Last night, it was brought to our attention that someone had been posting some malicious content on Facebook. It all started with the post above, and continued with more comments:
Like yours probably is, our pulse quickened and our blood pressure skyrocketed. We couldn’t believe what we were reading!! Most of the comments were laden with shock but a few were genuinely arguing with the poster.
After a profile picture change, this new update was published:
Two things about this:
1) There are no “real” pictures of this person, only stock photos.
2) Of the three dozen mutual friends that we all had (less, as word got around and people read her posts), we asked our friends and no one seems to know this person.
Our bullshit sensors started to beep, so we did some recon work. Google has no credible record of her existence. She lists “Attorney at Foley” in her employment information on facebook. We called the only “Foley” law office in Boston and they’ve never heard of her. We asked if they knew of any other law offices in Boston that use the name Foley. They don’t.
All of this– the virulence of her words, false information in her facebook profile, and her lack of any sort of public record– leads us to label her profile as spam.
But while spam it may be, there is a human being behind that account. Maybe all these posts were written to incite a reaction or to perform some kind of social experiment, creating a forum to say crazy things and see how people react. Maybe the individual behind this account actually feels this way but created a guise through which to voice their opinions, as they know it’s not socially acceptable to do so. Who knows? The point is this: someone wrote these words, and whether or not they truly believe them, they did write these things.
Do people really think these things and feel this way? Do people harbor such resentment and animosity towards those of us who live with special needs in our families? Yes and yes, unfortunately.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it’s a spam account or not? How would you react if you saw this in your facebook timeline? Or, perhaps more provocatively, how would you react if you heard words like this actually spoken in your presence?