You would have gathered that I did not respond to the last correspondence and decided to close the file. At that stage, I thought that Shylockian influence was dominant only in Victoria, where I lived, and decided to occasionally participate in tournaments held in other states.I emailed the ACT and Tasmania requesting a place in their upcoming tournaments. Both welcomed my participation and assured me of a place, upon which I booked flights and suitable rather expensive accommodation, within walking distance from tournament venues.
When my name appeared on the initial list of participants in the ACT tournament, Victorian Shylocks requested their fellow Shylocks to ban me. I soon received two emails from the head Shylocks of the ACT and Tasmania. The ACT was abrupt and direct, banning my participation in clumsy unfriendly language by OR, after their initial warm welcome by TR. Tasmania tried to offer some explanation and asked for time to discuss the matter among their membership. That was followed by a reply from AM to the effect that because I had called “Kow” mad, my presence at his tournament would not be desirable because Kow was a popular ex-member and a champion of his scrabble association. When I told this funny anecdote to a senior member of my club she laughed and said, “Kow being popular? You could have fooled me!”
Since the idea of offering to participate in interstate tournaments proved to be a revealing litmus test to assess the Shylockian influence in scrabble, I thought that I might continue testing. Thus, I circulated this email:
To: Committees of Australian Scrabble Players Associations:
Due to my lack of information about email addresses, I am forwarding this message via at least one committee member of every state.
For whatever reasons, the Committee of the Victorian branch of ASPA has issued a one-year ban on my participation in tournaments held in Victoria. Based on the motives for such ban, I decided not to participate in tournaments held under the auspices of the said Committee during, before or after the period of the imposed ban.
Unaware of the stand on this matter by scrabble associations outside the jurisdiction of the Victorian Committee, I applied to play in two tournaments, in ACT and Tasmania. I was warmly welcomed by the tournament organisers. Accordingly, I made travel and accommodation bookings for which I paid unrefundable fees. Shortly after, the Vic Committee persisted with their persecution and requested ACT and Tas to ban me from participating in their tournaments. ACT was quick to respond and informed me that they do not want me to attend their tournament in any capacity. Tas decided to put the matter for discussion by their Committee. I am still awaiting their expected reply.
In order to make this unique situation clear, I request that the committees of all states inform me of their stand on my participation in their future tournaments. This would save all parties concerned much time and effort in the future.
Thank you.
Mohammed Hegazi
NSW, Qld and SA did not reply. WA sent this uniquely absurd reply that imposed a life ban on my participation in their activities. This is a copy of their email:
The Australian Scrabble Players Association (WA) Incorporated will not accept any entries from you for any tournaments, events or functions within Western Australia that come under the auspices of ASPA (WA) Inc at any time now or in the future.
Glenys Lawrie
That was a bit super-Shylockian, if I may say so myself!
At first, I thought that this peculiar jewess had a poor command of the English language, thus failing to properly express herself, until I stumbled on the minutes of a meeting held by the ASPA (WA). Here is an intact excerpt of it:
MEETING 22nd February, 2009
ASPA (WA) INC MEETING
SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2009
Present: Edie Mueller, Mike Clarke, Aloma Pelham, Anne Stewart, Carol Hudson, Henny Yates, Jenny Coetzee, Maureen Gill, Colleen McCormick, Anne Donnelly, Glenys Lawrie.
Apologies: Graham Bell, Dianne Ward.
Meeting commenced: 2.00 pm.
Membership. There were 154 financial members as at 22 February 2009.
GENERAL BUSINESS
BAN. On 23 October 2008 Mohammed Hegazi, a Victorian player was informed by email that he was banned from playing in WA for all time.
(Quiz: How many non-jewish-sounding names are on the list above?. I could spot one, can you find more? Mind you, not all jews have jewish-sounding names.)
The jews of Victoria tried to keep appearances by collating flimsy complaints, suggesting that I made life hard for them. The jews of Western Australia offered no explanation whatsoever, in order to justify their bizarre stand against a person they never met. From a practical angle, I have no intention or desire to play in Western Australia. I only wonder about the clumsiness of those West Australian jews.
On the basis that in general, I "don't sue because I am not a jew", I would rather not pursue this matter any further. Those West Australian jews should remember that their association is part of a larger structure that can be subjected to the rule of common law. There are principled lawyers in Victoria who would be willing to offer their services, free of charge, in similar cases. One is a personal friend. This really puts me in two minds: Should I act as a matter of principle? Should I just ignore those West Australian jews? Time may tell.
This should be the finale of this uninteresting melodrama. To me, it is a clear manifestation of the Shylockian influence in the game of scrabble, which in turn might be symbolic of the Shylockian influence in Australia. If at any stage you would have wondered why we took part in wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq, look at the number of Shylocks in government. They control the two parties, mass media, city councils, trade unions and anywhere where there is power or presumed power. If you want to read more about Shylockian methodology, some of the material on the links below might be of interest:
http://hegazi.blogspot.com/
http://www.adelaideinstitute.org/
