Can we stop interviewing the fucking neighbors?! My neighbors are not my friends. They are just the people who happen to live geographically above me. There are walls between us! I doubt they know my job, my tastes, my interests, or even my name! I don't know theirs. We say hello, and when we do, I do not say, "oh hi, since you live within feet of where I eat and shit and have sex, let me tell you about it! Here is a list of my turn offs, favorite foods, musical preferences, etc."
I've lived here 5 1/2 years. I'm not antisocial, it's just that no one really fucking knows their neighbors unless they're friends as well. Argh.
"Normal people" are capable of doing bad things. There no doubt about that. But living in fear that every "normal" person you meet might be a stalker or rapist or kidnapper can lead to serious paranoia and anxiety that can destroy lives. It is unreasonable to expect to know everyone on one's street or at one's workplace intimately; it is unreasonable to be scared all the time.
Sometimes there are legit warning signs acquaintances or neighborhoods can pick up on, but often times, there are signs only close family and friends can pick up on. I think we've all been surprised by an acquaintance or even a friend having a shocking opinion or yelling at a salesperson or something along those lines. We need to be aware, but not so much to the point where we miss actual human interaction because we are scared. We need to pick on legit warning signs when they are there, but not scare ourselves into believing everyone has a violent secret. And we need to not belittle people who have news cameras shoved in their faces and are asked questions about Murderer B, who they only knew as Guy Who Walked His Poodle at 7am and 7pm Every Day, and who are expected to give sudden insight into Mr Poodle Walker/Murderer.
Oh, and stalking laws need to be better enforced and updated to include the new technologies we have.
My biggest problem with the way in which our society deals with the issue of stalking is that the police are completely useless in enacting preventive measures. I had an acquaintance in college who seemed a bit overly enthused about befriending me. It wasn't until he enrolled in a class I mentioned I was going to take and sent me a rambling email about being in love with me, that I realized there was a problem. I repeatedly told him to leave me alone, blocked him on facebook and the day before my birthday he waited for me after class, tried to give me some kind of present and followed me to my next class. I had to hide in the bathroom, because I didn't want him to know where my class was. And then I went to the police, the officer told me it sounded like the guy just had a crush on me. Then he offered to call him and give him a warning. I guess he thought I should have the phone number of someone who had become obsessed with me that I barely knew? Thankfully, my stalker eventually left me alone after I informed him I had spoken to the police about him. It was rather unfortunate that the police officer I spoke with did not take my concerns seriously and wasn't any help.
@bloopbloop: Yes. Whenever stalking comes up in the company of non-excellent men, it's all "but you can't go restricting people's freedom when they haven't committed a crime!" and "it's creepy but it's not illegal and so you can't start impinging on people's rights to go wherever they want. You can't expect the dude to stop going to starbucks just because she's there and she got a restraining order." And it infuriates me, because the assumption that they are working from is that people = men. You can't restrict men's freedom. Women's freedom is restricted all the time. By MEN. When a woman is stalked, her freedom is impinged. She has to change her life. But the stalker can keep on keepin' on, because his freedom is more valuable than her freedom.
It's so annoying. Sometimes I feel like I'm looking at a funhouse mirror of the world. Actually, like everybody else is. It's like, how can you not see what is so painfully obvious to me? How can you not just shift your view a tiny bit to open up this whole world of meaning?
The thing that strikes me is this: We, as a country, love a good crime procedural. And I would say 80-90% of the time, the perp is totally normal looking. I can't count the times I've watched Criminal Minds and they describe an unsub as "White male, mid 20s to late 40s, works an average job (where he may feel unappreciated)". John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, the Menendez brothers, that guy who used to live down the street from me and robbed banks - all totally normal looking. So where is anybody getting the idea that criminals have twirly Snidely Whiplash mustaches and cackling Mr. Burns' tented fingers or whatever? Of course they look normal. If they ran around screaming at women, muttering about sending mail bombs, and building Satanic alters in their yards, they would get caught pretty damn fast.
@Too sad for a bacon joke: Because much like smoking weed is a gateway to giving handjobs at a bus station for crystal meth, a traffic ticket will inevitably lead to murder. It's just common sense, really.
