Archer's Asylum

So, because I deliberately keep myself detached from wtfuckery lately, I heard yesterday from my lady wife about an author going batshit crazy and stalking a blogger to her house and actually phoning her. Like any sane person I was troubled by this, but it quickly left my mind as I scared myself shitless playing Alien: Isolation (Incidentally - Fuck you Creative Assembly for making me, a 7ft tall man tremble in abstract terror from a digital xenomorph! Why do I love this game so much?).

But then I woke up this morning and the sheer ickyness of the whole thing still weighed on my mind, so I diligently took to my iPad, I brought up the Guardian, and I read Kathleen Hale's foray into stalking.

Oh... My... God...

Seriously, Oh My FUCKING God! What the actual fuck is wrong with this woman? Lets get past the whole author vs reviewer thing for the moment because that is just the tip of the iceberg. 

SHE FUCKING TRACKED A REVIEWER TO HER HOME!

SHE FUCKING LOOKED THROUGH HER WINDOWS AND DESCRIBES WHATS IN HER CAR!

SHE HIRED SOMEONE TO DIG INTO ANOTHER HUMANS LIFE AND THEN USED THE INFORMATION TO STALK HER AND CALL HER AT WORK!

And the thing that Makes me most sick about this whole fucked up thing? THERE ARE PEOPLE SAYING WHAT HALE DID WAS BRAVE, AND RIGHT!

This goes far beyond the mild to moderate levels of creepy and crazy that we saw with STGRB and their ilk. This goes further even than revenge reviews and butthurt fangirls. This is full on sanity destroying. This is a level of crazy that I cannot even begin to comprehend. AND STILL PEOPLE DEFEND HER AND SAY SHE IS IN THE RIGHT. JESUS H. DICK WHAT THE FUCK PEOPLE?

Let's flip this around, if this was a reviewer stalking an author authorities would be called, if this was a Male doing it to a woman they'd be clamouring for his head on a pyke. So why are people defending this insanity? 

I actually cannot fathom the mentality. Blythe writes a review about a book, a review that is negative in tone and content, yet somehow that is a more heinous crime than stalking a woman, hiring someone to do a background check, calling her up at work and then cross referencing responses to what you know about her....

Kathleen Hale, welcome to Crazytown, Population: YOU!

Blythe, if you read this, I am so sorry that this happened to you. It is seriously not awesome. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to live in fear of this woman knowing these details about you.

Kathleen, if you read this, next time you think this is the right course of action and everyone you talk to about it tells you that it isn't, you might wanna listen to them because this is creepy and weird on a level that begins to come across as serial killerish. I don't know if you have a history of mental illness, if you do, you have my sympathy because that can't be pleasant, but what you did is just wrong. 

It's shit like this that made me stop reviewing and cut back on my blogging to being nigh on offline in regard to books. It doesn't feel like a safe, secure environment anymore. 

And if any author ever takes such offense to one of my opinions that they feel the need to stalk me, please, knock on the door but do not be surprised if I keep a blade or something heavy on or near my person at all times that you're around. And if you sit quietly and don't make a fuss I'll make sure the federal police puts you in a nice cell.