Doug Bower

[suejackson]

As an occasional visitor to Guanajuato, I used to regularly read Doug Bower?s blog, but when I tried to visit it last week I found that it was now limited ?to invited readers only.? Because of that, I wrote to Mr. Bower and asked if he would invite me. Here, in part, is his shocking reply:

Hi: Doug Bower here. I no longer write blogs about GTO. The reason is that there is a group of Gringos who have threatened my wife and I to such and extent that we collectively decided it was too dangerous to keep writing and telling the truth about the rising crime issue in this town. The Gringos who threaten us have real estate businesses and who have delusionally decided that what I write is a threat to the success of their rentals and sales.

In fact they ran us out of town. We no longer live in GTO. We moved to an undisclosed location in Mexico for our protection. We also are living with a Mexican family to further mask our location. No one should be able to find us since the collective lot of these poor souls cannot speak enough Spanish to find us.

In the San Javier area about which I have written extensively is getting worse with the Pollo Negro gang. There has been talk of bringing in the military to quell the gang activity.

Sincerely,
Doug Bower

I don?t know who these people are who ran Mr. Bower and his wife out of town, but they ought to be ashamed of themselves. Mr. Bower was doing his best to write the truth about Guanajuato, and now he?s been silenced. Doesn?t anyone believe in free speech anymore?

It?s your loss, Guanajuato.

Sue

[DML]

I read numerous posts of Mr. Bower's and I think the key word in his response is delusional.

[iowagto]

As an occasional visitor to Guanajuato, I used to regularly read Doug Bower?s blog, but when I tried to visit it last week I found that it was now limited ?to invited readers only.? Because of that, I wrote to Mr. Bower and asked if he would invite me. Here, in part, is his shocking reply:

Hi: Doug Bower here. I no longer write blogs about GTO. The reason is that there is a group of Gringos who have threatened my wife and I to such and extent that we collectively decided it was too dangerous to keep writing and telling the truth about the rising crime issue in this town. The Gringos who threaten us have real estate businesses and who have delusionally decided that what I write is a threat to the success of their rentals and sales.

In fact they ran us out of town. We no longer live in GTO. We moved to an undisclosed location in Mexico for our protection. We also are living with a Mexican family to further mask our location. No one should be able to find us since the collective lot of these poor souls cannot speak enough Spanish to find us.

In the San Javier area about which I have written extensively is getting worse with the Pollo Negro gang. There has been talk of bringing in the military to quell the gang activity.

Sincerely,
Doug Bower

I don?t know who these people are who ran Mr. Bower and his wife out of town, but they ought to be ashamed of themselves. Mr. Bower was doing his best to write the truth about Guanajuato, and now he?s been silenced. Doesn?t anyone believe in free speech anymore?

It?s your loss, Guanajuato.

Sue

I think you can safely translate "a group of Gringos who have threatened my wife and I to such and extent that we collectively decided it was too dangerous to keep writing and telling the truth" as "people who disagreed with me".

Doug Bower's writings were delusional. I live in San Javier, and while it is not a crime-free oasis, it is not some border town war zone as Doug's descriptions make it sound. Doug chose to see the world around him as being opposed to him in an almost exclusively negative light, and if anyone dared question that, Doug immediately characterized them as ignorant Gringos who couldn't speak spanish and clearly could never truly understand Guanajuato.

I could not care less where he lives, but he was never 'silenced'. he had as much right to speak here as anyone. However on the 'other' Guanajuato blog, several who dared question him were banned. These were not people attacking him, simply asking him to correct massive errors in his postings, which he, of course, never did. Doug could not accept even the smallest of criticism or questioning, and he turned himself into a victim when he couldn't deal with it. He will not be missed on this blog.

[doncoulter]

Dear Sue Jackson,

I am one of the people who occasionally took Doug Bower to task for the hysterical ravings in his blog. He hates Mexicans, he hates ?Gringos,? he hates expats, and his blog was a broken record of these twisted obsessions. You refer to his writing ?the truth about Guanajuato.? The ?truth? is that Doug can?t handle the truth. Every fact he ever encountered about our town and its residents, both native and foreign, was embellished or distorted in his blog beyond recognition. If he has indeed given up his online screeching, good riddance.

