Hairballs to the Right of Her, Hairballs to the Left, Volley and Thunder!

...Into the Valley of the CatBlogosphere ventured the experienced Journalist, and Cat Lover.

And the outraged, self-rightous, denunciations continued...

Good morning, the Mad Macedonian here.

Since my last post I've not had a chance, until yesterday afternoon, to more than approve comments, handle some correspondence, and do some research.

Most of what I've read in some of the same CatBlogosphere places, and in my comments, was embarrassing to our Community...

As Cheryl, of Meowers from Missouri, wrote me in an e-mail:

You might want to put on your flame-proof undies for a while;-D

Folks are still pretty angry about this!

At Meowers from Missouri:

Cheryl, the Human Co-Blogger of Ed, Nitro and Xing Lu, posted an e-mail I sent her, and a comment she left to my post.

In it she quoted Scripture in her defense, but did not take our Feline Readership into account in doing so...so I will, appologizing for her lack of simple courtesy:

FROM THE LOLCAT BIBLE:

1Cor. 6:2-3, Prov. 3:21, John 7:24, Jer. 22:3

If tossing the Good Book at me makes her feel better about what she, and those who agree with her are doing, then far be it from me to disuade her from it.

Anyway, where was I?

Her commentors:

1. We think that woman should have just kept her story to herself.

2. Can she honestly expect people to believe she didn't hear her?

3. How dare someone show an attitude of levity? Perhaps we should consider that her levity, though inappropriate, may be a defense mechanism. she could be an evil person just desiring justification and validation, but it's her problem if she mistakes kindness for weakness - not ours. (This from someone "working my way to a Masters degree in Mental Health".)

It seems everyone was too tuckered to toss onTuesday, so they didn't.

Same at The Cat's Meow.

That doesn't mean folks were completely quiet...just turning their thoughts in my direction as well as Kim. ;-D

You can read the full commments in my previous post, but here are highlights:

1. When something happens to one of my cats, my first reaction is to cry and feel guilt. NOT write a light hearted article on the tragedies that have befallen animals who trust me to care for them.

2.  No, you would not only raise hackles in the cat Blogging or any animal lover but also in your so Called "journalistic" approach to the story...

You did not even read it did you?

Umm can I just say...DUH?

 I believe when you are on trial these things are brought up, so being that this woman is on trial, by us who respect and love animals, should these things also not be taken into consideration when trying to determine a verdict, or are you just like every other dumb ass story writer...

make this post as controversial as you can, so you can get the ratings?

Or maybe you are one of these do-gooders that think even mass murderers should be treated nicely and have creature comforts?

Yeah it's a big dive from the story, but it gets the point across...

I am ashamed for the world we live in now days...

This person looked for people to justify her sins, hoping that people would be all like you were..."Oh it is ok, we all make mistakes, you are not a bad person"...

Bullshit, do a little research and you will find that the bad people out there live off this.

You see, no person is entirely without conscience and want to justify their "sin" as you call it yourself, they look to other people, cry a sob story about how sorry they are then go on to do the same thing over and over...

Anyway I am done...

The way you have written and not done any research into the story other than our reactions proves to me that you have not one lateral thinking spark in your brain, so know that this is not directed at you but more at the people that might even think your story had some cred.

3. We don't believe the story at all.

It reeks of fictional documentary designed to get a careless insect of a human a few minutes of fame...

Hiss, hiss, hiss.

4. The way she presented the story puts her 'sorries' in a light that doesn't ring true.

When you are dealing with a community of people who adore their cats and are hyper careful when it comes to their care, what do you expect as a response?

'Better luck next time'?

What did I expect? I expected better than I saw.

Oh, and...Research is my middle name (Well, actually, it's my 2nd middle name, George is my 1st!)

I do not know how much of the CatBlogosphere, or the general public, responded to the story of Bess in all the papers it appeared in across the nation, but if the above is any judge Kim's e-mail, and that of the papers, must have been full of some pretty harsh screeds indeed.

