SCAMMED BY A BT'R!!!!! (Page 4)

Yep nobody ever screws up.  That's the BT spirit kick them while they're down.  Go team!  It take a massive amount of courage to stand up publicly and admit when you screwed up.  I give her a lot of credit.  It takes zero courage to kick someone when they are down.  The internet is caveat emptor and those who fail to follow that risk getting burned.  The woman asked for a little pity but there's none to be found here apparently.  Obviously she was in error but sometimes your mothers advice of "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything"... should be dusted off. 

I appreciate your input. The fact of the matter is, I don't to tri's anymore, I can't train, and don't know if I will be able to in the future. If this were simply a matter of the BT community telling me that what I did was wrong, I wouldn't have come on here and faced the music. Why? Because I actually have no need whatsoever for the site anymore. I could have deleted my account and walked away, forgetting that it ever happened if I didn't acknowledge that what I did was wrong. As it is, I can't do that, because I do know that I need to stand up and admit that I made a mistake, and a big one at that. I choose to clean up my side of the street when I make a mistake. That is my purpose for speaking up now, and not just letting this die out now that she has the bike. There is no way for ANYBODY but me to know what my true intentions were. But I know that I would not scam anybody, even if that may be the way that it seemed. It doesn't matter what you, or eburg, or anybody else thinks, because I know in my heart that I would never intentionally do physical, emotional, or financial harm to any living creature. There is a big difference between willful maliciousness and incapacitation, even if the effect is the same.

As for empathy, pity, or compassion, I will say once again that I haven't asked for any. I've only asked that one thinks before they choose to judge me for what happened, and I've stated my case. I never said that this was "one little white lie", I asked if anyone had been in that position. Because this did START with one small white lie, "Yes, I dropped the bike off to be packed on Saturday". When in fact, my "intentions" were to drop it off later that day or the next. We all know that old saying, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" and when I didn't get the bike dropped off, the snowball effect began. Dare I ask, greenmtnman, how you can say morals should never waiver, and that you have made many mistakes in the same text. Gee, if morals never faltered, we wouldn't need police, or clergy, or armed services, prison guards, etc. I try to remember the Alexander Pope quote, "to err is human, to forgive divine" when I am dealing with another person who has failed me in some way.

As for hurting myself/hurting others, I am fully aware that this situation has done both. It has also been a learning experience, and a catalyst for me to do something about the chaos of my life. And for what it's worth, I am very aware that my sincerity and regret mean little to anyone else. I didn't log on and take the time to write this out for anyone except myself. Because if I let this slide, and don't clean up the mess that I've made, it will eat at me much more than if I just stand up and take the heat.

I don't expect responses, if you have them, that's okay with me, good or bad, you have the right to express your beliefs. There is no way that I can change how you feel or think, no matter what I say or do. But I can change what I think/do the next time a problem comes up by handling this now the best way that I can.

All that being said, I have seen a few pockets of "compassion" from people who have PM'd me, and a couple who have spoken up on this thread. So it's not all that bad christris, but thanks for the kind words.

This tread is like beating a dead horse.