It sure as hell didn't help matters any, huh.
I'd have really felt as if someone had "used" me had JR told me I would be used as a pawn to the tune of $3-$4 thousand of my dollars, truth be known.
"Why didn't Joe just ask Jim to buy his merchandise out? Then there would have been none of this passive aggressive behavior."
Excellent question, assuming your theory's true.
If asking that question would help defuse this I'd suggest you ask BadJoe, yourself; but, if there's any truth to it then it'd also be a question best asked in private & by JR.
Don't you?
In these kinds of situations whenever certain internal *family* issues have been openly, publically discussed?
Our enemies -- within & without from across the continuum -- have played "the pride card" setting all against each other.
I'm tired of that because we're providing 'em fodder for their folly & the miserable SOBs never even have to break a sweat, nevermind having to get in least bit *creative*.
Questions like those you raise must be discussed in private because as far as I'm concerned, the bastards have been given all the help dividing us they're gonna get.
Well get from me, anyway.
"Now there has been a betrayal on Joe's part, he should realize that he betrays all FReepers when he proves untrustworthy with the confidences that he was trusted with here."
Joe's not betraying anyone IMO, he's POed & sounding off solely because it is he who feels betrayed.
At least that's what I came away with from all this given his letter & whether or not there's a kernal of truth in any of it?
I wouldn't know one way or the other.
But I do know Joe well enough to trust the man & the tone of his letter is one of pain, that's it.
The old "I tear you down to build you up" approach is used by all too many these days if they're desperate & very often employed as a last ditch effort.
If for no other reason than they know of no other way to open up a dialog; &, what they fear happening most of all?
...is being ignored.
If Joe posted facts at LP that Jim had always kept private, then that's a betrayal, not just as a trusted friend but he's also toying with his livlihood.