I've been a victim of slander and unrelenting attack on my reputation for 2 years - but the bully finally crossed a line.
My justice begins now.
Background
I got into spreading awareness of important issues, political and otherwise, in 2008. I was transitioning out of a career in psychiatry, working for the provincial government in an acute hospital setting, to running a small online collectibles business. The lifestyle change allowed me to learn some things from the internet I'd never been taught in college, like how the monetary system works, and that the modern economy is essentially completely fake and controlled by elite familes and banks. I learned about sound money, about the message of Liberty, about proper nutrition, and so much more. I began making changes in my life to reflect my expanding consciousness. I cleaned up my diet, educated myself on real history, disentangled myself from much of the mainstream, and began sharing what I had learned with others, first on YouTube, then FaceBook, then Steem and beyond.
Fairly early in this process, I met Katie Hooge (@MediKatie), a young cancer survivor/patient with a powerful and open mind. We fell in love, and our activism became our life's passion and work. The childhood spinal cancer had left her crippled and with no chance to have children, so we dedicated ourselves to the causes of peace, liberty, truth, and love. Cannabis keeps the cancer at bay and takes the edge off her pain. In 10 years together we have participated in dozens of historic protests, court cases, and other events. We've been credited with directly saving lives. We've started successful ongoing activism projects, organized groups, held public events, produced high-quality documentaries and research articles, uploaded over 700 original video productions, and influenced the process of changing the unjust, harmful, outdated Canadian cannabis laws. We have reached millions with the message of freedom. We became the change we wished to see in the world.
For our peaceful efforts, we've suffered losses, been jailed, and been attacked nonstop, but we continue to fight for cannabis and liberty. The costs on activists are many, but in exchange, we get to improve our world. It's worth it, but it's VERY hard. There's a reason almost nobody does it - and it's not because it doesn't need to be done. Activism is very expensive, it's physically and emotionally gruelling, you get hate from almost everyone (even other activists), your family and friends often pull away, people tell you to 'get a job', and it can take years of full-time work to see even a tiny change in the world. Many of us do it not only because we want to, but because we have to.
"MediKatie" and I are well respected locally in the Vancouver cannabis community, and our reputation online is spotless. I have a long and public online history going back over 20 years, including several websites, forums, and businesses. I've never been accused of cheating, lying, scamming, or any related activities. In 20 years of online business and social media, the only thing anyone will ever find about me that could possibly be seen as negative, is that I was almost sued by Hasbro in 2006 for posting about rumoured Magic cards from upcoming sets. It's totally unrelated to any of this, and can be read about on Wikipedia. As for my thousands of business dealings, tens of thousands of eBay customers, my website communities, being part of many online groups, projects, clubs, and so on... I am known as an honest person with essentially a flawless history. Few other people with such a long track record can say that.
Girls of Green
In early 2017, MediKatie and I started @GirlsofGreen on FaceBook, a page seeking to end Canada's cannabis prohibition by normalizing healthy use, especially amongst women. We are all volunteers and the group handles no funds. Models submit their photos and videos to be shared on our page, and despite heavy shadowbanning by FaceBook, it has steadily grown in popularity and size. At any one time we tend to have between 3 and 10 cannamodels. Before long, we were also posting to Steem.
Our idea for Girls of Green was a fun, simple, low-stress way to conduct meaningful activism. MediKatie is one of our models. The two of us together do the editing and make the project decisions. As you can imagine, modeling (and online activism itself) can bring with it potential sources of drama. Our strategy for dealing with problems is to confront them and try to seek a quick resolution, but then cut them out and discard them if they continue to cause issues. We focus our limited time and resources on things that work, not on things that don't. The strategy is appropriate for things, for ideas, and for people as well! Anything or anyone who can't handle the fun, simple, low-stress way we do things is quickly uninvited from the team. No drama, no hard feelings, no mess. We just don't do nonsense. Our lives, and the rest of our activism, are complicated and stressful enough. We decided when we created it that Girls of Green would always be a positive part of our efforts - never a source of negativity - and this strategy has worked well.