@vulcanized: The obviously answer is for more men to start growing Snidely Whiplash staches so as not to get lumped in with all those crazy "normal looking" guys.
@ozu: I love it! "He just looked so weird and he was always flying kites at night and muttering to himself. I never thought he would be capable of such a thing! We knew something was afoot, but I suspected our neighbor Brian - you know, the guy with the Taurus and the McMansion."
Look, I don't see the problem here. If he "kept his yard manicured, played golf and enjoyed cooking on a gas grill on a patio behind his $300,000 suburban Chicago town house", sold insurance, and lived in a "leafy, middle-class suburb", he's clearly innocent of any wrongdoing.
Dismiss all charges, your honor! Erin Andrews had it coming for being naked in the (supposed) privacy of her hotel room. I mean really, she was attractive, nude and famous - she was totally asking for it.
/sarcasm (hopefully that was obvious)
People just piss me off sometimes. I can't believe anyone is actually defending this pervert.
After this article I will assume that everyone is up for grabs for having the crazies and will probably keep to myself. Wait. Paranoia, seclusion...am I a stalker now?
In all seriousness, this is a really important point. I live in a big city. If I take the bus at night and a "dad" or someone "harmless looking" gets off the bus behind me, it is absolutely to my benefit to shut off my i pod and cross the street. That's not to say that the homeless guy that smelled like urine and tried to convince me that cats were aliens is the guy I should buddy up with for that walk home, or that I shouldn't trust ANY person. Just, let's be careful.
@elliebean: Crossing the street is an excellent tactic. You can always tell if the person is following you if they cross too. I once had a guy follow my friend and I in crossing the street 3 times. He caught up with us as we were trying to flag a taxi to get away and tried some lame excuse of being a new immigrant from Greece (we were students in London) and wanting some help in the area. We all but said "Fuck off" to his face and ran home. Thankfully this was all in broad daylight.
@Diziet_Sma: Absolutely--it took one instance of a friend sneaking up on me in broad daylight while I was listening to music to realize how scary it can get--she actually wasn't sneaking, she was calling my name and I didn't notice her til she grabbed my ass (we're good friends, it was funny). But it could have been anyone.
(Just to clarify, when I said "this is a really important point" I meant the article noting that "normal guys" can be crazy. I just realized I actually referred to my little joke without intending to. )
UGH. This whole "he looked normal!" bullshit is ridiculous and soooo played out. It's lazy reporting and insulting to those of us who have been victims of so-called "normal looking" perps.
@nolongerinacubiclestillawhore: Yup. As a member of the media I really hate that shit. Well, how did you expect him to look? It's the same damn story every single time. "A dark side of Bob McGee was revealed by prosecutors Friday, but neighbors and church members claim there's no way he could have had sex with all those puppies."
I really wish someone would have the balls to write/say what The Onion did. "Neighbors believed murderer only capable of rape." [www.theonion.com]
Reminds me of this wonderful blog post on "The Myth of Not Like Us." It's about Polanski, but I think it applies here too. We Other rapists and peeping Toms because believing they are easy to spot and not at all like the people we know and are close to allows us to feel safe. In exactly the same way as we blame rape victims so that we can tell ourselves that so long as we don't dress like she did, or get drunk like she did, or go where she did, or date who she did, it won't happen to us.
@lucyjae: I hope the converse is not true, my lawn is a disaster, but I wouldn't hurt a fly. But if I were ever arrested I'm sure my neighbors would think I did it because of the way we keep our yard.
@lucyjae: The people with the nice lawns are the shiny people.
I know some say he stole his schtick from - was it Bill Hicks? - but I'm with Denis Leary here. " I want the shiny people over there and the happy people over here, okay?!?"
@ElleL: I've "heard" from at least several people that the earth is flat. So, I'm not sure what you're going for here, but it is not coming off at all well.
@ElleL: Well, then I would recommend she find a new job because her coworkers are shit-heads.
Workplace rationalization is no less idiotic than neighbors thinking you look normal. How is this not, "Oh, she wanted it" applied to stalking instead of rape?
@ElleL: I'm sorry, I really don't understand what you're going for here. Do you not get that you're coming off as the equivalent of "well, I heard she's a total slut, so no surprise that Normal Guy raped her."
