Name Redacted

If you could go back in time, would you have used your real name on Facebook regarding participation in the Occupy Movement?

Because I didn’t.

In 2011, I had dozens of reasons not to use my name on social networking sites in relation to the Occupy Movement. Since I’m not a famous person, it’s not like my name would have galvanized people to join the Occupy Movement anyway.

These are the times I gave my name to the media regarding Occupy:

1. When Louisiana Weekly wanted to interview someone about Occupy NOLA and didn’t know that GAs were still being held, I said the writer could quote me.

2. When Justin, the love of my life and the founding member of Occupy The Stage was in jail, I gave my name at a press conference because I was the only one who could explain the complex details to the reporter and he demanded my name.

3. When, as the plaintiff in the ACLU Clean Zone lawsuit against Mayor Landrieu, I won the right to Free Speech for everyone in New Orleans.

I tweeted my full name in June when Justin was in jail because I was being threatened by trouble-makers on Twitter. A known troll and a known agent provocateur were using Twitter to tell other Occupy groups not to show solidarity during jail support. They were tweeting lies about Justin, and one of them tried to tweet my name but couldn’t spell it correctly.

The agent provocateur knew of a situation regarding my job and social networking, and she tried to intimidate me on Twitter, so I changed my avi to my face and tweeted my full name. I have my tweet archive now, so here it is:

This is the last thing I can do in #solidarity w/ @ots_nola who put his name out there & is in jail. Tara Jill Ciccarone. #FreeOTS_Nola

— smallidarity(@small_affair) June 26, 2012

My name was obviously published places when I was arrested for filming a peaceful protest in November, but I didn’t see it anywhere online.

There has been no reason for me to use the personal Facebook account I was required to use for my job for Occupy related reasons. I know my tweets have appeared in one FOIA regarding the Occupy National Gathering, and I see no point in intentionally using Facebook to share information that could lead to my family and colleagues being monitored by the FBI or harassed by trolls or annoyed by notifications about the Occupy Movement if they’re not involved in it. Until I lost my job as a direct result of Hurricane Isaac, I was required to interact with my college students on Facebook. It seemed impractical (or outright insane) to post photographs and details about Civil Disobedience on Facebook. The privacy settings on Facebook change too frequently for a reasonable person to entertain the notion that using them would keep information private.


I freely admit that I despise Facebook. I’ve always despised it, and I especially loathe the drama that erupts in Facebook groups over activist quarrels. 

Despite all this, I used it for Occupy reasons because digital media responsibilities seemed to require it, and after the eviction of Occupy NOLA, it was where people shared information.

So I used a different Facebook profile [NameRedacted] in order to keep some type of boundary between my professional life and my activist life.

I did not create this profile for Occupy reasons. It had already been there because at one point, I had good reason to worry about a stalker, and so my “It’s complicated” Facebook boyfriend acted as a buffer. I did not want weird men sending me requests and coming to an art installation at my home and knowing I was single.

When I described my Facebook boyfriend, I said he looked like Julian Assange to protest the anti-WikiLeaks sentiments expressed by my job, which was already monitoring my BlackBerry since it was their procedure.

I’ve told plenty of people this in real life, and I don’t believe for a moment that if the FBI were (is) monitoring me, they’d somehow be tricked. I simply want to keep the boundary there. And I simply hate Facebook and would rather not have every person I meet at a peaceful protest trying to tag me in photographs or looking through my Facebook albums.

Because there are haters out there, and they will certainly hate. Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems Occupy NOLA’s digital life deals with is the active hijacked Facebook page.

While reporting the hijacked page for spam over the weekend, NameRedacted was actually reported for spam as well, and the account was locked twice (details at the end of this). Between lockouts, I added myself to a group whose admins I’ve always respected and considered friends. They are some of the few people who I interact with on FB and respect and care about but haven’t met in real life or explained my Facebook situation to.

