, equality for women, helping refugees from Nazi Germany, civil rights and racial equality, and now equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.  Not good enough for Robin Edgar, and not simply because Unitarian Universalists are no more perfect than anybody else.  No, it’s not good enough for Robin Edgar because Robin Edgar does not like how some UUs treated him.

Nor does it matter how outrageous his own behaviour has been.  If the Unitarian Church of Montreal will not authorise a second ‘Creation Day’ event, then he believes himself justified to throw a temper tantrum, accuse others in the church of intolerance, and demand that the minister meet him in his small apartment – and nowhere else – to ‘explain’ why total eclipses are such spiritual events.

It also does not matter that UUs have always been engaged in self-critical discussions about the evolution of our faith, and the needs of our members.  Once again, another example of his egoistic black-and-white thinking – only those who kowtow to him are good and right, and anybody who dares to question or criticise him are bad and wrong.

For Robin Edgar to accuse anybody else of narcissism is a classic example of ‘the pot calling the kettle black.’  Of course, when somebody becomes as self-centred and self-absorbed as he is, it’s expected that he fails to see this.  All we can hope is that UUs will remember all the good we have, and can continue, to do, and learn from that.

The Ultimate Hypocrisy of Robin Edgar

Having discovered Twitter, Robin Edgar has used it to pursue Unitarian Universalists with manic, obsessive abandon.  The response of many UUs has been to block him from further rants and harassment.

His response?  Indignation, if not outright rage.  How dare anybody ignore Robin Edgar, aka The Emerson Avenger!

So once again he spirals into another blast of manic posts, lashing out at UUs refusing to indulge his immature need for absolute attention.

But here is the most pathetic – and hypocritical – part of this never-ending cycle in the life of Robin Edgar.  While he decries UUs, especially UU ministers, of allegedly being insulting and rude to him, he goes out of his way to behave in even more rude and insulting behaviour, then acts as shocked as Claude Rains in ‘Casablanca’ that they would respond the way they do.

Yes, of course, he has repeatedly tried to distance himself from his actions, often by claiming that it’s not really him who is so obnoxious, but his supposed alter ego, ‘The Emerson Avenger’.  Read this excerpt from a comment on his blog, dated Sunday, July 12th, 2009:

‘The Emerson Avenger is something of a “persona” aka an “act” and is often quite deliberately rude and “in your face” offensive’

The cycle continues.  He doesn’t like what a Unitarian Universalist says, either about him or anything else.  He considers it a deliberate insult to him, so he now considers himself justified in insulting, attacking and harassing the UU in question.  When called on the carpet for his behaviour, he attempts to distance himself: ‘That wasn’t me, that was my persona!’  And the reason for this ‘act’?  The big bad UU was mean to him, so that justifies his even worse behaviour.  When the victim of his obsessive lashing out realizes that responding to his juvenile antics only leads to more of the same, and decides to break the cycle by both refusing to respond and denying him from hijacking thier Twitter account or blog, guess what? Robin Edgar decrees that this is another ‘reason’ for expressing his rage.  How dare UUs ignore him!

Respond to him, and he lashes out.  Ignore him, and he lashes out.  You can’t win, break even, or even leave the game.

This is Robin Edgar’s ultimate hypocrisy.  He demands that UUs be perfect, and when they are not, then he proclaims them evil, stupid, and every other insult he can throw at them – while he, conversely, is blameless and righteous in all things, and more importantly, deserving of attention if not outright adulation and submission to his will.

You can’t have it both ways, Mister Edgar.  You can’t demand of others a standard which you yourself refuse to live by.  And no matter how many times you try to rationalize your ‘deliberately rude and “in your face” offensive’ behaviour, there is simply no excuse for it.  Even your pathetic attempts at distancing yourself from what you do is meaningless.  After all, you created your so-called ‘Emerson Avenger persona’, and are thus ultimately responsible for everything you attribute to that ‘act’.

A Robin Edgar Glossary

One of the biggest problems with trying to read Robin Edgar’s blog posts and comments is his use (or abuse) of language. His writings are riddled with all sorts of repetitive catch phrases coined or appropriated by him, and he often redefines words through the lens of his narcissistic obsessions. This is a guide to many of these, and we invite our readers to offer more examples of ‘Robin-Edgar-speak’

Abuse – any criticism of Robin Edgar by any Unitarian Universalist, however valid or constructive.

