I think that it should be acknowledged that it's quite a simple matter for a patient and determined investigator to amass reams of information about another person, especially in our interlinked information age. It's just the nature of the times we live in.
I recall, for example, when I had to hire a private investigator to help locate my son (my ex-wife had absconded with him). He asked for information not just on her, but on the woman I thought she might be staying with.
A couple of days later I had for him not just the woman's name, address and phone number, but also e-mail address, photograph, SSN, work history, social activity history, religious affiliations, the value of her home, and much more. All from looking online, patiently and with the determination of a very frightened father.
Now imagine what information can be pulled by a professional investigator (which I am assuredly not; I'm just fairly decent with a search engine) on someone who frequently posts online at Free Republic, or for that matter DU or any online community.
It's essentially, I've come to believe, the cost of doing political business. Sometimes your life is an open book, and sometimes it's not. Yes, there are indeed people who will attempt to dig into your life and use what they find to intimidate, harass or threaten. It isn't, of course, fun by any stretch of the imagination.
I suppose I have a slightly thicker skin by necessity. I came to FR following my involvement with the Tyranny Response Team. The TRT was confrontational, very public and rather radical. So steeling myself to be resolute in the face of this sort of investigative invasion has, perhaps, been somewhat of a necessary default. It's one of the reasons I always use my name on forums, instead of a handle. It's my own way of forcing myself to be brave, and to stand up for what I believe in despite the occasional hate mail or online nonsense.
You simply cannot hide. So I might as well put my game face forward and remember that ultimately, my safety and that of my family doesn't depend upon the goodwill or courtesy of others - but the knowledge that I am alert, armed, and have large dogs on the property. Which, in the final analysis, seems a better support than presumed anonymity anyway.
There are good and bad folks out there. Generally, good folks won't - as has been noted here - do this sort of thing, and will nearly always be repulsed by it. And that's good, and a worthwhile thing to remember.
About seven months ago a
former poster on FR posted a rather vicious written assault against me on a discussion
thread. I still read it from time to time, as a good reminder that an extremely thick skin is necessary for those who wish to be publicly politically active. And, of course, when you're receiving flak - you're over the target. Judging by
this, the poster still festers a bit about our exchange.
And that's really okay.
It is instructive to research yourself from time to time, just to see what's out there. A good habit; a bit like surveying your property line once every few months, looking for snipped fence links or unwanted dumping. We live in an age where virtuality is as real as the physical.