The Olive Branch of Peace and Friendship

[Alfonso Casal]

Friends,

First of all, before I comment on the recent events that have been so painful to everyone here at the CLW, I would like to extend a deep and heart-felt congratulations to the winners, to Colin, Matt, Jurious, and Star38. The articles and reviews you have written, the art work and stories you have penned, all your contributions have been outstanding. You are all winners in every sense of the term.

Competitions sometimes bring out the best in people and sometimes, regretably, those qualities that are not so admirable. I myself, though I played to win, ultimately derived more pleasure from contributing quizzes and articles and reviews; and participating in the quizzes and reading the articles and reviews and admiring the art produced by others, than in contemplating any laurels to be handed out at the end. Had I lost would have been irrelevant to me. I would have heartily shaken the hand of whoever won, as they would have been worthy of the prize.

I honestly did not think that receiving large donations violated the rules, and admit that when I read Juan's post I was more than a little surprised. Hence the immediate rejoinder that I placed on these boards defending the fairness of making large donations. I returned the points to those who had granted them to me and said I would not publicly discuss the matter any further. I didn't expect that a civil war would result.

Likewise I wasn't aware that Matt had received no donations whatsoever and Colin only 5. Here I want to step aside for a moment and make something very clear to everyone: Matt and Colin earned their points through their diligence, talent and ability.
Not denying my own role in things, Matt and Colin were subjected to a cold shoulder campaign by some of us here. And that was wrong.

I thank everyone who supported me and donated points to me. But, in the last analysis, your moral support and friendship is more meaningful to me than any number, and is of inestimably greater value. Your friendship is the true treasure, and a grander prize I cannot think of.

Additionally, there were other, very serious irregularties that I did not know of at the time, and, with one exception, would rather not speak of. Ending the competition early was the only possible solution to the impasse that had been reached. My own disqualification was necessary in order to avoid an even worse situation from developing. In fact, I offered my voluntary withdrawl from the competition.

The one hitherto unknown irregularity that I will address consists of a PM that was sent out by a certain member of this website and accidentally sent to Christina too. That PM read as follows:

"Support your fellow American by donating your points to XXXX because XXXX and It's cheaper from XXXX to XXXX and XXXX and XXXXX and XXXXX should not even be competing XXXXX"

Christina has not divulged who sent that PM, or who were the people named. But it is my belief that the person responsible is among the lowest of the low. To encourge racial/national hatred is monstrous. Had I known of this PM, I guarantee you that I would have resigned from the competition immediately, divided all my points equally among the non-American contestants, and written an article on why I think racism/nationalism is disgusting and why the individual behind the PM should be expelled from this website.

Those who either didn't care to win or who weren't in the running should not have tried to influence the course of events, especially not by resorting to methods so vile and vulgar as to invoke bigotry and hatred. No one has the right to arbitarily decide who may win or lose.

No sooner had I typed that last sentence than I was informed that one of the winning contestants has been subjected to a deluge of hate mail over this incident. That is beyond any justification! I strongly and in the most emphatic manner condemn anyone being harrassed over this matter. If the identity of the individual/s doing the harrassment is known, I encourage Juan and the victimized party to take all appropriate action. Up to and including legal action, if called for.

Juan is the ultimate arbiter at this website. The well-being of the CLW and its members is his responsibility. It is our duty as members, particularly in moments such as this, to offer him any and all support.

Back in the early days of this website, I used to say that I was happy that Mr. Lee could take pride in the fact that his fans on his website were the most intelligent, literate, and polite people on the web. It pains me to think that there are people laughing now and smirking as we fight like pitbulls in a dog pit.

The infighting, the jealousies and resentments, the pettiness must come to an end. And it must end NOW.

Let's rebuild our community. Let's rebuild the bonds of friendship and respect that bind us. And let us, once again, build a website and a fanbase that Mr. Lee can be proud of.

[Juan Aneiros]

Alfonso,

I think the way in which you put your point across is commendable. What saddens me the most is that everyone who acted in good faith and was going about their own business, got seriously marked. I would be put off from competing in another game for life. It has put me off entirely in organising anything else at this site and specially were prizes are involved. If it wasn't for those bloody airline tickets, I am sure there would have been none of these bad feelings.

No sooner had I typed that last sentence than I was informed that one of the winning contestants has been subjected to a deluge of hate mail over this incident.

