IS it wrong to ask what happened to CSB?

[Lord Jim]

Well Hen, I have a recollection of some sort of left handed sort of remark but I don't remember the specifics, so at this point I wouldn't even know what search terms to use to try to find it.

In any event, that isn't why Steve jumped on you...he jumped on you long before that...

Steve jumped on you because you're married to Strop, and then you compounded that offense by daring to make suggestions for improving the CSB, which Steve interpreted as an attack on Gwen....

In Steve's mind Gwen and the CSB are one and the same...(He's made this extremely clear in posts over the past few weeks; and this view works well for Gwen, because she obviously shares it.)

Make suggestions for improving the CSB? You're implying that Gwen isn't doing a perfect job, and therefore attacking her....and by definition, attacking the CSB itself.

Don't think Gwen is doing a good job? You're a "CSB Traitor" who wants to destroy the board. Wanting Gwen to no longer have sole administrative power is synonymous with wanting to "rip the heart out of " the CSB.

It's kind of funny because Steve is the one who's very fond of tossing around comparisons to the Nazi's....

This idea that criticism of "The Leader" is tantamount to treason against the community was one of the fundamental pillars that the Nazi State was based on, (In fact it's a principle common to most dictatorships) and it's a concept that Steve heartily embraces.

I'm sure Steve would be delighted with a policy that mandated that everyone registered at the CSB sign off on a "Term Of Service" swearing an oath of allegiance and loyalty to Gwen, and that if they violated this oath by questioning her or the policies of the CSB in any way, they would be permanently banned.

BTW, after reading what he has actually said, that observation is not intended as sarcasm or an exaggeration. I sincerely believe that he has reached such a level of derangement that if he could have his way he would impose just such a policy. Since he doesn't have the ability to do that, he's settled for the next best thing; harassing, lying about, smearing, viciously attacking, labeling as a traitor, etc., anyone who in any way shape or form questions or criticizes Gwen or her management of the CSB, (even in the mildest way... I saw where he even savagely laid into Miles, of all people ) in an admitted deliberate effort to try to drive them off the board.

He seems to have appointed himself the Heinrich Himmler of the Gwen Regime, dedicating himself to rooting out and punishing "anti-Gwenists"... who are by definition, "Traitors to the CSB".

[Joe Guy]

CSB = Crazy Steve's Board

(formerly Chicken Steve's Board)

[Lord Jim]

As a matter of fact, it's gotten to the point with Steve where criticizing Gwen isn't even required to draw his wrath. Merely being on civil terms with those who have criticized her is sufficient. (You can see the proof of this by looking at the shrill attacks he's hurled at Tyro)

Basically it's gotten to the point with this freak that unless you are actively engaged in vociferously praising Gwen, and attacking those who aren't, your "loyalty to the CSB" is in question, and you're on his "Enemies List".

I believe that at this point the only posters left on the board that he hasn't attacked are Gwen, Editec, Quad, and Kiko...

And Kristina...(and watch out Kristina...you're probably next... )

ETA:

Another thing that cracks me up is reading posts over there where folks are still gamely, patiently, and politely asking Steve for proof, evidence, explanations of what he means, etc., to back up his wild statements and accusations...Trying to somehow engage him in some sort of rational dialog....

Man, I have sooooo been there done that....

I feel your pain......

Facts? You want Facts? Steve dun't need no steenkin' facts!

Facts just slow Steve down. They cramp his style. They're an irrelevancy as far as he's concerned. Asking him to provide proof for anything is just evidence that you're a traitor as far as he's concerned. A "Loyal CSBer" accepts whatever Steve says as true without question. If you don't, you ain't one.

[Joe Guy]

LJ, regarding your assessment of Steve, you are right on target. I couldn't have said it better.

In fact, that's why I can't add anything.

Does that make me a bootlicker?

[tyro]

Actually, Steve is an interesting study.

Much of what he posts can be explained by pointing out that he is emotionally driven. I don’t just mean the clear anger that is so painfully evident, but that if he feels something is true, then it must be.

Conversely, if he feels something is false then it is false.

Such people have as much faith in their senses as we others have in our facts.

From that stand point, Steve is not lying nor is he making things up. He is telling us in no uncertain terms how he is feeling.

In addition, he uses projection frequently. Projection is a repression mechanism where in an individual sees in others, the traits he himself has. Liars have a tendency to see falsehoods in the words of others.

And so Steve accuses us of trying to destroy the CSB when he is the biggest problem over there. Guess who is the biggest cyber stalker.

Unfortunately, projection keeps the user from recognizing their own transgressions by making any seem light in comparison of what he sees going on around him.

And he knows it really is going on around him because he can feel it.

[Lord Jim]

That's an interesting analysis Tyro. I think you make some very good points.

I don't see really anything to disagree with, but I might put it a little bit differently.

