On the most recent R8Broadcast (7/18) I asked how to know when I am being a “boring hater.” This question was inspired by the situation I am facing in my hometown of Olympia, Washington (detailed in my blog “KAOS KONTROVERSY”.)

In light of my former R8B co-host Tammy T’s stalking and harassment campaign against me, and the refusal of the KAOS Management Team to do anything about it (in fact, their active support for her activities against me) I have been pondering the most positive and inspiring way to BE about it. Being a victim doesn’t feel very good and, in this particular situation, I can find (and have been shown) no clear actions or behavior on my part which would seem to deserve the level of backlash which I have experienced.

I am not the first person to feel this way. I am sure of that. What does one do in a situation like this to fulfill one’s soul purpose? Me? I’ve been thinking about what I’m standing FOR. What would be worth all of this hassle?

What if I were standing for the reformation of culture in my hometown of Olympia and beyond? Right there with my father’s ghost. A stand for my gene pool’s right to live and work and play in the town of my boyhood ghosts and beyond. Working and playing towards a culture which revels in its creativity. One which is welcoming and joyful and fun, and bold and boisterous and penetrating, and transparent. A culture which loves to see someone, anyone, enjoying themselves as long as they aren’t hurting anyone else. That this somehow places me, and Radio8Ball, at odds with the boring haters who would put the kybosh on something as fun as The Pop Oracle, just because it isn’t theirs, is a badge of honor I suppose. (Orson Welles and Lenny Bruce would understand my pain, and probably mock me for it.) I will engage the boring haters with love and with humor and always in the cause of greater joy and creativity. Toward this end, as I ask of all Pop Oracle seekers, I will turn the light of examination on myself and look at where I am being a boring hater. (Would that my tormenters would do the same.)

In the discussion which followed my musical answer (Sandman’s The Hermit) I mentioned Tammy T’s name. This is the first time I have ever uttered her name publicly in a negative light. After spending the last six months writing, speaking and acting against me, and claiming that it was her “right” to do so, this one mention of Tammy T’s name on the air drew a call to management at Alternative Talk 1150AM. Their response was swift and professional, and stands in stark contrast to KAOS’ behavior when I brought Tammy’s disruptive activities to their attention. Here is how it went…

I was called into the station board room immediately after the show and informed that a complaint had been made against me. I was told that the complaint was from Tammy but was not told what the nature of the complaint was. I was told that even though they didn’t know this woman, and even though their experience with me has been totally positive, it is management’s responsibility to protect their license and that if I mentioned Tammy or my situation at KAOS on the air again I would lose my show. They asked me to promise not to mention Tammy or this dispute on the air again, and I gave them my word that I wouldn’t.

This was a difficult communication but it was professional. It was, in fact, how my beloved KAOS could and should have responded to my initial complaint regarding my ex co-host’s stalking and harassment campaign against me. My AM managers stepped in immediately, took responsibility for the situation, set clear boundaries for conduct and let me know what crossing these boundaries would cost me. If KAOS had done this with Tammy and her jealous boyfriend Merwyn last March when I made my initial complaint, all of this pain and drama could have been averted, and Radio8Ball would still be broadcasting on KAOS. I honor my managers at Alternative Talk 1150 AM for creating a safe and professional work environment, even if it means that I get the muzzle.

My request to you, my dear listeners, is that you help me honor my word to keep this issue off of the show on Alternative Talk 1150AM by not bringing it up as a topic of conversation on the show. I’d rather focus on your questions, quandaries and queries, and your battles with the boring haters in your lives than waste any more of The Pop Oracle’s time with my small town drama or the name Tamara Tillinghast.

OK, now, back to the interpretation. I’ve been living with my Pop Oracle guidance and I think I get it. How I am being a boring hater is when I go all hermit and hide out in my apartment, convincing myself that everyone in Olympia believes Tammy’s lies and misrepresentations about me. That everyone hates me and that I am not safe in my hometown. Believing this in spite of my actual experience of walking around town and talking with people who either have no idea that KAOS tried to kill Radio8Ball or that Tammy T. has been stalking me, and people who are genuinely horrified on my behalf when they hear about it.

My “Imaginary World” is no picnic. Reality is actually more benign. Go figure.