A Response to Will Church’s Comments on the Harm Principle

Will Church has posted a nice commentary on JS Mills ‘harm principle’ on his blog. I encourage you to follow the link and read it all (it isn’t long) however I want to reply to some extracts below.

Coherence of “other-regarding” and “self-regarding” Acts:

Mill maintains a distinction between ‘other’ and ’self’ regarding acts. Self-regarding acts which are harmful should not be prohibited, this he defines to be behaviour which as behaviour only affects oneself or other adults who have consented by their own volition. These activities only affect oneself or the consenting party.

Are there ever acts which are entirely self-regarding that don’t affect others ?

…

*What is Harm?*

Even given Mill’s description people just cannot agree on what constitutes “harm.” We all tend agree on the very few extreme cases – pretty much everyone would agree that murder or assault constitutes harm. But as we move away from the extremes it’s clear that little consensus exists. A religious person thinks the worship of idols is harmful, a housewife thinks lewd jokes and nudity on TV are harmful etc. The harm principle is supposed to free us from the arbitrariness of common morality but instead leads us down a path towards almost complete subjectivity.

I don’t like Mills harm principle and cringe when people use it (especially libertarians) as justification for something. The reason (as Will has elucidated above) is that it is horribly horribly subjective and undefinable.

Take Will’s first comment above on ’self-regarding’ and ‘other-regarding’. Will’s above question of ‘are there ever any acts that are self-regarding that don’t affect others? One can then make the argument that ’supposedly self-regarding’ actions can actually be harmful indirectly to others. Examples range from something as mild as hurt feelings to something like productivity or social costs. Say someone puts forward the argument that people should be free to use drugs as long as they don’t harm another. A rebuttal may be either that that drug user either then causes harm (assault, theft, negligence) BECAUSE of their drug use, and thus there is a causal link between the drug use and the harm. An argument could be made that drug abusers are not productive or require health care, costing society. Or even that the drug users family may suffer emotional turmoil because of the drug abuse (an experience I have gone through).

I don’t personally find those arguments valid however the point is that they can be made, and they can be made because ‘harm’ is difficult to define.

Will goes onto conclude that while the harm principle is meant to free us from the burden of common morality, it merely invites fierce and varied debate over what actually constitutes harm.

This problem renders the harm principle virtually useless as a rhetorical device, and tricky as a solid foundation upon which to render one’s philosophical viewpoints.

I personally thus eschew the ‘harm principle’ for the ‘non-aggression axiom’ that states that people should be free to do as they wish as long as they don’t aggress against another. I then define aggressing as the initiation or threat of physical force.

Of course this (like anything) suffers from similar problems. Anyone who has read Constitution of Liberty will have read F.A. Hayek struggle with defining aggression for a good 5 or 6 pages. However I have found that the phrase ‘initiation of force’ is a far more useful and definitive statement of belief. I tend to not even use the word ‘aggress’ to further avoid the problem of inviting a destracting definitional debate.

Celebrating Tony Abbott – ‘Abandon all hope ye who enter here’

I was originally going to start this blog post with ‘not to rain on everyone’s parade’ but I figured it would be such an outrageous lie that even I could not get away with it. I hope to bucket it down on the parade (well as much bucketing as a fairly lazy and not widely read block can actually do).

I can’t help but notice that Australia’s libertarians and small government conservatives have collectively taken their principles, placed them in a heavy wooden chest, dragged said chest out into the garage, put the chest right at the back of the garage, covered the chest with a table cloth, covered the table cloth with boxes of old books, locked the garage door, and promptly thrown away the key.

I speak of course, of the overwhelming and giddy celebration resulting from the election of Tony Abbott as leader of the Opposition. The reaction has rivalled Obamamania.

…umm, WHAT THE FUCK?

I have watched this unfold with a mixture of emotions; dismay, frustration, amusement, bemusement, rageaholism, and I must admit the occasional self reflective ‘why am I not surprised?’. Despite my apparent emotional flux, I have not felt the inspiration to actually put words down on paper, until now.

My blogging silence on the matter has been shattered by this posting on Larvatus Prodeo – What does a conservative leader of the Liberal Party look like?

