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.

Is Robin Edgar Even Capable of Anything Else?

So far, Robin Edgar has done scant little aside from attack, insult, harass and slander.  He’s not just annoyingly repetitive and unimaginative, he’s so overwhelmingly negative that he constantly begs the question … Just what does this man want?!?

(And we’re not sure even he knows the answer to that question.)

Now we do not agree with every Unitarian Universalist blogger out there, or with everything that the UUA does or stands up for, but we can certainly applaud when somebody takes the time to go beyond mere criticism and propose a constructive alternative.

One such blogger, having noted some serious shortcomings in the way the UUA handles complaints from individuals, proposed establishing an ombudspersonto field such complaints.  At the very least, this blogger suggests, this UU ombudsperson could at least direct people with complaints to the right office or individual.

Tell us, Robin Edgar, would you approve of this idea?  Since you can’t come up with an idea like this on your own, the least you can do is support this proposal.

Then again, Mister Edgar has expressed so much disdain for this particular blogger, it’s unlikely he’ll have anything positive to say about it.

Come to think of it, we can’t recall when Robin Edgar has had anything positive or constructive to say at all.

So, what do you say, Robin?  Could you at least try to move beyond carping and lashing out, and give a concrete constructive proposal?

Robin Edgar’s Rigged Game

Don’t ever play cards with Robin Edgar.  Because, if he plays the same way he responds to Unitarian Universalists, then he’s bound to rig the deck in his favour.  Always.

If you’re a UU minister, and you post something on your blog which he does not like, then he attacks you.  He’ll even file a ‘formal complaint of clergy misconduct’ (albeit to the wrong people) against you, and demand a response.

If he does not get a response to his misplaced ‘formal complaint’, then he will continually hound and harass the President of the UUA for one (even though the President’s office is not where such complaints are supposed to be delivered)

Well, let us say that you now remove the offending post, for whatever reason.  Still not good enough.  Now you are guilty of ‘memory-holing,’ because in Robin Edgar’s bizarre view of reality, you can never ever make amends for any mistake, and you must be forced to live with your mistakes forever and ever and ever.

The only consistent rule in Robin Edgar’s ‘game’ is an endless refrain borne of a childish temper-tantrum:  I hate UUs!  Big Fat UUs!  Big Fat UUs bad bad bad!  Me me me me good good good!

You can never win with Robin Edgar.  You can’t even break even.  And he’ll never understand why nobody wants to play his game.

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.

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.

More Shameless Slander

Robin Edgar must have some difficulty reading.  Either that, or he can’t think beyond a rigid and immature ‘black-and-white’ mentality.  This is evident in his constantly accusing UU minister and blogger Cynthia Cain of ‘demonizing and marginalizing Republicans.’  As he asserts in his latest blog post:

Rev. Cynthia P. Cain never said all mean people are Republicans; what she said was all Republicans were mean people…

Mister Edgar, she did not even say that.  She called out Republican Party leaders of mean-spirited and uncivil rhetoric.  Show us, please, where she said that all Republicans are mean people.

No surprise, however, that Robin Edgar stoops to such slander.  He can only think in the extremes of idealization and devaluation (and more of the latter than the former).  Say something he doesn’t like, and he resorts to hyperbole and sweeping generalization to devalue and denigrate you.  Especially when you are an ordained UU minister.

Nor will it help if, after making a questionable blog post, you decide to remove it.  No, then he accuses you of the manufactured transgression of ‘memory-holing,’ and treats you exactly the same as if you had left the blog post up – obsessively repeating the same accusations, insults, attacks and denigrations over and over and over and over and over again and again and again and again and again.

Mister Edgar, it doesn’t matter if you ‘paraphrase’ Horace Greeley.  Defamation is still defamation.  Distorting the facts goes against the UU principle of a free and responsible search for meaning and truth which you so claim to uphold.  More’s the pity that you refuse to see how unhealthy, counterproductive and dysfunctional your fixations, perseverations and angry rants really are.  We again implore you to seek professional help, as so many have recommended.

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.

Robin Edgar’s Deceptions

It’s a good thing that one of our team read the ‘spam’ contents more carefully, where this was found:

“Evidence of the use of fake support can be found on his own blog. The long, long comment thread in this post- http://emersonavenger.blogspot.com/2008/01/yet-another-unitarianuniversalist.html – is worth reading for multiple reasons, but among them is a long list of fake references and sock puppets Robin has used. Robin quotes Peter Andre Globensky for making comments in his favor and against the UCM; when contacted by email, Mr. Globensky said, “The correct reference would have been ‘Stalinist’ – and no, I did not make that reference. I wish he would stop using my name in vain!”

Farther down, Robin admits- boasts of!- impersonating David Wallace Croft to get around being banned from a blog. Another commenter taunts Robin by using the pseudonym “GodKnowsWho”- because that’s the sock puppet Robin created to support his own comments on the old “Beliefnet” forums (which he admits a couple comments down); he has used “GoddessKnowsWho” on Pagan forums. He has also posted as “Philocritic”, hoping to be confused with the popular “Philocrites”- UU World Editor Chris Walton. All these examples are from a single comment thread in a single post on his own blog; there are others to be found. He defends his deception, as he defends all his excesses, by claiming necessity… the last refuge of the scoundrel, in my book.”

