Open the Box with Dana

You know there are certain things I hate, both in RL and SL.One recently that I have come across in SL is bullying:
1
 /ˈbʊli/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [bool-ee] Show IPA noun, plural -lies, verb, -lied, -ly⋅ing, adjective, interjection –noun

1.	a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people.

Recently I was asked to remove a sponsor because they had 'copied' another sponsor - now in this I sat on the fence and was put squarely in the middle - I could see the similarity BUT I had also seen other dresses similar - believe me I hate a copycat and any out and out copy I would have acted differently - but being in the middle and considering all involved as friends I passed it over to James who told me to do the totally neutral article which asked your opinions.Notice I still do not name names and I won't because I disagree with 'name and shame' I believe certain people have acted badly, but that does not mean I have to do the same!Anyway the original accuser then withdrew his sponsorship and insisted his 'students' do the same saying that I had sided with the 'copycat' - so basically I was given a choice between losing one sponsor or several - well I won't be intimidated by anyone and the newspaper will not either - we report what we see regardless of whether someone is a sponsor or not - if they do something wrong we will not shrink from reporting it.This all happened at the beginning of the month and I was told by the accused that she had been asked to remove her store from a couple of malls and other Mall owners had pressure to put on them also to remove her from their malls - as I said bullying tactics.This morning I received a note - again i will not name names:Dana I must ask you to empty out your space at *** , There seems to be a conflict here with your store being here . If I allow you to remain any longer, I stand to lose 5 big stores. This is nothing personal. Its just a matter of me doing whats best for the mall, your rent terminated today july 29. If you can please remove your objects by midnite I would appreciate it. After midnite my staff will return any of your objects that remain if you are unable to come pick them up. Thank you for all your help, Its loss is of no consequence, BUT I would ask the question - which would you rather lose 5 stores or your integrity?I guess I am made of different stuff because I prefer to keep my integrity.What do you think? How would you have acted? Feel free to leave your comments but remember we will be watching them and any offensive comments will be removed.Dana

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