But it’s interesting to observe the blue thread that runs through all of Abbott’s pronouncements – a mindset that Father Knows Best. The answer to the question posed by Ben Eltham in New Matilda, writing on the Coalition’s climate change policy [see this post for LP discussion] – “have the Libs lost faith in the market?” – is surely that conservatives don’t necessarily have faith in it. The Howard government’s practice, in many respects, was as much conservative as neo-liberal, if not more – an increasingly large state, a dirigiste approach to doling out public money to corporations, all manner of attempted pro-family social engineering, and so forth. To some degree, the era of 80s bipartisanship on ‘economic reform’ left an institutional and legal bias towards economic liberalism in state institutions; Treasury, the Productivity Commission, competition law, and so on. But with a lazy Treasurer, for most of the time, Howardism only used economic liberalism as a fig leaf.

I think what we’re seeing now, with Tony Abbott, is that fig leaf being discarded.

We’re back to old fashioned paternalism – faith, country, and trust in your betters. And in the economic sphere, Abbott, who knows nothing much of economics, is happy for the state to sit down and carve up the pie in consultation with his preferred interest groups. All this is really classic National Party stuff.

What’s perhaps astonishing on the surface, at least, is how little we’re hearing from the so-called libertarians and classical liberals about Abbott’s lack of faith in the market. Could it be that they’re mostly more interested in anti-Labor partisanship than their own ostensible creed?

I find it very concerning when the libertarian truth is coming from the blog Larvatus Prodeo, but such is the world we walk in.

Most egregious are my fellow travellers in the Liberal Party, although that I suppose is to be expected. The simple fact of Major Party politics is that the Party quickly morphs from a VEHICLE for change and ideology, to a sporting team.

I remember being at the MCG at the 2009 Grand Final as my beloved Cats (who had been behind all day) started to creep closer and closer in the fourth quarter. My adrenalin and excitement increased as the gap got smaller and smaller. When the Cats hit the front deep in the fourth quarter I nearly lept out of my skin with joy. I can only assume my Liberal brethren are going through a similar emotional journey as the Newspoll numbers have slowly moved out of the shitcan for the Liberals.

Abbott was elected on the back of the Emissions Trading Scheme issue and I certainly stand with all who felt that Malcolm Turnbull’s position was horrifically wrong. I do not like Malcolm Turnbull and I did not like him before the ETS. I did not like him the night of budget reply 2008 where everyone gave Turnbull a standing ovation for his big government, bureaucracy creating, authoritarian policy laden speech. [smug] Everyone except me of course [/smug].

Is the ETS enough to truly celebrate the election of Abbott though? Is the election of an Abbott led Liberal Party something worth celebrating?

Abbott is a man who embodies everything that was wrong with the Howard Government and nothing that was right. Abbott is not a man who believes in the free market. He is not an economic liberal by any stretch. He does not believe in small government. He does not believe in economic freedom. He is so far removed from those beliefs that even the notoriously ‘flexible’ small government conservatives of this country have decried him…up until three months ago of course.

There is only so far that ‘keeping the ALP out’ and ‘best we have’ and ‘better than the alternative’ can take you. Far from joy inspiring, far from celebratory, those excuses ‘practical and pragmatic’ positions are more a manifestation of essential hopelessness.

If Abbott is the best libertarians and small government conservatives can hope for it is not something to celebrate, it is something to mourn.

By all means, convince me otherwise. I’d love to hear some explanations.

‘Libertas’ – My tattoo

A few months ago I wrote a blog post about all the tattoos I want to get.

I promised an update after I got my first one and here it is. Of course, I got my first tattoo in…. late October so I am perhaps a little late. Oh well, away we go.

LIBERTAS
The first tattoo I got was LIBERTAS on the inside of my left forearm. If you are friends with me on Facebook you have probably already seen it however here are some photos for your enjoyment.

Pic 1 – Freshly tattooed and covered in plastic cling wrap. Note the remnants of blood leaking out.
Pic 2 – A day or two afterwards. The tattoo is sort of shiny. It’s actually what I would describe as a very moist scab. This lasted about a week and a half to two weeks. Gradually the scabs would just slide off naturally (it’s very important that you don’t pick them off yourself).
Pic 3 – I just took that using my Iphone so I had a pic of the finished product.

So overall very happy with it. It’s basic but that’s what I wanted. I wanted it to be easily readable and just stand out. I’m going back on Saturday to get INVICTUS on my right forearm. Update to come.

