Kind of O/T but I was reading this book The Anatomy of Motive: The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals by John E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker and the two ex-profilers were discussing stalkers and mass murderers, serial killers and the danger signs, etc, explaining the difference between MM and SK.
The authors described how a serial killer works and it's alarmingly like stalkers in that they fixate on their target and find out everything there is to know about the target. They get the target's schedule down within the first few days because we're all creatures of habit. They know everything there is to know about you.
The stalker is relentless unless s/he becomes fixated with someone else (Jodi ...) and that's about the only way you're going to get rid of a stalker.
Just about the time I got the chills and was feeling freaked, the next paragraph was something like, "Your chances of being targeted by a serial killer are almost infinitesimal. You shouldn't worry about it or spend a lot of time obsessing about it. The chances of you being targeted are just so small."
Relieved, I turned the page. Then this: "But if by some chance you are targeted by a serial killer, you're dead. They've followed you, they've been in your house, they've touched your things, they've spent countless hours watching you. Once you're targeted, there isn't much that can be done to stop him."
The book went flying across the room and sat in a corner for days. DAYS. I finally creeped over to it, picked it up with my fingertips and dumped the book into the trash bin. Outside.
Totally irrational response but that was the closest I hope I'll ever get to even sort of understanding how a stalking victim feels.
uke:
