Monthly Archives: July 2024

oh the joys of cyber harassment/bullying

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One reason why I am so sensitive to the issues that the Great Valley Middle School teachers and staff are experiencing now is because what I’ve experienced personally over the years.

Quite a few years ago now when the whole topic of cyber bullying and cyber harassment was coming up, I had a really bad cyber bully and cyber harasser. In truth, they were also cyber stalking me. They were doing it across state lines which presented real problems for them, so eventually they went away. That actually does fall under Federal laws vis-à-vis interstate communications. And as I’ve mentioned before one of the people that used to like what this person did is a current sitting politician in a community in Chester County.

Cyberbullying is more common than you may think. And for many teenagers, young adults, and social media users in general of many ages, it poses a very real threat. As well as emotional distress and anxiety.

People or should I say institutions like school districts, etc. pay lip service too even if it’s happening to kids. But they don’t actually do that much and they actually could. But when this is happening to adults basically we’re just out there fending for ourselves.

Great Valley School District was hoping that East Whiteland Police Department would do their job for them. But what’s happening is civilly not criminally actionable and they should still be supporting their teachers but basically they’re playing duck and cover. In my humble opinion what we’re seeing now by reports of others attending school board meetings and reading agenda items for the school board, is you have a lot of teachers and staff starting to leave? Also, in my opinion? There’s a lot of questionable spending going on and taxpayers pay for that but that’s not the reason for this post.

I know what it’s like to experience what these teachers have experienced because I’ve experienced it on a different level. I’ve even had a woman post a photo of me in a hospital gown before breast cancer surgery like a wanted poster asking who I am.

I’ve had people on three different occasions, create fake pages distorting what I write, and harassing and bullying me. And all of those things have all been taken down.

This is why when people start, and it goes beyond a comment or a simple opposing point of view as in a conversation, that I just block people. I block people because I have the experience to know where this is going. And it’s a personal choice. People may wish to interact with you, but you don’t have to interact with them. It is that simple. 

And these people who come after me, are men and women.

When I was writing about that historic trestle bridge out towards Downingtown, which people refer to as the “suicide bridge”, I experienced someone who couldn’t just have an opposing point of view. It got to the point that their comments were really uncomfortable and really unpleasant, so I simply blocked them.

Then they popped up on NextDoor. NextDoor sadly is where the evolution of social media went off the rails. People post things publicly, including their address and their phone numbers because they mistakenly think it’s private. It’s also the platform where you see people who have been thrown off of other platforms go to post. In some regards, it’s sociologically fascinating.

Anyway, the person I blocked on Facebook because of the uncomfortable comments and vitriol directed towards me about the trestle bridge is on NextDoor. He was someone I forgot existed until he started popping up in my private messages.

I had forgotten who he was. But then he kept messaging me and it all came back. So this person was now contacting me in completely unsolicited manner and his biggest beef is I blocked him on social media on another platform? I mean you’re supposed to be an adult right? So move on why do you care so much about me one person? This is not a friend, or even an acquaintance, or former coworker,  it’s a complete stranger. 

So now this person supports any comment that is negative towards me about anything I might post on NextDoor.

Blocking people is a way to chose not to interact with someone. And guess what? It’s okay. Really.

Now on social media, there are no nos with blocking. For example, you can’t be in a group and block the admins and moderators. Their unpaid job is to keep groups running smoothly according to their rules.

Now, ironically, there’s one group that comes to mind in particular, that’s a lifestyle group where the actual admin and group owner blocks a lot of the people in the group. That way the group could keep up with the numbers and claim popularity but they don’t have to interact with comments they don’t like. But that’s their right, which is why for a couple of years when I was in this self-proclaimed influencer or public figure’s group I didn’t know it was their group because they blocked me and how crazy is that?

So then there’s this other person. They do work for developers whose plans I have not liked in a subcontracting capacity. So I know going into it, they’re not going to be fond of me and that’s fine.

But this next person started the bizarre habit of commenting on things on LinkedIn, which is essentially a professional platform. I never replied to any of the comments, except maybe like the first one and I kind of was like thank you for your opinion because I didn’t really know what else to say. But I found them basically stalking my profile there odd, so I thought the path of least resistance is just to remove him from being able to access my profile. So he was blocked.

Then I noticed an uptick of profiles from his company were also looking constantly at my profile. I also found that strange as it had never happened prior to this. It’s also a company I never paid attention to locally. I never knew they existed really before this. And I don’t care about them now. 

So now this person has discovered me on Nextdoor and doesn’t understand why it’s problematic that all of a sudden he’s commenting on my posts. He’s not commenting because he cares about the topic, he’s commenting to be a dissenting voice because I wrote the post. That is a form of cyber bullying or cyber harassment.

So I called this person out on it. Now I’m done.

No one has to like what someone else writes but when it feels like they go out of their way to hunt people down on different platforms because of what they say about or care about and not because they are a politician, or a self-professed, public figure or an influencer or anything they’re just an ordinary person, it’s wrong. And weird.

