I am a trusting person. I think we all have to be, if we are to bear our souls as we do on our blogs. Today, several of us who have written for She. More Than a Pronoun discovered that our words have been stolen and posted on another's blog. Two others, actually. That we know of.
Mine were plagiarized by a young woman who goes by the name of "Blossom" on thought.com. I have reported her to the administrators of the site, e-mailed her directly, and posted comments on her blog warning her fans than they should not trust her posts. In doing so, I discovered that we are not her first victims. Apparently, she has been caught at this before.
What she and another blogger named Lightspeed (also on thoughts.com,) have done is sleazy at best and illegal at worst. It would be nice to think that they will be kicked off the site and the issue will be over. But I know in my heart that this won't be how it plays out. Sure, the site may kick them off, but they will simply move on, and target someone else.
I'm seriously pissed off that Blossom stole my words. But worse, she stole my trust.
I know that, thanks to her, I will be censoring my every word I write from now on. And it just won't be the same.
P.S. In order to post a comment on Blossom's blog, I had to join thoughts.com. I did so about an hour ago, using a picture of a thunderous sky (reflecting my mood) as my profile picture and not one word of personal information. As I was writing this, I received mail from another thoughts.com users, a woman, hitting on me! Good grief.
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obviously she likes storms...smiles.
ReplyDeletei saw on Ti's yesterday and it is dispicable...i agree it is like amind rape...but if you do begin to change how you write, she wins. when i had my stalker, i felt betrayed, disgusted, and i still see her on many of my friends blogs and at first i thought i might just quit, or change th way i write, or start over....but there is no way i let her win....
How did you find out about this?
ReplyDeletePatti- please don’t censor what you write or how you write. Don’t let a bubble-head bimbo have the last word on your words. This whole experience has been frustrating beyond belief, but in the end the words that speak loudest are our own.
ReplyDeleteThe very fact that we have strong, independent, clear, powerful, individual voices makes it blazing obvious when someone outright steals our thoughts and rebrands them as their own.
Blossom and Lightspeed stole my words, invaded both Element22 and ‘She’ without compunction, without regard, without conscience. They amputated phrases, corrupted sentences and bastardized heartfelt words in a pathetic attempt to claim some sort of entitlement to the mind behind the words.
I can tell you this: they stole from me, but they will not change me. I’ve been violated in ways far worse than this, and if I let any single one of the individuals have the last say- I’d be silenced forever. From the very inception of ‘She. More than a Pronoun.’, the premise was the UnSilencing. Giving voice to words, to thoughts, to ideas.
To be a midwife of the soul to others who are seeking to find their voice, it requires getting one’s hands dirty from time to time. So, we are up to our shoulders in the distasteful part of the birthing process- it does not have to affect the new life, the birth of courage and strength and hope.
The very fact that one of our readers at ‘She’ remembered the words written on the ‘About’ page and knew the true source is testimony to the fact that we are making a difference. One post at a time. Let the imitators play their petty games. I’ve done what I can at Thoughts.com and will be deleting my profile over there today (like you, I only set one up in order to deal with this situation). I’ve no use for a social forum that’s nothing more than a breeding ground for narcissistic, manipulative, empty-headed idiots.
As for the two (or more) individuals who are so hollow, shallow and devoid of independent thought that they deemed it necessary to steal my words- any yours- and Tam’s- and PJ’s- and Karen’s… may they reap the whirlwind of life’s darkest experiences that led us to give voice to these thoughts.
Sorry- that's "and yours"- not 'any'.
ReplyDeleteBrian and Ti: Thanks for the advice. I suspect it'll take a while to write without consideration of when the words may end up. But I won't let them silence me.
ReplyDelete00dozo: Someone recognized Titanium's words on Blossom's blog and alerted her. PK went to Blossom's blog and discovered a piece of hers. Ti did some research, and found one of mine as well as pieces from two other contributors to She. I'm not sure how Ti found out about Lightspeed, but between these two, they've hit two of Ti's blogs (they couldn't hope to write with Ti's talent and power were they to live forever).
What is unknown is how many other blogs they have stolen from and how many of them there are on thoughts.com who are doing this. To be honest, based on the solicitations I've received since joining in order to post less than 24 hours ago, it seems like they have more than their share of sleaze over there.
Nauseating, all of it.
Wow, that really is low. I agree with Brian, and think you shouldn't change the way you write.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely don't change. People like that are despicable to say the least and will eventually get theirs.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard when others do these things but we can't let them stop the good words.
Thanks for the info ... I did breeze by Thoughts.com, but I still don't know or understand how Blossom came upon Ti's or your blogs - he/she/they would have to Google a specific phrase, no?
ReplyDeleteBut, no worries. I agreee with the rest - don't censor yourself. Copyright (or use some other protection) [ack! that sounded bad], because we all enjoy your posts and don't want you to change.
Gad. I didn't even know thoughts.com existed. Never been there. But this does give me pause. It takes a lot of work and sweat and angst and bravery for me to write my fiction and place it on my blog for the world to see. That it might be stolen just boggles the mind. Stealing another's ideas and hard work is just as low as stealing from their homes or bank accounts. I understand how you feel, Patti - completely.
ReplyDeleteI'm angry - Grrrrrr - and it didn't even happen to me. At least not that I'm aware of.
I'm sorry this happened to you, Patti. Please don't let it stop your wonderful writing and sharing. You matter to me.
ReplyDeletethis happened to a poet on wordpress Dean Baker... over a year ago...somebody in another country was just company his work and posting...I keep writing..people can steal your work but, they can never back up that they wrote..it...that is why I keep writing...that and because I love to write...please do not stop sharing...it is a wake up call but like Brian said....do not let them win...bkm
ReplyDelete