Continuing from that last ask, I wanted to point out that Jon's drinking was, in fact, disruptive to the band's performances and stability. The rest of the members, Sam and Steve included, were uncomfortable with Jon's lifestyle choices. And Bunny's made it abundantly clear that she understands that it went down in a rather negative way, and if she could do it differently she would. So you've already reached your objective about "exposing what the Bennett's did". Please give it a rest now.
Thank you for taking the time to write out such a long and thoughtful response to me; it means a lot that you'd be so verbose.
I understand your perspective in terms of not getting why I'm doing it this way-- but I think, maybe, I've been misunderstood on a few points. The reason I gathered and posted links to other people upset at Jon's departure was not to show THAT they were upset; rather, that they hinted in their messages as to something else going on other than what was publicly available. Some of the links I gathered are emotionally charged; I'm aware. But I wanted to point out that a lot of people knew something more than what went public, and that there was this whole community of people that kind of dropped off the facee of the fandom in the aftermath. Not the kind of thing that happens without reason, right?
I'm glad if people were ok with the explanation given by SPG-- this blog isn't really for them. But some were left feeling lost and not knowing why everything was so different all of a sudden, wondering why people who'd been around for a long time were suddenly leaving with lots of fireworks and explosions. This blog is for them. For those who had questions, and wanted to know more.
And I suppose, in the end, SPG is just a band and company-- but for many, it was more than that. A source of inspiration and a pull from the darkness, a beautiful breath of life to people who needed it most. It still is. I want that to continue. But I feel like it needs to do so in honesty and openness-- which is very similar to how the band handles things-- most of the time. Most of the time, they tell us a lot of intimate personal details-- which is way more than other bands do, and really neat, right? But then, when it comes to the hard stuff... they tell us essentially to feel lucky we get what we do, because we're not getting any more.
I feel like this does a disservice to the people who love them most-- who loved Jon the most. He existed here too; he was a part of the creation and the company. He was part of what made up the diversity of Steam Powered Giraffe-- and when he was kicked out, it felt like different people aren't welcome-- at least to some of the fans.
Addressing the part about Jon's drinking, he's posted (through Miyukilypuff) that his drinking was not a problem for him, that he is responsible around SPG and careful with their equipment and personages... he's not an alcoholic, and f he has a problem with any substance consumption, it's chocolate. ;) Perhaps the Bennetts may FEEL as though his life choices were disruptive to the band, but I wish to keep in mind, Jon's not the only one in the band with some perhaps disruptive lifestyle choices. I refer you to Seppi1447's post on this one; Jon got fired for a combination of reasons that other people in the band get away with... essentially, they "just didn't want to work with him anymore!" (David said this). And hey, you know what? That's fine. Their band, their choice-- but Jon was a part of that band and that choice too, so he at least deserved the decency of conduct expected of any other large corporation-- you let your employee have time to gather the photos off their desk before escorting them to the door.
So I'm glad Bunny made it clear that she could have/should have handled it differently. Makes me feel better that mayeb there's some hope for the future in all of this.
And in closing, I wish to say that I feel I've done what I set out to do, yes. And it is my intention to lay the matter to rest herein; I haven't made any new posts for some time now. The information is available now for htose who wish to see it. I am sorry that some have lost friends over this, some have felt bitter and bad, some have turned from a neutral-positive opinion of Jon to a negative one of me (and somehow extrapolated that onto him)-- there's a lot of projection going on here. But the point is, I wish truth weren't so hard for people to deal with, and I wish it had come out from the start so it was easier and whistleblowers like me weren't necessary.
