Rape in Cyberspace

Julian Dibbell

I guess my generation is the one who has more or less grown up with the innovations of internet, chat rooms, and other online ventures. I remember when I was in middle and elementary school, my parents feared that I would be accosted by some online pervert, as those stories permeated the news at the time. Even today, you hear of people meeting on Myspace or Facebook, meeting up, and well, bad news bears from that point on. Chatrooms, I believe, have somewhat died out, but I remember when they were extremely popular and came complimentary with internet providers like AOL and Mindspring.
Cyberspace has created a new world for many people, and some people feel very involved in them. With "Rape in Cyberspace," we learn of Mr. Bungle, aka the man my parents warned me about when I was growing up with the internet. He was vile and perverted, needless to say. The interesting part is, however, no one physically saw him. Everything he did was through the swift power of his keyboard.
Personally, I find his ambiguous identity is more fearful. He is mysterious and not in a good, compelling way. He is wearing the ultimate disguise. My imagination runs wild with images of "Silence of the Lambs."
After reading the article, I feel that the power of the word is essentially more powerful than the body on an emotional level. Those who were affected by this creature still suffered from the post-trauma that other rape victims feel. People with low-confidence are known to build their confidence online and become a person who they wish they could be; they can create thier own identity. They can SAY whatever they want.
Physically reading the vulgar words that Mr. Bungle typed made me feel uncomfortable, and I was only reading the reprint. I belive that he did commit rape, even though he never phyisically touched or harmed anyone. "The body is the mind" when in cyberspace. That is all one has to go by, and I believe that that is proof that it is equally as strong.
I was slightly taken aback by the entire "toading" concept, and that some people wanted to turn him into a toad but feared it was too close to the controversial death penalty. I believe that further action should have been taken.
Maybe it's simply because several years have passed since the date of this article, but online-sexual predators are not taken lightly, and they can be tried as any other crime committed in the real world.