by Travis Mateer

Don’t misinterpret the title of this post, I’m not planning some dramatic departure from my hyper-local calling to report on the happenings of Zoom Town, but I do have some new-found sympathy for what researcher, Whitney Webb, has experienced as the result of getting personally involved with someone she shouldn’t have.

Here’s an example of how Whitney Webb went public with some of the struggles she had been dealing with in private in order to get some agency back from a person trying to undermine her entire being, both personal and professional:

The man Webb got involved with has played, and IS PLAYING, awful games with her behind the scenes, doing things to find leverage for control, even using her own kid. People who lack things in their own lives can be very good at working their way into someone else’s, I’ve discovered.

It’s cool because really this is an opportunity for me to learn more about my own trauma and dysfunctional patterns, like why I tend to gravitate toward people who need serious help, help that they aren’t getting in the usual places, like church or conventional counseling. Thankfully, unlike some people, I haven’t repeated my pattern over and over again, so my goal is to keep two mistakes from becoming three.

Now that I’ve had the lowest moments of my life weaponized against me by someone who knows the court system (and the judge, apparently, who refused to recuse himself), here are some thoughts on the red flags I ignored so YOU, who ever comes next (and who might be dumb enough to try and expose corruption in your own backyard) don’t have to.

I’ll be using bullet points, as they seem to be very effective for a cold, calculated type of communication method. Here it goes!

• People who isolate you from others are not healthy people, and should be avoided.
• Traumatic experiences can provide short-term bonding opportunities, but these experiences will NOT create a strong foundation to build a healthy relationship on.
• Be weary of people who form addictive relationships to trauma and crisis, like that female character in Fight Club.
• Anything you say to someone with a legal background WILL be used against you in a court of law.
• If they’re willing to act outside the law by secretly recording someone, then playing you that recording, then that extra-judicial behavior could be turned on YOU if you’re not careful.
• Anyone who claims to have information that could impact your safety, but then refuses to tell you what that information is, has ulterior motives and is NOT acting in good faith.

After what I had to deal with today, I’m now anticipating civil claims coming about “creative license” over my podcast. If all of that sounds expensive, maybe that’s the point, but I plan on defending myself regardless of cost.

There is information I now have to think differently about regarding a certain case, the supposed risks I was experiencing last year, and the timing of when a damsel in distress switched from one suitor to a sad bastard (me) who was in the middle of his 25 year relationship with the mother of his kids falling apart.

While I think about all that, I have some VERY interesting updates and theories on a couple of subjects I’ve been covering that you won’t want to miss for tomorrow, so stay tuned. I don’t plan on covering THIS part of my Gonzo-styled journalistic endeavor anymore than I feel I have to.

For those who know the cost of what I’ve been dealing with, thank you. It’s kept me from being swallowed by the dark.

Onward!