A Mr. Larry Sweeney, an American Nazi from Glendale, Arizona, has taken it upon himself to make
http://www.shockedandawful.com the target of his brutish threats and intimidation, apparently for failing to step into line behind George W. Bush, and the President's war in Iraq.
It would seem that Mr. Sweeney has spent too much time out there in the Arizona desert, since he finds it utterly inconceivable that a Marine Corps veteran would refuse to support the President in his theft of Iraq's natural resources, and the President's religious crusade against Arabs and Muslims.
He apparently has never heard of the Veterans Against the Iraq War (
http://www.VAIW.org ), The Iraq Veterans Against the War (
http://www.IVAW.org ), the Veterans for Peace (
http://www.veteransforpeace.org /), nor the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (
http://www.VVAW.org ).
After locating the personal address and phone number of ShockedandAwful.com's webmaster through open sources, Mr. Sweeney posted this information on his own website,
http://hard-talk.com , and invited visitors to his website to contact the staff at ShockedandAwful.com, despite the fact that Hard-Talk.com's Privacy Statement clearly says that,
'' The owners of Hard-Talk guarantee that we will never, under any circumstances, make public your personal information, unless you designate otherwise.'' Mr. Sweeny further promises that visitors,
''always will have the option to edit the information provided to us or to have your personal information removed from our records.''
http://hard-talk.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=3676079532&f=252103536&m=4061056321After requesting that this information be removed from his website, Mr. Sweeney has, however, reneged on this promise, and, in fact, did something quite different, and really quite extraordinary.
Mr. Sweeney outrageously demanded that the webmaster of ShockedandAwful.com e-mail to him a copy of the webmaster's DD 214 Military Separation Report (proving military service), as the price to pay to have the personal information removed from Mr. Sweeney's website.
Failure to do so will result in Mr. Sweeney's promise that ShockedandAwful.com's
''problems are just beginning...''
http://hard-talk.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/4451016111/m/6601076291The only thing ShockedandAwful.com intends to prove to Mr. Sweeney is that Sicherheitsdienst (Nazi Brownshirt) tactics are ineffective against true American Patriots, and, more importantly that he is a first-class jerk, and an asshole.
ShockedandAwful.com emphatically refuses to give into this cyber-terrorist's demands, but furthermore, refuses to sink to this man's level: The same open sources Mr. Sweeney used to find the personal information that he is using for blackmail are, of course, available to all.
And Mr. Sweeney's personal information is as easily available.
ShockedandAwful.com will not divulge anymore information concerning this man than has already been revealed.
As legal avenues are also being investigated, ShockedandAwful.com may additionally prove to be, for Mr. Sweeney, a financial burden. The public sources from which the information was obtained apparently maintain a caveat in that the information be used exclusively for legal purposes.
Extortion is probably not considered a legal purpose.
On a personal note, this whole episode reminds me of the 1993 Michael Douglas film, ''Falling Down.''
In the film, Michael Douglas plays a laid off worker who really does not have a good day.
He has previously lost his wife, and now his job, and then gets stuck in L.A.'s grid locked traffic while attempting to deliver a birthday gift to his daughter. Douglas' character mentally, and emotionally snaps, abandons his car, and begins a murderous rampage through the city.
After lashing out against immigrants with poor English skills, gang-bangers, and poor service at a restaurant, Douglas evades the police by taking refuge in a neo-nazi's military surplus shop. The store owner tells Douglas, ''You and me - we're the same." Douglas can't see the obvious comparison, and kills the neo-nazi shop owner.
In the film's climax, a police officer urges Douglas to finally lay down his weapon, and to surrender himself into the officer's custody.
Douglas incredulously asks the officer, ''You think I am the Bad Guy?''
Douglas then repeats his question, but with dawning realization, ''I am the Bad Guy?''
''How can I be the Bad Guy?''
ShockedandAwful.com doesn't know you from the next guy, Mr. Larry Sweeney - you are a total stranger to me.
But one thing is certain:
You are the Bad Guy.