Yet another reason to look upon Mister Edgar’s claims with more than just a grain of salt.  Yet more proof that, in order to bolster his obsessive need for approval, he will even go so far as to manufacture evidence – and is not even ashamed to admit it!

The Lesson for UUs

Is there anything which Unitarian Universalists can learn from Robin Edgar’s incessant, childish and rage-filled attacks against our denomination?  Yes.  It is that, as much as we would like to see the good in human beings, there are some individuals with whom even a liberal and generous movement such as ours simply cannot and should not work with.

Robin Edgar wants UUs to listen to him.  We have.  We have heard the same complaints, insults and irrational demands for “justice” over and over and over again.  Robin Edgar continues to repeat himself, and will not stop.  The time for listening is past.

UUs have asked Robin Edgar to behave, at the very least, in a civil and cordial manner.  He has done so on only rare occasions, and more often has launched into ad hominen attacks, vulgar and juvenile insults, and outrageous denunciations.

UUs have tried to ignore him.  But narcissists like Robin Edgar, like Glenn Close’s borderline character in Fatal Attraction, are not going to be ignored.  So he continues to picket, bloviate, and obsess at the slightest provocation.  The only question is whether he is making up provocations for the excuse of lashing out, or whether he actually sees them where none exist.

When Meg Riley talks about a vote in the United States Senate, he uses it as a platform for talking about “Unitarian*Universalist clergy misconduct of ALL kinds” (and, for those of you unfamiliar with “Robin-speak”, this is his way of saying how much he thinks UU ministers deserve to be vilified and harassed by his “Emerson Avenger persona” because he did not like the way he alleges one minister talked to him, and that nobody has found cause to pursue his endless complaints and demands for retribution).

When one member of the Unitarian Church of Montreal allegedly makes an off-colour remark in his direction, he latches onto the man like a rabid pit bull on a child, obsessively attacking and belittling him, rather than take the high road like the “reasonable” and “well-behaved” person he claims to “really” be.

A number of UU bloggers have commented on how, too often, leaders of UU congregations are overly tolerant of clearly destructive individuals who come into their midst.  Robin Edgar is the worst-case example of such an individual.  As much as we believe in the worth and dignity of every person, that very same principle demands that we protect ourselves and others from those who, by their very destructive actions, demonstrate more than anything how little they respect or understand that principle.

It is high time that the Unitarian Church of Montreal protect its members and visitors from this destructive individual – permanently.  It is high time that the UCM’s leadership utilised the legal options available in Canada’s criminal code, and see to it that Robin Edgar is given a taste of real justice.

Here We Go Again

Round and round Robin Edgar goes.  When he’ll stop, nobody knows.

Yes, we’ve said this phrase before.  Then again, Robin Edgar has been saying the same, tired complaints over and over and over again, compared to repeating one phrase a second time after several months.

At the beginning of October, he posted on the “Emerson Avenger” that the Unitarian Church of Montreal would be ‘repeating [a] shameful image tarnishing history’, and promising ‘More about today’s interesting new developments in shameful Unitarian*Universalist history later.’

He never delivered on that promise.

Now, over three weeks later, Robin Edgar tries to hijack the ‘Sermon in Stones’ blog of Reverend Amy Zucker Morgenstern, to complain yet again about the UCM’s efforts to protect its members and visitors from his endless harassment, labelling those effoprts ‘ritualized dominance struggles’.  For evidence, he shows the same tired Youtube (sorry, ‘U*U-tube’) video of a UCM members calling the police on his cell phone.

So, Mister Edgar, once again you accuse Unitarian Universalists of something for which you yourself are far more guilty.  For years, you have been trying to dominate the discussion among UUs to talk about your gripes and complaints, and how you want the entire UUA and CUC to stop everything and listen to you, you, you.  Not to mention your pickets of the UCM, the UU Ministerial Association, and UUA General Assemblies over the years, which you so smugly label an ‘alternative spiritual practice’.

The hypocrisy.  The hypocrisy…

The very fact that Robin Edgar’s actions have become so hopelessly repetitive is the only reason we could call it ‘ritualized’.  But there is no doubt that Robin Edgar is engaged in a fruitless struggle for dominance within the UU world.  All UUs should listen to him, publish his ‘legitimate’ complaints on their blogs and online bulletin boards, and turn everything upside down to accommodate his craving for vengeance — oh, sorry, ‘restorative justice’.

The only sign of hope is how much further apart his blog posts are becoming.  One theory submitted to us in private is that he no longer has the computer access he once had.  That may be possible, but we don’t think he’d be willing to admit that, and we would think that someone as obsessed as he would find some way to feed his desire to keep up his attention-getting antics.

A second theory is that he is simply running out of steam.  He simply has nothing new to say.  Looking over his content, that is very likely, and we can only hope that he simply decides that his egocentric crusade has run its course, and now (finally!) it’s time to move on.

Then there is a third theory, which is rather frightening to mention (plus, we do not want to run the risk of giving Robin Edgar any more ideas)…