[DeTomaso] Quitting POCA for personal reasons

[Rob Dumoulin]

I suspect that many of you will opt out of reading this declaration. I
understand and I am fairly confident that the reason I wrote it matches
your reason for not wanting to read it. If you do, thank you for reading.
If you reply, please do so only after reading it to the end. I hope you
will see that this is not about me, but about POCA.

Months ago, I resigned to sit on the sidelines and ignore POCA carnage
around me while I focused on my own family life and automotive challenges
of getting 1488 put back together.  Weeks ago a decision was reached to not
renew my POCA membership after being back in POCA for only one shortt but
long year. The bulk of this email was composed weeks back with the intent
to publish it only on the POCA site to keep it "in the family".  I
resurrected it now and my reasons to post to this forum are presented
below.

The first time I left POCA, it was because I felt that the West Coast
leadership did not share my interests because I lived on the opposite side
of the country. In fact, I was told such opinions directly.  With no active
chapter, there was no compelling reason continue as the only POCA member
within at least 200 miles and I let my membership expire. Not a big deal.
I leave POCA this time because not because I am on the opposite side of the
country, but I feel the leadership has ventured into the opposite side of
my sense of civility. Sadly enough, I leave at a time when my car is now
restored and I am in a position to participate more regionally events. I
can live with that especially and promote Panteras on my own if I do not
have to deal with the baggage.

As I hinted, reasons for leaving POCA this time are not because of the
direction the club was going, but rather the means taken to do it. Being in
the IT world, I am certainly biased in supporting the web-if-ication of the
club, but at the same time I sympathize with and support almost all of the
stated opposition. Everybody is entitled to an opinion and observations
over the years has taught me that only dysfunctional "Families" ignore,
discount, or belittle other member's opinions.  A case cannot be made that
I am a "criticizer and not a contributor" to POCA's success. Prior to the
current website launch, I read the entire web hosting manual (not a small
document to say the least), offered to help, was micromanaged to the
extreme, tried to quell resistance on the old email list towards the new
site based on the knowledge I gained from the manual, all while the hate
speech started to flow from the vocal portion of the POCA leadership.  At
that point I started to question the means being used but still wanted to
help the community. I have contributed to the "Pantera Interior" forum on
the site by adding instructions on headliner replacement / speaker bar
install in the interest of advancing the site and helping members. Also, I
envisioned, enhanced and maintained the interactive graphical US map for
the 911 list to include all 50 states and bordering Canada instead of just
Southeast chapter participants. I seek nor desire praise for any of it.  In
fact I try to stay as anonymous as I can because my plate is so full right
now I can only commit to what i choose to make time for.  I mention this
only so nobody could say that I was not fully vested in the success of the
'New POCA' experience and wanted it to succeed.  Anybody suggesting
otherwise is not genuine or not knowledgeable. Accusations that more people
are not just jumping on board to help a sinking ship while the captain is
willfully firing holes in the hull is utterly insane and is in my opinion
propaganda, denial of self blame, or downright delusional. Not only can I
not in good conscious recruit anybody else to join POCA right now, I feel
fortunate that my membership expires soon.

The last straw that made me no longer willing to watch the berating, hate
speach, and psychotic behavior was to have a record of it "magically
erased" from the POCA forum.  For this, I hold the entire BOD responsible.
For those of you reading this that are not in the 'Free World' or have yet
to view the POCA site forums regularly, you may accept rewriting of history
as protocol from your dictator regimes or are unaware of what is
happening.  Though we may feel helpless to deal with similar behavior from
our governments, do we really expect to deal with this abuse from a
freak-in car club?  Does it matter that the POCA forum history will only
reflect harmony and birds singing in the springtime any time relevant
questions/discussions not fitting a controlled narrative occur are
responded to with such revolting and utter contempt?   "Control the
narrative, control the situation" is a common way to erase skeletons. Just
ask the Clintons (sorry, I had to sneak that shot in), and some unmentioned
entity which recently tried to intimidate this list from having their past
inflammatory remarks stripped from the record. Maybe to some people it does
not matter, but to me it does, thus I walk away from POCA again.

I have unsubscribed from all POCA forum notifications (not really missing
much other than the same old impetuous vitriol), will let my membership
lapse, will no longer support the POCA 911 Emergency Travel guide and map,
and will not be present at the East Coast Fall event.  I gladly offer to
host any of the wonderful SE Pantera brethren as they travel North through
Florida on their way to the event and hope to participate and support
chapter events as able.

I make the statement on THIS forum for one simple reason:  I am confident
that such a declaration would be erased from the POCA forum along with any
character assassination against me that would follow.  I really would like
to have a record of fallout spew directed towards me before self-censorship
of the POCA site occurs.

Notice: Any private responses sent to me on this or any other topic may be
shared with this community regardless of any disclaimers on your email
stating not to share it.  I beat you at your own game by declaring it
first.