I get that it’s human nature to be curious, but it is also making me wonder if it is so ingrained societally that it’s now becoming the norm to just harass people you don’t like for whatever reason on social media. You know like those teachers at Great Valley Middle School.

This other person has no horse in this race literally. If I had not written the originating post, he would not have commented.

I guess my point is adults do this every day, so we shouldn’t be surprised the middle schoolers also do it. The difference is adults are old enough to know better. And adults need to impress upon minors that this is not acceptable behavior.

Only a lot of these adults? They don’t think their behavior has to change. They will tell you that they’re only expressing their opinion. But if they are following people from one social media platform to the next, is that normal? I don’t think it is, especially if it’s not someone you actually know in the real world in some capacity.

I’m not a celebrity, I’m not a public figure, I’m just one woman. I have never said I was perfect, but like anyone else I don’t want to put up with abusive behavior or what I perceive as abusive behavior.

Cyber bullying and cyber harassment is sadly a regular every day thing. They barely do anything about what is happening to our kids with regard to this, but they definitely do much less when it comes to protecting adults.

That is why if somebody’s making you feel uncomfortable and you can block them, that’s your personal choice. And it’s no big deal. NextDoor as a platform doesn’t offer a complete block and they should.

This is just my point of view on a topic I feel strongly about, you can agree or disagree with me and I’m happy to have a conversation, but don’t be like these men or Great Valley Middle Schoolers, it’s creepy.

Thanks for stopping by.

maybe it is time for the brickette to deal with overflow parking?

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Every single time I bring up this topic I get abuse or just comments that are nasty. I think these people need to grow up and realize that the reason the signs went up is based on immediate neighbor complaints to West Whiteland regarding the people attending events at this bar creating dangerous situations on the roads.

It really is that simple. And when the problem was first discussed, people did ask the bar owners or managers (can’t say for sure whom because I wasn’t there) about helping them get an arrangement for a satellite parking lot so they could have a shuttle or a valet, and they said it wasn’t necessary in essence.

Well obviously it is necessary. And if they are indeed keeping to their actual capacity inside, they need more parking outside.

A comment I received recently:

That’s sad. They have an event that is so popular on Monday nights that the parking lot over flows out onto the street. Folks travel from out of town to participate. Now where will they park. I say residents should not call and let a business thrive….

You see that photo taken recently after the no parking signs went up? It was taken the evening of July 12. I would think it was safe to assume that this business is thriving enough that the owners of this bar who also own other bars in West Chester Borough, and are getting ready to open something else would have the resources for valet parking and a satellite parking lot, and or a satellite parking lot with a shuttle.

The Brickette to my knowledge has not had residents file complaints against them as a nuisance bar with the PA LCB. And all it takes is an anonymous phone call to their hotline:1-800-932-0602 or you can submit a complaint online: https://www.pa.gov/en/agencies/psp/contact-psp/bureau-and-office-directory/liquor-control-enforcement/report-a-violation.html

Instead, all the residents are asking is to be treated with respect. And it’s to be treated with respect predominantly by the bar patrons, and those same bar patrons should also treat the no parking signs with respect unless of course they’re viewing the parking tickets as paid parking costs?

I do think that the Brickette is trying in some areas to do the right thing based on a very recent (July 3rd) Instagram post:

What they say is:

Policy Update:

Hello everyone, we wanted to make you aware of an update to our policy regarding minors.

1. No one under 21 unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, per PA State Law – 40 Pa. Code ss 5.321

2. No one under 21 years of age after 5 PM – NO EXCEPTIONS.

This includes all live music and events, such as cornhole and line dancing.

As of yesterday, West Whiteland also put up No Parking signs on the part of Sorber Drive that is in their municipality. That is 200 feet. The rest of Sorber is the responsibility of West Goshen Township, and they only seemed concerned lately about threatening residents with police removal at meetings. (Yes that happened, check their meeting recordings right?)

West Whiteland also has NO PARKING signs on BOTH sides of 100. Residents are urged to call the police if they see people parking in defiance of the signs because West Whiteland is a big township, and the police cannot be everywhere at once although they do drive-bys here.

Now back to the people who don’t like when I write about this. One person is an engineer in who does a lot of work for developers, and while not naming names, you see them on the bottom of plans submitted at public meetings in many townships.

This person is very big on having their opinion heard, which I don’t have a problem with, but this person instead seems to be making a hobby out of social media platform hopping to essentially harass me for my opinion on anything else I might write about as in not just this.

That is not just exercising “opinion”. Behavior like that is distinctly uncomfortable because you have to scratch your head with the attention on me as just one woman, don’t you? Why not just scroll by anything he sees that I might write since he knows he doesn’t like my opinion?

And then there all the other opinions on this topic. And a lot of it is derogatory attention directed at me personally when I didn’t originate the problem.

I am writing about the problem because I have lived in small neighborhoods which have faced issues from neighboring commercial communities that were not resolved until there was a crisis point.

