How It Feels to Be Stalked

This is a must-read personal account of a stalking nightmare, from Professor James Lasdun, at the Chronicle of Higher Education, "'I Will Ruin Him'." I almost had to laugh about how Lasdun characterizes his department chair's reaction to his stalker's allegations:

The culminating act in this particular line of attack came in April of 2008. I had taken a teaching job near where I live. One morning there was a knock on my office door. It was my department head, Frank, looking uncharacteristically ill at ease.

"We've been sent a very weird e-mail," he said. "Maybe you should read it."

The subject heading ran: James Lasdun, important information about your "writer-in-residence"

I began reading warily. "To Whom It May Concern," it began. "I am a former female student of James Lasdun and find it truly disturbing that he is allowed to teach on any level. During my time as his student he did no work on my writing nor on any other female writer's work."

What followed was the familiar litany of plagiarism, theft, racism, and sexual misconduct, although set out at much greater length than ever before, and with a new lavishness of detail. "I wish you'd keep Mr. Lasdun away from young women over which he has power," it concluded. "It is the only way this twisted, sadistic man can get his kicks."

As I began trying to explain to Frank that every one of Nasreen's assertions was a lie, I sensed that, although he personally believed me, in his professional capacity he needed something stronger than just my word against Nasreen's. As it happened, I had recently managed to get a detective from the New York Police Department to take an official interest in the case. If nothing else, that gave me standing as a bona fide victim. As soon as I told Frank about that, he looked immensely relieved, and by the end of our conversation, he was offering his full support...

My department chair was even less supportive.

I had two stalkers, and so when SEK made his libelous accusations by that time things were getting out of hand and I got a lawyer. Doing so definitely beefed up the sense of seriousness among the people at my college. I was being victimized by truly diabolical people. It's unreal until you have to confront this stuff up close and personal. And remember, Carl Salonen actually emailed his lies to the California Attorney General's office. It's frightening how easily cheap, slanderous accusations can basically f-k somebody up, and there's little cost to the depraved complainant --- unless you want to go to court --- except in my case I've created an Internet record for both Carl and SEK. Anyone Googling these ghouls knows the moral crimes they have committed. Carl's search is here. And SEK's is here. Both of those return excellent, top-placement search results, BWAHAHA!!

Lots more at Patterico, "A Compelling Piece About Cyberstalking — And How It Could Have Been *Much* Worse."