Mae Thomas - Be Careful on the Interwebs!
Yep, I know, two posts on one day is weird for me, but I really wanted to talk about something that has been bugging me badly. The issue of safety online. Yeah, yeah, I know I have said in the past that I live openly, same online as offline, and basically cannot be doxxed. Still true. But I am starting to worry about others taking huge risks
Last week I got sucked into the internet black hole that is Mae Thomas of Oklahoma. How to describe Mae? Possibly mentally ill. Likely extremely delusional. Maybe even with narcissistic overtones.
Mae is a woman who used to be a man (allegedly) who for years now has gone by a pile of names, posted oodles of weird videos on YouTube and Facebook while hooking up with strange 19 year old men fresh out of prison. Every single day is weird drama on her Facebook page, which was how I got drug in. There are DUI arrests, assaults, faked broken arms, drinking, drunken rants, you name it and Mae is involved. It's like watching a car wreck.
I felt guilty the entire time I was watching Mae's antics, and had joined a Mae-watching group to discuss the daily dramas.
I've seen internuts before. Hello L. Anne Carrington and her plagiaristic ways thieving a few photos and some writing of mine. Mae is hardly a new phenomenon. What made Mae so bizarre is she was purposely seeking to be famous and get her own television show. Plus the constant, and I mean constant begging for money from everyone. She's on disability, her and L. Anne, yet I cannot get it for my Mast Cell while she has it for anxiety.
Mae's constant begging for money gets nasty sometimes, she posts things about you're dead to her or she'll beat you up if you don't give. It's pretty clear we're not witnessing the sanest person here.
But internet lynch mobs sometimes turn weird over these things. I started feeling very uncomfortable with the Mae watchers when they decided to take it into real life. They decided to look up, talk to and support Mae's last 19 year old boyfriend. They're making plans to drive him to his court case, raise money to pay his bail and/or lawyer, and to sit with him at court. Help him get housing and a job, buy him groceries. In person.
I'm all for helping people. It's a good thing. But trying to explain to a mob that helping someone with a record of violent behavior by swooping in just for the express purposes of pissing someone else off is never good. I'm seriously worried about the safety of the group members doing this thing. You want to help him? Good. Give him some money for rides on the Uber app. Buy him a Walmart gift card. Do a fund raiser. Speak to someone involved in social work in that area, or an advocacy group to go support him in court. Do not allow yourself to be put at risk willy-nilly like that!
When they turned to start plotting to stalk Mae I knew I had overstayed my time there. I wish Mae and everyone well, but this is not going to end well. When you're dealing with violent delusional criminals do not be surprised if they turn violent on you.
Last week I got sucked into the internet black hole that is Mae Thomas of Oklahoma. How to describe Mae? Possibly mentally ill. Likely extremely delusional. Maybe even with narcissistic overtones.
Mae is a woman who used to be a man (allegedly) who for years now has gone by a pile of names, posted oodles of weird videos on YouTube and Facebook while hooking up with strange 19 year old men fresh out of prison. Every single day is weird drama on her Facebook page, which was how I got drug in. There are DUI arrests, assaults, faked broken arms, drinking, drunken rants, you name it and Mae is involved. It's like watching a car wreck.
I felt guilty the entire time I was watching Mae's antics, and had joined a Mae-watching group to discuss the daily dramas.
I've seen internuts before. Hello L. Anne Carrington and her plagiaristic ways thieving a few photos and some writing of mine. Mae is hardly a new phenomenon. What made Mae so bizarre is she was purposely seeking to be famous and get her own television show. Plus the constant, and I mean constant begging for money from everyone. She's on disability, her and L. Anne, yet I cannot get it for my Mast Cell while she has it for anxiety.
Mae's constant begging for money gets nasty sometimes, she posts things about you're dead to her or she'll beat you up if you don't give. It's pretty clear we're not witnessing the sanest person here.
But internet lynch mobs sometimes turn weird over these things. I started feeling very uncomfortable with the Mae watchers when they decided to take it into real life. They decided to look up, talk to and support Mae's last 19 year old boyfriend. They're making plans to drive him to his court case, raise money to pay his bail and/or lawyer, and to sit with him at court. Help him get housing and a job, buy him groceries. In person.
I'm all for helping people. It's a good thing. But trying to explain to a mob that helping someone with a record of violent behavior by swooping in just for the express purposes of pissing someone else off is never good. I'm seriously worried about the safety of the group members doing this thing. You want to help him? Good. Give him some money for rides on the Uber app. Buy him a Walmart gift card. Do a fund raiser. Speak to someone involved in social work in that area, or an advocacy group to go support him in court. Do not allow yourself to be put at risk willy-nilly like that!
When they turned to start plotting to stalk Mae I knew I had overstayed my time there. I wish Mae and everyone well, but this is not going to end well. When you're dealing with violent delusional criminals do not be surprised if they turn violent on you.
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