This I was not aware of. Would someone care to e-mail me details of this incident. One thing is to have an argument or a disagreement but hate mail and personal harassment is a very serious matter. If the incident originated because of something that happened at this site, it is my business to do something about it.

[Matt Gemmell]

First of all let me start by complimenting Alfonso on his comments in this thread .
To say that things got out of hand would be an understatement .
When I discovered this site ( a lot later than some here ) I was delighted . Here was somewhere I could share my passion for one of my boyhood heroes and hopefully learn something along the way .
I quickly became an active participant in the site contributing articles , reviews etc , etc . Then , to my amazement , I had the oppertunity that I thought would never come........to meet Christopher Lee...GREAT .
After the meeting I had expected the forums to be buzzing with comments and questions....they were not . Little did I know , or even expect , a certain green eyed monster had made it's presence known . I had no negative e-mails or responses but I know that someone else did . Maybe the fact that I'm a cop prevented this but whatever the reason , I was blissfully ignorant of the bad feeling out there .
When I was made aware of the resentment I was shocked . I had assumed that people would be happy for me as my friends and relatives were . I have had many friends and aquantices who have had experiences that I would love to have had but I have never resented them for it . On the contrary I have been extremely happy for them .
As far as the suggestion that I should not have been allowed to enter the points competition because I had already met Christopher Lee.......what absolute nonsense !
The points were there for everyone to EARN as I did .
I had considered not even answering this topic but felt I had to as my name was being freely used . I don't want to prattle on too much but , in closing , I would like to say a few things .
I never expected to win . The lifetime gold membership was my goal as I was going to London for the convention regardless .
Juan has given everyone at this site an incredible , once in a lifetime , chance to fulfill a dream . It was there for the taking and all that was required was a little bit of effort .Things may have ended somewhat differently than expected but I , for one , do not bear any grudges or malice to anyone at this site .
Let's remember that we are all here for one reason and as such should support each other , not get involved in petty disputes or slagging matches . This is supposed to be a place where we can come together with a common interest and relax .
It's a big bad world out there and the last thing we need is bitterness and negativity at the CLW........ best wishes to all , Matt

[Stacie Herman-Laurence]

Alfonso,
Great letter.

I had been away from the site for quite a while and came back last night for the first time. When I read all that had been going on I was flabbergasted.

Personally, I have never been interested in the point thing...all I ever wanted was to get enough so I could have a little avatar thingy...but after I read all that had transpired I was very upset. Upset to the point that I had thought of not coming back to the site.

I look forward to reading your posts here in the forums and the thought of you not being around, well, it just wasn't pleasant for me. I figured that you would move on, but I'm extremely glad to see you back and that I had figured wrong.

Thanks for the great letter. And Matt, very well put as well...we are all here for one reason...Mr Lee. He is the binding force that brings us all together. We may all have real differences but he is the one thing that we can all agree upon. I certainly hope that behavior in this forum hasn't cast shadows (or at least irrepairable ones) upon his view of his fanbase.

[Patricia Smith]

Well written, Alfonso.

It is to be hoped that this matter has been brought to an end, insofar as the competition is concerned.

Matt, Colin, Jurious and Star congratulations not just on your opportunities to meet Mr. Lee and visit extensively with him, but also for the work you have done. I would like to add that when Jurious had the opportunity once before to meet with Mr. Lee, we actually held something of a virtual "celebration" on another website we are fortunate enough to enjoy Jurious' contributions. My signature will, in the future, include the URL to Imperial Senate, where you can see the thread in the Outlander Club, "Meeting Mr. Lee", where we all enjoyed Jurious' account of this momentous occasion.

One thing I think a lot of us forgot with all the goings- on: we are all here because we enjoy discussing Mr. Lee, his life, his work, and the inimitable contributions he has made to the world of film, and acting. For myself, I want to apologize and make amends to anyone I may have offended with my previous post - I simply wanted to help a friend make his mother's dream come true. However, it would appear Alfonso has something else in mind for his mom, so she is all set, regardless! All's well that ends well!

One more thing - (sorry if I sound more like Peter Falk's Columbo, than any of Mr. Lee's characters!) it is regrettable that anyone should resort to base appeals to nationality or race in such a small thing as a contest. We have a world that is tearing itself apart because so many of its peoples cannot tolerate others whose skin, religion or country is different than their own. I hope this won't infect our community here again.

[Alfonso Casal]

Personally, I have never been interested in the point thing...all I ever wanted was to get enough so I could have a little avatar thingy.