Two New Tattoo Ideas
Came up with two new tattoo ideas that are comic book inspired. Watchmen’s Rorschach and Marvel’s Captain America. They both serve as inspiration, however one serves also as a stark reminder and warning. Try to guess which one.

3 anti authoritarian songs – Pennywise, Dethklok, Judas Priest

Whaddup all, here’s some music for you to check out. They all have a general anti government/authority angle. I’ve included Youtube clips and pasted the lyrics just in case you have difficulty understanding punk, death metal, or old bald british dude metal.

Pennywise – Fuck Authority
omeday you gotta find another way, you better right your mind
And live by what you say
Today is just another day unless you set your sights and try to find a way
I say fuck authority
Silent majority
Raised by the system
Now it’s time to rise against them
We’re sick of your treason
Sick of your lies
Fuck no, we won’t listen
We’re gonna open your eyes
Frustration, domination, feel the rage of a new generation,
We’re livin’, we’re dyin’ and we’re never gonna stop, stop tryin’
Stop tryin’
Stop tryin’, stop tryin’

You know the time is right to take control,
We gotta take offense against the status quo
No way, not gonna stand for it today, fight for your rights,
It’s time we had our say

I say fuck authority
Silent majority
Raised by the system
Now it’s time to rise against them
We’re sick of your treason
Sick of your lies
Fuck no, we won’t listen
We’re gonna open your eyes
Frustration, domination, feel the rage of a new generation,
We’re livin’, we’re dyin’, we’re sick and tired of the endless liein’ Destroy,
Enjoy, your fucking world is our new toy, dominate, eliminate,
Your gonna feel the wrath, wrath of hate?

Fuck authority
Silent majority
Raised by the system
Now it’s time to rise against them
We’re sick of your treason
Sick of your lies
Fuck no, we won’t listen
We’re gonna open your eyes
Frustration, domination, feel the rage of a new generation,
We’re livin’, we’re dyin’ and we’re never gonna stop, stop tryin’
Stop tryin’
Stop tryin’, stop tryin’

Dethklok – Dethharmonic
I want to keep my money
And give away absolutely nothing
To the government who moderates my spending
and obliterates depending on what time of the year
brutality is near

in the form of income tax
I’d rather take a fucking axe
to my face, blow up this place

with you all in it, I’d do it in a minute

If I could write off your murder
I’d save all of my receipts
because I’d rather you be dead
than lose a tiny shred of what I made this fiscal year

I’d rather you be dead than ponder parting with my second home
I’d rather you be dead than consider not opening a restaurant

I’d rather you be dead
I’d rather you be dead

Prepare the laser-beam
I’m gonna use it tonight

Engage the laser-beam
It’s gonna end your life

I’m gonna use it tonight

If I could write off your murder
I’d save all of my receipts
because I’d rather you be dead
than lose a tiny shred of what I made this fiscal year

I’d rather you be dead than ponder parting with my second home
I’d rather you be dead than consider not opening a restaurant
I’d rather you be dead
I’d rather you be dead

Be dead now X3
Be dead

Judas Priest – Breaking the Law
There I was completely wasting, out of work and down
all inside it’s so frustrating as I drift from town to town
feel as though nobody cares if I live or die
so I might as well begin to put some action in my life

Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law

So much for the golden future, I can’t even start
I’ve had every promise broken, there’s anger in my heart
you don’t know what it’s like, you don’t have a clue
if you did you’d find yourselves doing the same thing too

Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law

You don’t know what it’s like!!

Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law

Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law

On the immoral (or perhaps amoral) culture of student/youth politics

Warning: Bitter self indulgence

I’ve decided to reread ‘The Education of a Young Liberal’. I think it will provide a nice bookend to my time as a ‘hack’ (well my abject failure version of a hack). I read the book when it came out in 2006, which roughly corresponded with my involvement and understanding of the national scene in YL’s and ALSF.

By that I don’t mean I was in any way some sort of heavyweight or player, I most assuredly was not. By national scene I merely mean that I was involved in the organisations, attended the national conferences, and started to meet and become acquainted with the people who WERE the heavyweights and players. My first ALSF conference was in 2005, and by 2006 I became more privy to the goings on.

So the book came out in 2006 and I like most little hacks and wannabe hacks quickly consumed it. Whether the events in the book are ‘true’ or not doesn’t particularly concern me.