All West Whiteland is trying to do (and the state for that matter) is protect the neighbors and the patrons of the Brickette Lounge. People might think it’s benign to just park all over the place like this, but it actually isn’t. What is being attempted here by the signage is to avoid accidents, harm or loss of human life and that’s not a bad thing. it’s actually a really good thing.

And I can see by that post from July 3 that this bar posted that they are trying to follow the law, and that is also a very good thing. But now what we ask of them is to truly get a satellite parking lot that they can do valet parking or shuttle parking with. That will handle the overflow and keep people from parking where they should not park and keep everyone hopefully safe. I see this all the time where they don’t have much room for parking.

Thanks for stopping by. If you don’t like my opinions, that’s fine you can read someone else with whom you are more comfortable.

is paoli shopping center being eyed for massive development, tredyffrin?

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Oh Tredyffrin, the chatter is flying. What does Tredyffrin Township know about the future fate of Paoli Shopping Center? Manager Bill Martin shouldn’t be coy here, should he? I pay very little attention to Tredyffrin over all, and when rumors like this reach me, I just have to ask what’s the truth?

I got a text this morning asking if I had heard the latest about Paoli Shopping center….

So Tredyffrin where’s the beef? What is the truth? 700 living units there is enough to give one a fit of the vapors, right? So time to spill the tea and tell people the truth. Residential development there would affect so much and not positively. Think overcrowded school district, overburdened infrastructure, and more…..

These rumors have been floating for a couple of years, but this time there was a rather large number attached to it and why?

Can’t someone just tell people what the truth actually is? Is it so hard? Is redevelopment planned and if so, what and how large? 

Curtain raised? Time will tell…

Paoli Shopping Center

politicians, you can’t bake a cake without batter.

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So a woman whom I like and respect whom I knew a little when they were living in the area put up a brilliant post the other day that I shared. Here it is:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/jd-vances-positions-abortion-2020-election-ukraine-trump-vp-rcna161970

So next comes this guy on my blog’s Facebook page:

This guy doesn’t get to tell ME or any woman how to think and how to choose. So he can keep his “pulling out” mentality…dude you can’t bake a cake without batter. And if he had any reading comprehension skills he would have also realized that the author of the post I shared was not just talking about PA women- I mean, there actually are 50 states and 16 territories in this country, correct?

And speaking of unprotected sex, what about a man’s responsibility there?

Women in PA and all across America are trying to preserve their rights to choose. That basic right encompasses other rights. That is a proxy for freedom. Period, end of story.

Next comes a Republican woman whom I think is very nice. She feels the need to remind me that in Pennsylvania you can get an abortion up to 24 weeks and that “many people don’t know that.”

Oh really?

Please don’t start with me. Women across this country are fighting to make sure that they preserve their rights to choose. And it might be legal in some states, but it depends if you can get one and if you need one do you have to cross a picket line of crazies with dead baby signs? What about the emotional damage that does? Or telling women they can afford what they know they can’t afford? It’s always like they’re putting it all on the woman because they’re also trying to get rid of birth control as well.

Joey Fortman wrote a brilliant post and this guy crawled out from under a rock and I am not having it. And I’m also tired in general of people telling you how you should think, how you should write, what you should be saying, and essentially how you should put your underwear on.

Politicians along with those in either clerical or judicial robes should not not be involved with very personal decisions between a woman and her doctors and her family. Whatever the decision is, it’s no one’s business except the individual woman.

Very personal story. Someone I know was a little too young for certain testing when she got pregnant. she went in for a routine ultrasound, and they saw something. While she was grappling with what the diagnosis meant, the baby died in utero. It was past 24 weeks. This woman back then was torn apart because while she was deciding. Does she gamble and the baby is born on life-support, and then dies, or terminates the pregnancy? Because the diagnosis was terminal either way. If a lot of these men and women telling us what we can and can’t do with our bodies had had their way back then, she would’ve had to have carried a baby dead in her womb to term, and then delivered it. And that was assuming there wouldn’t be any other complications, which you cannot predict in situations like this.

So I feel very strongly about this because you’re not just talking about the obvious you’re talking about the things that aren’t so obvious. You’re talking about specifically medically necessary moments in life.

I never had children of my own, health issues prevented it. So for me, this never would be an issue, yet I don’t want any woman losing her right to choose. It really is our bodies our choices. 

And then getting back to the screenshot that I showed at the beginning with this guy and then he’s talking about cures for cancer? First of all, he doesn’t have a crystal ball and second of all I am a cancer survivor so don’t Cro-Magnon mansplain to me about cancer or where you think the cure might come from. I’m still a woman with a right to choose what’s best for her own body. It’s offensive.

Again, Women in PA and all across America are trying to preserve their rights to choose. That basic right encompasses other rights. That is a proxy for freedom. Period, end of story.

More about Vance by clicking HERE. My last word is considering his life as portrayed in Hillbilly Elegy, it’s a little shocking that he isn’t more accepting shall we say?

