This is a two part article. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of Ali Karbassi, this website, or anyone other than this author.
If any of you have ever studied the legendary poetic writings of the French bards known as the Troubadour, you will realize that many of the medieval romantics were indeed simply modern day stalkers. Unfortunately, I do not have my ten page research paper in front of me, but I remember the basics of it. In the examples I cited (Fischer, p. 2), the Troubadours wrote poems about women they admired from afar. These men, after the fact, were heralded as the “Don Juans” of their generation based on their words of affection.
In the society we live in today, these men would not be praised for their work because they would indeed be stalkers. The best example I can use comes from a poem in which a man (Troubadour) writes about how he admires this beautiful woman from afar yet fears approaching her. This may sound sweet and innocent, but in some respects this man could be seen as a threat to the woman he admires. His fantasies could become twisted if he continues to watch her at a distance with his lust growing while she knows nothing of his existence. This can have multiple consequences as the woman continues to live her life without knowing this “stalker” is watching (or preying) her. One such scenario is if this man’s fantasy has grown to a point where he day dreams this woman has the same feelings for him that he has for her, yet with them never speaking. This would create a rather awkward situation when he approaches her for the first time and either “creeps her out” or is completely rejected. Another such scenario is if this woman begins seeing another man (not the stalker) with neither the woman nor the boyfriend knowing of the stalker’s presence. The stalker would likely become extremely jealous of the new man in the picture and could potentially take action against him.
Now, you may ask, why does this make the new Facebook with unlimited access much better than the semi-secretive Facebook we were accustomed to? Well, for one thing, the “stalkers” of the internet would be fully exposed to all 200+ friends that I have when the stalker posts creepy messages or does something far from ordinary. Also, you can see if your friends are stalking anyone, maybe someone you know or care about. This new Facebook is the true stand of democracy. It combines the power of the Patriot Act, allowing us total access to information, with the power of the people who are a part of the system, as the new Facebook is open and available to all members (not just the CIA or FBI). In the end, Facebook is not trying to making stalking easier for its users, but instead push stalkers out into the open social circle created by Facebook to expose them for the people they are and guilt them out of doing further atrocities against the “stalkees.”
— Daryl F. Fischer
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