There WAS some rational thinking mixed in amongst the Hairballl Tossing, but you will have to look hard to find it at all the places linked, and at least 1 blog I discovered had visited my story, and among folks who e-mailed me.

I want to share some of that correspondence...

As I wrote to a few people, in telling them about my original report...

If ya want to burn me at the stake for a heratic, that's fine,  I'll supply the marshmellows! ;-D

Between me and KC, of the CatBlogosphere:

FROM KC:

Hi theres, Mad,

You bet I's post this on tha CB, right now.

A thotful response on tha Bess story is a good idea instead of jus reactin.

I's glad you taked tha time an energy to do this.

Love and Purrs,

KC

 

FROM ME:

 

Thank U for the kind words, and the link.

 

Contrary to what you might think I, too, was horrified by what happened to poor Bess, and can't pretend to understand how she survived, but I saw no purpose in piling on to the 3 days, and counting, of outrage Kim Murphy had experienced already.

 

I was more affected, in different ways, by the story, and the responses to it, and sought to share that in the hope that the stories I and Nikita shared, of our experiences, would lead to discussions, and debate in their own way.

 

Especially the stories of our experiences with Maximus.

 

When I originally wrote those stories at the time they occurred, In My own voice, years ago, there was a bit of a stir.

 

When I wrote them again, for our new blog, in Nikita's Voice as well as mine, in Feb....1 comment. ;-D

 

 

When I sent the same comment to Cheryl I added the following - I found some of the comments to your new posts to be more helpful to the debate than all the vitriole, and that reflects well on  our Community.

Karl, of The Cat Realm:

nice essay!
yes, of course we all make mistakes, myself and my maid not excluded.
learning from them is the important thing you do. which just isn't happening in the case of the author of the bess story.
the whole story still smells funky to us, something is just not right with the whole thing.

and the human who wrote it now going around the cat blogosphere and posting comments in the name of her cat bess - give me a break.

yes, we were wondering too how a reputable paper as the LA time would post something like this - 9 weeks without water but leaking a fluid when found? come on!

- but our letter to the editor about the issue so far hasn't been answered.

one way or another - it'll probably just be a matter of time before this whole thing ends up on one or another of the TV talk shows..... the way people and cats go nuts about it.
we stand by our original suggestion which we sent to the author of the story, true or not:
please, please, please - just do NOT get another animal!
karl

FROM ME:

I won't be home from work for 3 hours.

 

Just a quick request, please.

 

Links to where in the blogosphere she is posting as Bess.

 

I'm  getting more of the troubling type comments to MY post THAT appeared in others.

 

Karl:

shoot - I can't find the blog anymore..... - I'll keep searching
o.k. - found it:  I screwed it up - it was actually the email that you received from "Bess" .

sorry - so she doesn't go around leaving comments in her cats name. just sending emails in her cats name.

still think the whole story stinks.

nevertheless. if true, she'll have to live with her deeds. and what goes around comes around, so as the meowers from missouri said, her karma will bite her in the ass eventually.

if not true, let's just move on.

karl

FROM ME:

1. I knew it! ;-D

 

The more I thought about it the more I suspected you might have been talking about my piece.

 

I had no problem with her giving voice to Bess the way she did.

 

She wrote from what she knew from interaction as her cat recovered, not some explanation about 35 days of trial and tribulation. ;-D

 

Yes, she will have to live with what happened and hopefully learn from it.

 

I got home from work at Midnite, and while I've yet to catch up with the Catblogging from yesterday I've been busy in my own way.

 

Kim IS an experienced Journalist in places mere mortals fear to tread.

 

None of which, I dare say, prepared her for dealing with Snarling, Hissing, CatBloggers who doubt she even knows one end of a Cat from the other.

 

I'll have more to say later today, on my Blog.

 

For now let me reply to your earlier e-mail before I go to bed.

2. I'm glad you liked the essay.

 

Judging from my stats most of the hundreds of people who have come by have not stayed long enough to read just the main post, and only a few have gone on to read the stories I linked to.