You don’t have to like my opinions, but our founding fathers and the First Amendment allow it.

in this country, should we reap what we sow? or pull the weeds of hate once and for all?

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An article in the Daily Local has prompted this post. I found it thought provoking. It is embedded and excerpted:

Chester County residents react to assassination attempt on Donald Trump

This was put out by the Daily Local as an article. It’s really an Op-Ed, but that is on whoever the current editor is, not the writer. It is miscategorized.

Part of the headline talks about “echoes of unity cross party lines.” I have to ask are they echoes or just a convenient use of politics? In my humble opinion, give it a few days, and it’ll be back to business as usual with politics.

What happened over the weekend on July 13th, 2024 was extraordinarily disturbing. And I still do NOT like Trump, but I do NOT think what happened was O.K. Not one little bit.

I have not liked Trump since he was just a sleazy real estate developer getting TV interviews. That has never changed and he’s still that same person. But he didn’t deserve an assassination attempt.

If you don’t want Trump as president, then stand up and use the power of your vote, use the power that our forefathers literally fought, blood, and died, for they fought for our freedom of choice. If we choose apathy over the unique power of a democracy in the ability to vote, we get the government we deserve.

I’m still trying to get my head wrapped around the concept that the person who did this was 20 years old. Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, PA.

Then someone reminded me that this was the age of the person who shot up Sandy Hook Elementary years ago.

Adam Lanza of Newtown, CT. He also killed his mother that same day he shot up an elementary school.

No one really knows at this point who Matthew Crooks was and they have found no manifesto. But his parents, like Adam Lanza’s mother was, appear to be gun enthusiasts. They also are apparently licensed professional counselors through the Pennsylvania social work board. The New York Times reports him as quiet and he played video games and liked coding. He had recently completed some kind of engineering associates degree at a community college, and was working as an aid in nursing home, and had few friends. I don’t like what video games have done to this country, so I have to wonder if a clue is there?

A UK paper says Crooks was bullied badly in high school. Another article somewhere said he had moved out of his parents’ house at one point? Yet another article referenced that his parents were actually registered Democrats although I don’t know what that has to do with anything?

I also am going to wonder completely out loud why his parents didn’t have these guns locked up away from him? Gun ownership is a responsibility. He was 20 and it was his father’s gun, so what gives there?

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/thomas-matthew-crooks-donald-trump-assassination-attempt-gunman-republican-b1170581.html

So someone who was not even legally old enough to drink within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, shot a former US President? Given the age, he hadn’t even ever voted yet in a presidential election either, had he? I remember being 20, and I can’t say the guns or shooting people entered into the equation at that stage of my life.

Of course I truly wonder how he got that close? How is that he got up on that building (where media reports say some sort of law enforcement was inside) and When the crowd first spotted him as you can see in media reports, why didn’t officials basically act immediately? My opinion on this and I’m not an expert in law-enforcement or security, or pretend to be, is kind of common sense: this is an area of Pennsylvania that is heavily pro-Trump. I can’t help but wonder if that is exactly why they never expected this?

A lot of times, political candidates, regardless of who they are, will deliberately choose locations where they know they literally have a fan base. And my opinion is they never expected something like this might happen there.

I also think that what happened, while horrible should not make one political candidate over another a martyr.

I also think that people need to remember more, the innocent bystanders who were injured, and the man who lost his life. The man who was killed literally took a bullet for his family. His name was Corey Comperatore. His family is grieving and reeling from the loss.

There were also two others injured. This should not have happened. And yet it has.

This craziness has been building since January 6, 2021 in my opinion. And we cannot forget the election season before. It was ugly and it was nasty and the vitriol and rhetoric from the Republican side was abhorrent in a lot of cases. And then we have January 6. And former President Trump did not deserve to be shot, because no one should be, however, we have to look at the tone that has been set in this country don’t we?

Even the most minor elections since the last presidential election have been nasty. In our area, in particular, we are rife with various extremist groups people on both sides of the aisle, riding the crazy train. Well the crazy train led us to Butler, PA on July 13, 2024.

Well stop the damn train, people, we didn’t sign up for this craziness. I just don’t understand how people can even think this was OK at all. You look at the people on social media, who basically have lost jobs and positions within their communities for social media posts after this event. And this event was an attempted assassination.

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2024/07/15/trump-shooting-prospect-park-fire/

https://www.phillyvoice.com/social-media-trump-assassination-attempt-delco-fired-resigned-atlantic-county/

Now I’ve had people try to start with me over my opinions about former President Trump and even about this event. So can I be any more clear? I am not going to think it’s OK that this man is turned into a martyr because of this assassination attempt however, I also am not going to think it’s OK to shoot someone running for political office.

It is not OK that this happened.

It is not OK that our country is devolving into chaos.

As Americans, we have to fight to stop this. And I don’t mean literally fight as in raise arms or a Civil War. We all studied it in high school and even college, remember?

Mind you it is sometimes really hard for people to remember the actual history in this country, because so many people go out of the way to hide it. And if we hide what happened, or pretend it didn’t happen, we are doomed to repeat a bad pattern. That’s why history matters and needs to be discussed, not hidden.

