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| But Waugh defended himself against what might have been called �the attack of the killer BBC thespians� by writing about his experiences in a novel called The Strange Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold. After its print publication, some or all of that work was read on the BBC and I�d like to imagine that some of the same actors who were made to read Waugh�s novel had also been his earlier tormentors. That would be poetic justice, because it seems clear that--for use in the novel--Waugh appropriated the actual actor improvisations that he�d been forced to hear. They have a different character from the rest of the material in the novel. Waugh could himself write in a sharply satirical tone, but the sketches reported in that novel were not in his usual mode. And the sketches are, in fact, the funniest bits in the novel. At any rate, it seems a certain measure of justice was eventually meted out, because Waugh was in a certain sense compensated for the abuse he�d received. As for my situation, I have a telephone and am happy to talk to people during �normal business hours.� I don�t like being insulted and harangued in the middle of the night by a predatory bully such as your Mr. Rader. At night one of the activities I enjoy best is called �sleeping.� And I think I should be complaining about this, not only on my own behalf, but on the behalf of others. That�s because I don�t believe I�m the only person in Indianapolis who is being treated the way that Waugh was. I�ve visited your station two or three times: you probably don�t remember, but we had a short conversation perhaps ten or twelve years ago. And I�ve been impressed by the relaxed atmosphere at WFYI--which contrasts noticeably with the heavy security at the commercial stations. The commercial stations didn�t used to be like that, at least not as much; but, as they�ve become more and more predatory, they�ve needed more and more defenses against the inevitable retaliatory attempts by some of their victims. After all, I don�t suppose I�m the only person in our city who dislikes being abused. If Mr. Rader [and Mrs. Lewis-West have other victims, as it seems they do, and if those victims see the faces or hear the voices of their tormentors] too often on WFYI, you may find the friendliness at WFYI dissipating somewhat. CONTINUE |
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