Dear Anonymous

Dear anonymous, although I am not obligated to answer your "questions" I will provide some clarification. This may also provide background for newcomers who have noticed the baffling phenomenon of some commenters repeatedly coming here despite their obvious dislike of my blog. I am making this an entry of it's own so when this discussion has run its course we can move on with our own respective blogs, interests, views and lives.

I started this blog because I happened to post about living in the same town as the Gosselins on my other blog, and discovered people were interested in hearing more about it. I decided to call myself Werny Gal not to hide behind the name but because it was a good summation of what I was doing here. I signed my real name in comments and friends called me by my real name in comments. Eventually I learned there are fervant Kate fans who harass anyone they perceive as hating Kate. By the time I discovered this and removed old comments with my name in them, I had already been the target of harassment for some time without even knowing it. I usually stick to my own blog and mind my own business, but I am aware that there is ongoing discussion on a few Kate fanatiK blogs on topics such as how much I hate Kate, how I am abusing her children, and how I must be exposed because I am a hypocrite and therefore unqualified to work as a professional counselor. These discussions are infused with exagerations and outright lies about me, as they often are about other bloggers the Kate fanatiKs dislike or disaprove of and have similarly targetted. Along with the other bloggers whom the Kate fanatiKs dislike, I have been given an acronym, I have received threats such as "this time you've gone too far," I have been sent multiple nasty comments by the same few people using different names in attempts to make the fanatiKs look like a large contingency, personal information about me has been posted online, and I am the target of a flog. This negative energy is being expended by people who are anonymous and who would have much bigger and important battles to fight elsewhere if they didn't spend hours looking online for other bloggers to pick on, and by association they unfortunately reinforce the more negative aspects of Kate's reputation.

Since I started this blog I've become much more educated about the exploitation of children in the media. I've worked with many adults who were abused or exploited as children and also been involved in child advocacy for many years, but I never realized how the exploitation of children in entertainment was connected to child abuse. As a result in the past year I've gradually changed the focus of this blog. It started out as a silly lark but over time I've realized there are many caring people who are interested in learning about how the field of entertainment exploits children, and maybe even doing something about it. This entire experience has deepened my understanding of various levels of child abuse and my resolve to be part of the solution, as well as my appreciation for the many caring adults who want to help children.

In the beginning of my blogging here I made two short videos of interviews of fans standing in front of the Gosselin house, from my car window. (I've actually always found the phenomenon of the fans and paparazzi much more interesting than the Gosselins. I just never got what the big deal was.) I wanted to know what motivated some of them to drive hundreds of miles to stand there, and my readers enjoyed the videos. Less than a handful of other times I've taken a total of less than a dozen pictures out of my car window, usually of the papparazzi and most not published. One time when there was no danger to traffic I parked on the side of the road and spoke to a photographer at the fence for approximately two minutes and took four or five pictures of the same thing he was taking pictures of while Jon and the kids were posing. I do not regularly pass the Gosselin house and when I do pass it it's because my travels take me past it. I have never hung out at the Gosselin house. I have never hidden anything I've done and my family and friends know about this blog. I do regret taking pictures of the kids and after I did it I decided not do it again because it was unnecessary and yes, hypocritical. Despite that decision, what I did that one time may be distasteful to you or against your personal ethics, but it was not illegal. I respect the law, have testified for various judiciary committees on behalf of laws regarding children, am a loving mother and wife, and am a good citizen of my community.

I've always heard things about the Gosselins, most of which I've never told here because I felt it was too frivilous and sometimes too damaging or painful. I knew about several instances of Jon's bad behavior and heard the rumors about Kate and Steve way before they were in the media, and in one instance I tried through mutual connections to contact Jon to let him know that information about one of his indiscretions was going to come out in the media the next day so that he would have an opportunity to stop it, out of concern for what all the media craziness might be doing to the children. I never discussed any of these events until they were out in the mainstream media, and when I have discussed them it has always been out of concern for the children. When you read my snarkier entries, don't mistake my sense of humor for not caring. I have always fact-checked, the same way I do any time I hear a rumor about anyone, because I know how harmful gossip can be. If I've written anything here as being factual it is because I honestly believed it was, if not I've clearly stated so, and if it's my opnion I've stated that. When J&K+9 moved here there was lots of talk about them. Now there isn't so much talk anymore, and most folks wish they would just move away. However, people do still tell me things because of this blog. Most of it I don't bother to print here.

I have never sold advertising on my blog or in any other way made any money from anything related to the Gosselins. Al Walentis offered that I could read the first draft of his upcoming book and after reading it I offered him feedback on it as well as suggestions on some corrections I thought it needed which he could take or leave, but I am not in any way vested in Al's book. I excerpted three relatively benign passages on this blog because I thought they would be interesting to my readers, not to plug or promote the book. I plan to review it when it is released, and like most books I'll probably like some things about it and not like some others. I have a couple of friends whose books have been on the New York Times bestseller list and my friends can always count on me to be kind but honest.

I don't hate Kate or any of the Gosselins and I believe they both love their kids. I don't agree with some of Jon and Kate's parenting decisions, and I believe this entire experience has been damaging to them and the children, as well as other family members. IMO they made a mistake allowing TLC into their lives after the first special, and because they are still caught up in it they probably won't realize the repucussions of that professional alliance on their family for several years. We probably all agree that even without having become public figures their job as parents would've been very challenging, given their young ages at the time and the number of children they had. I don't know how anyone, especially the children, could go through what they have been through in the past year and a half and not be affected in long-term negative ways. It would have been traumatic even for adults with more maturity and more sophisticated coping skills than they have. It is surely overwhelming for the little ones.

My opinions and beliefs are my opinions and beliefs and in the long run they don't mean a hill of beans. That's why I'm Werny Gal instead of Anderson Cooper (hubba hubba.) I hope you enjoy this blog and find it educational and interesting. There's a word for people who continually subject themselves to suffering and that word is masochist. There are sites that do nothing but praise Kate, there are sites that IMO are unnecessarily nasty toward the Gosselins, and there are sites like mine that fit somewhere in the middle. In a country that allows freedom of expression and prohibits cyber harassment and cyberstalking, I suggest you find and stay at sites that most fit your needs and that you most enjoy.

Wishing you peace,
Werny Gal