Yes, it's true that Steve is emotionally rather intellectually driven; but the fact is that all of us can sometimes let our emotions get the better of us and lose sight of the factual reality. (I know I certainly have)

But the difference is that with most people, we "calm down" and an internal control mechanism kicks in which puts us back in balance, and enables us to see that we were "over the top" and that we weren't really looking at things clearly or in a rational way.

In Steve's case, this internal mechanism appears to have completely atrophied to the point that it no longer functions. Thus he remains in a permanent state of rage, such that the reality he perceives, never matches up with the external facts. (or if it ever does, it's only by coincidence)

This kind of goes to the point I made earlier that Steve dwells in an alternative reality of his own construction, and that he may not in fact believe he is lying; his ability to observe and process external facts may have deteriorated to such a degree that he simply can no longer distinguish fact from fiction. I believe this is a real possibility.

For Steve, reality seems to begin and end with what he has concluded internally; regardless of what the external, objective, "shared" reality may be.

To give a little hypothetical to illustrate:

If most people want to determine what the color of a box is, what would they do? Well, they'd look at it of course, and if the box was red, they'd say, "that's a red box".

But this isn't the way Steve's process works. Steve would first, internally, decide what color the box must be. And if he determined that the color of the box was blue, looking at it for him would be irrelevant. The box is blue, and that's all there is to it. It's the internal reality that is "real" for him, not the external one. And if people kept insisting to him, "no, look at it; it's red" ; that's where the raging paranoia cranks in, and because others don't share his internal reality, (which for him is "the" reality) they are either lying for some nefarious reason, or they're too stupid to perceive things in the correct way that he does.

And of course the inability to process external reality and to not have the mechanisms in place that lead one to permit that external reality to trump the internal reality in terms of determining what is in fact "real", is pretty much the definition of insanity.

I know that many of us for years in the heat of argument, (I'm certainly guilty of this)have called each other "crazy" "nuts" , told each other to "take your meds" "get help", etc., without really meaning it....

But I think that in Steve's case it may very well be literally true that he has developed a serious mental illness.

I also agree with a point you made earlier about Steve's condition being "sad." I made the same point many times over at the CSB.

The problem of course is, that when that "sad" condition is causing a person to behave in such a vile and reprehensible manner, it's only human nature to become angry and exasperated, and to lose sight of the fact, "this may not be a bad person; this may be a sick person". (I think the fact that Steve wasn't always like this, really argues for the "sick" rather than the "bad" theory)

But I'll tell you what I think is even sadder....

The fact that Steve has someone in his life who is supposedly his "friend", someone who he trusts completely, a person who isn't suffering from Steve's mental disorientation....

But who for some reason has chosen to use this position of trust, not to try to help him, not to try to coax him back to a perception of external reality, (or encouraging him privately to get professional help) but rather to do the exact opposite;

Instead, they have chosen to enable and re-inforce his delusional condition by praising him for it, and telling him how much he has "grown intellectually" and how he is such a great perceiver of "higher truths" and "deeper meanings" and validating his mentally confused view that people who don't understand him or disagree with him are either liars or idiots.

In fact that is more than sad; it's downright pernicious.

ETA:

BTW Tyro, I wanted to mention:

I've been reading some of the recent exchanges you've had with Steve, and the way he has really lashed out at you....

And I must say, I've been truly impressed with the patience and restraint you have exhibited in the face of his outrageous ravings...(You've certainly shown way more restraint than I would)

You may be an atheist, but I have to say that your forbearance in dealing with him is one of the finest examples of Christian Charity that I've seen....

[Lord Jim]

LJ, regarding your assessment of Steve, you are right on target. I couldn't have said it better.

In fact, that's why I can't add anything.

Does that make me a bootlicker?

Well Joe, since there have been a number of times where you have said things on this subject that I couldn't find any anything to add to, maybe that makes us mutual bootlickers....

The fact is, as I'm sure you're aware, you and I have seen pretty much eye to eye on these issues for sometime...going back to when you and I were defending Gwen in her role as admin, even though we both thought she was dishonest and nutty as poster in her defenses of Steve...and we both came to the conclusion this had changed at the same time, and for the same reasons....

But rather than thinking of it as "bootlicking", I prefer to think of it as...

"Great minds think alike'....

[tyro]

But the difference is that with most people, we "calm down" and an internal control mechanism kicks in which puts us back in balance, and enables us to see that we were "over the top" and that we weren't really looking at things clearly or in a rational way.

Exactly Jim, most people. But them most people react based on their emotions. Any need to atone afterwards is the result of data and facts remaining firm as the emotionally driven chemicals ebb in their bodies. Steve doesn’t seem to have these second looks through the higher brain level. He is pretty much stuck with what is called the lizard brain.

We all have a lizard brain because, unlike the other organs in our bodies, the brain didn’t so much as evolve as it added better stuff over the top of the Mark I.

And so today at the base of it, we all have the same wiring that ancient lizards had. Come to think of it, that’s an interesting argument for evolution over creation.

