It should come as no surprise to anyone, especially to those who have bought and read Benjamin Hostetter's latest book, the aptly titled "The Life and Times of a Walking Contradiction," that people (on whom, it appears, all of the characters in his book are individually based, either in part or wholly) have come together in a class action suit against the writer, claiming, among other things, that, by misrepresenting them in a clearly malicious, biased, inflammatory, and factually inaccurate way, he broke the law and can now be sued for defamation (for which, they are all reportedly hoping, a court will hold him financially responsible, as the mental and emotional distress they are in, now, as a result of some of the things that were published about them, has not only affected their personal lives but has, again allegedly, also negatively affected their professional lives, with some reporting a loss of thousands of dollars in business, earnings, and labor productivity, a very serious charge that, for him, could spell disaster, both financially and in terms of reputation, future job opportunities, and public image, should he be found guilty, then forced to pay restitution to those who have been harmed, or otherwise affected, by this latest book), which is to say that, since its publication, "The Life and Times of a Walking Contradiction" has, according to many publishing industry insiders, reviewers, forecasters, and reporters, been steeped in controversy.
In order to avoid being taken to court and sued for all of the reasons (such as the mental suffering and anguish induced by previously noted incidents of either negligence or through what appeared to be conscious intent) previously given by the plaintiffs who contend that they've been egregiously wronged and are, therefore, entitled to some kind of compensation for their injuries, Mr. Hostetter has, now, reportedly, gone missing.
"Is it a coincidence? Or is it suggestive of a guilty conscience, that he can no longer be found, that he's disappeared, mere days before he was due in court to answer the charges that have recently been brought against him by those who still feel as though they've had their reputations and accomplishments not only permanently but unfairly damaged" (greatly diminished, undermined, and, in some cases, controverted, as though someone had come along and thrown them out with the trash, effectively tarnishing them as either insignificant, irrelevant, or worse, base, dubious, detestable-characteristic of that which one might grow to despise), "as a direct result of what they're all now, independent of one another, describing as a clearly calculated smear campaign? Let's be honest. Let's not speculate. Let's call it for what it is-namely, a man running away from the consequences of his actions," one person, another attorney, who, apparently has intimate knowledge of the criminal justice system, has gone on record as saying in retort to the question, "What do you think of Mr. Hostetter's 'disappearing act'?"
