Is There a Solution to Cyberstalking?
Cyberstalking = when a person is followed and pursued online. Their privacy is invaded and their every move is watched. It is a form of harassment that can disrupt the life of the victim and leave them feeling very afraid and threatened. Here is my question. Can anything be done about this?
As many of you know I am the target of a resentful/predatory cyberstalker who has over hundreds of victims. This guy has been after me for over a decade and is hiding in his basement to avoid being served with various restraining orders. (not to mention that thousands of people want him dead) He has dedicated his life to destroying my career as a multi-media artist and inflicting severe emotional distress on me. From spreading libel about me to my business contacts to impersonating people in any industry I work in to sending my friends and family infant rape fantasies about me this guy is absolutely relentless.
I once thought I was his only target until his other victims began contacting me. He was sending us child pornography and threatening to kill us along with impersonating our dead relatives. We started a support network and put all of our case numbers together to make this a federal matter. What now? The hunt for my stalker continues yet has been unsuccessful as of now. The FBI having bigger fish to fry. The police say that he is "good at what he does."
Can people like this be stopped if they cannot be found? Many people blame Internet anonymity on cyberstalking but I strongly disagree with that sentiment. Anonymity does not create predatory cyberstalkers. Predatory cyberstalkers create predatory cyberstalkers. Without anonymity targets of cyberstalkers have their personal information exposed and are at a much greater risk. In my How Facebook Deleted My Ass article I discussed how my account was deleted because I was accused of impersonating myself. I am no longer allowed to go by my copyrighted pseudonym and thousands of people are now aware of my full first and last name.
Getting rid of Internet anonymity (the ultimate goal of Facebook) is extremely dangerous and certainly not the solution. Is there a solution to Cyberstalking? Nobody seems to have found one yet. People who aren't in the know say the solution is to "just ignore them" but these people have never been targets of professional stalkers like mine. Here is some background information I have found on Cyberstalking for those of you who are curious about the subject.
"Cyberstalking usually occurs with women or children who are stalked by adult predators or pedophiles. Cyberstalkers have no fear of physical violence since they believe that they cannot be physically touched in cyberspace. Their main targets are mostly women, and children, who are viewed as emotionally weak or unstable. While it is believed that over 75% of the victims are women, sometimes men are also the targets of cyberstalking. Stalkers can comprehensively use the Internet in order to slander and endanger their victims. In such cases, the cyberstalking takes on a public, rather than a private, dimension.
As noted by Gilbert (1999): In real life, stalkers usually stalk in proximity to their victims-they want the victim to see them and know they are there-they feed on the victim’s reaction. On the internet, proximity takes on a new meaning. The stalker exploits the workings of the Internet to assume control over the targeted victim. (Ogilvie, 2000).
Resentful stalker motivations: (Indianchild.com, 2000)
Sexual Harassment
This should not surprise anyone, especially women, since sexual harassment is also a very common experience offline. The internet reflects real life and consists of real people and is not a separate, regulated, or sanctified world.
Revenge and Hate
Revenge vendettas are often the result of something you may have said or done online which may have offended someone."
I'll say this one more time. Anonymity does not create predatory cyberstalkers. Predatory cyberstalkers create predatory cyberstalkers. We need a solution that is much better than taking away our right to anonymity. Does anybody have one?
As many of you know I am the target of a resentful/predatory cyberstalker who has over hundreds of victims. This guy has been after me for over a decade and is hiding in his basement to avoid being served with various restraining orders. (not to mention that thousands of people want him dead) He has dedicated his life to destroying my career as a multi-media artist and inflicting severe emotional distress on me. From spreading libel about me to my business contacts to impersonating people in any industry I work in to sending my friends and family infant rape fantasies about me this guy is absolutely relentless.
I once thought I was his only target until his other victims began contacting me. He was sending us child pornography and threatening to kill us along with impersonating our dead relatives. We started a support network and put all of our case numbers together to make this a federal matter. What now? The hunt for my stalker continues yet has been unsuccessful as of now. The FBI having bigger fish to fry. The police say that he is "good at what he does."
Can people like this be stopped if they cannot be found? Many people blame Internet anonymity on cyberstalking but I strongly disagree with that sentiment. Anonymity does not create predatory cyberstalkers. Predatory cyberstalkers create predatory cyberstalkers. Without anonymity targets of cyberstalkers have their personal information exposed and are at a much greater risk. In my How Facebook Deleted My Ass article I discussed how my account was deleted because I was accused of impersonating myself. I am no longer allowed to go by my copyrighted pseudonym and thousands of people are now aware of my full first and last name.
Getting rid of Internet anonymity (the ultimate goal of Facebook) is extremely dangerous and certainly not the solution. Is there a solution to Cyberstalking? Nobody seems to have found one yet. People who aren't in the know say the solution is to "just ignore them" but these people have never been targets of professional stalkers like mine. Here is some background information I have found on Cyberstalking for those of you who are curious about the subject.
"Cyberstalking usually occurs with women or children who are stalked by adult predators or pedophiles. Cyberstalkers have no fear of physical violence since they believe that they cannot be physically touched in cyberspace. Their main targets are mostly women, and children, who are viewed as emotionally weak or unstable. While it is believed that over 75% of the victims are women, sometimes men are also the targets of cyberstalking. Stalkers can comprehensively use the Internet in order to slander and endanger their victims. In such cases, the cyberstalking takes on a public, rather than a private, dimension.
As noted by Gilbert (1999): In real life, stalkers usually stalk in proximity to their victims-they want the victim to see them and know they are there-they feed on the victim’s reaction. On the internet, proximity takes on a new meaning. The stalker exploits the workings of the Internet to assume control over the targeted victim. (Ogilvie, 2000).
Resentful stalker motivations: (Indianchild.com, 2000)
Sexual Harassment
This should not surprise anyone, especially women, since sexual harassment is also a very common experience offline. The internet reflects real life and consists of real people and is not a separate, regulated, or sanctified world.
Revenge and Hate
Revenge vendettas are often the result of something you may have said or done online which may have offended someone."
I'll say this one more time. Anonymity does not create predatory cyberstalkers. Predatory cyberstalkers create predatory cyberstalkers. We need a solution that is much better than taking away our right to anonymity. Does anybody have one?