I had actually gone as far as to make them a video explaining all of this in January of 2012, but then I didn’t send the email. I had the email in my drafts, and I finally shared it with them. They were more than understanding. I felt a great deal of relief over this.

I was able to unlock NameRedacted’s account, and later this video “Jack-A-Roe” appeared on my wall from one of them.

Lyrics by the Grateful Dead

There was a wealthy merchant, in London he did dwell
He had a Beautiful daughter, the truth to you we’ll tell
Oh the truth to you we’ll tell

She had sweethearts a plenty, and men of high degree
But none but Jack the sailor, her true love ever be
Oh her true love ever be

Jackie’s gone a sailing, with trouble on his mind
He’s left his native country and his darling girl behind
Oh his darling girl behind

She went down to a tailor shop and dressed in man’s array
She climbed on board a vessel to convey herself away
Oh convey herself away

Before you get on board sir, your name we’d like to know
She smiled on her countenance, they called me Jack-A-Roe
Oh they called me Jack-A-Roe

I see your waist is slender, your fingers they are small
Your cheeks too red and rosy to face the cannonball
Oh to face the cannonball

I know my waist’s to slender, my fingers they are small
but it would not make me tremble to see ten thousand fall
Oh to see ten thousand fall

The war soon being over she went and looked around
among the dead and wounded her darling boy she found
Oh her darling boy she found

She picked him up on in her arms and carried him to the town
she sent for a physician to quickly heal his wounds
Oh to quickly heal his wounds

This couple they got married so well they did agree
This couple they got married so why not you and me?
Oh why not you and me?
Oh why not you and me?

And it’s perfect. In the song, you never do find out her name.
In real life, I have a boyfriend who doesn’t use Facebook. We are happy. 

_______________________________________________________________

On Thursday, February 14, the hijacked page began promoting an event that Occupy NOLA wasn’t planning.

I used NameRedacted and reported an event as spam. It was an event that was posted by someone who has never attended an Occupy NOLA GA or event. The person seems to have created a FB profile only to post false info about an “Occupy New Orleans Parish” event at the “Waterfront” in New Orleans.

The event info looks ridiculously fake.

First, Nobody calls Orleans Parish “New Orleans Parish.”

Second, nobody calls the “Riverwalk” the “Waterfront.”

Anyone with any knowledge of Occupy NOLA knows that the Occupy NOLA Digital Media Group is NOT empowered by the GA to arrange large scale occupations or sit-ins without the GA’s involvement.


The person who created this event shared it on the rogue Occupy New Orleans Page and the Occupy NOLA page that Occupy NOLA can access.


On Sunday, NameRedacted’s account was inaccessible because Facebook said there was activity that appeared to be spam resulting from a possible virus.

I had to wait to login from a Mac or Facebook was going to make me purchase McAfee Anti Virus.

From Facebook’s Help Page:
“When I log in to Facebook, I see a message telling me I have a virus and need to scan my computer with anti-virus software.

You’re seeing this message because our systems detected spam or other malicious content posted by your Facebook account. This activity suggests your computer might be infected with malware. In order to keep both your account and the files on your computer secure, your computer needs to be scanned and cleaned. Since we partner with anti-virus vendors like McAfee and Microsoft, you can do this for free by logging into Facebook and following the on-screen directions.”
https://www.facebook.com/help/292760454081612/


Obviously, Facebook shouldn’t be trying to sell McAfee AntiVirus to people who get reported for spam.

However, the fact that a rogue Facebook page is posting fake events indicates that Facebook did not simply decide that an account had a virus.

Please show solidarity with Occupy NOLA by reporting the Rogue Facebook page as a hijacked stolen page —->https://www.facebook.com/OccupyNOLA

and like the Facebook page Occupy NOLA has been using since October 2011 https://www.facebook.com/OccupyNola504

Details are here: http://onola.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/for-immediate-release-disinformation-alert-occupynola-onola/