Somehow, I suspect that creating the current POCA toxic atmosphere was done
intentionally. Motives could be:
 - To drive away/discredit any opposition before a passive majority of its
members subscribe to forum emails, then erase/replace it all the carnage
with a narrative of how nobody volunteered to help, threw stones, and
statements of good riddance?
 - To intimidate and silence opposing opinions turning them into disengaged
 low-information minions who pay dues?
 - A belief that short attention spans will forget this?
 - In the name of progress because the masses are fools that have to be led?
Of course, these are just conspiracy theories, but my gut and view of
actions from the inside says the degree of truth to all of them ranges from
a little to right on the money. Your gastric outcomes may vary.

Regardless of the motives, such activity and hate speech must be
sanctioned by the POCA BOD, otherwise, it would have been stopped or at a
minimum be publicly denounced. Not even once was it denounced nor has it
diminished. I sincerely hope POCA survives this new public image it has
created. I feel sorry for you Ed L. You seemed like a straight-up guy to me
that was dealt a rotten situation until you requested that I not to use
this email forum. If any BOD members are left standing if/when this ship
sinks, you have only yourselves to blame for allowing one person to
continue shooting vitriol speech when in hindsight you should have taken
away his bullet points (not so subtle colloquialism intended).  Even if you
somehow craft an apology or stop the hate speech, don't be surprised when
it does not fool anybody without actions to back it up.  True colors have
been shown and they are not pretty.  Sad, but true that none of this was
even necessary if not for the actions of one replaceable spokesperson
representing the entire organization and a board that was indifferent for
reasons unknown to at least me.

I once considered the current President my friend.  I have attended events
with him, hosted him and his lovely wife Joanie while they were attending
the Amelia Island Concourse, and he has hosted myself and my wife for the
Hilton Head Concourse. At this stage in my life, I have no energy available
to expend for any person or entity with his M.O., especially one that I pay
dues to support.  Micheal, please erase my contact information from your
phone, email, and address book.  I suspect we will never meet again.

For everybody else, thank you all for being there for me and my car over
these 8 long years of restoration.  Proactive thanks for the years to come
and I welcome the opportunity to meet and help any of you if the
opportunity ever arises.

