Originally I was going to pen this piece in the Notes section of my Facebook account but after all that I've been through with Facebook and the internet itself since this past Thursday evening, January 18th, 2012, I'm very hesitant on allowing Facebook anymore ownership on anything that I write from here on out, hence why I have chosen to write this all from the safety (more like alleged safety as you will discover while reading this entry) of my Posterous account. The title says it all - from last Thursday until about 3 nights ago, I practically had zero control over my Facebook account, including all the comments and posts both I and others were making on my Facebook wall. Damn, whatta unsettling, helpless feeling this all has been and its something I wouldnt wish on my worst enemy. Okay, maybe my worst internet enemy(ies) but that goes without saying.
Before I immediately jump into sharing my experiences with my readers out there, I'd like to add that currently on Facebook this crazy fucked-up business of people making comments and posts and then watching them instantly disappear before their very eyes, as well as the comments and posts made by their friends, is STILL taking place on Facebook. It's happening to everyone, not just me and its apparently one of those things where we're all gonna have to wait it out until it clears up, sorta like an extremely bad case of the flu, internet-style. So please, when you experience these things, dont automatically assume that your Facebook account has been hacked, even though in my case it was indeed hacked within 48 hours of Facebook "investigating" my account. Be that as it may.....
In the late evening hours of Thursday, January 18th, I was notified, via a series of pop-ups on my computer screen that Facebook would be "investigating" my account for a 48 hour period due to the fact that they had received complaints from other Facebook users that I was posting "lewd and questionable materials" via my Facebook account. Naturally, I contacted FB via email inquiring about it and discovered that several people found one of my more recent blog entries titled "Penis" to be borderline "pornographic" in its content. The instant I read that I started laughing my ass off, literally, because the first thought that came into my mind was "Well Holy Shit, I've written a ton more profane and adult-themed pieces which were 20 times more intense than this piece, what the fuck??" And it's true. Personally, looking back on "Penis" I thought it was a fairly well-written piece with several doses of good humor and even irony thrown in; but, "pornographic in intent?" "Lewd intentions?" I dont think so.
I gotta admit, over the past coupla years various folks have told me to be careful here-n-there but to be reported because various individuals found one of my writings morally offensive and/or because those individuals and Facebook feel they can dictate and implement their own personal brand of what constitutes freedom of speech? Why, that's just plain absurd. So, you know me, I wrote FB a letter of complaint, not that it will do me any good, but damn, you gotta stand up for yourself at all times and in every situation imaginable if you wanna survive in this day-n-age, regardless if its on Facebook or in our real lives.
Am I angry about this? Oh hell yes I am majorly-majorly pissed off about everything to do with what happened to me because as I've stated in previous entries within this blog, when people get reported by others, there is no justice, there is no way in combatting against any intended lies, accusations, and/or misterpretations; and, most of all, there are no rights whatsoever for the victims in these situaitons. It's downright wrong and inexcusable behavior if you ask me. Granted, we all have the right to interpret any pieces of writing the way we personally choose to do so - but to launch a McCarthy-era-like internet witch-hunt on someone just because you found something they wrote or said as offensive? Sorry folks, but that's just plain whacked out.
So for anyone out there, including both the person(s) who reported me and anyone who may choose to report me in the future, all I have to say is this - if you dont like what I have to say, then dont fucken read my blog! I mean it. It's that fucken simple - dont fucken read it, ya palpitating motherfuckers. Go onto the next blog you wanna check out, go check out that latest website or two you've been wanting to surf, but dont you dare set your eyes anywhere near my Luctor Et Emergo and then turn around and tell me "Well you cant say this!" or "You cant say that!" For pete's sake, if anyone out there is gonna play those prepubescent, romper-room-like games with me, then they had better think twice because I dont care who or how many times I get reported from here on out, no one on this friggin planet is gonna tell me what I can or cannot write about, let alone judge my writings based on some backwards 1950's antiquated rhetoric. And if you dont like anything I just said now, then please, by all means, go get bent.
