the perfect crime - "...Community-based harassment is a grown-up version of school yard bullying. Multiple individuals within a community participate in the harassment and stalking of a single individual. However, rather than attack a victim physically, techniques are used to undermine a person psychologically. This can be far more damaging than a physical attack because not only is it very hard to prove, but it is extremely traumatizing for the victim. (Also known as cause stalking or gang stalking). What sets community-based harassment apart from the related examples to the right is that the reason it takes place is often obscure to the victim. Without a solid reason for its occurrence, victims are often dismissed as delusional. In addition, this form of harassment often leaves the target a victim of ridicule among friends and family because of the subtle nature of the attacks, which further compounds the trauma to the victim. It is emotionally draining and isolating to the victims because it is extremely difficult to prove, and virtually impossible to prosecute...Although it is difficult for a non-victim to understand, it is not difficult to realize that many schoolyard bullies have never outgrown their unhealthy ways of dealing with conflict and pain. Reasons may include revenge by people who feel slighted but prefer to remain anonymous. Revenge is more common than you may think, especially with the advent of the internet which allows "revengists" or "avengers" to share their ideas. See http://www.ekran.no/html/revenge/ or do a search on the word "revenge" to see for yourself. It is also possible that such harassment has developed into a form of "sport" for the individuals who participate, not unlike a schoolyard bullying situation, which tends to center somewhat obsessively and irrationally around one individual who is perceived to be weak. It is important to realize that our society's understanding of human psychology has grown exponentially over the last 50 years, allowing any hate or vigilante group to take full advantage of such knowledge. "Psychological warfare" is the perfect crime, because it causes the maximum damage to the victim, with the least chance of exposure of the perpetrator(s). Victims can very well be driven to suicide, while the explanation appears to be mental illness, so their claims are never investigated..." (What is Community-based Harassment?)
psychological reign of terror - "...Like our society's current obsession with "reality TV", this activity must inevitably gain popularity as the ultimate experience of "reality" entertainment. Such is the nature of the bottomless pit within the stalkers that thirsts, evermore, for greater and greater thrills. To the perpetrators, their targets are merely their prey, in a game that never ends. But make no mistake, whatever the reasoning behind it, this is a vicious and calculated hate crime. The types of activities which take place are often subtle, and sometimes cannot be distinguished from normal everyday things that go wrong, but they typically occur much more frequently than they would normally. David Lawson points out in his book, Terrorist Stalking in America, that the victim is intentionally "sensitized" to the presence of the stalkers, so he or she will know that the occurences are orchestrated. This causes intense psychological strain due to the isolation and ridicule that results when the target tries to share these experiences with others. It is a psychological reign of terror intended to make a victim look crazy and intended to keep him or her in a constant state of anxiety and stress as to "what will happen next" (also known as "hyper-vigilance")..." (Gang Stalking, An Overview )
adapt and neutralize - "...As targeted individuals become super-attentive to what is going on, eventually, he or she will realized that this will probably go on for the rest of their lives. Until some major disaster or events happened, this phenomenon will probably continue. Therefore, one must learn to adapt. One must try to neutralize the harassers’ efforts. You can achieve this by educating yourself. For example, the tactic of “entrapment.” Targets who previously had debt problems will get several credit card offers via e-mail and other media. Avoid this temptations. Those who are religious will get some nasty sex-related junk e-mail. Trashed this. Or other persistent religious e-mails that ask you to forward this to ten people or so that you’ll be bless by God, this is junk mail. Those who are actively involved in politics will get unsolicited e-mail/propaganda about their political affiliations or rival organizations. Read and delete. The main purpos of all of harassments is to manipulate someone’s emotions. To provoke a reaction. Targeted individuals must learn to adapt to this regular daily occurrences. Identify, ignore or trash it...another example of how to adapt or neutralize the harassments is, when targeted individuals decides to do activism, unsolicited news or propaganda will flow or come in via social network rigorously. All are aimed to heighten emotions. They wanted you to feel angry. They wanted you to have a strong opinion about everything. The most common is the feeling that your civil/human rights are being violated. Making targeted individuals combative and agitated. If you decide to go public, avoid to have a perception that you’re “losing it” with your public tirade and agitation..." (Organized Stalking)
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet. The word stalking is used, with some differing meanings, in psychology and psychiatry and also in some legal jurisdictions as a term for a criminal offense. According to a 2002 report by the National Center for Victims of Crime, "Virtually any unwanted contact between two people that directly or indirectly communicates a threat or places the victim in fear can be considered stalking" (Wikepedia).
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