Rob DuMoulin
Caretaker of 1488
-------------- next part --------------
   I suspect that many of you will opt out of reading this declaration. I
   understand and I am fairly confident that the reason I wrote it matches
   your reason for not wanting to read it. If you do, thank you for
   reading. If you reply, please do so only after reading it to the end. I
   hope you will see that this is not about me, but about POCA.A
   Months ago, I resigned to sit on the sidelines and ignore POCA carnage
   around me while I focused on my own family life and automotive
   challenges of getting 1488 put back together.A  Weeks ago a decision
   was reached to not renew my POCA membership after being back in POCA
   for only one shortt but long year. The bulk of this email was composed
   weeks back with the intent to publish it only on the POCA site to keep
   it "in the family".A  I resurrected it now and my reasons to post to
   this forum are presented below.A
   The first time I left POCA, it was because I felt that the West Coast
   leadership did not share my interests because I lived on the opposite
   side of the country. In fact, I was told such opinions directly.A  With
   no active chapter, there was no compelling reason continue as the only
   POCA member within at least 200 miles and I let my membership expire.
   Not a big deal.A  I leave POCA this time because not because I am on
   the opposite side of the country, but I feel the leadership has
   ventured into the opposite side of my sense of civility. Sadly enough,
   I leave at a time when my car is now restored and I am in a position to
   participate more regionally events. I can live with that especially and
   promote Panteras on my own if I do not have to deal with the baggage.
   As I hinted, reasons for leaving POCA this time are not because of the
   direction the club was going, but rather the means taken to do it.
   Being in the IT world, I am certainly biased in supporting the
   web-if-ication of the club, but at the same time I sympathize with and
   support almost all of the stated opposition. Everybody is entitled to
   an opinion and observations over the years has taught me that only
   dysfunctional "Families" ignore, discount, or belittle other member's
   opinions.A  A case cannot be made that I am a "criticizer and not a
   contributor" to POCA's success. Prior to the current website launch, I
   read the entire web hosting manual (not a small document to say the
   least), offered to help, was micromanaged to the extreme, tried to
   quell resistance on the old email list towards the new site based on
   the knowledge I gained from the manual, all while the hate speech
   started to flow from the vocal portion of the POCA leadership.A  At
   that point I started to question the means being used but still wanted
   to help the community. I have contributed to the "Pantera Interior"
   forum on the site by adding instructions on headliner replacement /
   speaker bar install in the interest of advancing the site and helping
   members. Also, I envisioned, enhanced and maintained the interactive
   graphical US map for the 911 list to include all 50 states and
   bordering Canada instead of just Southeast chapter participants. I seek
   nor desire praise for any of it.A  In fact I try to stay as anonymous
   as I can because my plate is so full right now I can only commit to
   what i choose to make time for.A  I mention this only so nobody could
   say that I was not fully vested in the success of the 'New POCA'
   experience and wanted it to succeed.A  Anybody suggesting otherwise is
   not genuine or not knowledgeable. Accusations that more people are not
   just jumping on board to help a sinking ship while the captain is
   willfully firing holes in the hull is utterly insane and is in my
   opinion propaganda, denial of self blame, or downright delusional. Not
   only can I not in good conscious recruit anybody else to join POCA
   right now, I feel fortunate that my membership expires soon.
   The last straw that made me no longer willing to watch the berating,
   hate speach, and psychotic behavior was to have a record of it
   "magically erased" from the POCA forum.A  For this, I hold the entire
   BOD responsible. For those of you reading this that are not in the
   'Free World' or have yet to view the POCA site forums regularly, you
   may accept rewriting of history as protocol from your dictator regimes
   or are unaware of what is happening.A  Though we may feel helpless to
   deal with similar behavior from our governments, do we really expect to
   deal with this abuse from a freak-in car club?A  Does it matter that
   the POCA forum history will only reflect harmony and birds singing in
   the springtime any time relevant questions/discussions not fitting a
   controlled narrative occur are responded to with such revolting and
   utter contempt? A  "Control the narrative, control the situation" is a
   common way to erase skeletons. Just ask the Clintons (sorry, I had to
   sneak that shot in), and some unmentioned entity which recently tried
   to intimidate this list from having their past inflammatory remarks
   stripped from the record.A Maybe to some people it does not matter, but
   to me it does, thus I walk away from POCA again.
   I have unsubscribed from all POCA forum notifications (not really
   missing much other than the same old impetuous vitriol), will let my
   membership lapse, will no longer support the POCA 911 Emergency Travel
   guide and map, and will not be present at the East Coast Fall event.A
   I gladly offer to host any of the wonderful SE Pantera brethren as they
   travel North through Florida on their way to the event and hope to
   participate and support chapter events as able.A
   I make the statement on THIS forum for one simple reason: A I am
   confident that such a declaration would be erased from the POCA forum
   along with any character assassination against me that would follow.A
   I really would like to have a record of fallout spew directed towards
   me before self-censorship of the POCA site occurs.A
   Notice: Any private responses sent to me on this or any other topic may
   be shared with this community regardless of any disclaimers on your
   email stating not to share it.A  I beat you at your own game by
   declaring it first.A
   Somehow, I suspect that creating the current POCA toxic atmosphere was
   done intentionally. Motives could be:
   A - To drive away/discredit any opposition before a passive majority of
   its members subscribe to forum emails, then erase/replace it all the
   carnage with a narrative of how nobody volunteered to help, threw
   stones, and statements of good riddance? A
   A - To intimidate and silence opposing opinions turning them into
   disengaged A low-information minions who pay dues? A
   A - A belief that short attention spans will forget this? A
   A - In the name of progress because the masses are fools that have to
   be led?
   Of course, these are justA conspiracyA theories, but my gut and view of
   actions from the inside says the degree of truth to all of them ranges
   from a little to right on the money. Your gastric outcomes may vary.
   Regardless of the motives, such activity and hate speech must be
   sanctionedA by the POCA BOD, otherwise, it would have been stopped or
   at a minimum be publicly denounced. Not even once was it denounced nor
   has it diminished. I sincerely hope POCA survives this new public image
   it has created. I feel sorry for you Ed L. You seemed like a
   straight-up guy to me that was dealt a rotten situation until you
   requested that I not to use this email forum. If any BOD members are
   left standing if/when this ship sinks, you have only yourselves to
   blame for allowing one person to continue shooting vitriol speech when
   in hindsight you should have taken away his bullet points (not so
   subtle colloquialism intended).A  Even if you somehow craft an apology
   or stop the hate speech, don't be surprised when it does not fool
   anybody without actions to back it up.A  True colors have been shown
   and they are not pretty.A  Sad, but true that none of this was even
   necessary if not for the actions of one replaceable spokesperson
   representing the entire organization and a board that was indifferent
   for reasons unknown to at least me.
   I once considered the current President my friend.A  I have attended
   events with him, hosted him and his lovely wife Joanie while they were
   attending the Amelia Island Concourse, and he has hosted myself and my
   wife for the Hilton Head Concourse. At this stage in my life, I have no
   energy available to expend for any person or entity with his M.O.,
   especially one that I pay dues to support.A  Micheal, please erase my
   contact information from your phone, email, and address book.A  I
   suspect we will never meet again.
   For everybody else, thank you all for being there for me and my car
   over these 8 long years of restoration.A  Proactive thanks for the
   years to come and I welcome the opportunity to meet and help any of you
   if the opportunity ever arises.
   Rob DuMoulin
   Caretaker of 1488