The problem
J___, from Eastern Canada, was accepted into the team early on. Her cannamodeling posts were good, but behind the scenes she was histrionic and demanding. Her personal life was often in a disaster (she would complain regularly that she had been scammed, or abused in a relationship), but we worked around it.
Big Red (aka Katie Marshall, aka Katie Violet, aka Violette) is a local woman, daughter of an 'anti-cannabis crusader'. She knows many of the same people in the Vancouver activism scene as we do, and is more a socialite than anything else. Big Red was granted admission to the team. Her posts said she uses cannabis to help with a back problem and emotional issues. She had a tendency to be dragged into everything and anything, sometimes going on extended tirades against people she hated online. A few times, we saw her wrongfully accuse someone, and go after them aggressively as though she was convinced she was right. Warning signs we chose to ignore.
In late summer 2017, J___ announced to the team that I had privately scammed her out of $180 CAD. She deleted every modeling post she'd ever made, and announced she was quitting Girls of Green. She sent us nonstop accusations and even threats for weeks. For months, she pasted "warnings" about us all over our pages. We knew that she had no proof, because she was lying, and told her we wouldn't respond to blackmail or bullying. We chose to let her howl into the wind because we knew she had no "proof of guilt", no matter how much she claimed to, because we knew there couldn't be any. We're golden and we know it. It doesn't even make any sense. After decades with a spotless personal and business track record, why would I decide to steal $180? I'm involved in far larger transactions all the time, and those always go smoothly, but I supposedly decided to tarnish my flawless reputation for pocket change? And why would I target one of my own team members? Ridiculous.
That didn't stop J___ from trying many different ways over the following 14 months to destroy or discredit Girls of Green, MediKatie, and myself. She convinced Big Red (Katie Marshall) to resign, and join her in manipulating everyone else to do the same. Big Red became an eager lapdog who claimed she did it "to rid the world of evil".
Several months ago, it seems J___ finally stopped with her attempts to bring down the team. But the harassment only intensified from Big Red, who has messaged every cannamodel associated with (or interested in) Girls of Green over the past year. We've lost several models, who instead of looking into the veracity of the claims, chose to assume the worst. [How would you feel if you got involved with a new group, then got a message from a concerned bystander wanting to let you know the group leaders are evil scam artists? Not everybody asks to see the proof, unfortunately.] We lost a great local activist and new cannamodel last month, when Big Red messaged her a "warning" about us, causing her to back out. Again, the warning contained no evidence. The slander's purpose is to manipulate the recipient, leaving them confused, with a bad feeling about the situation.
Big Red also fraudulently reports all our Girls of Green pages for "selling drugs", or (ironically) for bullying, which gets them investigated and sometimes shut down for no legit reason. She also reports our personal profiles, and has had both Katie and I banned multiple times this way. This can be really damaging to our efforts and morale.
Through it all, we've remained focused on the team, on positivity, and not feeding trolls. We know that nobody could possibly have anything on us, so we've chosen to sit back and let the liars lie.
But a Big Red line was crossed
When Blazen Vixen contacted us recently about joining, we liked her instantly, but knew we had to handle her application carefully, so that she wouldn't be blindsided by the false accusations. We warned her as part of her application process that this was something likely to happen. And we welcomed her to look into any accusations made against us.
Another thing we did, to throw Big Red off, is put up a decoy model page called Hazel Greene. We knew she'd be hesitant to dispense her "warnings" until the page made an actual modelling post, but it bought us some time.
When she finally decided to "warn" Blazen Vixen, we were ready. Both MediKatie and myself were online as it happened, and could see the messages coming and going, as Blazen responded from Ontario. The other side was labeled FaceBook User, since Katie Marshall had us blocked.
She types much, but says little. The only claims made are theft (and the dollar value has gone up to 200), using content against people's wishes, monopolizing, and being "not good people" who others need protection from. Theft is the only one that would be taken seriously by a judge, and if I had stolen anything from anyone, I would have been charged by now. Truth is, I never stole anything from anyone, and I know that's a fact, so I know there's no evidence out there to the contrary. I'd love to see the proof of any of these claims, I really would, but there is only the promise of proof.
