AdamAndWill Wrote:Will: [SIZE="2"]Virge...with all due respect, I need to say something. You and Ray are two separate people. You are no more responsible for what he says than he is for your...um...occasional bursts of candor. You can be as angry with him as you like, but you can't control whether or not he returns to the forum. We've made clear that he's welcome. Now it's HIS choice.
Adam introduced me to this forum, and I know that there are times (including now, probably) when he cringes at what I've written here ---but he doesn't feel the need to explain me or make excuses for me, praise me or condemn me.
I think I can speak for most people here when I say that we hold you in high regard, and nothing that someone else does will affect that. You need to let go and let Ray sink or swim on his own.
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Breathe, man. Relax.
Will, your response is kind and shows you have heart. But this situation is a little more complicated than it appears. In the past three years I've waged a PR blitz to get myself accepted in small homophobic town --- and succeeded beyond anything I ever expected. My credibility is tied to the people I associate with and Ray is my #1 associate since we are partners in business
es < note that is plural. We have become a recognized and appreciated team in this community's economy. By association with me Ray is expected to interact with people on the same level as I try to do. Whether we like it or not, all of us are judged by the impressions we make.
Also -- if he ever blew a fuse like this here where we've both become respected contributors to the economy it would be talked about for years.
Without going into details we're putting together an internet business venture that will have ZERO global competition that should take off before April 2015. Ray will be the front man for that. Everyone we've consulted believes it will be bigger than Ray, Jay and I imagined. Therefore the way he conducts himself with the general public has become more important than ever and he knows that. Behind the scenes here at home that was the real reason I blew up on him. An outburst like the one he did here Thursday would cost us more thousands of dollars than either of us could imagine if it happens after the new business takes off and possibly collapse it.
That's what he's been working through this entire weekend. We've had some great talks and between him and me the issue is over and done. On his own since the incident he's ordered books on how to control anger and deal with the general public and been reading on the internet for info to help him prep for what's about to come.
He'll be coming back in GS and is eager to do so --- but you can expect a new and improved Ray than the one I got mad at Friday. Hahahahhahaha!