Here is a big "fuck you" to the wide-eyed, empty-headed morons wondering how such a thing could happen. Close your gaping mouths and get a clue. Want to help? Start spreading the word that, like books (if you are indeed familiar with those), you can't judge a predator by their cover. Either that or just shut the fuck up.
Rant on behalf of all victims of "normal looking" predators.
@SomeAuthorGirl: Well, in all fairness, I can understand the "he was so NORMAL!" thing. In high school, I was school-friends (we sat next to each other, passed notes, talked about weekends, he was one of the first people I told when I had a new boyfriend, and he had me draw him a picture) with this guy who murdered 3 people a few months after we graduated.
It was a major mind-fuck when I found out about it (he was on America's Most Wanted). I mean, it's not that you expect the bad guys to be sweaty, unkempt, and driving unmarked white vans. You just always think that you'll KNOW when someone close to you is a creep. It's really easy to go "oh well there were warning signs!" but it's not something that you think you should be on the lookout for all the time. If you went around your entire life looking for signs that someone was a stalker/rapist/murderer/child molester, you'd never get close to anyone because you'd always be afraid. I might not be making any sense, but I feel the urge to explain myself here.
@SomeAuthorGirl: I see what you mean. But I feel like I'd be saying the same thing if I found out my neighbor had committed a crime like this. I think it's not intended to imply that criminals walk around with scarlet letters so much as it's meant as a self-criticism by the speaker: Why didn't I realize that this person was capable of this? Can I not read people so well as I thought?
It is, after all, for most people always about them.
Read something good about Polanski last week but it fits here, too (just substitute stalking for rape, but it's all on a continuum right?):
"Rape, the myth goes, is something Other. It is separate, and dramatic, and above all, perpetuated by men we don’t know.
Rapists are not loving fathers, or supportive brothers, we tell ourselves – and each other. Rapists don’t go home for the holidays and help with the tree, and watch the big game with their father, and throw the football around with their nephews. Rapists don’t tip the homeless guy, because they have some spare change from Starbucks. Rapists don’t survive the Holocaust. Rapists don’t sit in the cubicle across from us at work, and send us funny xkcd cartoons. Rapists don’t have uneventful, long-term relationships with their college girlfriends. Rapists don’t show up on set every day, directing a critically-acclaimed movie. Rapists don’t get married, nervous in a tux at the end of the aisle. Rapists don’t spend their weekends browsing at the farmer’s market, and then stop for brunch and do the NYT crossword. Rapists don’t co-write this screenplay with us. Rapists don’t hang out at the pub with their friends, watching football and drinking just half a pint of beer, because they’re driving. Rapists don’t meet us casually at an awards ceremony, and charm us with wit and wry humor.
We tell these myths to ourselves and each other often, but of course, they are lies."
I'm so glad to see Gavin de Becker and "The Gift of Fear" mentioned in this article, because the quotes from the neighbors, lawyers, and reporters could be taken directly from the book. I think it should be required reading for everyone.
I hope he gets some help (NOT bail), and that Andrews and her security team stay alert. This is nothing to take lightly.
@morninggloria: I could go as the reporter following you around and asking irrelevant questions of passers-by to support my profile piece examining your hidden dark depths.
I've got a patchy understanding of psychology and a notepad around here somewhere.
10/06/09
I've lived here 5 1/2 years. I'm not antisocial, it's just that no one really fucking knows their neighbors unless they're friends as well. Argh.
10/06/09
Sometimes there are legit warning signs acquaintances or neighborhoods can pick up on, but often times, there are signs only close family and friends can pick up on. I think we've all been surprised by an acquaintance or even a friend having a shocking opinion or yelling at a salesperson or something along those lines. We need to be aware, but not so much to the point where we miss actual human interaction because we are scared. We need to pick on legit warning signs when they are there, but not scare ourselves into believing everyone has a violent secret. And we need to not belittle people who have news cameras shoved in their faces and are asked questions about Murderer B, who they only knew as Guy Who Walked His Poodle at 7am and 7pm Every Day, and who are expected to give sudden insight into Mr Poodle Walker/Murderer.
Oh, and stalking laws need to be better enforced and updated to include the new technologies we have.