MediKatie and I never use content against anyone's wishes. EVERYTHING we do is voluntary. Those who contribute are welcomed and appreciated, but are never obliged to continue. Also, at any time, team members can delete or edit any post they've ever made, without our approval. When models resign from Girls of Green, their page is handed over completely to them from that point on. The idea that we ever have any control over anyone's personal content is silly. We only share content from cannamodels who voluntarily upload it, and who feel it's their contribution to a team effort. It's simply a lie that we monopolize or abuse anyone's content in any way. The models who have been with us for a long time can attest to that.
It went on:
"10-15 models" may be optimistic, but we know of at least several she sabotaged. It's really frustrating as activists, who put part of our efforts into this project, to have people working diligently AGAINST us. We do what we do believe we believe in it, more so than doing any other thing in life, so when someone actively tries to undo it, it feels pretty rotten. It seems as though Big Red is bragging that she has bullied over 10 people into avoiding something which I feel is quite positive. The loss for those 10 people, and for Katie and I, as well as for the fans of Girls of Green, is large.
When the person doing all this claims that MediKatie and I are "causing harm", it would be laughable if it wasn't so diabolic.
She kept hounding Blazen, who wasn't having it. Big Red admitted here that she "won't stop". She said she wants us to publicly apologize... for what? She offers (but doesn't provide) proof, and to connect Blazen with others who will corroborate her accusations. She even tried the "if YOU were a moral person you would join us in hating them" trick, but again, our girl handled it well.
As for me being psychotic. Psychosis is a real problem for some people, not something to accuse them of. She wields the label like it's something shameful to smear people with. I worked in psychiatry for 10 years and cared for hundreds of psychotic patients during that time, so I know what psychosis is - and what it isn't. I'm fairly sure Big Red was just using the term colloquially, but even so, it's wrong to denigrate anyone for being ill. That's the epitome of victim shaming, so if she had been right in her accusation, that would have been mighty low. When my grandmother died a few years ago, I was investigated thoroughly by a psychiatrist for depression and PTSD, but there was no sign of psychosis, so that answers that.
Big Red was undeterred, doubling down on her baseless defamation:
After that flopped, Big Red decided to publicly unleash her nonsense on the Hazel Greene page, finally crossing a line and incriminating herself:
Using her confirmed account to do the slandering, she specifically admitted she has been "also warning many people in the community" about me, and even reiterated her claim that I'm a thief and scammer. The cannabis activism community in Vancouver is close-knit, full of history and interesting people. Word is bond, and street rep means more than credentials. It isn't just what you know, it's who you know. It's possible to really damage somebody's credibility and stance in the community with the right lies, told the right ways at the right times. These are claims for which Big Red has no evidence, and which are intended to cause harm to our reputation or credibility. For good reason, there are specific laws protecting Canadian citizens from this kind of attack, which means I finally have the means to strike back against the lying bully. We have witnesses and screenshots of her admitting she has been harassing us, slandering us, defaming us, and lying about us. Her vindictiveness finally pushed her to incriminate and discredit herself.
She even sent the decoy page a private message for us:
Who is this person, really?
She doesn't work but has money coming in. I know a lot of activists, but I can count the number that have money on 1 finger. It's weird, but possibly legit.
Okay, sure, maybe.
But something about Katie Marshall came up behind the scenes a while back, which can't be explained away as coincidence...
Big Red's mother was a notorious cannabis hater - an activist for prohibition - who was in the news a few years ago for "overdosing" on a cannabis drink she found in her fridge. She said the infused drink had come from her daughter, who got it at a local cannabis dispensary, operating on the unregulated (free) market. She was trying to use this as a reason to shut all Vancouver dispensaries! These dispensaries were-and-are keeping many people alive, who have no other option but cannabis, and my wife MediKatie is one of them! We owe our current health to the free (aka "black") market dispensaries, gardeners, and dealers who provide access to real cannabis medicine. This very week, the remaining brave dispensaries are all being closed down by court order, supposedly to be replaced by legalized government-owned stores, selling irradiated moldy bud sprayed with toxic chemicals for 3 times the price of good flower in the real market. Sadly, prohibitionists appear to have finally got their wish for decreased access to cannabis in Vancouver, all under the Orwellian title "legalization".