Putting aside matters of fact, the book is immensely useful however for the narrative it paints. It represents a journey from the very beginning to the very end and the journey of ‘Hyde Page’ resonates with me and I think with others.

Hyde Page goes from an extremely naïve newbie, to loyal foot soldier, to aspirant, to player, to burn out. There is a corresponding ethical journey which I also find very interesting. Part of the debate over the book was whether Hyde Page painted himself in too nice a light and I’ll leave that judgment to people who were involved in the NSW YL’s at the time. However, one can say that the book doesn’t really paint anyone in a nice light.

The group, the right, Hyde Page, all come out of the book looking pretty grubby. I guess we can say that the real Hyde Page was probably a fair deal worse than the Hyde Page of the book. In that, the ethical journey stands out in that Hyde Page’s ethical journey is a downward spiral into very unethical behaviour.

In essence that is THE natural journey for the student/youth political hack. Youth politics is a fringe activity of society, and an enclosed society with its own subculture and morality (or perhaps amorality). A downward spiral of ethics is the natural journey because unethical behaviour is the norm. Lying is not only acceptable, it is expected. Bullying behaviour is not only acceptable, it is expected. Oscar Wilde’s saying that “true friends stab you in the front” is very true for politics. Gossiping, exclusion, conspiracy, and hierarchy are all tools commonly used and abused.

The thing of it is that eventually you come to forget that this kind of behaviour isn’t on. You get so caught up in it all that not only do you embrace unethical behaviour, your entire perspective on morality shifts.

This is probably why I find Tim Andrews’ introspective writing so interesting because (in relation to his life as a hack) it paints the picture of a guilty conscience. Tim (who seems to have lost his taste for hackery), was one of the more honourable people involved.

It’s not that I was particularly the victim of any of this (or if I was I remained blissfully unaware). I only felt the sting of betrayal from one group of people and by the end I saw it coming. It only ever affect ACT politics and I never really cared that much about the ACT anyway.

I was never really the subject of any particularly bad behaviour, although perhaps that was simply because I never had any power to warrant attention.

However I did see myself change. Gradually I started to do things that were wrong, and I’d forget that they even were wrong. It took a very negative reaction from my fiancée to my behaviour at a branch meeting to wake me up, and even then it was a slow reversal. Politics had become such a central part of my life that all my major friends were involved. It became my social life and that is a very dangerous thing because you lose touch with normal people and normal behaviour. Yes political hacks out there, you are not normal people.

Unscathed as I was, I’ve seen appalling things done to other people. At the 2006 ALSF Federal Convention a woman was sexually assaulted and it was covered up. Eventually it was denied and the woman was called anything from a liar to a slut. Why did this happen? She was from the wrong faction. Say what you want about the Fin laden’s (and I have plenty to say) but the simple fact is that event happened. The victim was smeared, the perpetrator went unpunished.

That would not happen in the real world. The people involved probably would never even cover something like that up if it didn’t happen in the realm of politics. However the culture is such that what is essentially appalling and unforgivable behaviour, becomes acceptable.

In 2008, Toby Latcham (of UQLC and Beauty and the Geek fame) set up a ‘smear website’ on Tim Andrews. Apparently back in the day Tim was foolish enough to have a personal journal on the internet where he said such ‘shocking’ things as he wanted a lefty girlfriend and liked Simon and Garfunkle. The smear was really notable simply for its pathetic ineptness but Tim being the big sook he is of course somewhat overreacted. The point remains that this kind of behaviour would get you fired from your job or a punch in the head. In youth politics, it is pretty innocuous really. Now that UQLC have split, Toby has been smeared in National News, though he finds it amusing. The point remains that the people who have engaged in such actions are pretty fucking low. However, it is politics so this is ‘normal’.

The NSW Right are having a big fight at the moment. Cops have been called, false accusations of assault, all manner of insults on Vexnews. None of that behaviour would be acceptable in the real world. These are just some recent examples I can quickly think of.

I often say to people that the Young Liberals are like High School, except only the nerds go there. It is almost like the poor downtrodden of the High School playground finally found a realm where they can be the bully. You can see the desperation and lust in the newbies’ eyes as they seek to avenge their subjugation back at St Barnabas. Although the end of Hyde Page’s book calls to me now, when I first read the book the power and fun and games called to me. Newbie that I was, the promise of prestige (student politicians tend to lack perspective), paid hack jobs, power. They were the interesting parts of the story to me and the poor naïve fools like me. Such is the culture; the all pervasive immorality, that you eventually lose yourself to it.

