Farewell Facebook

Finally. I have long awaited this day. 

Not long from now, in a week or so, I will delete my personal Facebook account. And I have long awaited this day. At least from the time that I mentioned that I had been assaulted on New York Law School's campus by Stephen Nesbit in 2014, and Howard Meyers--lawyer, professor, and esteemed member of New York Law School--demanded that I remove all social media references to the assault, on behalf of New York Law School's Harassment and Discrimination Review Board, then comprised of Howard Meyers, Erika Wood, and Jeffery Becherer, all employees of New York Law School. 

At least for now, I will keep Instagram open (I'll explain at a later date)

No, your eyes do not deceive you. I am not smiling, although I finally have many reasons to do so. I have never admired Mark Zuckerberg, and finally I can no longer justify continuing on a platform that creates wealth for him. Particularly when I weigh the role his company has played in adversely impacting democracy and communities that I am fighting to elevate. So, I will delete my personal Facebook page and I will not use Facebook to advertise any business venture that I support. 

It wasn't just that predator-supporting New York Law School students copied information from my Facebook and gave it to morally weak lawyers at NYLS, who believed I could be bullied into silence. 

It was the lack of justifiable good that Zuckerberg and his product contribute to society in general. 

It was a why moment for me. Why the hell did WE allow Zuckerberg and Facebook to become so powerful? Do they cure cancer, end campus assault, end  rape, feed millions of underfed, decrease the infant mortality rate, or increase life spans? Have they solved poverty, homelessness, opioid usage, incarceration issues--do they do anything meaningful and positive for anyone, anywhere? 

Then why the hell do we care so much about Zuckerberg and his product?

At some point, Americans (even white American males) must be held accountable for their acts and omissions. Zuckerberg can't be this revolutionary billionaire when awards are being handed out, and then an unwitting and innocent boy when it comes time to take responsibility for damage created and made possible by a product that he created. This is the same defense that millions of Americans were willing to give to Trump, and that allowed a man wholly incompetent to become president of the United States. 

The 'reign of terror'--Trump's presidency--which continues to devastate, destabilize, and wreak havoc in lives and communities foreign and domestic  was made possible and more likely by efforts that capitalized on Zuckerberg's Facebook. I can neither condone the undoing of democracy or be complicit by doing nothing. So, I'm kissing Facebook goodbye. 

People began showing me rape scars, asking me to do something. I didn't want vulnerable people seeking me out on social media, because I knew the platforms were not safe. I knew the lengths the 'lawyers of tomorrow' and those already practicing in the U.S. were willing to go in order to protect predators who were white, wealthy, and would sell their souls. ​

I'm doing something.
stay tuned

I compartmentalize a lot. When I am exhausted, I rest and find serenity. However, I cannot justify spending valuable time on Facebook when I have work to do that most have abandoned because the personal cost was deemed too high. 

It matters in this moment if we decide to leave or to stay. It always has. Whether we’re talking about staying with a lying, cheating  or abusive partner, remaining at a job where you’re discriminated against or violated, or doing an unconscionable, morally reprehensible act because you’re offered money; your decision matters.

Whether Facebook and its creator believes your decision as individuals matters is another issue, and completely irrelevant. Still do something. 

Since that moment when lawyers employed by New York Law School invaded the social media space for an untoward purpose, not advised explicitly or implicitly in any U.S. state or federal law, I no longer invited new contacts to join my social media circles. The space was no longer enjoyable or safe. I had witnessed just how far the morally and legally repugnant were willing to go. And I didn't want to expose anyone else. I also deleted LinkedIn-with cause. 

Of course this is only a blurb in a much longer, more complicated story. But, I have work to do, so this will have to do for now. Because of all that I have experienced particularly in the last four years of life in the U.S., I was tempted to run away, and live a happy and luxurious life abroad. Spending days with the social elite, seated front row, with a personal staff, provided for by wealth that I did not myself earn. My only claim of right would be that I married wealthy, and so I was entitled to live a blissfully blind lifestyle. 

And then I came to my senses. 

I was born Theresa Giovanna Bailey. I am a U.S. citizen, woman of color, Marine veteran, and voter. I believe in women's rights, civil rights, human rights, education, equality, diversity, and justice. New York Law School, perpetrators of  injustice, the lazy, complacent, rapists, and racists may have slowed me down a bit, but there is no way I am walking away from a fight. 

Bella Caveat will be a force in the U.S. 
unafraid to call people and companies out by name 
irreverent when we have to be 
and we have friends across the globe 

I cannot become like the women who have left me so uninspired, just like the reality television shows that are unwatchable to me because I am  living a real life. 

I have sacrificed nothing that uninspired women boasts at 'the height' of their success. I have merely delayed the fulfillment in order to make a better deal. A deal worth writing home about. And I still have my soul and my dignity. 

P.s. I haven't read, responded to Facebook for a few years. I will do so before I delete the account. 

What's up Next for me?

• Bailey v. New York Law School is now in Discovery in the Southern District of New York, federal court. Most of my time is still spent on the case (The lawsuit turns 2 years old April 21, 2018). 
• Bailey v. New York Law School is also in the Court of Appeals, since 2018. The lower court's December 2017 decision was to dismiss FIVE people from the case. But, legal precedent is in my favor, so we appealed. Not one law breaker goes free, that's my position. Not one. 
• Bella Caveat is a U.S. entity, but ultimately is part of a global network, which has been substantially delayed because of the lawsuit. The irony is that the entity will handle cases such as the one I am involved in--with a global force. (The idea largely came together because I had much more support from overseas than in the U.S. at a critical time when that support would have made the difference in avoiding so much of the trauma I've endured, including spending two years in litigation.)