The Digital Pillory

Dear Reader,

You’ve probably stumbled across this webpage accidentally during a cursory web search of my first and last name. The following is my attempt to correct the record and take a stand against the deplorable behavior of a particular journalist who has seemingly been nursing a vendetta against me for the last several years. Almost six years ago, Ms. Krystal K. Knapp (KKK henceforth for brevity) published my name and other identifying information about me on her news-oriented Word Press blog. The disparaging item consistently appears very high first page search results of almost all major search engines for my relatively uncommon name as a record of a number of charges brought against me by the town of Princeton while I was a graduate student at the university. The most damning and attention-grabbing item is the charge of DUI in a school zone as a result of a car accident. Succinct in her description, KKK misrepresents and sensationalizes an unfortunate event from many years ago of dismissed charges. However, due to the peculiarity of NJ law in this matter and my own ignorance and chagrin, I missed the window of opportunity to pursue a claim of defamation against KKK. Furthermore, dismissed charges in NJ are ineligible for expungement and therefore remains on a copy of my driving abstract with NJMVC.  

I sincerely regret having to resort to self-publishing my own narrative to provide additional context and information. However, after repeated requests over the last several years, KKK has ignored my requests and most recently alleges that she has removed my name or suppressed the item from search results which can be found here. I can understand KKK’s (personal) resolve to hold me accountable for these allegations. Yet, it appears spiteful, prejudicial, and arbitrary how she has chosen to single me out for her digital pillory, Planet Princeton. I do not know KKK personally and am unaware of any personal connection to her despite the fact that we are both graduates of schools in the town of Princeton, New Jersey. I am not fit to judge whether her academic or professional ethics support her behavior or if her readers are aware of this incredibly hurtful and glaring bias. In brief, KKK does not choose to publish every item or even names consistently in her periodic police blotters. So, I asked her in the public forum where she has delighted in denigrating my character over the last several years!

KKK hastily deleted my comments from public visibility, blocked my IP address so that I could no longer view her blog, and finally chided me privately for being charged in the first place. Maybe I should obey the law next time, she taunted. And for good measure, KKK threatened to sue me for harassment if I did not cease my requests for removal from her blog. Indeed, this dilemma had seemingly no satisfactory resolution.  KKK seems intent on trying to assassinate my character and publicly shame me for something about which she could only legally know very limited details. Was she trying to bait me into some kind of public dispute or enhance her own “credibility” or “celebrity” via a feud? For the first few years, I was shocked and intimidated by how she was trading upon her platform in the town that she is privileged to represent. Having a relatively uncommon name and without and fame or celebrity to contribute, I was at a loss for how to proceed, especially as I journeyed through life: graduating university, applying for jobs, starting new endeavors, and finally submitting applications to medical school.

So, if you found this webpage and you’re curious, allow me to tell you in my own words, lest you feel embarrassed to inquire about the charges. I was involved in a one-car accident one evening after dropping a friend home. I made a right turn onto a narrow, winding road after it had just begun to rain (without speeding), and my car hydroplaned and collided with a guard rail on the outskirts of the “school zone”. No persons or animals were injured or even present at the time of the accident. I voluntarily called the local police for help who later “determined that I had consumed alcoholic beverages according to KKK” I appeared before a local judge several weeks later to answer for the charges which were dismissed. It may also be worthwhile to know that a number of NJ DUI cases have been reopened and are now being re-litigated through post-conviction relief due to a landmark case that found faulty breathalyzer equipment. In the following months after adjudication, I was awarded a Secret-level security clearance by the U.S. government. 

That’s what you thought happened though, right? Maybe this is true for some who are acutely aware of current events or have had their own personal sagas with any kind of “revenge” publications or unflattering search results. However, I suspect there might be a significant and silent majority who are eager to believe calumny like this. Plus, the fact that it’s been present high on the results page for many years must only add to its credibility, right?. I’m not lobbying for a European-style “right to be forgotten” law or making a sociopolitical argument about shame, nor do I expect to win a war of words against this hard-nosed journalist. Rather, I would ask the reader to be cautious about the information you choose to accept and allow to guide your decisions whether implicitly or explicitly. It’s commonplace to google everyone you meet these days, but as KKK may now understand anyone can publish text online. The internet has authorized anyone to conduct their own unofficial background checks and public opinion trials.

Don’t get me wrong: I think that this can be good in many cases. More information is usually better and key to good decision-making like for research or sometimes just for entertainment. Free speech is a hallmark of this great nation.

Although I’m hardly KKK’s only victim here*, it appears that I am the only person who is willing to confront and challenge this behavior through reasoned arguments. It is unfortunate that the people of Princeton continue to condone and celebrate this kind of journalism that is fundamentally racist, misleading, and unfair. I hope that by sharing my personal experience I can raise awareness about different forms that prejudice and cyberbullying can take. Let’s all pledge to be responsible with our platforms and be decent to each other. Remember that someone can always tell the truth on you too and that each person is the protagonist of his or her own epic tale.

*Just look at a few of these articles and try to reason for yourself why some names are broadcast and others are not. Note: it is illegal to publish the names of minors, whistleblowers, and survivors of sexual assault under some conditions in NJ.

-Stephen Chaisson

Stephen is 2015 graduate of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in International Relations. He earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University and has worked in international development as an RPCV. He currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland where he works in the healthcare field with the ambition of becoming a doctor of medicine.