Jim Lynch Message to Bedfordshire Residents

I received an unsolicited message from one of my neighbors, Jim Lynch, who copied his message to all 54 unit owners of Bedfordshire Condominiums. Herewith is my reply to Jim, along with his original message to me, attached below.

From: Barry Kort

To: Jim Lynch

CopyTo: All 54 Unit Owners of Bedfordshire Condominiums

Subject: Come Let Us Reason Together

Date: June 30, 2015

Hi Jim,

What happened to the Myers is not an instance of anti-semitism, Jim. It's an instance of dysanthropy, unjust treatment, discrimination. The same kind of unjust treatment was visited upon Native Americans, upon African Americans, upon Irish and Italian Americans, upon Catholics, upon Jews, upon Japanese Americans, and upon my colleagues in academia. It's a pogrom, Jim. My ancestors came to this country to get away from pogroms. The Colonists came here from England to get away from an oppressive Monarchy.

Unjust oppression is ubiquitous in human history, and it's despicable any where, anytime, regardless of who is the victim.

The Trustees have a long long history of autocratic, dysanthropic, undemocratic, unethical, venal, abusive, unbecoming, and ochlocratic pattern of governance dating back to Roger Walker, some twenty-five years ago.

When I went to look up your e-mail address, Jim, I pulled up an outdated copy of the directory and inadvertently copied the e-mail address of Joe Dini, the previous owner of your unit. After explaining to me why he decided to leave Bedfordshire, he wrote this:

2000 years ago a guy got fed up with people following the strict interpretation of the law - like it was illegal to cure sick people on the sabbath or stone sexual deviants - but alas, his followers created a whole new religion, which in essence says that all would be accepted. But over time the high and mighty attitude crept back in and we have those "pious" zealots going back to strict interpretation of the law we go. Guess another person has to get "nailed" to bring us back to sanity.

Joe

I responded to Joe thusly:

Hi Joe,

The drama of the New Testament story is a classical one that repeats from time to time in many variants.

Today, in Cyberspace communities, it's quite easy to reify that hoary drama.

One can get "crucified" on Friday afternoon and blithely resurrect oneself on Sunday morning as if nothing of significance happened over the weekend.

I've lost track of the number of times I've re-enacted that drama with some anankastic control phreak in some online venue. Several of the more dramatic episodes are commemorated with atrocious song parodies and feature length comic operas. The anankastic control phreaks never learn a damn thing, but the attending audience does.

In terms of the interplay of emotions and learning (my long-term research project) these episodes provide valuable insight and experience regarding the emotional dynamics and audience response of these recurring shreklisch dramas.

Barry

The Trustees routinely blunder in this manner, Jim. By my count, this is at least the sixth major blunder in this oft-recurring pattern.

I don't expect the Trustees to change their mind, nor do I expect you to change your mind. You have declared your belief system (Hammurabism) and I have declared mine (Science). I expect you to act in accordance with your belief system and you can expect me to act in accordance with mine.

But consider this, Jim. World class scientists have examined Hammurabism and found it wanting. That's not exactly a new observation. The founders of all the world's great religions came to the same conclusion. And now so has modern science. Hammurabism is on the wrong side of history, Jim.

Regards,

Barry

On Tue, Jun 30, 2015 at 3:59 PM, Jim Lynch wrote:

From: Jim Lynch

To: Barry Kort

CopyTo: All 54 Unit Owners of Bedfordshire Condominiums

Subject: Palace Revolt

Date: June 30, 2015

Barry Kort,

Mrs. Lynch and I respectfully request that our names be removed from your E-mail list; lest anyone believe that we are supportive of your ill-advised and divisive leadership of your palace revolt. Just to set the record straight - - - what happened to the Myers is tragic. But this issue was not created by the Trustees. Significant errors and omissions were made during the transfer of real estate at 5 MGW. Those blunders (or oversights) may trace to one of, or all of, the sellers, the buyers, the attorneys representing both parties and the real estate agents representing both parties. The Trustees perceived a violation of the by-laws and rules and regulations of the Bedfordshire Condominium Association and acted on that perception. Without polling each of the Trustees, I would bet that each made this decision with a heavy heart.

The Myers are indeed fine people, with two young sons who greet you each day with a sincere warmth. Their over-sized white retriever named Fenway is a handsome gentle giant capable of instant affection. Everyone in the Bedfordshire community has welcomed and embraced the Myers as new neighbors and friends. Your allegation that the Trustees' action was motivated by anti-Semitism is equally outrageous and disgusting.

We pray that your use of social media to share your vitriolic venom does not reflect poorly on Bedfordshire and thus handicap a successful sale by the Myers. Perhaps you should have contemplated that possibility before launching your misguided attack on the integrity of the Trustees. Your efforts will only serve to polarize the community. Please do not feel the need to respond . . . . neither of us suffer fools gladly.

Sincerely,

Jim Lynch

"Whereof we cannot express a theory, we must narrate a story instead.'' —Umberto Eco