Wednesday, November 26, 2008
A Thief who stole from Toby Brown!
Remember how there were two thieves on the two crosses beside Jesus when he was crucified. One asked the Lord to remember him, the other simply ranted.
On my blog today, a thief ,who stole Toby Brown's identity, tried to impersonate him as a way, I am sure, of taunting Toby and myself.
Toby has reopened his blog for just one more post in order to alert the public to this person's criminal behavior. See Impostor and Cyber-Stalking .
I pray that not only will he be caught but that he will, like the forgiven thief, repent.
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21 comments:
Viola and Toby –
As you both well know, you have no shortage of people who will happily step forward to demean and insult you and to criticize every real or imagined flaw they credit you with. This is true on your respective blogs, and it is true in comments about you on other blogs. They are, as a class, very quick to jump on every statement they perceive as impolite. It is abundantly clear that they read your blogs in order to be able to do so.
That leaves me curious. I notice the abject silence.
Impersonating someone else is, of course, highly unethical; such impersonation is, of course, a violation of the terms of service on ‘blogger’; it is, of course, the opposite of conversation; it is, of course, fraud. But in this particular case 2 things were more disturbing than usual. The fake profile was made in November 2007, and the ‘identity thief’ went to the trouble of actually copying Toby’s interests / movies / etc. This suggests more than a passing whim; instead, it suggests obsession.
So this group of people who are so quick to call every one of what they believe to be yours or Toby’s flaws … remain silent.
Why is that?
Is it because they find this funny? Is it because they think it is perfectly honorable and acceptable conduct? Is it because they disagree with you and therefore hate you? What’s the story? So far the lack of response speaks volumes.
Will Spotts
Will,
Just maybe it is because it is the night before Thanksgiving dinner: ) as I am just about to chop celery and onions for the stuffing myself! Maybe they are all cooks.
My concern is that the person who posted the fake identity came back and posted under yet a third name.
So I have to keep watch. (And they are undoubtedly the same person who signed in with a symbol because using Toby's identity they rewrote some of what they had written the day before which I had already deleted. How smart was that.) It just means I have to keep better watch and care on my blog.
And my other thought is that I am mostly being harassed when I write about the gay or progressive community. And harassment and insult is different then disagreement. Disagreement in a conversation is like dialogue which everyone keeps pressing for. So is that really what everyone wants? Or do they simply want Toby and I to agree with them?
But we can only agree with what the word of God says.
I don't like asking you Will, who I know so well, but I am asking everyone to sign their name, city and state. I think it is the only way to continue with out checking each comment first.
Viola Larson
Sacramento, CA
For some people the goal really is dialogue. For others it is merely to stamp out all disagreement by any means possible.
Will Spotts
North East, MD
Not sure where Will is going here, but I for one, do not take identity theft lightly. This is bad news. It is creepy really, and criminal.
John Shuck
Elizabethton, TN
Thanks John,
That is how I feel about it.
Sacramento, CA
John - thank you for that. I agree, and I appreciate your saying it.
Will Spotts
North East, MD
I have deleted the above person twice now for several reasons. One he refuses to leave his full identity and two he earlier kept insulting Toby. I just will not put up with it any longer.
Alan - Viola pointed out that my question was hasty on the night before Thanksgiving. Just because I was reading her blog at that time doesn't mean any one else was - so an expectation was probably unreasonable.
I greatly appreciate the fact that you have condemned the use of someone else's identity. And if my comments could be construed to apply to either you or John, your actions demonstrate that I'm wrong.
Having said that, I would point out, this behavior crossed a line. You falsely equate it with another behavior you are projecting on to my comments. If you believe the two are the same, then you fail to recognize the seriousness of the action. Has it happened on your blog? Have people who disagreed with you personally targeted you for this type of unethical behavior? Have you even received the degree of comments that Viola has?
Have you had bad things said about you? Yes - though I don't believe they have come from me.
The difference between this incident and even heated and uncivil disagreement is that this is personally directed and crosses an ethical line. Are there remedies? Yeah, probably. I do not know if, or to what degree Viola and Toby are pursuing them.
But I do know that if people don't come out publicly and say this is unacceptable behavior, they will be giving implicit approval.
Silence always gives implicit approval - but it is stronger when it is among erstwhile 'allies'. Insofar as I have ever remained silent when my 'allies' have crossed lines of this type, I have erred greatly.
For the record, I do not believe, nor was I intending to imply that everyone who disagrees with Viola or Toby somehow supports this. (And for the record, I sometimes disagree with Viola and Toby - and I'm they sure they sometimes disagree with each other.) I was, on the other hand, surprised by the general lack of response.
[I do not believe in the reverse situation, I would do the same. Yes, of course, I might not have visited your blog for a while or be aware of the incident - and you rightly point out that I'm assuming a greater awareness than is justified - but as soon as I were aware of it, I would object.]
Even now, as much as I appreciate the fact that you and John have responded, two is not a large number.
Will Spotts
North East, MD
Will, if in my comment, I in any way seemed to minimize the seriousness with which I take these cowardly behaviors, that was not my intention.
Alan,
I do have an additional response / observation.
You have justly discerned that my original comment used biased language. It was not intended in the way you took it, but it was still biased. For that, I apologize.
Yet, I gather you don't see where I might get a distorted perspective.
When you visit John's blog, and when you participate in a conversation about how bad Toby and Viola are - even if the blog post in question was a legitimate (and mildly amusing) response to something Toby said - it creates a climate that I find bad. When my name comes up in this conversation, and falsehoods are said about me - and no one bats an eye, and you continue to participate in the conversation even though you don't actually engage those statements, it makes it difficult for me not to be a little put out.
Now I understand how my name entered that conversation - though at that point I had not participated in either blog entry's comment stream. And I understand why 2 commenters have personal issues with me. And I understand that (for others) having strong opinions invites hate mail. (And yes, I've received my share of hate mail.) But I have trouble getting why you can't see how I perceive that as a pile on effect and a climate of hostility that goes way beyond disagreement. If I lump people who participate in conversations of that type together, I probably err - but as an outsider, it's what I see.
Having said that, if my perception of that climate comes out in such a way that I am biased against you, I do apologize.
Will Spotts
North East, MD
Alan,
Looks like our comments crossed in the air.
Yes, I had kind of taken your response in that way. Thank you for the clarification.
Will Spotts
North East, MD
Wow. You guys get all the fun stuff on your blogs. I need to be more inflammatory! :p
Seriously, though, thanks for catching that and dealing with it, Viola.
Hmm, inflammatory! So that's the problem : )
Kevin new rules, you have to sign your full name, city, and state.
Viola Larson,
Sacramento, CA
I am just amazed that someone has the time to steal Toby's identity ... that took WORK. Maybe this person doesn't have a real job and lives in his parents' basement.
It's actually flattering in a twisted sort of way. Toby is perceived as important enough that someone takes the trouble of impersonating him.
And once again I forgot to sign my name:
John Erthein
Erie, PA
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