What I am saying is we need to fight with the power of our vote. I have been somewhat disgusted listening to people even within my own family who have said that they’re not going to vote in November because they just “can’t. ”

Not voting is not the answer. Voting 100% the way a political party has told you how to vote is also not the answer.

Americans have been devolving since 2000 when it comes to elections and that is my opinion it is also my opinion that people need to literally stop being sheeple. Take a few minutes and re-discover your own intellectual curiosity, and do your research. Don’t base your decision on what you see on social media, don’t even base your decision on what I’m saying as my opinion. Do your own goddamn homework and learn about candidates.

Get active in your communities because no one is going to do it for you.

Reject extremist groups like Klanned Karenhood who are complete 100 percent hypocrites anyway.

Reject fake news. Again do your own research from credible sources.

As Americans, we need to believe in ourselves and our country. We need to reject wanton violence, including the events of January 6, 2021. We need to reject attempted assassinations of politicians, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE.

Instead of sowing the seeds of heat, we need to pull the weeds of hate.

You don’t have to like my opinion, but our founding fathers and the first amendment allow me to have it. I don’t believe in people who foment hate and nationwide discord.

Here in Pennsylvania we were founded by William Penn and Quaker values and sensibilities. It’s time to stop the madness and get back to those values and roots. besides, it’s too goddamn hot to hate so much.

Again (and I am being deliberately repetitive here) if we choose apathy or to look the other way over the unique power of a democracy in the ability to vote in free elections, we get the government we deserve. And then we stop being Americans.

Thanks for stopping by.

Pax.

drama in wayne pa? what did she do? and then a jaunt to prospect park….

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It’s Delco Day. I will start with Wayne which is in Radnor Township which is in Delaware County….

Now look, I don’t live on the Main Line anymore, so there’s a lot that goes by that I miss. But when you see a letter like this posted on social media on a Monday morning, you have to ask: what did she do?

https://www.sierraclarkphoto.com/

All of her social media, except for Pinterest is down. Her website is up, but business says closed on Google.

Is she OK or did she post political things she shouldn’t have? I just have never quite seen anything like this, so I’m asking again what did she do? Drama in Wayne that doesn’t have to do with Radnor Township.

Next up Prospect Park also in Delaware County….guess there is something in the water in Delco and I really wish people would not stress themselves out in this heat…this is all I have got….other than just stop. Please.

at the brickette, no parking signs are for other people…

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Friday evening

Apparently to Brickette Lounge patrons, “No Parking” signs are for other people.

A resident just sent me this who lives near The Brickette. They are calling West Whiteland Police now. Photo was taken at 10:15 PM I guess.

As was the case on Wednesday evening, West Whiteland police is sending someone out now, and these people will be ticketed.

West Whiteland ticketed on Wednesday as well. Those cars you can see in the photo that will be at the very bottom of this post.

The neighbor who saw this tonight said they just can’t believe how blatant it is that they are just parking in between the “no parking” signs.

Of course recently the company which owns The Brickette (3 West Hospitality) was in the news chatter again about their next place called Jolene’s, opening soon. So maybe (just spit balling here), just maybe, 3 West Hospitality could hire a valet service and/or a satellite lot with a shuttle?

It’s becoming more and more obvious that whatever the capacity is inside, isn’t matching the parking outside. And they need to come to a solution. Or they should want to come to a solution.

West Whiteland Police are there now. And no, I didn’t call them.

Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday evening

hey great valley school district, tag you’re it and can you “tinker”?

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The below and this post is me exhibiting my First Amendment rights. The media articles and television reports on the Great Valley Middle School horror show of TikTok is freedom of the press under….wait for it…First Amendment rights.

I have found the Great Valley School District’s responses shall we say, scripted? They have been overly scripted on everything coming out of their mouths since COVID.

While I supported the district trying to be responsible to all during COVID and felt for them having to deal with anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers in all of these school districts, I firmly believe that the school district could and should do more here. Frankly, I think Great Valley School District Superintendent Daniel Goffredo needs to put his scripted responses down and find where he misplaced his balls. And yes, this is an opinion and I can have it….wait for it…as part of my Amendment Rights.

Here are some comments about this off of Reddit as well as my prior post:

hey great valley school district, wtf 😳????
Written July 7, 2024

It seems like so much time has passed since I wrote my initial post. And what a whirlwind has occurred locally.

I understand how these teachers feel. I had an adult in another state do something similar to me years ago. This person was a relative of someone who was in my life years ago. This had nothing to do with me being a blogger, this had to do with me being happy in my life. It was totally twisted.

Every day they did something.

And it was ridiculous. Social media platforms talk a good game about stopping these behaviors but hey they can’t even stop a bunch of Great Valley middle schoolers on TikTok can they?

Eventually the abuse stopped. But things I won’t forget are the people who thought it was okay. One of those people is a sitting elected official in Chester County. She enjoyed the harassment of me because she didn’t like my blogging. If she runs for office again I will remind her that she liked what this person did and show people.