 

If they had I imagine that some of the folks who are tossing hairballs at Kim, would no doubt find cause to toss some at me, too. ;-D.....

 

Just because she's not giving us a blow by blow account of her self-flagilation, and that of her family, doesn't prove anything.

 

She spent $3000 on care for her Cat.

 

If she didn't care, and want to learn from her mistake, why spend the money?...

 

What's not right is the way many in the Community are reacting.

Just because YOU don't believe something can happen the way someone you don't know a single thing about says it did...doesn't mean it didn't happen.

I'll have much more to say on my Blog later today

Right now, it's 325 am, and WAAAAAAY past my beddy-bye time! ;-D

KARL:

Hahahahaha - this is really getting out of hand!

We are kind of tired of the whole thing.

Kim will have to live with what she did - and if she does have a conscience that will be hard enough to do.

Still - 9 weeks without food, and especially water - not possible - so - IF the story happened just as she told she kind of witnessed the second coming, right?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

I know - some people don't joke about this. but it would be nice to have a female cat instead of a male human as the next god descendant, right? (no, we do not believe in god)

We will let it go - we have better things to do than get all worked up about this whole thing.

The possible suffering of a cat locked in a tiny space for a very prolonged time to almost death will probably still haunt us forever..... among A LOT of other things happening in this cruel world that haunt us!
karl

BTW - I really liked your expression "snarling, hissing cat bloggers" - made me laugh!!!

BTW 2 - A lot of people spend a lot of money to get absolution from one kind of guilt or another!

Karl

That last was received at 4pm, yesterday, so let me wrap this up with a reply:

If you ask me this got out of hand the moment the CatBlogosphere, and others, began to respond to the article by Kim.

Now, NOW, you, and no doubt everyone else, too, are "kind of tired of the whole thing"? So that explains the general quiet of the last day or so, on the blogs.

Well, gee whiz, how so very kind of you to give a rats ass now that the damage has been done, and the fun, and frivolity, of playing Lie Detector Machine, Judge, Jury, and in at least one case, wannabe Executioner has become so last week.

So you will magnamously "let it go" because you have busy lives to get back to, more important stories to Blog about, and you "have better things to do than get all worked up about this whole thing."

Sorry, Karl, and everyone else, but it's far too late to say such Bullshit.

You, and others, don't believe her story, even want to try and make sorry excuses for humor, and continue to pass judgement, saying that you will be "haunted" by what happened to Bess?

Well, let me tell you something, my friend, and that goes for anyone else who may actually take the time to read this...

I am not ready to let this go, not by a very long shot.

Someone WAS hurt very deeply by your behavior of the past week, someone might even be haunted by the treatment many have meated out...

Somehow, though, I believe this person has the inner strength to survive anything you can try to do to her, learn from this experience, and move on in constructive ways.

I just hope that she does not judge all of the CatBlogosphere, or her worldwide readership, by the callousness of a few.

What am I talking about?

I'm just getting warmed up.

Read on...I have one more post to share.

 

 

 

Comments

[Kate]

I have been following this story only from the fringe.

As the spouse of a longtime, award-winning journalist, I'd like to make a few points.

Most journalists LOVE creating controversy.

The problem here, the journalist created controversy and now is whining about being picked on.

Tough shit, toots.

Rightly or wrongly, you've upset a LOT of people and the more you try to explain yourself, the worse it will be.

My best advice is to STFU and write about your wacky adventures while taking the kids to the soccer game.

Isn't THAT the usual theme of your part-time column?

[Kate]

You know what?

I've changed my mind. I went back and thoroughly read ALL I could find on this subject.

My ( worthless) opinion is that the article wasn't especially light-hearted in tone, even if it was meant to be.

I STILL don't understand how you missed hearing her for that long and I wouldn't rush to ask you to petsit whlie I was on vacation, but at least you're taking care of her now.

I STILL don't think you could honestly be surprised at the reaction from the Internet, but some lessons come later than others.

Best wishes and a speedy recovery to Bess!