I started blogging about my cyberbullying experiences several months ago before it reached the current "tipping point". I posted a series of notes on my wordpress blog which I have lately been unable to access,even with my password. I can go on about similar incidences on the web since this entire ordeal with "tracked" and "blocked" internet surfing began.
It seems law suits are now being filed left and right,organizations are forming coalitions with others to create more powerful and united fronts in opposition to it. I am relieved to see this momentum developing and hope that it will continue with gusto and needed consistency. It is unfortunate that a young girl dying from Hodgkins Lymphoma--only seven(7) years old at that,and a young college freshman who plunged to a cold and desolate death,jumping from the heights of the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River, had to be the latest victims in what has been a growing evil streak in cyberspace communication. It has been taking the web by storm for months.
Before these latest two incidents, a fifteen year old girl committed suicide after being taunted by jealous schoolmates making subtle suggestions that she die. I have received a bitter dose of over the past nine(9) months. The type of cyberbullying to which I have been subjected is a four (4) headed hybrid involving bullying that overlaps into the areas of harassment,stalking and hacking. My personal computer was hacked into,all of my email accounts invaded,several of my blogs made inaccessible at the whim of the bullies, insinuations made about my death and entire blog articles deleted before my very eyes with some sort of sophisticated gadgetery used to interfere with my typing of the words into the blogging interface. If these things were not enough, I had blog posts stickied and maintained as highlighted articles against my wishes so that my blog was given a certain image and tone against my will. I was repeatedly bombarded with either flashing light signals,which caused problems with my vision. There were also at times arrows pointing to black colors or photos of black people which led me to believe that the bullies were trying to convey that this action was being taken and I had been targeted because I was black.
Fortunately, I did keep a daily account of my experiences in memos and sometimes lengthy letters which I wrote in righteous indignation and sometimes total outrage at the pure callousness of the actions. You are not supposed to respond. However, I was trying to work out a solution and make peace with whomever they were while also ministering to them as best I could under the circumstances. I would not advise it. It never seemed to work anyway.
If that is not enough,my wireless signals were consistently interfered with. I got the distinct impression that my internet wireless signals were being intentionally blocked, my internet surfing was under seige and I was being held as a digital hostage. There were many times that I had to use a public access computer to handle all of my internet communications because my computer signals had been blocked.
I shared my experiences with friends. I sought legal counsel. I searched for advice and at times I just layed low. I stopped frequenting places,social networks and communities on the web that I love as well. One of the frequent responses I received was to stop visiting the regular site, delete all email accounts,buy another computer, report it to cyber crimes bureaus, file a lawsuit...Some of the advice I followed. My problem was I did not who the bullies were. I had no name,no face,not even a screen or user name to give me a frame of reference.I had people going through my personal,private documents on my computer and blocking my access to the net. I had them to greet me at my email accounts before I even arrived. All of this caused me considerable emotional distress and interfered with my work flow and productivity. Being bullied and constrained as to where you can and can not surf on the internet,what you can and can not write is a confining and draining experience. While these actions have not driven me to suicide, they have coerced me into taking actions that have compromised my freedom on the internet without a hearing or advance notice. In addition to that I have been denied the opportunity to confront the ones violating my rights in a fair and open manner.
There is something fundamentally wrong with that. The web is too valuable as a means of communication in our daily lives to be abused in this manner. There is no way that anyone should have access to the web blocked and not know who is doing it and for what purpose. If a person knows why they are being blocked ,perhaps some kind of peace can be worked out. However, if it is just to trip a person up,to hinder their progress and render them ineffective competition in vying for a business position or contract,it becomes even more ominous. That is a flagrant violation of another person's rights and not behavior which the courts or other enforcement aga\encies should take lightly.
