Thurston County District Court Judge Susan Dubuisson called it the pinnacle of “psychic drama.” Never, she said, had she seen a clearer example of people using the Internet and blogosphere to cause harm, a trend Dubuisson admitted “never ceases to amaze me.”



However, Dubuisson also noted there’s nothing she can do about it. “The First Amendment protects (a person’s) right so say ugly and cruel things about people,” she told the handful of folks gathered inside a Thurston County courtroom Tuesday, Aug 5. Before the judge stood Andras Jones and Tamara Tillinghast, former co-hosts of the now cancelled Radio8Ball program on KAOS 89.3 FM. Though Jones no longer has any affiliation with KAOS, Tillinghast and her fiancé Merwyn Haskett still host The Think Tank on the station.



Jones and Tillinghast, one time coworkers at the community station, have become arch enemies in a public image fight that’s become as ugly and sad as it is juicy.



Hopefully Tuesday marked the end of that fight. Jones, who created Radio8Ball on KAOS 10 years ago, was seeking an anti-harassment order against Tillinghast and Haskett, who he says have been engaged in a smear campaign against him since he fired Tillinghast from the show in early 2008.



Tillinghast and Haskett, for their part, said in court that it’s Jones that has engaged in the smear campaign against them — continually threatening retaliation since Tillinghast posted a lengthy, four-part blog about her time on Radio8Ball after being fired. The blog, at times, paints Jones in a less than positive light.



The situation escalated when KAOS management cancelled Radio8Ball in mid July. Though the official reason for the show being taken off the air was Jones also produces Radio8Ball on KKNW 1150 AM in Seattle, Jones believes Tillinghast and Haskett had a role in the cancellation, and believes KAOS brass used his spat with Tillinghast to get rid of his show. Tillinghast denies these claims. Jones considers the cancellation of Radio8Ball a demonstration of mismanagement at KAOS. 



According to his anti harassment petition, Tillinghast has ripped down posters for Jones’s show, called KKNW in Seattle in an effort to defame him, inspired anonymous hate mail and phone calls, as well as spread anti-Andras graffiti in downtown Olympia — all of which she denies. Jones also says he fears Tillinghast will show up at a live Radio8Ball event and “cause trouble.” This seemed to be one of the main reasons he decided to bring the matter before a judge. “I don’t believe that she has control of her actions,” Jones told the court.



While Tillinghast admits ripping down a couple of Radio8Ball posters, Tillinghast says Jones’s legal actions are a result of him being upset about her postings on the Internet, and trying to use her as a scapegoat for Radio8Ball being cancelled. According to Tillinghast there’s nothing slanderous about her epic blog, she has no plans to cause trouble at live Radio8Ball events, and neither her nor Haskett had anything to do with Radio8Ball being cancelled. “I'm merely a volunteer programmer, and I have no authority to make such decisions,” Tillinghast says. When she called KKNW — one of Jones’s biggest beefs — it was because Jones had referred to her as a “stalker” on the air, Tillinghast says. Jones denies this, but does admit mentioning Tillinghast over KKNW airwaves.



All of this public ugliness set the stage for Tuesday’s proceedings. It quickly became apparent there was little a court of law could do to remedy the situation.



Judge Dubuisson classified the actions of both parties as “shenanigans,” and urged Jones and Tillinghast to “get over it.” Situations like these, the judge said, “are not what the anti-harassment law is for.”



 “You give the words power over you,” Dubuisson said. “Walk away.”



Let’s hope both parties heed the advice.