[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by dobbles

i'll be honest, i have not been in touch with him much the last few years. after making my initial post in this thread the other day, he reached out through friends to get my number and we have been texting. so i am not super equipped to speak on the subject as i only vaguely knew of the issues and had no idea that CP had supported him so much.

really for me though, knowing him as i have for all these years, it helps me come with a different perspective. i see someone that has never been the best with words or communicating, someone that has never had the best history with money and relationships, but someone that has never wronged me or any or our common acquaintances.

so I read through all this and instead of seeing a con-man or scum of the earth, I see someone that was most likely down on his luck, reached out for help, got way more than expected, and didn't exactly spend it the best. (the ikea purchases everyone loves to rail on) But I also see someone that basically got doxxed and started deleting social media accounts after getting harrassed, not because they were guilty. FYI, he texted me screenshots of what people were saying so I know its legit.

Also, as we look through this, if this was some sort of long con or well thought out plan, why would he have the least protected online presence ever? Why would he use these communities that he has spent years in? Heck, when he created his account here he was living in Iowa and working a construction job. I really doubt he got poor on purpose just to screw some people over 5 years later.

tl;dr - I do think this issue has obviously spiraled out of control. There's a lot bad on all sides. But at the end of the day, in my opinion, this was not something that started as a deceitful plan. Was he stupid with how he handled the windfall? Sure. Did he try to milk people for extra after receiving the initial support. Perhaps. But I don't think the way he is being portrayed here is accurate.

I think this take on things is probably the closest to what really happened. I get a lot of gofundme requests (involved with animal rescue and participate on a lot of dog-related sites) and most of them are very similar. People who are bad at planning, want someone else to solve their problems for them, and make bad decisions (about money and everything else). Giving those people money might help with an actual bill in the moment, but it doesn't suddenly turn them into good decision makers.