Ass, Asshole – a central fixation of Robin Edgar, possibly a symptom of projection

Asterisk – a frequently overused typographical symbol in Robin Edgar’s blog posts and online comments; even though he has shown himself quite capable of using boldface, italics and underlining, he continues to frame words with asterisks as a means of emphasis; considering his repeated commentary that the asterisk resembles a rectal sphincter, this may explain his obsessive overuse (see entry for Ass, Asshole); this in turn may provide meaning to his constantly abbreviating ‘Unitarian Universalist’ as ‘U*U’ (read ‘you asshole, you’); note also his spelling out the word as ‘Ass-To-Risk’

Big Fat U*U – Meaningless attempt at an insult by Robin Edgar towards any and every Unitarian Universalist of whom he disapproves; considering that he has never voiced approval of any Unitarian Universalists, and the incredible amount of repetition in his blog and online comments, an especially meaningless phrase

Censorship – refusing to publish any of Robin Edgar’s comments, regardless of how offensive or irrelevant it may be; even though no effort is made to suppress his use of his own blog (actually several) to publish his views, he considers others’ refusing to let him hijack their blogs and media outlets for his own purposes to be an affront to his rights

Cowardly – anybody who chooses to question or criticize Robin Edgar anonymously, for whatever reason; all too often assumed by him to be a Unitarian Universalist

DIM thinking – a term of art appropriated by Robin Edgar to describe any disagreement with, or questioning of, any of his actions or allegations; if you do not agree with his belief that Unitarian Universalism is riddled with ‘injustices, abuses and hypocrisy’, and that he is justified in doing and saying whatever he wants in response (even when he makes unjust accusations, abusive statements, or behaves exactly as he accuses others of doing), then you are guilty of ‘DIM thinking’

Emerson Avenger – according to Robin Edgar, his ‘online persona’ for engaging in an endless crusade against ‘injustices, abuses and hypocrisy’ within Unitarian Universalism; another way of rationalizing his outlandish statements and behaviour by claiming that he is actually a nice and reasonable person, and that his ‘Emerson Avenger persona’ is merely a ‘form of satire’ in response to Unitarian Universalists refusing to give in to his repeated demands for ‘justice’; the problem is, Unitarian Universalists have so rarely seen him behaving ‘nice’ and ‘reasonable’, making it hard to tell which is the real Robin Edgar and which is an act

Googe hits – justification for Robin Edgar’s belief in his own relevance, importance and self-righteousness

Hypocrisy – label attached to any Unitarian Universalist who does not always listen to, or agree completely with, Robin Edgar

Injustice – failure to punish any Unitarian Universalist who runs afoul of Robin Edgar

Insults – in the mind of Robin Edgar, a perfectly justifiable response to any criticism of his obnoxious, outrageous and offensive behaviour; since he views any such criticism as an insult (see also Abuse), he believes that he is in his rights to lash out at any Unitarian Universalist who disagrees with him, or even refuses to respond to his demands

Justice – Unitarian Universalists giving in to every complaint, demand and grievance of Robin Edgar, no matter how extreme or irrational

Kick in the balls – example of Robin Edgar’s frequent and repetitive use of violent imagery, in this case to exaggerate the importance or relevance of one Unitarian Universalist disagreeing with another, and often coupled with the bizarre claim that such disagreement justifies Robin Edgar’s outrageous behaviour and verbal attacks

Memory hole – final resting place for many of Robin Edgar’s more offensive comments on other people’s blogs (although he is notorious for printing them on his own blog, then accusing the other person of ‘censorship’); appropriated out of context from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four

Peaceful public protest – real-time harassment of Unitarian Universalist groups and meetings, involving the use of handmade picket signs with bizarre statements; many times ‘documented’ by having Robin Edgar photograph or videotape himself; most frequent target of this tactic has been the Unitarian Church of Montreal, which terminated his membership after enduring almost two years of obsessive and outrageous conduct; also directed at perceived co-conspirators of ‘U*U injustices, abuses and hypocrisy’, such as Quebec’s Crown Prosecutors for following up on requests filed for restraining orders against him

Some – Apparently a reference to 99.9999 percent of Unitarian Universalists, or particular groups of Unitarian Universalists; Robin Edgar frequently prefaces his attacks on UUs with this word, as if to make the claim that he does not despise all UUs; the problem, of course, is that he has lashed out at so many UUs since the start of his crusade against alleged ‘injustices, abuses and hypocrisy’ that it is virtually impossible to know if he actually approves of any

Victim of U*U clergy misconduct – Robin Edgar; often phrased as ‘ALL victims of U*U clergy misconduct’