But yes, since you asked, I do believe in free speech. Like iowagto, I never questioned Doug?s right to report about crime or anything else in Guanajuato. What I did object to was his pathological exaggeration regarding such crime, and his repeated failures, when corrected, to acknowledge error. Speaking of exaggeration, I don?t believe anyone ever threatened Doug and his wife. He repeatedly claimed to have been threatened?with death!?but never offered any evidence. In a blog post three years ago, he promised to provide such evidence to anyone who asked. I asked. He reneged. And I can prove it.

For other examples of his exaggeration and downright dishonesty, you need look no further than the e-mail he wrote you. Take his contention that ?the collective lot of these poor souls cannot speak enough Spanish to find us.? Although I have no interest in finding him, I in fact speak better Spanish than Doug (this is not a large boast), and there are many ?Gringos? here who can claim the same. For another example, when he writes that ?there has been talk of bringing in the military to quell the gang activity,? he?s not telling you the whole story. Yes, such a suggestion was made?it?s not clear by whom?but it was immediately rejected by the powers that be. How typical of Bower to give you only the part of the story that fits his negative, destructive agenda.

I?m not sure whether Doug has really left Guanajuato?we have only his word for it, and we know what that?s worth?but perhaps he has. If anything I?ve written over the years has played even a small part in ?running him out of town,? then I?m pleased to have contributed to civic improvement.

Don Coulter

?Reading Doggie Bow-Wow So You Don?t Have To?
Since 2005

[mr bill]

As bad as it was I kind of miss the rants/distortions/outright lies and then there were those RSS skipping stones where he'd get translated into Croatian of something and then it would skip back into machine translated English - sometimes in the lunacy as better or funnier than the original.

For a trip down Bower lane he's still out on the web. Google "in front of a bus three times doug bower" Amazing how 'three' plays such an important role in his ramblings.

And then there were the Fakepat and Man Boobies digressions. Classic

Regardless what he claims he may still be in town. I have a report of a sighting at the evil air-con Mega from a few days ago.

Final note: none of us ever believed he was pushed in front of a bus three times or even once for that matter and that was just based on our experieince here. DB has always been very careful not to revel any photos of himself. Smart move. It took me several years to learn that he was around 6"2"and 240 lbs. Quite a Sasquatch for the little miscreants of GTO to topple out of his preferred New Balance footware.

[meroberts]

Hi ALL,

Believe it or not, I miss them too. In spite of his writings which, as Mr. Bill states, ?As bad as it was I kind of miss the rants/distortions/outright lies and then there were those RSS skipping stones where he'd get translated into Croatian or something and then it would skip back into machine translated English - sometimes in the lunacy as better or funnier than the original.?

Doug and I had a horrific exchange of e-mails at the end of our very close and loving friendship; I still love them and truly wish we were still friends. I just saw them at Comercial Mexicana about three weeks ago which indicates to me that they are still in Guanajuato. We made eye contact but nothing was said. I could find them, if I wanted to, but he knows where I live and they can find me. I will even help them become legal if they are still here illegally. I truly wish them no harm.

I understand that in the midst of his negative personality, I believe Doug suffers from a combination of several mental illnesses one of which my own son suffers from, and a physical illness which he and I happen to share. We used to commiserate and console one another often either by phone or by e-mails.

One time, we picked up a very pregnant female cat that the three of us rescued at Comercial and a month later, they helped me bring seven beautiful kittens to the world right in my shower. They are animal lovers and have contributed to Amigos in spite of living with limited resources.

Deep down, Doug is a good man. I know him well. The fact that he chooses to put many different filters before his eyes is another story. I have to confess that I did ?threaten? to report him to INM if he did not stop criticizing the very country and people that have welcomed them so warmly, as well as to stop attacking the foreign community that really just want nothing to do with him except for him to report the truth, retract his exaggerations and lies and correct his errors. Fairness and justice in reporting was not an unreasonable request.

We all know that crime and many other problems have risen in the last few years. That?s life folks. Here and everywhere. But you have to be truthful while you exercise ?Freedom of Speech? It is a right that should not be abused!

Doug, nobody hates you, I do know that of most f the community. Just do what is right. Apologize for your mistakes and move on. You are a believer and you know for a fact that ?the truth shall set you free.? I do love you, forgive you and will do anything to help you overcome you fears, paranoia, and anger. I have asked you for forgiveness and you responded with anger and insults. Forgiveness will also set you free my friend. You know that. Call me brother. I am here for you. I know you read this blog?

Love,

Martha
732-0586