Cruel Hacker Tricks: Bullying the Mentally Ill

Posted on May 30, 2011 in Internet Privacy Mean People Stigma

We cheer for [[Anonymous_(group)|Anonymous]] as it strikes against those who are out to destroy our freedom through corporate interference, but there are currently faceless individuals who undermine the point of that kind of freedom by attacking political rivals ((Witness the hacking of [[Anthony Weiner]]’s Twitter account over the weekend which not only inconvenienced him, but embarrassed a Washington state woman who received a picture of a man in his undershorts.)) and those who are advocates for change and understanding. This [[cyberbullying]] is now focused on Beckie0, a young woman who has created several videos and photographs informing her audience about [[trichillomania]]. She does not advocate trichillomania, but tries to get people to understand why hair pullers pull.

We who live with mental illness periodically put up with this kind of dirty trickery. I have been subjected to it, but not on the level that Beckie is being made to experience. Every morning at 4 a.m., the hackers start on her accounts. She is going through the British equivalent of her final exams, which is layering anxiety upon anxiety.

To the hacker(s): Your behavior indicates that you are one of us. It is time to face your insecurities. I cannot see what kind of threat that a talented young woman such as Beckie0 represents to you. That is a matter between you and your therapist. Get a grip on these issues before you end up in jail or, worse, before you go full throttle after the most helpless victim you can ever choose: yourself.