Gossip and Stalking — Part 4 — Exposure
Finally… The Stalker is Caught
So, you got them? Or the one person… at least on video, camera or both. maybe you got really lucky and you got an in person confrontation that you had enough foresight to live stream it to several Twitter accounts, a Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr account…
In any event, you now have real proof that your stalker/s are not just a figment of your imagination and now they get to be more than just an object of accusation. They get to be guilty.
After this process of coping with and surviving stalking, uncovering a stalker and their identity, and handling the actions, effects of those actions, and of whatever level of destruction stalking brings in to your life, picking up the pieces and moving on, what turns the tide?
What gets results? Moving? Confrontation? Cameras? All of the above?
Exposing More Than Just Stalking
If you were lucky and also had to deal with a great deal of gossip and general social issues tied to the stalking then hopefully you will have some relief. When it comes to exposing a stalker, sometimes the more severe the exposure the more things quiet down.
When gossip and stalking are tied together you have two guilty parties, the stalker and those who gossip. They may not be an active participant in the stalking (because they may have been deceived as well with regards to what is going on) but the emotional support shown to the stalker coupled with the deception does deserve its own moment in the spotlight.
What is much more unpredictable is what will happen with friends and family once this all comes out. Every scenario and every family is different.
What Happens When you Finally Get to Prove Friends and Family Wrong
There is no more plausible deniability, no more doubt. With enough pictures and video you will get to finally be right and shake off the burden of being victimized and isolated if not ostracized, right?
Maybe… but not likely.
Something happens with people when you disturb their idealistic views on any number of topics. The ideal (on whatever topic) holds an especially revered status in the mind. Even if the ideal is impossible to achieve (and sometimes this makes it even more important, thought I am not sure why) then it is that much more important to preserve in the mind of the holder.
Sometimes we don’t know these ideals are important until they are challenged as well.
Idealistic views of any number of topics from favorite TV shows, sports, politics,(that is such a can of worms) to greater ideals about how the world should be, how people should be… present a relationship minefield for the stalker survivor.
When it comes to people who hold an endeared or even idealized place in people’s minds, even if they are guilty of heinous things, they may still keep their endeared status. They might not… but be ready for this.
The Road Less Traveled
One thing I have thought through again and again is there is no going back to the way things once were in any relationships oh so long ago. Even if you get through all of the difficulties, stop the stalker, prosecute, get them mental help or remove them from your life one way or another, there is a good chance your relationships with family and friends will never be the same.
If you are the one who has been the object of a stalker’s attention’s you won’t be the same either.
There is no road map for what happens once a stalker has been caught exposed and for lack of a better term ‘dealt with’. There is no road map for the target of a stalker either. The person they were at the beginning of their ordeal is gone and they too face a road less traveled.