RogueJedi,

Ask and ye shall receive. Go get yourself an avatar, compliments of DER KOMISSAR.

[Juan Aneiros]

and the thought of you not being around, well, it just wasn't pleasant for me

Things are not always what they seem. Alfonso has been around for ever, he was the second visitor this site ever received.

You guys can congratulate the Professor now because he is flying over too. Next time, he will bring his mother so she can meet mine. Both have a lot in common.

So instead of 2, we now have 5 winners.

[Old Soul]

I know I said things in the heat of anger that shouldn

[Domenick Fraumeni]

First of all, much congratulations to all who won. A most well deserved prize. I look forward to hearing about your experiences. Colin and Matt's is still a minor classic, imho :).

Now, after receiving further news of some members getting atrociously disrespected by others, I was all ready to finally vent out some carefuly measured opinion and give those unnamed spoilsports a good lashing.


And then comes Alfonso.

That was a most honorable posting, Alfonso, and a fine, fine example for those who feel slighted. I dearly wish I could've been a winner(really, you guys have no idea), but unfortunately life interfered greatly with my ability to be more active.

Was I disappointed when the contest was moved up? Of course. I was a bit crushed. I had hoped for more time, but then I didn't have any. But, I simply told myself that that was that, and if it is meant to be, then I shall meet Mr. Lee at some point in my life. Nothing more to be said, really.

But, to be so vindictive as to accost someone with hate mail...I really think that those who have done this should stop a minute and take a good, long , hard look at themselves and ask themselves how they got to this point.

This entire affair has shocked and deeply saddened me. I've always thought of this site as an extension of Mr. Lee's home. A sort of guest house, if you will. I don't know about anyone else, but I was brought up to have utmost respect when in someone else's home, especially when it's someone like Mr. Lee, whom I've admired and respected since...well, a long time.

But, Alfonso's post goes a long way, I think, to restoring one's faith here. I know this place has many good people. We've had some bumps and some very odd guests from time to time, but it's always been about our love and respect for Mr. Lee and his family. I think that should be kept in mind.

I still believe that some dreadful mistakes were made here that could have easily been avoided. I think this should be looked as a learning experience and shouldn't be used as an example to not have any more contests. Rather, I hope that there will be more care and balance when establishing one.

And Juan, while I do not agree with everything you've done since the beginning of this, I think you did a most honorable thing in handling the winners and in including Alfonso. If I were wearing my hat, I would tip it to you, but you do have my respect, for what it's worth.


sîdh na an pân

[Joakim Lundberg]

I was sad when I read the posts about the points. It's sad that at a great site like this these things accur. But they do. I'm glad it ended quickly and things can move on now...I hope. My warmest congratulations to the winners Matt, Colin, Jurious and Star.
Have a wonderful time. Meeting Mr Lee in person is wonderful and unforgetable but meeting fellow members and making friends with them is much bigger somehow.

[Colin Bushby]

First of all congratulations to Matt, Jurious, Star and now Alfonso.
I so look forward to meeting you all, we will have a ball.

I'm not a one for speaches and not very good with words, but I'd like to thank all who supported me throughout this, i'll stop there as it's starting to sound like an Oscar speach, i really don't know what to say at the minute, I have mixed emotions.

I hope you don't mind me quoting you Alfonso but I couldn't say any better that this.......

Let's rebuild our community. Let's rebuild the bonds of friendship and respect that bind us. And let us, once again, build a website and a fanbase that Mr. Lee can be proud of.

[Dave Hutchens]

Everything that can and should be said about this incident has been in the many thoughtful, well-written replies. Let me just add my voice to those who are very pleased to learn that Alfonso has been included in the winners.

Well done, Juan, and once again, a heartfelt congratulations to all. :)

[Chaos Mage]

RogueJedi,

Ask and ye shall receive.  Go get yourself an avatar, compliments of DER KOMISSAR.

Really? Does this apply to anyone? If so, then let me just say that I have wanted an Avatar for quite some time, and it seems like it is taking me forever to get enough points. Care to help a poor wretch like myself? Alms for the poor?

[Alfonso Casal]

I have wanted an Avatar for quite some time, and it seems like it is taking me forever to get enough points.  Care to help a poor wretch like myself?  Alms for the poor?

Ah. If making people happy were always so easy. Go, my child, and be thee avatared.

PS. The Komissariat of Avatars is closed until further notice.
-- DER KOMISSAR

[Chaos Mage]

Thank you kind sir!

Your good deed will never be forgotten!