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And Texas needs rain
And this is a signal boost, because the situation has spilled from whiskey tango to requiring legal aid: Davis Square LJ being sued, Massachusetts lawyers needed. Read back on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
davis_square for more details or just ask a surprising number of people in my life. Anyone who has advice for the defendants as to how to go about organizing themselves as such might as well speak up here, too. This is not a reasonable thing to endure happening.
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derspatchel's written a song about it, which is nice.
davis_square for more details or just ask a surprising number of people in my life. Anyone who has advice for the defendants as to how to go about organizing themselves as such might as well speak up here, too. This is not a reasonable thing to endure happening.derspatchel's written a song about it, which is nice.
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It's epic, but not in the positive, vaguely dactylic way I usually mean that. Have you any suggestions?
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Alas, no; this is very much not my kind of law, the only Massachusetts lawyer I know is in government and so unavailable for these purposes, and it looks like the community is already very well-organized. Sorry.
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Apologies are not necessary! As of last night, there wasn't a legal fund and it was entirely unclear that Ron was in talks with anyone about obtaining a lawyer in the immediate practical sense. I'm just still asking on the chance that anyone knows straight off someone whose particular field this harassing kind of lawsuit is.
What is your kind of law?
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Thanks for the link. An actual live lawyer appears to have been contacted now, but it doesn't hurt to have as much information as possible, all different ways.
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There are some communities where tracking down connections between pseudonyms and wallet names is, itself, threatening. This time, Jonmon is going after a part of the net where outing is not a useful threat. Court costs are a useful threat, certainly. And being physically stalked is scary for a lot of people who are cheerfully open about "My name is thus-and-so, and I believe Jon Monserrat is a creep."
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I saw that post. (I'd really appreciate it if you didn't behave as though my insomnia was a humorous character flaw. I've been awake since seven-thirty and back and forth to Harvard Square since then.) It didn't entirely surprise me, because we already knew he was monitoring the UHub threads, but I don't like the escalation.
And being physically stalked is scary for a lot of people who are cheerfully open about "My name is thus-and-so, and I believe Jon Monserrat is a creep."
The move to physical, real-time stalking is one of the other things that worries me: both for the community's sense of safety and because the last thing anyone named in this lawsuit needs is a personal run-in with Jonmon that turns into a confrontation. Grabbing the rat by the lapels and threatening legal obliteration and dismemberment with a spork is a great fantasy, but it'll look a lot less good in court than meticulous documentation and fury vented through musical parody. People have already said this: there can't be the slightest shred of credence that Jonmon is not the aggressor and instigator in this case.
His LJ comments, frozen now for posterity, reminded me sharply and instantly of stalkers I have known—the repeated denial that people are feeling what they feel and then the equally insistent attempts to force them to prove to his own satisfaction that their feelings have any objective weight. I consider people like that dangerous, because their failure to acknowledge, much less observe clearly stated boundaries means I never know when they'll move from inappropriate words to physical threat; what fucked-up move they'll try next, because something I already considered beyond the pale of appropriate human interaction they only saw as their just and reasonable privilege.
I said in the Davis LJ: this is where I want people to start writing everything down and going to the police. If there's a lawyer for Ron and the Does (Ron Newman and the Davis Does, one night only at Johnny D's!), send the statements to the lawyer. But document everything.
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I apologize. I don't think it's anything like a character flaw to be a night person. And I know insomnia isn't funny at all.
I agree that Jonmon's behavior is looking more and more stalkery. He doesn't seem likely to turn violent, but you're right that he has no respect for legal or social boundaries. So it's hard to be sure. He's trying gaslighting (which is a BIG weapon in classic stalking), and it's not having any effect at all. It's like he doesn't know this is a play with a chorus, and every time he tries to undermine somebody's sense that they're being harassed (how dare you complain about those letters I sent you! what's wrong with you?) the chorus chimes in calling him a creep. It feels supportive and reassuring to me. (I have the luxury of not being targeted directly.)
I hadn't seen any threats to grab the rat by the lapels and dismember him with a spork. (I agree those would be unwise.) I did see some suggestions to call the police about the scary dude in the trenchcoat hanging around one's property asking questions of the neighbors, or to file a restraining order. I thought those were perfectly reasonable. Those police reports would be useful when Jonmon goes to court to say "They're defaming me by calling me a creep!"
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Thank you.
I hadn't seen any threats to grab the rat by the lapels and dismember him with a spork.
(Nobody has threatened such in print or in person that I know of. I was just extrapolating along the lines of generally rageful things people shout when they discover letters in their mailboxes or read the latest posts on Davis LJ.)
I did see some suggestions to call the police about the scary dude in the trenchcoat hanging around one's property asking questions of the neighbors, or to file a restraining order.
I would like very much to see some restraining orders in play. The situation warrants them.
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*sending strength to everyone affected by this chunderheaded assmonkery*
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It's a remarkable creative trigger, I'll say that for the situation.
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I'm going to have to start keeping an eye on Popehat.
(Do you know any non-MA lawyers who are licensed to practice in the state? Like, people currently residing in New Hampshire or Maine are welcome, so long they're close enough to consult and passed the right exams.)
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Good song, there, and I agree that Popehat has the best description of Encyclopedia Dramatica I've ever seen.
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People who aren't me are organizing efficiently, so that's good.
and I agree that Popehat has the best description of Encyclopedia Dramatica I've ever seen.
It's a keeper.