Re: Karma and sin

["Jim M" <petenotped@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- From: "O'Neal, Kevin W."

> If Pete *really* wanted to do the best thing to get past this, he would
post a diary entry where he
> talks about how he erred in judgement by accessing the site and paying for
said access.  How *no
> one* should do this.  How thankful he is that the Phoenix Survivors
understand his dilemma and are
> petitioning the UK Government to have him removed.  How he wants to work
hand-in-hand with
> these people to get their message out there.

I just don't understand those of you for whom the apology is more important
than the act.  It's akin to those who said they'd have forgiven Clinton, or
Regan in the Contra scandal, if they'd have only admitted and apologized.
Bullshit.  I'm sure you're sincere, but no one ever gets forgiven for
admitting their transgressions and apologizing for them in this world today,
so I don't expect them to.  Not for something this reviled.  We have to
remember that Pete's not talking to us exclusively.  I would suspect that
the major concern of his public statements are the people who haven't
accepted that his intentions at least were benign.

For Pete's sake, Ken used to have a tag line that read "I support Pete
Townshend, no what if's necessary."  I took that to mean that it could have
turned out that he was a raging pedophile with boxes of filth in his
basement, but he would have "supported" him by accepting him for who he is
and hoping that he got treatment.  How else could you possibly interpret
that sentence?  I guess I was nowhere near the truth, because all it took
was a somewhat less than contrite statement, after Pete's version of events
was confirmed by the police, for that line to change to "I have always used
pornography.- Pete Townshend."  As I said, I just don't understand how "free
but branded" or this most recent diary entry could be worse in anyone's eyes
than if it had turned out he was acting for his own gratification.  I always
believed he wasn't and, once that was confirmed by the authorities (and
later by Pheeonix Survivors), I found my peace.  I accepted that my role is
simply to make sure that anyone I meet that cares understands the real facts
of the case, so that they have the information to make up their own minds.

Jim M