Saturday, December 13, 2008

Riin Gill and Annie Wilkes: Separated at Birth?

"The meaning of life is to seek happiness. Practice compassion toward all living things. Find peace. Knit more." - Riin Gill, A Happy Fuzzy Blog

"Ri-i-i-i-ght..." Dr. Evil, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

In my December 7 entry "Rudy" I mentioned briefly that I had dropped Riin a quick note of condolence on the passing of her rabbit; this is what I sent to her:
From: John A. Ardelli <gelfling@syd.eastlink.ca>
Subject: I'm Sorry
Date: December 7, 2008 9:35:29 PM AST
To: Riin Gill <***********************>

Riin,

I just have one thing to say:

I'm SO sorry about Rudy. I just started crying the moment I read your blog posting.

I wish there was something I could do to help.

For what it's worth, my thoughts will be with you.

John A. Ardelli
http://pedalingprince.blogspot.com
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/vofv/
That's all there was to it; just a simple, heartfelt expression of sympathy.

I was discussing this with my dearest friend later, wondering if sending that was a mistake; she didn't think so. She said, if she were in Riin's place and received a kind word like that after losing someone important to her, even if it came from someone she didn't want to hear from, she would have appreciated the gesture. That was exactly what I thought when I wrote it. I figured Riin would be mature enough to take it in the spirit in which it was intended.

Apparently, I gave her too much credit; from her most recent blog entry:

Thanks to everyone who commented or emailed after my last post. I really appreciate your kindness. [Except for StalkerBoy. Dude, what part of the police telling you never to contact me again do you not understand? (This is a rhetorical question. Do NOT answer.) I will not press charges THIS time (and this time ONLY) given the circumstances, but get it through your thick skull. I do not want to hear from you ever again. Your words do not bring me comfort because they remind me of your existence. I do not want to be reminded of your existence. Do not ever contact me again. This means leave me the fuck alone.]

Sorry to everyone else. I try to keep my dirty laundry off the blog, but it couldn't be avoided this time.

Ooohkaaayyy...

Here, briefly, are my thoughts on this:

First, she didn't decide not to press charges because of "the circumstances;" she decided not to press charges because, if she had taken that E-mail I sent her to the police, she would have been laughed right out of the station and she knows it. So, since she couldn't hurt me that way, she decided to make a big public show of her indignation in the hopes of scaring or shaming me. Nice try, my pharisaic nymph, but I stand by what I did; I am neither ashamed nor afraid.

Second, she claims that she couldn't avoid putting her "dirty laundry" on the blog this time. Balderdash. Apple Mail, like all mail clients, offers a "Reply" button; if she felt the need to say something to me she could just as easily have responded in E-mail. The only reason she did it in the open on her blog was to grab attention and play the victim, both of which are things that Riin has down to a fine art; she's an expert at manipulating sympathy out of people.

And to think I was actually thinking about going back to reading her blog regularly once this troll mess was over.

My judgment of character is usually spot on. I thought there was actually a perspicacious paragon under the skin of the pharisee but, if she can respond to such a simple act of kindness with that kind of venom, there is no paragon; there couldn't be. Riin is truly hypocrisy incarnate. "Practice compassion toward all living things" she says, yet she feels no compassion for anyone whatsoever; she just pretends to to make herself look better in others' eyes.

I once read Misery over the phone to her (she used to like it when I'd read to her). My original intention was to read a chapter a night but I couldn't help but notice that she would frequently ask me to read more. We got through the entire novel in less than two weeks (and Stephen King books are pretty thick to read aloud in such a short time).

Looking back on that now, I have to wonder if maybe she liked it because she could identify with it. Specifically, I think she was identifying with the character Annie Wilkes. If you ask me, Annie Wilkes and Riin Gill were both cut from the same cloth. Both understand the feelings of others yet don't have any compassion for them, both think the world is out to get them and both think they are the most important people in the universe.

The only difference between Annie Wilkes and Riin Gill seems to be in the area of violence. Where Annie is extraordinarily violent, Riin is extraordinarily pacifistic. Other than that, however, they're virtually twins emotionally.

Riin Gill = Annie Wilkes on Valium.

'Nuff said.

On December 14, 2008 12:24:22 AM AST, Wanderer wrote:
She says,"Practice compassion toward all living things..." quoted pretty much verbatim from the Dammapada, or the Buddhist equivalent of the Bible. Is Riin trying to convince people she is Buddhist?
Not precisely. I remember her mentioning Buddhism as an inspiration for some of her beliefs, though. I just tried a Google search on "Riin" and "Buddhism;" I found a comment on The Yarn Harlot where she calls herself an "atheist/pantheist/Buddhist hybrid," whatever the heck that means...
Being vegan and speaking a few catch phrases does not make one a Buddhist! A true Buddhist would firstly NOT refer to anyone as "Stalker Boy" but have compassion and understanding for that person and realize that every person has a right to be on this planet. (Or some other planet for that matter) A true Buddhist would attempt to help someone they perceive to be a stalker achieve a less threatening way of inter-being with others. A true Buddhist would forgive, and not make threats of calling the police.
In other words, "practice compassion toward all living things."

Here's the thing. If Riin considers herself to be a theological "hybrid" of some kind, fine. Choose the beliefs she wants to follow and reject the others; that's her right. However, I believe it to be the height of hypocrisy on her part for her to specifically quote a tenet of one of those beliefs prominently on the front page of her blog that she so blatantly does not follow.
The more I learn about Riin, the more she reminds me of my ex-wife, a woman I would call "Psycho Bitch" if I were not so damned understanding of her mental illness. Actually, my ex was touched when I saw her and expressed my sorrow that her dog had died.
Then I guess she and Riin aren't that much alike. That's the way I would have expected Riin to respond, the way I would expect any rational human being to respond.
I think you are better off wothout Riin, and I hope this will help you see that.
Oh, I already know that. The only reason I'm still on Riin's blog is to watch for further comments from the troll. Once the troll is caught, I'll have no further use for it.

4 comments:

  1. John,

    I am shocked at Riin's reaction to your post, expressing your sympathy regarding the passing of her rabbit.

    She says,"Practice compassion toward all living things..." quoted pretty much verbatim from the Dammapada, or the Buddhist equivalent of the Bible. Is Riin trying to convince people she is Buddhist? Because if she is, she isn't convincing me!

    Former Christians turn to Buddhism because Buddhism is full of mysticism, and doesn't recognize any of the "holidays" (read: gift giving days) of the Christian faith. Buddhism itself is actually way more demanding of the person than Christianity could ever be. Being vegan and speaking a few catch phrases does not make one a Buddhist! A true Buddhist would firstly NOT refer to anyone as "Stalker Boy" but have compassion and understanding for that person and realize that every person has a right to be on this planet. (Or some other planet for that matter) A true Buddhist would attempt to help someone they perceive to be a stalker achieve a less threatening way of inter-being with others. A true Buddhist would forgive, and not make threats of calling the police.

    The more I learn about Riin, the more she reminds me of my ex-wife, a woman I would call "Psycho Bitch" if I were not so damned understanding of her mental illness. Actually, my ex was touched when I saw her and expressed my sorrow that her dog had died.

    I think you are better off wothout Riin, and I hope this will help you see that.

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