I don’t wish what happened to me, and what still occasionally happens to me, to happen to anyone, let alone teachers.

And again, middle schoolers are doing this, so where are their parents?

Today I found this new news piece on WHYY:

After targeted TikTok campaign, Great Valley teachers are pushing for a digital citizenship curriculum

Digital Citizenship?

I hope it comes with a side of accountability. This is an error like that Reddit screenshot person said deals with the people who use the screens as babysitters for the kids. The screens are still babysitting the kids, only the kids no more than the parents, and in some cases the schools. So I’m sure you know you kids get school issued iPads, and what not, and how many of the kids know how to do the factory settings reset or whatever so they can bypass restrictions that the school has in place?

Now Great Valley thus far in the midst of their scripted responses, haven’t really done anything . They actually could expel those kids, especially since after their suspension vacation earlier in 2024, they are creating again in the summer.

I was reading something that I found interesting :

Lozano Smith/ Attorneys at Law

Supreme Court Sets Aside Student’s Cheer Team Suspension, but Confirms Schools’ Authority to Regulate Off-Campus Expression 

July 20th, 2021

In its first student free speech case since 2007, Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of a student whose off-campus and off-color social media (Snapchat) posts resulted in her suspension from the school’s junior varsity cheerleading team. The Supreme Court confirmed, however, that schools may still regulate student expression occurring off-campus on a case-by-case basis under the Tinker standard, albeit to a lesser degree than when regulating on-campus student expression.

Background

In the preeminent 1969 student speech opinion, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the Supreme Court articulated a standard wherein “conduct by a student that materially disrupts classwork or involves substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others” does not enjoy the “constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech.” The facts in Tinker involved speech that took place on campus. For decades, schools and lower courts have grappled with the applicable standard for measuring the regulation of a student’s off-campus expression by school officials, with nearly all courts determining Tinkerpermits schools to impose consequences on students for off-campus expression, assuming an adequate showing of substantial disruption to the educational environment or infringement on the rights of other students resulting from the student’s expression.

Mahoney Area School District v. B.L.

[CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ]

This case, this BL judicial opinion does indicate that schools YES indeed CAN regulate what students are saying in very specific circumstances.

Importantly, the court noted various examples of off-campus student speech that may satisfy the Tinker standard and thus be subject to regulation as well as disciplinary and extracurricular consequences. Such examples include sexually harassing expression, bullying, or threats of violence targeting a student, staff member, or school site.

And at 11 AM on WCHE Friday this will be a topic of conversation.

I think these kids should be removed from the district, and I hope the teachers sue the district and the parents , and finally ? Consider a strike .

How to show support for the GVSD teachers:

  • come to the school board meeting this Monday 7/15 at 7:30pm
  • speak when it’s time for public comment, even if it’s just to stay you stand with all teachers and staff. Because they are all experiencing trauma and stress of some degree.
  • if you cannot attend, send an email and cc the superintendent and all school board members, their contact info is on the website. https://www.gvsd.org/

Thanks for stopping by .

meta stupid

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Facebook/Meta/Instagram is making people crazy. Their artificial intelligence and algorithms and lack of human touch, or intelligence is staggering.

Yesterday, a lady I help with her group posted an article from a news source called VISTA Today, which is well known in our area. The algorithm police removed it. Said it was spam. The post she was trying to about a block party! Below is the link so you can see it for yourself.

https://vista.today/2024/07/chester-county-oic-sullivan-block-party/

As part of this lady’s admin team, I contested the removal because it wasn’t spam and it was germane to the geographical area of the group as in where it is located. Then I tried to post it again and then they removed my post and said it was spam.

Again, this is a share of a regional news blip talking about an upcoming community event. A block party that’s also in need of sponsors. Gosh, Meta/Facebook that’s terrible! Who on earth would want to read about a nonprofit event anyway? It’s much easier to see all the fake posts for duct cleaning and auto detailing and the post about the dog that I think has died in almost every region of the country at this point and oh, what’s the latest thing? Taking pictures of kids and saying they are missing when they’re not missing but those posts are OK. Our community ones are not?

That’s some kind of BS.

Facebook / Meta did this to me a while back with something else. I put a post up in a gifting group that I manage to apologize to people because they were getting weird almost Facebook ads within our group for other groups. We were not doing it and had no control.

Unbelievably, they labeled this post as “sexual exploitation.” I have been contesting this since December, because their algorithms and artificial intelligence took down a post that was pretty specific and fairly benign. It was an apology to our group members and they labeled it as something illegal and criminal.

But they allow how much cyber bullying and cyber harassment to go on? They don’t even keep kids safe? And since that whole thing exploded in the Great Valley School District, you have dumb kids whose parents aren’t educating them, mostly girls, who are just accepting random people into their Instagram , TikTok and Facebook accounts who are in middle school!

Here is what a friend said:

I work via a non-profit with some of the kids/families that know about this Great Valley mess. I want to share this quick story. I’d also like to start by saying I don’t think I’m a better smarter parent!

