oiRRio

Maybe he just didn't frequent the right fora??

I have to say I enjoyed his posts, wit and relaxed moderating style. I voted for him in the Talkboard elections as I thought he was a great asset to the FT community.

Regardless of the circumstances, someone taking their life is shocking and sad, and I am stunned that some on FT seem do be deriving some form of schadenfreude from his "comeuppance".

He would have been on my list of 5 FTers I'd like to meet. RIP B Watson.

Gaza

And cowardly.

Not deriving any form of schadenfreude but in amonst all the "he was great guy" some of us are saying that he probably wan't the person that a lot of people thought he was.

He had a "holier than thou" attitude, yet he was a convicted fraudster who, in his own words; "stole a great deal of money from a number of people" and "abused their trust and friendship". He was also prosecuted for tax fraud. Despite all of this he didn't seem to learn his lesson and was facing yet more fraud charges:-

To be a good fraudster you have to be confident and gain peoples trust. It seems B Watson was able to do that to a number of people. christep summed it up well in his initial post:-

His family and friends will not doubt mourn him but I doubt that those he defrauded will shed many tears.

GadgetFreak

Im not a terribly religious person in the classical sense. Yet I am quite interested in all religions and learning what we can from what they teach. A powerful message from Christianity, and I believe I am quoting exactly here is: "Judge not, least ye shall be judged".

christep

At the risk of getting Omni-esque here, are you suggesting that we should abandon all legal systems? The guy was (by all accounts) an out-and-out criminal who deceived many people (including, at a trivial level, myself). I have sympathy for the people who have suffered as a result, but none for him - he took a gamble, enjoyed the high life for a few years and has now paid the price.

SEA_Tigger

Let the man rest in peace. What he did in life is not really our concern. I never met him in person, and most of our discussions were cordial. If misdeeds were done, the proper authorities will take care of it. I don't think we really need to dissect his life and actions here in FT now that he has left us.

GadgetFreak

Oh dont be silly. Of course there is a need for legal proceedings in all sorts of cases, restitution to be made, punishment to handed out, etc. However, since to the best of my knowledge none of us are part of this necessary legal process in this case, our judgements are gratuitous and serve no useful, constructive purpose under the law. So I will stick with my understanding of the above quote and its relevence to this situation, and for that matter, a whole raft of other situations.

Gaza

Why not? By adopting a high profile on a public BB and bragging about how successful you are and how you enjoyed the finer things in life, when it is finally revealed, in life or death, that you are a convicted fraudster then don't expect to much sympathy from me.

Dave_C

I have to say I'm surprised by the level of sycophancy displayed by many here.

The man was a convicted fraudster (twice). He lied, cheated and stole from other people, to fund his lavish lifestyle.

He may have contributed to FlyerTalk, but that was only off the back of others hard work.

He was selfish and a menace to others right to the end. By committing suicide in the way that he did, he put others lifes in danger (notably the police).

I feel sorry for all those he defrauded, all those people who worked for him trying to earn an honest living, and all those who were deceived by him.

I'm not judging him, just merely pointing out the facts.

Edited to add a more detailed news story here.

GadgetFreak

Why not what? Why not dissect his life? Perhaps a better question is, why? I didnt even like the guy when he was a alive. And I dont see a reason to say what a great guy he was now that he is dead. But I likewise dont find the posting of attacks on him now that he is dead to have much purpose. And I will add that I am appalled at the lack of Christian virtue by a lot of the people who are saying these things about him. And if you slammed him and are a Buddhist or elsewise, apologies, have at it

jan_az

Never met him.


MY condolences to his wife, family, and others who will miss him.

I do not think this thread is the place to discuss his past, there is so much we will never know about other people in general. It is sad when someone finds it necessary to take their own life.

Brattflyer

RIP B Watson. Just a little reminder to FTers that Flyer Talk still happens in cyberworld and none of us may be what we seem. Be careful out there!

markbach

I'd like to add my condolences as well to his family and friends.

jfe

My condolences as well

oiRRio

Agreed and I have no desire to see this deteriorate into an Omni type thread but a few final thoughts on Gaza's comments.

I too used to make trite comments about suicide. After hearing about the pressures that led a young neighbour to commit suicide, I'm less inclined to do so. IMO taking your own life is never an "easy" option.

I judged him on his posts and contributions to FT. FWIW, I didn't see any elitist or "holier than thou" attitude in his posts. Quite the opposite in fact, I found him (along with others such as RTW4 and Number 6) to be refreshingly down to earth despite the fact that they travel almost excusively in F.

I don't think he had to gain the trust of people on FT, they simply appreciated the informative and witty nature of his posts and his contribution to FT. I can understand people feeling like this if they had been defrauded by him. I can't understand why you and others such as Christep feel so strongly, and if you do why you didn't raise these issues with him prior to this if you had him "sussed". IMO, to seem so intent on putting the boot into him this soon after his death when he can't respond, is both tasteless and cowardly!!

Seat 2A

I agree wholeheartedly.