Sticks and Stones

This is an update on my recent article 'The ghost that haunted South Brisbane Cemetery... from a thousand miles away', and hopefully the last on the subject for a while.

Cameron 'Jack' Sim of Brisbane Ghost Tours is coming under increasing scrutiny from others in the paranormal field. One quality new blog called 'Haunts of Brisbane' describes him as 'an unqualified salesman plugging gimmicky tours based on fictionalised "heritage"', while others publicly accuse him of having 'the worst reputation I have ever heard of'. This comes in the wake of my own less-than-complementary articles about 'most haunted polls' and the publication of misleading photos. 
 

Above: South Brisbane Cemetery at night

Although I thought I was more restrained in my criticism than others, it was no surprise when I received an email this morning containing legal threats from Mr Sim. As I have said before, ‘from now on communication on these matters will be dealt with in the public sphere’, so here we are. Although Mr Sim did not have the fortitude to address me himself, I will direct my comments to him anyway. This is the letter, with corrective comments from myself:

'Dear Chris Dawson,
We are aware of what has been happening on Facebook. There have been 3 incidents of people commenting on our Facebook page just to attack our business. We know these people are connected to you and The Friends of South Brisbane Cemetery. We even suspect that some of them may have been invented by you for this sole purpose. We are asking you now to cease and desist or we will have to take action against you. Their comments are defamatory and rude. Our regular customers who follow our Facebook page have written in, upset about what has been happening. This cannot go on.

The false assumption that the Facebook critics are actually me, or ‘connected’ to me, is a rather paranoid premise on which to base a legal threat. Am I going to be sued for the comments of other people on Facebook? If so, God help us all.

'I am also aware of what you have recently posted on 'The Boggo Blog'. Firstly, I am the host on the South Brisbane Cemetery tour. I received the photo and I posted it on Facebook. I mislabelled the photo, I am aware of that and it was a simple mistake. It was very good of our customer to send us these photos and we are very happy they did so. I have apologised profusely for mislabelling it. However, Chris, it was a simple mistake. You have then taken my personal error and broadcasted it, turning it into this ridiculous claim that we have been stealing photos. I am very happy to take responsibility of what happened but not to take responsibility for your outrageous claims.

I wrote that this incident was either a mistake or outright deceit. Ghost Tours have claimed that it was a mistake of ‘mislabelling’, despite the selective editing of the text that explained this was not a picture of the cemetery. In fact, even after the discrepancy was pointed out, Ghost Tours bunkered down and insisted that it WAS from a night tour at the cemetery. The claim that it was actually the South Brisbane Cemetery tour guide that made that ‘mistake’ is very revealing.

For the record, I did not ever say that anybody was ‘stealing photos’.

'These ongoing attacks affect, not only Jack, but they affect our staff and customers. They affect me personally and our poor customer that graciously gave us these unexplainable photos.

Actually, the ‘poor customer’ actually thanked the guy from Haunted Australia (who called Jack Sim an 'immature child' with 'the worst reputation i have ever heard of') for his comments on the Ghost Tour page. Go figure.

I must remind you, Chris, that we will have to be working together in the future (says who?) and we think you should come to terms with that now and stop this parade of stooges coming across our Facebook page and slinging mud. We are not dumb. Not only are they upsetting our ever faithful customers but they are muddying your name as everyone knows they are connected to you. 

Deconstructing critics is not a very mature way handling criticism. This imaginary ‘parade of stooges’ are in reality a range of individuals who I have no control over and in most cases don't even know. While it is quite flattering for someone to think I have this level of control over an army of willing henchmen, it is seriously unhealthy to assume that random people who criticise you are somehow all working together in some kind of conspiracy.   

Is the Courier-Mail reporter who recently gave the South Brisbane Cemetery Ghost Tour a terrible review in on the conspiracy too?

'We wish that you would stop these school yard squabbles and cyber bullying and conduct yourself like the professional business man that you claim to be.*

Sticks and stones etc etc...

Holding people to account for their assertions in a public setting is not ‘cyber bullying’, it is a normal part of discourse and negotiation in the field of history and heritage. If someone makes an incorrect claim, it is usual for that claim to be countered by the presentation of facts. That is all I have ever done in my blogs.

As for ‘professionalism’, when my behaviour has resulted in multiple visits and warnings from the police, appearances in court, and being banned from dealings with several community groups (I can name five, there may be more), then I will have reached Mr Sim’s level of professionalism and he can lecture me all about it then. 

   

Behind his manufactured façade, it would seem that 'Jack' Sim’s modus operandi for over ten years has been to bully, threaten and abuse. Now that this behaviour is finally being exposed in the public domain he suddenly wants the 'schoolyard squabbles' to stop and everyone to forget what happened. And how does he go about this? With apologies and a mea culpa? No, just the usual threats and insults. 

'I am very happy to meet with you and discuss any problems you have. Just let me know.

E____ H____**
Acting Tour Manager
Ghost Tours Pty Ltd'

You know what I’d be happy with? For 'Jack' Sim to either show us this bloody National Geographic article in which Brisbane was ‘voted the second most haunted city in the world’, or just come out and admit that it does not exist. We're all waiting!  

* Having never owned a business, I certainly don't recall ever describing myself as a businessman.
** As I believe the person whose name was attached this email either never wrote the email, or did so under instruction, I have removed her name from this article. Especially as she left Ghost Tours shortly after this was sent.