But this was weird and uncomfortable to see first hand…

I was visiting a family and one of the girls in middle school walked up to me and asked me if I’d heard about it. This is now NATIONAL news…maybe even international on some platforms if they’re really itching for a story. When I said I had, she opened up her TikTok, also her Instagram, and said she AND her friends were all blowing up. They have hundreds (maybe more) new strangers of all age and all genders following them. Some of the kids that even have changed their page to private are still accepting requests from people who “look ok” to gain higher numbers of likes or whatever. She messaged a few people who requested, that “looked ok” and was told she and others were found searching up different versions of the tags for the school, the district, etc.

There are hundreds of likes and comments on some of the videos still up or somehow related. Then people are even just adding others through that. I’m talking about kids not affiliated at all with the mess, and just dancing with sports team or school clubs or even at home.

My first thought was, “Oh crap…this could be really dangerous…” We’re flipping through what are meant to be harmless and cute videos and pics of kids in their swimsuits, shirts off, and light/skimpy clothing (because it’s summer and hot). Some of the songs are vulgar (I’m sure the kids don’t think much about that and just like the beat or whatever.) But my point is, that can invite some weirdos, perverts, or people who are just No Bueno.

Please consider sharing this story with your kids, remind them of strangers, and remind them to keep their info private or cross check to know that they know people who request them…or think before they make videos with friends at sleepovers or while they’re out. The world can be a crazy place..**Editing to add that I help/assist on occasion (indirectly affiliated) with those who have experienced trafficking in different ways (somewhat locally-don’t want to cause a huge commotion or deter from the basic point of the post)…but it’s a very real threat

The screenshot above is another that I’ve been challenging them on, that I was merely sharing something from a public page about yet another nonprofit event at that time. Again, the algorithms and artificial intelligence deemed it a threat. How are nonprofit events in your own community a threat? What is so broken about their algorithms and artificial intelligence that they can’t see what something is about?

Why is it you can’t ever get a real person to respond to you?

I clicked on some of their rules when asking for a review recently of one of these posts. This is what they said which had zero to do with the community events posts that had been shared and removed. Note what I am sharing:

And these posts are removing that they say are going against cyber security, and things like that are not bad. And this is happening to everyone. I’m just pointing out the couple of examples were I’ve experienced the craziness and you can request a review, but nobody ever gets back to you.

It’s a broken hamster wheel.

It’s like all my friends who have gotten their Facebook accounts hacked. Some of them were never able to get their Facebook accounts back and a few ended up deleting them somehow because otherwise, a stranger had all their photos and memories. My sister had this happen with her Instagram account and she’s careful with her passwords. She lost an account that had precious memories she will never get back. And Meta/Instagram never got back to her.

Now speaking of Instagram, you know how they encourage us to make reels? And reels are like little mini videos of snippets of your life for those not familiar.

With regard to Instagram I don’t do things like use it to get dressed or undressed in front of you so you can see all the clothes I’m wearing. For me it’s usually garden or pets.

Instagram is literally for me away to connect with friends and family and I keep it small. I also will do things like share my cooking because I like to do that. But I’m not a wannabe influencer so you don’t have dozens of little reels of me with food falling out of my mouth in restaurants. Or looking like a fireplug wrapped in bad Lilly Pullitzer.

But what did Instagram do? They took down two little reels that are memories I have of pets who died. And why did they take it down? For some kind of copyright infringement of music they allowed in their library of music choices. I’m truly bummed out about this because they are memories of my pets of the past and it’s cruel. But again you can’t get anyone to get back to you.

It’s absolutely maddening. You can not use foul language and post benignly and your stuff gets removed, yet you have people vomiting all over these social media platforms with literally fake news and pornography and all sorts of other things.

I’m beginning to wonder if social media is worth it? I mean in some regards it is because you can stay connected to people in your life who don’t live close by, but then you have all the other issues plus the psychology of social media where people can’t post honestly, they post fake lives.

But I do think it is completely crazy what they say is ok versus what they remove. And their customer service is a joke.

Thanks for listening.

sometimes life is like a pot of chili.

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Sometimes it seems like life is like a pot of chili. You’ve been making chili for years, yet every time it’s a little bit different you add the spices sometimes you add more spices sometimes you add more heat, sometimes less heat.

I have removed people from this website like I remove them from my blog’s Facebook page. This is my space these are my rules. And if you’re going to be as rude AF and generally crazy I don’t want you leaving comments it’s like adding too much salt to a recipe.

So when I ban people a lot of times, they just keep leaving comments. I never see them as they go to spam. Today I went and looked in my spam folder and they’re literally two women I removed a couple of years ago if not longer who still feel the need to tell me how to write, how to think, how to do pretty much everything and live my life. A crazy number of comments.

I don’t have to agree with everyone, and everyone does not have to agree with me. However, this crazy ass world we live in contains a giant dose of a misplaced sense of entitlement, which provides a giant disconnect in life. And amusement.

