So, one thing I had hoped would happen with the Brian Sheriff story was that people would get upset. When people get upset, things happen.
Different people will get upset for different reasons. Nobby was none to pleased with how he was portrayed in this "one sided" story.
As I had stated before, I contacted Nobby for comment via email and phone, which resulted only in a voicemail message which I shared his sentiments from that. He never responded to my email or return calls.
Well, he has emailed me now, a few times, threatening legal action and demanding apology.
I don't think I owe him an apology, I'm just sharing Brian's story. I did offer, again, to hear his side of the story and share that. He has now done that.
Nobby's side of the story is that Brian never sent him ANY evidence. Nobby never contacted Mazda because Brian never gave him evidence, and that he would, "never simply call up Mazda to meet with their head-huncho when I don't have ANY evidence, which I asked Brian to give me but never received." He went on to say, "now I am actually more curious to find out more about just what had happened. I do have a friend who used to run for Mazda. I never even gotten around to actually talk to him but I've been calling him to see if I can get other side of the story. If this actually comes out that Brian is correct and Mazda is the evil empire, I still have the intention to help him."
So there you have that.
My intention was/and is not to make anyone look bad, and the story was to be rounded out with the notion that I have no idea who is lying and who is telling the truth. I'm just trying to tell the story. I don't have ALL the info. I'm doing what I can. There are more people(two) calling Brian a liar than the other way around, so far. I would like for the truth to be exposed at some point and it seems things are possibly heading in that direction.
If anyone with any insight to this story is reading, please email me Phil@presmustache.com.
And if you're wondering what happened to part Four of the story, it's coming. My laptop has been out of commission for a week, but I am back in business. Cheers.
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I'd like to summarize everything here to make sure I understand it correctly. Someone you've never met tells you a compelling story over email involving him as the victim of a far-reaching, 20-year conspiracy involving large corporations, the IAAF, the USATF, the Japanese federation, Japanese immigration, the upper echelons of Hiroshima society, Nobby, and more. Not only does the conspiracy involve him being inexplicably, fraudulently contracted to run when hundreds of others including an African currently running for the same team he alleges defrauded him have been paid hansomely to run, it also involves him somehow obtaining information in Venezuela that makes him a dangerous man. He has been physically threatened and is not allowed to leave the country four years after being laid off despite other Africans who remained in Japan beyond their visa expiration following the termination of their contracts having been deported in far less than four years. He has evidence of it all but will not produce it when asked or says it is missing. Anyone who dismisses his claims is part of the conspiracy and has been paid off by the large corporation. And you accept it all at face value.
ReplyDeleteIt's all certainly possible, but I think there's another possible angle you have not considered. Allow me to continue in a second comment as I've maxed out the length of this one.
To continue, quoting from Alistair Munro's 1999 book "Delusional Disorder: Paranoia and Related Illnesses" and the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th Ed.)":
ReplyDeleteDelusional disorder: Persecutory Type
This delusion is the most common. It includes the belief that the person (or someone to whom the person is close) is being malevolently treated in some way. The patient may believe that he/she has been drugged, spied-on, harassed and so on and may seek "justice" by making police reports, taking court action or even acting violent.
Factors that play an important role include: social isolation and immigration related to social adversity, racial discrimination, family dysfunction, unemployment or poor housing conditions.
Features:
1.It is a primary disorder. (check)
2.It is a stable disorder characterized by the presence of delusions to which the patient clings with extraordinary tenacity. (check)
3.The illness is chronic and frequently lifelong. (check)
4.The delusions are logically constructed and internally consistent. (definitely check)
5.The delusions do not interfere with general logical reasoning (although within the delusional system the logic is perverted) and there is usually no general disturbance of behavior. If disturbed behavior does occur, it is directly related to the delusional beliefs. (don't know, but likely)
6.The individual experiences a heightened sense of self-reference. Events which, to others, are nonsignificant are of enormous significance to him or her, and the atmosphere surrounding the delusions is highly charged. (check)
Indications:
1.The patient expresses an idea or belief with unusual persistence or force. (check)
2.That idea appears to exert an undue influence on the patients life, and the way of life is often altered to an inexplicable extent. (check)
3.Despite his/her profound conviction, there is often a quality of secretiveness or suspicion when the patient is questioned about it. (check)
4.The individual tends to be humorless and oversensitive, especially about the belief. (don't know, but likely)
5.There is a quality of centrality: no matter how unlikely it is that these strange things are happening to him, the patient accepts them relatively unquestioningly. (check)
6.An attempt to contradict the belief is likely to arouse an inappropriately strong emotional reaction, often with irritability and hostility. (apparently check)
7.The belief is, at the least, unlikely, and out of keeping with the patient's social, cultural and religious background. (check)
8.The patient is emotionally over-invested in the idea and it overwhelms other elements of their psyche. (apparently check)
9.The delusion, if acted out, often leads to behaviors which are abnormal and/or out of character, although perhaps understandable in the light of the delusional beliefs. (don't know, but possibly)
10.Individuals who know the patient observe that the belief and behavior are uncharacteristic and alien. (don't know)
Continued.....
Is there going to be a part four, or is this story dead? I lived and worked in Japan for years and would not be surprised to find large parts of this story to be true, but overall it does sound a bit much... -bones
ReplyDeleteThough there are definitely some weird turns in the story, it is also true that when people experience trauma their stories come out in bits and pieces that can make their story hard to understand.
ReplyDeleteIt is also true that when people want to make a story less credible, "mental illness" is an effective way of framing the person in question, so that it's easier to dismiss them as "crazy".
This story has a lot of potential to be heard.
It seems that for many of his friends there is not much they can do. They probably feel helpless and eventually move away from his disappointment. The guy needs help in some form: legal support, moral support, etc. I am not sure where this might come from, but I suspect from within Japan when/if he gets in touch with the virtue deeply embedded in the culture with which many have lost touch. It is still there. Part of the transformation will be in letting go and revisioning his life. Brian, if you are still watching, find a way forward. I can recommend a book which might spark some inspiration: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.
ReplyDelete