I’ve had a stalker on and off for a number of years now. He shows up once in a while to lob some insults or he attempts to bully me in the hopes that I’ll just shut up and stop talking. I occasionally ponder what motivates a person to fixate on another and try to control their actions as cyberstalkers do. Most people who don’t like what you do or say walk away and get on with their lives, but stalkers become obsessed with “stopping” you in some fashion. I imagine such people have a sense of no control over their own lives and have to gain the illusion of power over something or someone else to build some illusion of personal empowerment. I’m also sure there is some inner dialog justifying what they do (likely one which is self-righteous). The irony is that the very act of cyberstalking is the ultimate expression of being a slave to their attachment to another person. It’s the least powerful thing you can do because such people absolutely cannot resist stalking their victims. My stalker looks for my posts and can’t help reading what I say even though it makes him angry and causes him to act out on that anger. Stalkers have no power over themselves and their actions. It’s rather like a compulsion and I think it really should be considered a criminal manifestation of a mental health problem. Those who carry out the crime should be forced to have treatment as part of their rehabilitation.