In many respects I guess that is why I love so many of the people I have met through ALSF/YL’s even though this whole post has been a big collective condemnation. I should say that not everyone is like the above and there are varying levels of personal corruption. If you can manage to take the person out of the game of politics for a second, you’ll find out that they are actually a pretty cool cat. It only lasts a second though and the corrupted soon put their game face back on. Still, many people involved are people of great integrity and as I said above most people were either honest about not liking me or were quite cool and did nothing to me that I could say was wrong.

Although I put the ‘bitter self indulgence’ disclosure up the top of this rant, I’d hate for people to think I was actually bitter about other people’s treatment of me. The only bitterness I have about anything regarding my time in Student/Youth politics is bitterness about my own behaviour and my own choices.

This isn’t about me feeling personally slighted; I just simply went out one night with basically a bunch of strangers who were welcoming and friendly. It reminded me of what real people are like. I went home and got really, really scared about the person I was becoming, the things I had been involved in, and the people I had left behind.

As Neitzsche said:
“Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you”.

Vale Patrick Swayze

18/08/1952-14/09/2009

Patrick Swayze showed us that dancing was cool and nobody puts baby in the corner (Dirty Dancing); that it is possible to rip a mans throat out with your bare hands (Road House); and that if you die and possess Whoopie Goldberg, having her kiss Demi Moore is just disturbing to watch (Ghost).

I am sad, and I admit it freely. He was awesome.

ps, some of you may think that it is stupid to have a post about Patrick Swayze and not one about Norman Borlaug, who died yesterday. Well…good point. I shall post about Norman Borlaug tonight.

Update: Yeah, so I probably shouldn’t have used the Youtube clip that was just a photo clip of Patrick Swayze. SUPER GAY! What can I say, I googled and copy and pasted without actually playing it…I was at work.

Proposed Tattoos

Much to my mothers chagrin, I have quite a list of tattoos that I want to get. Of course I don’t have any of them yet which is more circumstance rather than fear. My fiancee now has two so I think it is probably time for me to catch up. Well this weekend will mark the getting of tattoo number 1. I’ll post photo’s.

Anyway, till then, here is a list of that tattoos I want to get.

“Invictus” in bold lettering on my inside forearm
Invictus is latin for unconquered. It works both as that word and as my favourite poem which is named Invictus. You can read it (and about it) here. A bit of trivia: Timothy McVeigh used the poem as his epitaph. Those crazy bombers, always with the jokes.

“Libertas” in bold lettering on my other inside forearm
Libertas was the name of the Latin goddess of liberty and is also the latin word for freedom/liberty. Pretty self explanatory.

A big ‘Liberty Enlightening the World (Statue of Liberty)’ on my back, coloured

Some people have been confused about this one, thinking it to be a very American symbol. Well firstly I am in love with America, secondly as Statue’s proper full name ‘Liberty Englightening the World’ illustrates, the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom meant for the whole world. The USA may not always live up to it but it is always there as a reminder of the principles the country was founded upon; principles that apply to us all.

Ahava (Hebrew for love) in Hebrew lettering
I am when it all comes down to it, a passionate and loving person. A hopeless romantic, I believe that love is the most powerful force in the universe. Flower power man!

I also like this idea because judaism frowns on tattooing. The eternal rebel am I.

The Flag of the Sons of Liberty on the nape of my neck
The Sons of Liberty were the revolutionary organisation that started the American Revolution.

The Sons of Liberty was also the name of my super secret national faction within the Liberal Party. In its heyday I think it had about four members. Right now it has two. I assure you we are very influential…

The Eureka Flag (or a reinterpretation of it) wrapped around my wrist
The Eureka Flag was the battle flag used at the Eureka Stockade, a Gold Miner’s revolt against the repressive Government of the day and its unfair taxes and licenses. Today the Eureka Flag is used by unionists and racists and numerous groups inbetween. Those poor deluded fellows. Can’t reappropriate it without fighting for it though.

