Ask HN: Dealing with Almost a Decade of Harassment
by advice-for-me | 2025-12-04 19:22:33+00:00
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46092688

and it’s really similar to something that happened to me. I used to work for a finance startup that got funded by InQTel and other big names you’ll know. Since then, some weird stuff has happened to me which essentially amounts to stalking, harassment and undermining to ruin my professional reputation, and spreading gossip to alienate me from other people in my personal life.

I suspect people I used to work with (like my ex-manager, who went to the same school as me) of targeting me by spreading lies about me in their networks. When I started my graduate school, I was followed around on campus by random people. I suspect them of leaving dead animal carcasses on the way I walked to class. There was also an incident of anti-Semitic graffiti, which I think they were trying to pin on me. But nothing like that happened because everyone had to quarantine for COVID.

But after grad school, I basically would get rejections from all tech companies because I think I am essentially blacklisted. How do I even confirm something like this? But I didn’t get any interviews till I started applying to US citizen only roles. So I stared working again, and they upped the ante in the craziest way imaginable by using (I think) a remotely controlled device to knock on my walls at all hours of the night, basically to cause sleep deprivation. Tbh, at the time, I wrote all of this off as coincidences or normal stuff (like birds or animals) because I didn’t think too much of it. It’s only now when I look back at things with clarity, that a lot of things are falling into place and it gives a clear indication that someone has been griefing me to cause me emotional and financial distress (by depriving me of work).

I am in grad school again for an advanced degree, and my time here has been fraught with tension for the same reasons. They’ve essentially isolated me from my community to the point that most of the time what I get from other people is disrespect and hostility.

I don’t know how to manage this targeted harassment against me, but I’ve still managed to do work and research stuff that gets me positive attention. I also bought a house, and have a 400k net worth. I’ve basically been fighting (and losing) a lonely battle against what seems like a cabal of butt hurt losers who think it’s okay to do this because they’re richer than me. So why am I making this post? I got inspired to write this after seeing that other post.

It seems the culture of too much money going to people with poor discipline or character has ruined a lot of lives.

What should be done about something like this? At a very minimum, people need to clear their so-called industry black lists. You didn’t get to where you are because you were smarter or better, you just got luckier.

Second, don’t judge someone else based on gossip or words by another person. Or even that person’s behavior at one specific point in time. You don’t know if someone was torturing them in some way, or the target’s behavior was a stress response, or trauma-induced emotional exhaustion and distress.

To the people who are stalking and harassing me. You know who you are, you cowards. I’ll be waiting for you when you’re brave enough to say something to my face.

I am open to advice on this if anyone has any.