Villa Lifers will recall that was there something of a contratemps a few days ago on a matter which got up my nose a little. The issue was to do with what was in my view a mistaken line that was taken about one of Deadly Doug’s great opponents, one Jonathan Fear.
Any on this list who was around some 8 or 10 years ago on Villa Talk will remember that I used to have a great time defending the reputation of Deadly, who was maligned in some of the most extreme ways on that blog. Well, of course, I never won that debate, but it was never really a case of me trying to win anything, it was simply that I have almost a pathological dislike of character assassination, no matter who the person happens to be. As I said at the time, “You want Doug out but be careful on what might replace Doug.” And we know now what we have in Doug’s place – a nice guy, but a guy who has his own footballing foibles.
Since that time I was wrongly maligned on another blog whilst I was employed at Villa Park, and my robust yet stoical defence against that ended in my ejection from my employment. So blogs are, clearly, not always good for health!
On the matter of Jonathan Fear, we have a good working relationship and have been in regular contact for 12 years or so; we met and talked on one occasion. Without being a daily pal of his, I have been privy (for one reason or another) to some of the important events in his life, including his health matters. And we corresponded about his return of his cup tickets, so I know what happened there – it’s something of a different story to what seems to have been assumed by some, that he did it for effect and to further his own cause. That’s a false picture, and The Fear has proved to me that he possesses far more integrity than to do such a thing.
It is clearly the case that unless we know someone personally and not superficially, we can rarely make accurate judgments about them. But there is a bigger issue – which is, why make personal judgments against anyone and, worse, also publicly reveal those judgments? You know what happens – others pick up on it and assume it’s fact. A person can end up with a reputation he does not deserve.
Each of us is no different to the other – we are all made of flesh and blood, and an emotional heart. Each of us knows how easy it is to take offence, therefore why offend? It’s easy to make simplistic deductions about a matter but I feel those on this Blog are made of sterner stuff than that.
I know there are many mature guys on this list who will empathise with what I’m saying. And this is a very good blog. Let’s (please) keep it that way.
The Author