Logo of the Geelong Football Club
I truly love three things in this life: My fiancee Lisa, freedom, and the Geelong Football Club. I literally bleed blue and white (if you do a google search of my name you’ll come across all the stories about it from when I was a baby.)

A list that should keep me going for quite a while.

Update: I just thought of another one. The quote “He’s not a machine, he’s a man”. I choose to leave this one unexplained.

On social cynicism, writer’s block, and Rihanna with a Mohawk

Jake Zanoni
has come to the conclusion that the adult world is a world of pretence and fraud. Desolate creatures roam the social sphere with only platitudes and acceptables as guides for communication; communication that could only be described as random acts …of collision rather than any meaningful exchange. I hark for a time when I was not caught in this trap. Alas I have no Spiderman costume to wear to the local shops…

I just posted that as my Facebook status. Apparently broody, cynical Jacob has returned. The thing is I know it is preachy and self serving, but that doesn’t seem to matter. I never even had a Spiderman costume as a kid, I just couldn’t remember what my equivalent metaphorical symbol of childlike freedom from societal norms would be. What an asshole.

Anyway, I have writer’s block. Perhaps it is the long work hours (get up at 4am, start work at 5am, finish at 5pm, get up at 4am), but a general sense of malaise has descended upon me that serves to sap my zest for ideas. I’m sure it will leave in a day or two.

While we are waiting for Jacob to get out of his funk, here is the current song that I am listening to ad infinitum (occasionally broken up with Shakira – She Wolf).

Clip | Shakira : She Wolf

Clip | Shakira : She Wolf
Uploaded by Henrietta-Aime-Fumer_Tv. – Explore more music videos.

Just thought we could all take a moments break from serious matters like politics and my ego, and marvel at the current object of my rampant lust. Shakira.

I didn’t know you could buy clothes with only one pant leg but I LOVE IT!

Sorry feminazis but appearance counts as well, and Shakira is the bomb b!

Australian Consumer Fraud Task Force

I stumbled on a fun little Government program today; Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce

This is a serious issue actually, I had a friend who had his identity stolen, and he didn’t even do anything stupid, it just happened. But as you know, I can’t help but be a jerk. Sometimes, you are just a fool and deserve to be swindled.

Tina lost her house in a dating scam

Some time after a painful divorce, I decided it was time to get out there again. A friend of mine was using an internet dating website and was having fun so I joined up as a member.

Soon after creating my profile page on a dating website, I received a few emails. One of the responses caught my eye; his name was Collin Anderson*.

I emailed Collin and we started chatting online. We got along really well and he was easy to chat to. He had been through a similar life experience, so we really connected. He was an interesting man and very funny, and I could tell by the way he talked about his daughter that he was very caring. Unfortunately, he was living overseas at the time we met but was returning to Australia in a few months.

Collin quickly became part of my life. We talked or emailed everyday. We’d spend hours talking about everything. We seemed to share a lot of common interests and experiences. I even told him that I missed my daughter, who was studying overseas.

The next day, Collin organised for his daughter to call me for a chat. I was really touched by this and felt that we had become very important in each other’s lives. I was really looking forward to meeting Collin when he came home. We made plans for holidays and fun things to do when he was back.

Then, I stopped receiving emails and telephone calls from Collin. I was very worried that something had happened to him.

After a few days, I received a call from a doctor from overseas. He informed me that Collin had been involved in a terrible accident and needed urgent medical attention. The doctor asked me to pay for Collin’s hospital fee of $2,500. I didn’t hesitate to pay this amount through wire transfer.

I received more phone calls from the Collin’s doctor. He told me that Collin’s health was deteriorating and that he would need to have further surgery and be rehabilitated. The doctor asked me whether I would be able to cover some of Collin’s surgery costs and treatment.

I paid for some of the fees from my savings, but once they ran out I had to take out a second mortgage my house. Collin’s health was improving and we started communicating again. I was so happy that his treatment was working. Over about six months I sent $95,000 to Collin. I remember my friends were really worried about me sending that much money, but I trusted Collin.

All of a sudden I stopped hearing from Collin. Again, I was really worried that something had happened to him and tried to get in touch with him. But the number I had been using to contact him had been disconnected. I never heard from Collin again.

I still find it hard to believe I got scammed. I really wanted it to work out and just believed everything was going to be fine, but I ended up losing my house.

* Names have been changed

LULZ! Sucks to be lonely I guess.