Defamation, Really?

          My attraction to blogging is twofold. It has unlimited potential by way of being able to write anything I desire and I can be completely biased. On that note:

        The saga of Laura Robinson vs John Furlong. Ms. Robinson, a freelance journalist took it upon herself to discredit and bring upon Mr. Furlong what she perceived as justice in writing an article detailing reports of him abusing children, which allegedly happened forty years ago at Immaculata School in Burns Lake.

       Now, I've kept abreast of this story since the beginning. I didn't know much about Ms. Robinson, and from all accounts, the article in the Georgia Straight seemed legitimate. I personally didn't have much affinity for Furlong and basically thought he was another boring executive, a talking head, a figure head who got way too much credit for the Olympics. When the news broke about these abuse allegations, I thought, okay, a fearless independent journalist has brought another creep his just deserts.

      Later on I read an article in Vanity Fair about Laura Robinson. I got a much clearer picture of who she was. In my own words, she struck me as a crusading, anti-authority, anti-male activist who threw away many opportunities for a stable career to pursue a vendetta against who she thought was the devil in the form of public male figures in positions of authority,  John Furlong being among them.

     That being said, there are folks out there who would say, "yeah, so? I fully believe in what she stands for. There should be more people out there taking up her cause."

     Fair enough. The results of the various lawsuits, failed criminal investigation, and latest testimony in the defamation lawsuit Ms. Robinson brought against Mr. Furlong tells a different story though. Let me back up here. The woman who initially wrote this article, defaming Furlong, and by all accounts poorly researched and suffering a lack of due diligence is suing the man she defamed for defaming her. Huh?

    This after all the cases against her were dropped, and the alleged criminal conduct of Mr. Furlong wasn't proven in court.

    The nail in Ms. Robinson's coffin is all the witnesses defending John Furlong in the trial against him, and basically calling Ms. Robinson a (my own words) bitch with an axe to grind.

    If Laura Robinson fully stood behind her article and firmly believed in her sources and the legitimacy of said article, why the hell isn't she taking her lumps and moving on with life, admitting she made a mistake as proven by the courts. Instead she insists on dragging herself and Furlong further through the mud to redeem what vestiges of self respect she has left.

   Know when you've been beaten, Laura, and stop hanging onto your vindictive ideals for dear life. Perhaps if you do, you'll realize the world doesn't revolve around you. Maybe you realize that if you drop your campaign, you'll see that you have nothing left. I sincerely pity you if that is the case, because that is a truly terrible place to find yourself.