Or as we use to say when I was growing up in the midwest - may a 350-pound Fourth Street whore with a 2-month-old yeast infection fall out of a 3rd floor hotel room and land right on yer face when you're looking upward and yawning! People out there wanna play immature bad-assed games with me? I got news for those folks, I'm not someone you wanna play hardball with on any level, you may rest assured on that.
The following day after this Facebook "investigation" bullshit took place, I noticed almost immediately that something was very VERY wrong with my Facebook account. At first I thought it was the powers that be of Facebook who were messing with me, but after doing some investigating of my own, as well as reporting what was going on with them, they relayed to me that it sounded like my account had been hacked. Now at first I was confused about that because I noticed the comment/post disappearing acts taking place on certain threads I would comment on was apparently taking place on only certain targeted posts. Naturally, after realizing this I surmised that apparently someone else did indeed have access to my account. Quite frankly, with having an anonymous identity such as I do, that not only angered me, but it made me very nervous, almost a bit panicked if you will. HivSpice is my creation so just like a parent with his/her child, I automatically went into protection mode.
I tried different things like checking out the Help section on Facebook, as well as simple things such as changing my password, restarting my computer and all other such criteria but nothing worked. Then a dear dear lady friend of mine on FB inboxed me and told me she had had the same exact experiences and it was because her account had been hacked. Hearing that made me feel much better, much less alone and isolated regarding what was happening. And, I felt even better when she walked me through the process of re-securing my account and lemme tell you folks, it made a majorly huge difference. Being able to finally access my account once again with the greatest of ease as well as seeing that things were more back to normal actually brought me a tear or two of much appreciated relief, as well as a few whoop-yells of gratitude.
And to that particular friend of mine who so patiently and dilligently assisted me with all of this, I just wanted to include a special Thank-You(!) in this entry because without intentionally sounding dramatic, my Dear, you actually helped save HivSpice in this regard and for that I will be eternally grateful to you because in doing so, you also made it possible for me to reconnect with the folks who come to me for help on a regular basis. That is something that truly means the world to me because making a difference in the lives of others is one of the main cornerstones of the existence of this name to begin with. Thank you so much!
So, the above reasons are why I could not even really do anything at all online in the past several days.The disappearing act of comments/posts is still taking place on Facebook, even as I write this piece, but I'm not the only one it's happening to, it's happening to alotta folks out there and like everyone else I will be so gawddamn happy when its done and over with. I'd like to throw out the possibillity that maybe whats taking place now is because of this Timeline switch-over thing that Facebook has been rigging up for the last month or so but I'm not sure cause at first I heard that the mandantory change would take place December 24th, but that date came and went. Nothing. Then I heard January 23rd, but that date too came and went without anything happening. I dont know what the answers are to any of this but as great as Facebook can be, at times it can be like everything else in our lives - a major contradictory pain-in-the-ass. All we can do is hope for the best and pray that all the messed-up crap currently taking place soon becomes a thing of the past.
Looking back in hindsight on everything that's happened to me this past week on Facebook, I hope to never ever have to go through any of it ever again and even when it comes to folks I dont get along with, I guess I wouldnt wish these things on them; but, I do choose to reserve the right to wish them on those who reported me as well as hacked my Facebook account. People do all kinds of malicious things out there for whatever reasons, but I dont care what their reasonings are, I'm here to let everyone out there know whether on Facebook or via my blog here at Posterous, I am not backing down to anyone on either of these communication mediums - not ever. I have just as much right to interact with others on Facebook and write my blog postings as anyone else does, so y'all better get accustomed to seeing me around because I dont plan on going anywhere soon. I'm here to stay.
If that line of rationale and reasoning doesnt resonate with everyone out there, then I'll spell it out for you in another way, by quoting something from a character from one of my most favorite books/films by one of my most favoriter writers of all time, Fannie Flagg - "...if all else fails, there's always Towanda!" I know, that all sounds corny but hey, it's my right to write it just as much as its your right to either read it, or skip it altogether. Thank you for reading. Thank you so very much for reading.
Posted via email from Luctor Et Emergo
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