Is Katie Marshall more than she appears? Or is she simply a confused, zealous, well-intended socialite who got caught up in group-think and rumour, taking her from annoying to obsessed and destructive?
Either way, I'm done being her victim. She was warned this would happen, and given every opportunity to end her misguided campaign of slander. She willingly and deliberately crossed that line, and gave me everything I need to resolve this. However, if I receive a suitable public apology from Katie Marshall, which includes an apology to MediKatie and the rest of the Girls of Green, I'll take it into consideration. (See "resolution" section at bottom!)
I'm sorry to have had to make this post. In 2.5 years of Girls of Green, the above issues are very nearly the ONLY ones we've had. We welcome all to seek the truth, about this and all topics. We want nothing more than to continue this project and our other activism, toward ending cannabis prohibition and stigma, once and for all.
Summary
- Neither I, Daron Rutter (DRutter), nor my wife Katie Hooge (MediKatie), have harmed anyone or stolen anything.
- Our accuser Katie Marshall (Big Red) has been slandering us for at least 1 year, both online and offline, and has been caught admitting her guilt.
- Legalization in Canada was actually monopolization and corporatization of a free market and peaceful culture. The activism will continue!
Banned on FaceBook
An hour after Big Red made all the above posts and messages, my FaceBook account of several years disappeared completely. The site asked for a phone number to confirm my identity, which I've always purposely avoided giving, but I reluctantly did so (to get my account back). They texted me a code, which I typed into the site. Then it said they still couldn't confirm that I'm who I claim to be, and demanded a photograph of my ID, which I reluctantly provided to regain access to the account. They emailed me this unfortunate reply:
"Thanks for sending us your ID. Unfortunately we can't use it to confirm your identity because we either can't see the information we need, or the information we need isn't included on the ID you submitted. The info we need to see is: Your name, photo, date of birth."
The ID clearly contained all that information. I emailed back, saying so, and attaching another copy of the ID, along with 2 other images proving I'm the one-and-only Daron Rutter, but they ignored me. I tried opening a new account, but within hours it disappeared as though it had never existed, with no explanation.
I've lost an account, all the comments it ever made, all the likes it ever gave, all the posts I wrote, and all the links I shared. Not just my personal stuff, but my associated activism page DRutter, which contained many years of original posts, videos, photo albums, events, groups, and more. I accurately predicted the fake cannabis legalization brought in here in Canada, the model for which is being exported to Australia and many other countries. I was right all along, and now any evidence of that is being deleted. I had always known this could happen, and have my original files, but the history lost here is significant. It's much like a book burning.
Luckily, Girls of Green remains under our control, since MediKatie was also administrator. Losing that page too would have been a truly devastating blow.
But I remain banished from FaceBook, apparently because it's impossible to prove that I'm myself, even with a confirmed phone number, confirmed email address, and confirmed photo ID.
That's why I posted this here on the Steem blockchain. Here, it won't be censored, and it can NEVER be deleted (unless the entire internet and all offline nodes are destroyed at the same time). MediKatie and I will be sharing this link to our friends and contacts within the community, to get the truth out there.
@GirlsofGreen on FaceBook: Click here.
@MediKatie on Facebook: Click here.
@DRutter on YouTube: Click here.
There's no shame in being accused of something you're not guilty of, but there is in letting bullies get away with it.
Without shame,
DRutter
Resolution
About one day after posting this and sharing it on FaceBook, I got this email:
In my response, I accepted her apology. I thanked her for admitting what she had done, and for promising not to do it again. I said that while I can't delete the original post, if she will stick to her promise, @MediKatie and I would delete the shares on FaceBook. I also agreed not to pursue the matter further, as long as she truly stops her actions against us immediately. Additionally, I said I would edit this post to include this information.
Her reply this morning:
This is my confirmation that I consider the matter concluded - forgiven but not forgotten. I was damaged by public "warnings" which turned out to be untrue. In future, I can refer people to this post for information, but otherwise, it can slip from memory. The FaceBook posts and shares are gone, and the apology has been recorded here.
As I said before, I'm happy to finally put the issue to rest. Perhaps we can all consider it a learning experience, in some manner. I look forward to returning to issues that matter most to me.
DRutter