Say there's someone in the club you don't like--we'll call him "Bob" for lack of imagination--and you want to drive him out of the club. The "why" isn't important. Maybe he threatens your paid position, or maybe he's called for an investigation into an apparently unlawful conflict of interest in the club, or maybe you just don't like him. You're a Hoofer "leader", and he's just a schmuck. So, how to go about this while minimizing any potential harm to yourself..?
From the unpublished Hoofer Leader manual:
1) Send an email to the private BOC (Board of Captains) list asking if anyone saw "Bob" around late the other night.
2) Make sure to mention the vandalism that also occurred the other night (and make sure that some vandalism actually occurred!).
3) For good measure, send a short, second email asking if it's true that [fill in name of former instructor who will be hard to contact] had safety concerns about Bob.
4) Remind everyone how great last week's instructors' party was.
All done! Let the internet work its magic, and before you know it, everyone around will be giving "Bob" dirty looks and avoiding him as much as possible. Meanwhile, of course, Bob is wondering who really vandalized those boats....
"Bob" should understand that he screwed himself over by lying claiming he didn't do things that many witnesses saw him do and/or were tracked by computer logs. "Bob" would have a lot more credibility about alleged boat vandalism if he hadn't done that.
ReplyDeleteUh oh.... looks like the BOC have discovered this blog. As you can see from the comment above, their standard fallback is to attack the person's credibility using hearsay.
ReplyDeleteThat comment also highlights an important point: if you get enough people believing something (doesn't matter if it's true), then it might as well be true.
Sorry, not the BOC, just a club member who saw "Bob" doing things that "Bob" later denied doing. Who am I going to believe? "Bob" or my own lying eyes?
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't Bob...It was Betty!
ReplyDeleteSo you (Somali pirate) saw Bob (apparently a made-up name) doing something? That's really useful. If you actually saw someone doing something illegal, then report it. I think the point is that when people report things but only think they know who did it.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head, somali peabrain. You should believe "Bob" because your eyes *can* lie. Someone posting a signup might *look* like he's taking it down; someone examining sidestays might *look* like he's removing cotter pins; and so on. If you suspect someone of being naughty, what will you see when you find him putting something into an instructor's mailbox..? You'll *think* you see him taking something out. Don't you get it? Hoofers is awash in rumours, and if they're allowed to persist long enough, the rumors become fact.
ReplyDeleteI'm sad today. I just found out that my eyes are lying to me. :( Those rotten two-timers! Oh sure, I knew that they occasionally exaggerate the beauty of the wenches after a spot o' grog. But now this! First, they spy signups posted in the tunnel, then "Bob" poking about, then empty spots where the signups used to be. And never once did these mutinous eyes spy any signups posted by "Bob."
ReplyDeleteSidestays... instructor mailbox... huh? "Bob" was seen inspecting sidestays and putting things in instructor mailboxes? This pirate had not heard. What did his inspections turn up?
Bob? What did your "inspection" of the sidestays turn up? Did they notice the un-pinned, and un-taped sidestays on Rascal before her mast snapped?
ReplyDeleteDid they turn up the missing pins from the backstays on the J's?
Great job at your inspection's I must say! You've done a really good job at keeping the boats safer and in top working order.
I think those were hypotheticals, meaning you dipsticks missed the point of this post. Or you're deliberately posting nonsense to confuse the issue, another standard Hoofer tactic.
ReplyDeleteOK, how about you give us some specifics, then? Like a point? All I see here is a rant complaining about rumors and innuendo at the club supported only by innuendo and insults. Present your evidence and make your allegations. Don't hide behind your "standard Hoofer tactics."
ReplyDeleteMy point stands. "Bob's" denials of things he's been wrongly accused of would have more credibility if he told the truth about the things he has done.
"I think those were hypotheticals, meaning you dipsticks missed the point of this post. Or you're deliberately posting nonsense to confuse the issue, another standard Hoofer tactic."
ReplyDeleteAnother Hoofer tactic...dodge the question and insult the person asking it.
Well done. BS without any real information being conveyed. Must be "Bob" since he's unable to meet his burden of proof yet again.
Good job resorting to name calling as well! Very classy and mature :)
"Burden of proof" to prove one's innocence..!? That statement alone says it all.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter if "Bob" did what he's accused of or did not. The mere act of accusing him is enough to accomplish the perps' objective which is to slander him within the club and cause him further harm down the road, e.g. by making people suspicious of him.