I’m still laughing at the School District’s excuse for not expelling those kids who harassed their teachers because they might be infringing upon their First Amendment rights. There is a difference between expressing your opinion, and what those spawns of Satan did. And there have been plenty of times where I have gone out of my way to support the Great Valley School District. Not this time.

hey great valley school district, wtf 😳????

Ironically, one of the banned wonders left a comment that was in the spam folder. She commented that these horrible middle schoolers are often a direct reflection of their parents. And that’s true. They have to learn the behavior somewhere and not just on the Internet.

And let’s talk about these adults. I don’t have to tolerate them. I can have whomever I want on my blog’s Facebook page and on my blog‘s website. I had this one guy today tell me he was American, so it his goddamn right to say whatever he wanted anywhere. Sure, honey, in the comfort of your own home. It has nothing to do with me. If I think you’re a jackass, and I don’t want to listen to your comments, that’s all that matters, it’s my space.

And again, I don’t mind a little spice or a little heat but if you’re going to act like a charm school reject, I am not going to put up with you.

Now another post that has all these people in a lather is because I posted that the no parking signs went up on route 100 in front of the Brickette Lounge.

giddy up brickette patrons: no parking on 100 now in place

Oh, the comments for this have been priceless. I’m anti-American. I am anti-small business and I am blue, I must be blue about everything. Is that a emotional state of mind? Am I supposed to be a sixty -year-old member of the Blue Man Group?

How simple and suffering from the disease of stupidity are these people? I didn’t do this, West Whiteland and state both agreed that it’s dangerous for these bar patrons to park up in down a State Highway which like it or not even the section of Route 100 is. And as for the side road Kirkland Avenue, sorry, not sorry you had dozens of residents stand up at the West Whiteland meeting begging for help.

My crime? I wrote about it. Yet these people make it all about me.

The idiots delight comments on this include. I must have a hard time parking on shoulders. I mean seriously? It’s not about me. I don’t go there, and if I did and I didn’t find a parking space? I would leave. 

Patrons of the Brickette are parking illegally and dangerously. It’s common sense. And that is why PennDot and West Whiteland have erected no parking signs on 100 and Kirkland. This means that people now can be ticketed and/or towed for unsafe and illegal parking practices. But it’s easier to attack me. Facts don’t matter. And the facts are I wrote about it, I didn’t put the signs up. And we all know that if any of these people yammering atme got in an accident, because of one of these parking situations they would be caterwauling to the high heavens demanding “justice.”

People, if you don’t like tickets take it up with the bar. They are making money hand over fist at this location and they make money hand over fist at their other locations. They can surely spring for a remote parking lot with shuttle service or valet. However, the reality is that people have told me the bar has asked people not to park on side streets or 100.

It’s like when I write about the school board races or the crazy Klanned Karenhood has masks at school board meetings. A lot of these people get removed from the school board meetings and I’m sure somehow that’s my fault as well.

And then there was the MAGA screamer anti-vaxxer from the Tredyffrin area. She likes to run around and tell people I am a horrible person. Oh my gosh, she was the one posting photos of me in my hospital gown from circa 2011 right before my breast cancer surgery asking who I was. Klassy.

And let us not forget the tutu queen from the laundromat with F-me pumps in Downingtown. Her favorite thing was telling me a few years ago what a nasty person I was. A terrible woman…of course she used to have a “business” empowering….wait for it….women. She seems to have disappeared because she met a new man. Bless her heart.

But what all these women have in common is you’re only OK as a woman or as a person as long as you agree 100% with their crazy ass rhetoric. Then they stop God blessing you and start cursing you. Or God blessing you AND cursing you because they are such good “Christians.”

There are more people. There are so many more male and female. They think they’re so clever and they’re just pretty basic. They seem threatened by anything that falls outside the realm of their every day existence. They are threatened by anyone who doesn’t think exactly the way they think or they think people should think.

It’s all a little crazy actually.

Take a woman that used to be fine participating on my blog’s Facebook page. Until today, and I answered her questions to the best of my ability and that wasn’t sufficient. She is one of those ones who just kept going. Comment after comment after comment. She subsequently curses on my blog’s Facebook page and then she sends me this lovely private message:

Condescending B, really? Pot meet kettle. She was a little shocking, and then somewhat pathetic when she deleted the comments on my blog’s Facebook page where she could be seen cursing and continued to tell me what a terrible, horrible nasty person I was. Essentially, I should be treated this way by everyone.

No, actually I should not. And in case, purported adults, if you all wonder how and why kids emulate certain behavior on social media, look in the freaking mirror.

I suffered a great personal loss recently. It makes you look at life and what’s important. What’s not important is the ridiculousness of some people. I am not anyone’s whipping girl.

I don’t pretend to be perfect and I also don’t pretend to be holier than thou. But I am tired of stupid human tricks…including from middle schoolers.

Oh, and my opinions are brought to you courtesy of the First Amendment. If you don’t like them, scroll past.

Byeeee 👋