[Econoline]

Jim and tyro - I pretty much agree with you about Steve, and it mostly makes me sad. I used to agree with him a lot (when I could figure out what he was saying ; he's always been a rather sloppy writer but that doesn't make him a bad person), and even when I didn't agree with him I thought he raised some interesting points. When he left for a couple of weeks I was truly hoping he would be able to calm down and regain some sense of perspective, maybe even get some professional help.

Even in the state he's in, I would like to be able to just ignore him (the way I ignore David Ben Ariel, who is even nuttier than Steve), but he posts so much, and so constantly, that he just kinda overwhelms everything else on the board. (I don't know if you noticed, Jim, but in Garaelb's "What Would Make the CSB Better" thread I finally changed my mind and came to agree with you about the necessity of an "IGNORE" button on the CSB.) I still read and occasionally post over there, but it seems to be requiring longer and longer breaks from the CSB just to retain my own sense of perspective.

[loCAtek]

LJ, regarding your assessment of Steve, you are right on target. I couldn't have said it better.

In fact, that's why I can't add anything.

Does that make me a bootlicker?

Well Joe, since there have been a number of times where you have said things on this subject that I couldn't find any any way to add to, maybe that makes us mutual bootlickers....


"Great minds think alike'....

Have we our first 'Bro-mance'?

[Gob]

Actually, Steve is an interesting study.

Psychiatrist; "There's enough material there for an entire conference."

(Fawlty Towers; series two episode two)

[Econoline]

Unfortunately, there's enough material there for an entire website.....

[Lord Jim]

Steve doesn’t seem to have these second looks through the higher brain level. He is pretty much stuck with what is called the lizard brain.

Okay, so Steve is the way he is because he has the brain of a lizard....

Let me think about that for a moment...(Lord Jim says as he flicks a fly away from his eye with his tongue)

Yeah, that explanation works for me...

I'm good with that....

[Lord Jim]

I see that Gar has now started a thread where he is asking to be emailed with specific points about the CSB.

I believe I will respond to that request.

[Rick]

Is Rice a Roni really a San Francisco treat?

[Lord Jim]

Is Rice a Roni really a San Francisco treat?

I'd expect that sort of question from a "Tigers Fan"....

[kristina]

I believe that at this point the only posters left on the board that he hasn't attacked are Gwen, Editec, Quad, and Kiko...

And Kristina...(and watch out Kristina...you're probably next... )

Well, I haven't posted much since he really started his meltdown, never disagreed with him, and only once admonished him for saying something completely hideous to Hen.

But I'm sure that if I ever post at CSB again, he'll find something in what I write to flail at!

[BoSoxGal]

LJ, I think you give too much credit in suggesting that one of Steve's close cohorts on the CSB is in a position to help guide him toward reality.

editec is pathologically narcissistic and more than a little unbalanced mood-wise - that much he refreshingly admits to.

As far as I'm concerned, in recent years and certainly recent months, it's also become clear to me that Gwen suffers from some kind of personality disorder. I truly think she is incapable of seeing the reasonableness in the many requests that she address concerns of the board members at CSB, and she has established a record of unfair dealings with certain posters, include outright defenses of some of Steve's blatant falsehoods, which indicate a break with reality or at very least common sense.

The triumvirate is quite dysfunctional all 'round, as I see it.

[Lord Jim]

LJ, I think you give too much credit in suggesting that one of Steve's close cohorts on the CSB is in a position to help guide him toward reality.

editec is pathologically narcissistic

That wasn't the "close cohort" I had in mind, BSG...

Once again, I must agree with Joe...(and no, we're not going to have a "bromance"....for one thing, I've heard he's a terrible dancer....)

In my personal experience with editec over the years, whenever I have said, "hey, editec, I never said that" he has always admitted he got it wrong and apologized. (I know that the well is so poisoned vis a vis Strop that he can't bring himself to do this as far as Strop is concerned, so I understand why Strop has a different take on this...if I was Strop, I would too)

Editec is also capable of self examination, self deprecating humor, and admitting that he might have the wrong end of the stick, and acknowledging that he might be as guilty as anyone else of bad behavior...

Steve no longer possess the mental capacity to do any of these things....

Did edtiec manipulate Gwen behind the scenes to get her to be more confrontational than she otherwise would have been to the CSB membership? Most likely; he's got some mad ons...I wouldn't dispute that.

But compared to Steve, editec is the voice of sweet reason... (of course that's not really a high bar to try to get over)

If you look at editec's posts (which are not numerous) in Gar's original thread, and compare them to Steve's, the difference couldn't be more stark...

Editec calmly says he thinks that Plan B may be a good idea, and he waxes philosophically about people feeling more comfortable in one environment versus another, etc.,....

Steve on the other hand, goes off like a rabid ferret on acid, spouting insane gibberish about "CSB Traitors" and lashing out incoherently in every direction.

[BoSoxGal]

No, I figured you meant Gwen - and as I indicated, I don't think she's in a healthy place herself sufficient to provide healthy counsel to Steve, sadly. It's a train wreck that will be ongoing, I suspect.