10/05/09
10/05/09
It's so annoying. Sometimes I feel like I'm looking at a funhouse mirror of the world. Actually, like everybody else is. It's like, how can you not see what is so painfully obvious to me? How can you not just shift your view a tiny bit to open up this whole world of meaning?
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
Dismiss all charges, your honor! Erin Andrews had it coming for being naked in the (supposed) privacy of her hotel room. I mean really, she was attractive, nude and famous - she was totally asking for it.
/sarcasm (hopefully that was obvious)
People just piss me off sometimes. I can't believe anyone is actually defending this pervert.
10/05/09
10/05/09
In all seriousness, this is a really important point. I live in a big city. If I take the bus at night and a "dad" or someone "harmless looking" gets off the bus behind me, it is absolutely to my benefit to shut off my i pod and cross the street. That's not to say that the homeless guy that smelled like urine and tried to convince me that cats were aliens is the guy I should buddy up with for that walk home, or that I shouldn't trust ANY person. Just, let's be careful.
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
(Just to clarify, when I said "this is a really important point" I meant the article noting that "normal guys" can be crazy. I just realized I actually referred to my little joke without intending to. )
10/05/09
10/05/09
I really wish someone would have the balls to write/say what The Onion did. "Neighbors believed murderer only capable of rape."
[www.theonion.com]
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
I know some say he stole his schtick from - was it Bill Hicks? - but I'm with Denis Leary here. " I want the shiny people over there and the happy people over here, okay?!?"
10/05/09
10/05/09
(And by that I mean, "Did you seriously just post that?" not "Is this a serious thing that you've heard?")
Please! Tell us what else "some people" are saying!
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
Workplace rationalization is no less idiotic than neighbors thinking you look normal. How is this not, "Oh, she wanted it" applied to stalking instead of rape?
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
Apologies for those offended.
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
Warning: Rant follows.
Here is a big "fuck you" to the wide-eyed, empty-headed morons wondering how such a thing could happen. Close your gaping mouths and get a clue. Want to help? Start spreading the word that, like books (if you are indeed familiar with those), you can't judge a predator by their cover. Either that or just shut the fuck up.
Rant on behalf of all victims of "normal looking" predators.
Ok, I'm done.
10/05/09
It was a major mind-fuck when I found out about it (he was on America's Most Wanted). I mean, it's not that you expect the bad guys to be sweaty, unkempt, and driving unmarked white vans. You just always think that you'll KNOW when someone close to you is a creep. It's really easy to go "oh well there were warning signs!" but it's not something that you think you should be on the lookout for all the time. If you went around your entire life looking for signs that someone was a stalker/rapist/murderer/child molester, you'd never get close to anyone because you'd always be afraid. I might not be making any sense, but I feel the urge to explain myself here.
10/05/09
It is, after all, for most people always about them.
10/05/09
"Rape, the myth goes, is something Other. It is separate, and dramatic, and above all, perpetuated by men we don’t know.
Rapists are not loving fathers, or supportive brothers, we tell ourselves – and each other. Rapists don’t go home for the holidays and help with the tree, and watch the big game with their father, and throw the football around with their nephews. Rapists don’t tip the homeless guy, because they have some spare change from Starbucks. Rapists don’t survive the Holocaust. Rapists don’t sit in the cubicle across from us at work, and send us funny xkcd cartoons. Rapists don’t have uneventful, long-term relationships with their college girlfriends. Rapists don’t show up on set every day, directing a critically-acclaimed movie. Rapists don’t get married, nervous in a tux at the end of the aisle. Rapists don’t spend their weekends browsing at the farmer’s market, and then stop for brunch and do the NYT crossword. Rapists don’t co-write this screenplay with us. Rapists don’t hang out at the pub with their friends, watching football and drinking just half a pint of beer, because they’re driving. Rapists don’t meet us casually at an awards ceremony, and charm us with wit and wry humor.
We tell these myths to ourselves and each other often, but of course, they are lies."
[poptext.wordpress.com]
10/05/09
I hope he gets some help (NOT bail), and that Andrews and her security team stay alert. This is nothing to take lightly.
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
I've got a patchy understanding of psychology and a notepad around here somewhere.
10/05/09