I came across an interesting statement that described the most common reasons someone, or an entity, chooses to break the law:
Usually it comes out of some form contempt for the victim; namely that she will be powerless to prevent it, and they feel she has it coming to her.
This is frequently the case if a corporation or business is involved in the attack on a victim. Or if as a result of the victim seeking to stop the attacks, people lost their jobs. Or, if it is just a matter of prejudice,such as gender or class. If the group attacking, has substancial financial resources, and do not have to work, it is a simple matter to continue the attacks; to bury the person in what ever cloak of words is deemed useful. But for the victim, it is a life changing series of events; it is a move towards powerlessness and silence; and this is likely the goal.
In cyberstalking, the statistics show, that it is most often an effort to remove the voice of women, and remove them from their careers or being represented online. It is an economic crime. My own experience has shown this to be true. The financial aspect of the crime, then feeds into the dismantling of the victim, piece by piece. It is not a crime that damages the wealthy. They have the resources to create barriers online to protect their online reputation from the attack of words.
This was the case in the cyber attack on two female law students at Yale. The one from a wealthy family survived her attack, as she was able to hire a team of lawyers, media pundits, and other protections. The other one, was from a working class family, who had struggled to pay her tuition at Yale. She did not fare as well, and her career was destroyed, as any search for her linked her to the attacks, raising concern about the unstable people who wanted to attack her. Yet those who posted the offending content about them, thought it was just a game; just their freedom of speech to publish highly personal information; or to incite others to harm them. The attackers have not been damaged at all. But is it a game, when someone’s life and career is destoryed? It is not.
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