Some of the attacks before the conference

    This sad story began with four messages to Joe Backes's mailing list, most of which ultimately reached newsgroups. Three days later, I sent a message to the conference's mailing list assuring them that all was still well. Joe Backes then fired off another nasty message, this time to alt.conspiracy.jfk. At that point, Charlie Drago, author of one of the original four messages, wrote an "open letter" to clarify a few points. To set the record straight once more, I composed a longer response and posted it on alt.conspiracy.jfk. Joe Backes then posted another strongly worded message. I had turned the first of these exchanges into an educational experience by showing them to my JFK class and giving them ten questions to answer about them. Joel Grant, a colleague from Seattle who was following the web portion of the class, sent in his answers to the questions.
    When the dust had settled, all were tarnished. Our open conference had been made to seem some sort of propaganda exercise in mind control by nonconspiracists, which of course it was not. (See the responses by the attendees and the students.) My JFK class had been portrayed as a semester of brainwashing the students, which it certainly is not. (Ask any of the students, regardless of their persuasion.) I was made out to be some sort of ignorant monster who has no business teaching a JFK course or arranging a JFK conference, both of which I try my best not to be. (See the various comments on the meeting.) Let it be clearly stated that attacks like this do not hurt my class or me. In fact, the ridiculousness of the attacks brought the class together to defend themselves and me, and in the process gave them new life and the kind of educational experience that no textbook can offer. The students were transformed by the experience and have come to see the JFK research community, or the fanatical corner of it, in a whole new light. They have been encouraged to think long and hard about what makes certain people behave in such an indefensible manner. Some of them are coming up with answers that I can agree with.
    The group most hurt by this little episode was the greater JFK community. As long as the community fails to disavow these extremes of behavior and allows the perpetrators to remain in positions of influence and leadership, it loses credibility with the outside world and, yes, even with my students. As long as the JFK movement continues to tolerate these cultlike attitudes, that is just how the world will see it, and it will remain marginalized and without serious influence. Perhaps revealing this opportunity for reform will ultimately prove to be the longest-lasting effect of the 1999 Providence Conference.
    The seven documents can be accessed in their chronological order:

The original four messages
My reply to the mailing list
Joe Backes's reply to alt.conspiracy.jfk
Drago's open letter
My reply
Joe Backes's reply
Joel Grant's answers to the ten questions
Back to epilogue