Crossing the Line

I know that some of my readers would prefer if I just left this alone, once and for all, and I understand their logic: By merely acknowledging this, I am willingly giving credence and credibility to someone who obviously doesn’t deserve it. I wish it were merely that simple, that the Internet was as forgiving, that it wasn’t as indelible. To those of you who think it’d be best if I just didn’t pay attention, I’ve tried that strategy, for months, actually, to no avail.

I don’t have to write about Greg Aymond for him to write about me; he writes about me regardless. After my most recent post about my former colleague, Lisa Harris, Greg ridiculed me for not revealing that she had taken a job with the YMCA; he used the opportunity to alter yet another photograph of me in order to make it appear as if I am wheelchair-bound. Why? Because, you see, he had already called into a radio show to say that he’d heard that Lisa’s new job was with the Y. He wanted his readers to know that he’d beaten me to the story. The problem, of course, is that he hadn’t; I’d posted that because Lisa had not yet revealed her new job, I was not compelled to break any news, out of respect for her, plain and simple. I don’t call into talk radio shows to gossip, and I don’t care about being the first to break a story, even if I’d been sitting on the story for days or weeks. Greg used my deference to Lisa as an opportunity to ridicule me, to depict me, yet again, as someone in a wheelchair, as if that’s a sign of inferiority.

So, let me be abundantly clear, as I was on the newly-launched Cenla Briar Patch: Greg Aymond, in my opinion, is acting like a sociopath.

Two days ago, he published a “Special Report” on his website, announcing that I had been injured on my way to class. Maybe some of his readers think this was hilarious. I agree with the folks at the Briar Patch: It’s not funny; actually, it is probably criminal or, at the very least, severely unethical for an attorney to knowingly publish something like that.

It crosses the line. It’s not manifestly satirical; indeed, it’s blatant harassment. He got carried away. Apparently, he wanted, so badly, to get to me that he was willing to falsely and publicly report that I’d been injured as a result of an accident. Somehow, he’s allowed to carry a license to practice law in Louisiana. To my family members and close friends who read his “special report,” don’t worry: I’m just fine.

To Greg, I don’t want to have to sue you. I don’t want to have to report you. But if you continue to do this to me, honestly, you’re leaving me with no other option. I want you to do the right thing. I want your friends and family to reach out and help you, because something, obviously, isn’t right.

As a postscript: I may not be in a wheelchair, but the bravest and most honorable Americans I have ever encountered are. I thank them for their service, patriotism, and dedication, and together, I hope that all of us– whether we’re able-bodied or not– can work to ensure that a wheelchair is not accepted as a symbol of ridicule.