JonMon lawsuit

[moechus.livejournal.com]

I have offered my help to a couple of people involved and earlier this evening I attended a meeting with a few people. I thought I should make my offer public to anyone who is involved. Feel free to contact me. In particular, if you got one of those obnoxious letters offering to settle, I would be happy to write a response to his lawyer (where I think the response should go, because I suspect his lawyer is unaware of these letters and they are highly improper).

By the way, I am a lawyer.

Comments

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's just my anxiety disorder acting up again, but I'm uneasy with the idea that somebody who behaves badly enough must therefore be mentally ill. Sure, Jonmon has shown all along that he is not wise or sensible. He's shown all along that he doesn't respect people's boundaries. There's a difference between not seeing a boundary, and trying to slide past it. He's not making completely wild attacks on whoever happens to be standing next to him--he's making deliberate attacks on people he believes to be vulnerable. That's not crazy, it's just mean.

[molyflogs.livejournal.com]

That's a fair criticism. I read the lawsuit and one of my concerns is his attempt to make connections where none exist and, yes, his creepy behavior. Maybe he's just a creepy guy with an attorney who should be embarrassed for filing this suit.

[jikamens.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiosity, has he sent his threat letters to both men and women, or just women? I've seen a lot of women saying they've received them, but I don't recall whether any of the postings I've seen have been from men.

I am asking because it seems to me, also, that he's going after vulnerable people, and given what his character seems to me, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he puts women into the "vulnerable" category more so than men.

I suppose it's also possible that because of his previous conduct toward women, they tend to talk about him critically on-line more than men. Those of us men who are not creeps don't like creepy men any more than the women do, but there's no getting around the fact that there's a certain kind of creepy behavior that impacts women more, and more viscerally, than men. *sigh*

The answer to this question may be obvious to the folks who have hung out here for a long time. I'm not an active member of this community -- I've never lived in Somerville and just ended up here because I find JonMon's actions so appalling and want to keep following the story both because it is fascinating, in a can't-not-stare-at-the-car-accident sort of way, and in case there's something I can do to help.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Well, Cos and Ron Newman got one, and I know at least one other man has received an email. So I don't think it's limited to women, but the preponderance of the letters do seem to be arriving to them.

If I had to guess, he's using a "background check" type website for his legwork that collects public records to find the names he doesn't recognize. Apparently a lot of his data comes from voter registration records and the like. A lot of them let you subscribe monthly for a flat fee. Considering that he's not hiring a constable or sending them registered mail...

[ron_newman]

Actually no, I did not receive such a letter.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Heh, whoops, yeah, the actual suit doesn't count as a "letter", does it?

[ron_newman]

He did send me e-mail, a few hours after I was served, offering to meet me at Johnny D's or some other local place of our choice "to discuss a resolution". I did not respond to this in any way.

In any event, the letter has gone to several men including genesayssitdown.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

I did not respond to this in any way.

EXCELLENT CALL!

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

men have received both letters and phone calls.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't believe him to be mentally ill. I'm just of the opinion he's an asshole and a would-be bully.

[jadelennox]

+1 to the idea that we should not be conflating bad behavior and mental illness. Plenty of people with mental illness don't act like this; plenty of people who act like this are just massive douchenozzles. I have no knowledge which would allow me to make any speculations in this particular case -- I am just commenting about the conflation. It's the more extreme and worrying version of "He's so aspie" meaning "he has no social graces".

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

Oh for LJ to have a "Like" button. Without it I'm reduced to just saying "this", so... This.

I've been feeling the same way when people talk about him being mentally ill. I don't know anything about his mental state one way or the other, but unreasonable and mentally ill neither imply nor exclude one another, at least not in a way that makes "is he crazy?" a worthwhile thing to ponder, IMO.

[eustaciavye.livejournal.com]

*puts on professional hat* Also, even if a person is mentally ill and there IS a connection between their mental illness and creepy behavior, that does not make them any less responsible for their actions. I say this as someone who has counseled felons who were both emotionally/mentally ill when they committed their crimes AND aware that said crimes were their own damn fault.

Mental illness is NOT a get out of jail free card because mental illness doesn't MAKE you do terrible things that hurt other people. And the last thing people with mental illness need is the public getting the idea that they are dangerous just because of their health status.

I'd remove my professional hat now, but I am actually in my office :)