Hi, guys--it's nice to see everyone again. :fence:
Before I step into this minefield and add my comment re JB's rants against GA in the book, I want to go on record by stating that (1) no one can feel more anger and contempt than I have for the entire loathesome Anthony family AND Jose Baez; and (2) I do not believe for one moment that GA molested FCA. However.....
Even so, while reading that book, particularly by the time I neared the end, I'm ashamed to admit that I actually found myself temporarily being suckered into Baez's whole theory that GA had molested FCA and caused her to crumble into a pathetic (yes, "pathetic" :gasp
abused
ullhair: damaged, helpless victim.
When I finished the book I sat here for probably an hour trying to figure out my change of heart and really worrying about it. However, sanity began to return as soon as I reminded myself of a few things the "victim" had done that weren't included in Baez's book...like forging checks to steal from her poor grandfather's nursing home account.
Once I did that, my head cleared, but then I needed to figure out
how Baez, who isn't even a passably good writer, managed to sway someone like me who is fully aware of the real truth. The answer I arrived at is two-fold:
(1) Most obvious, but least important, the book went on, and on, and on, telling only one side of the story and whitewashing FCA page after page after page until Baez has the reader temporarily brainwashed and worn out.
(2) Baez is such an amateur when it comes to writing that he can't disguise his feelings, and as a result his ego and immaturity and pious insincerity are all glaringly exposed. But there was one other thing that came across in that book, loud and clear....HE
HATES George Anthony. He
despises GA with a kind of virulence that he is not faking. (IMO). When the reader encounters that deep hatred, it's natural to hesitate and wonder what could really be causing it...and it's an easy step to begin wondering if in fact there might actually have been something to that molestation theory. But only temporarily, if the reader is a WS who knows all the truths. If the reader doesn't know all the true facts, I think JB is going to score a whole lot of points.
Interestingly, he wasn't at all convincing when he related the "clues" he got that GA had molested her...like the "silence" when he mentioned molestation in the Anthonys' living room. That read like self-serving rubbish.
But, man, that hatred and contempt he has for GA feels awfully real, though there's no way of knowing the true underlying reason for it.
Anyway that's my take on the thing. :blowkiss: