Who Is Samantha? (As If We Don't Know)

The Southern heritage and neoConfederate corner of Facebook has a new stalker. She styles herself "Samantha Vantano," and has sent numerous friend requests to various heritage folks -- sent them repeatedly after they are deleted by the recipient -- and numerous more requests to join our groups -- also repeatedly after they've been deleted.

She also used Facebook's messenger to contact several of us individually. I know of at least four or five people who received her messages; and no telling how many I don't know about. After I booted her from Due South, I got these messages:

    Conversation started Saturday

    1/25, 9:25am
    Samantha Vantano

    Ms. Chastain,

    I cannot access Due South. Why did you remove me?

    Thanks

    Samantha

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    1/25, 9:28am
    Connie Chastain

    You have a brand new profile, and I can't tell much about you. We've had critics and opponents join the group with new or closed profiles, some of whom turned out to be moles for critics of Confederate heritage.

=====

    1/25, 5:37pm
    Samantha Vantano

    I understand I that might send up a red flag but my situation is a bit different. I have been the victim of identity theft of my credit card and have been in court for the last six months trying to restore my name and credit. I was told that they obtained my information through my computer. So not only did I have to buy a new computer, but I had to set up new accounts just to ensure they did not get to me again. I also have bought LifeLock. Do you use some type of digital protection? I would highly recommend it.

=====

    1/25, 5:37pm
    Samantha Vantano

    I do understand you precautions.

=====

    1/25, 5:57pm
    Samantha Vantano

    I apologized if any of this sounds bitter. I am just tired of not being believed at being who I say I am. I hope you never have to go through a situation like mine of ID theft. Worst thing in the world.

Quite a sob story, iddinit? I posted this at the Backsass FB group:

Following the well-established Corey-pattern of attempting to friend Confederates and infiltrate our groups, and deleting the profile that's been "outed," new troll "Samantha Vantano" has disappeared from Facebook. Corey does not seem to understand that people write with a "voice" and it can be very distinctive and identifiable. "Samantha's" voice sounded just like numerous other fraudulent profiles created by Meyer, and her behavior (deleting the profile) is the definitive tell-tale sign.

I think his departure from blogging must be driving him crazy, like nicotine craving in a smoker tryin' to quit...

After posting that, I received the following message: 

    1/27, 8:26pm
    Samantha Vantano

    I am still here Connie

    You know Connie, you said that Due South had become popular over the last week or so. I wonder how many of those people can be trusted?

During the Samantha-blitz, John Hall sent me a copy/paste of a message "she" sent to him:

Hey, just so you know I have sent a packet of you comments and writings about blacks...you know calling them "chimps" and your little scam with your dog and a hotel to your local newspaper, the Atlanta Const. Journal and the SPLC. When the SPLC heard about it they were very interested. Just though you should know. Samantha!

And by the way, you will need to clean out all of your friends because I an still one of your friends... You know "keep you friends close and your enemies closer".... LOL...

Veddy, veddy interesting, considering that Corey left this comment at my blog on January 25th

Corey Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Living Rent-Free? Or Jackhammering?":

John C. Hall,

I am still wondering if your local paper would like to see the things you say and do on Facebook. Calling black people like Rose Sanders a "chimp" or using your dog as a "seeing eye dog" to get into a swank hotel, or the happy claims of your ancestors roll in the KKK, or reminding President Obama that Georgia boys still carry guns... (I think this high school teacher meant 'role'. cw)

Should I continue? And have you learned yet how to attach you little toy sword to that saber belt yet?

No, I didn't post it. I sent it to spam. But I didn't delete it. I may accidentally lose things, but I almost never delete stuff like this. I guess my sending the comment to the cornfield pissed him off so much he blew his cool...

So "Samantha" also messaged one of us, maybe more, this "info".

    I am seriously not Corey Meyer. I work for the SPLC and I am doing a story on the Virginia Flaggers and their connection to racist groups like the League of the South and people like Matthew Heimbach, Shane Long, Michael Cushman and Kirk D. Lyons. I have already written articles on the LOS's demographic displacement protest. Your story should be out in about a month or so. Stay tuned.

Bwwhahahahahaaaaa!! My, my. Sounds like she's been reading the Crossroads flog, don't it? 

I couldn't help but wonder, though, what she means by "work for the SPLC".  Does that mean she's actually on the payroll? Or is she one of the sleazy freelance anonymous infiltrators they rely so heavily on? I blogged about that kind of scum here, in my second post on this blog: 
http://mybacksass.blogspot.com/2010/07/intelligence-and-poverty-stricken.html

Back in 2005, the SPLC website carried this info about the "Intelligence" Report:

"Each year, Intelligence Project staff sift through hate groups' publications, citizens' reports, news reports and information from law enforcement agencies and field sources to develop the most up-to-date data on American hate groups. That data is then passed on to law enforcement, journalists, academics and the general public."

Something similar was found in a paragraph about the list of "hate groups" the SPLC tracks:

"This list was compiled using hate group publications and websites, citizen and law enforcement reports, field sources and news reports."

As I noted in my blog post: 

..."citizens' reports" and "field sources." That's mostly where the "intelligence reports" come from. They are anonymous accounts and as such, wholly unreliable. We aren't told who is supplying the information, how reliable they are, whether they have an agenda, and if so, what it is. We don't know the circumstances under which they gather the information. Did they interview people? Did they identify themselves right up front? If not, how was the information gathered?

These "citizens' and field source reports" are written in the language of persuasion and propaganda, not the language of factual and dispassionate reporting. They are not vetted by an impartial editor for fairness and objectivity. They are manufactured, beginning to end, by people with an agenda, for the purpose of pushing that agenda. They are written and edited by people whose (very substantial) incomes depend on convincing contributors that there's a huge and growing, dangerous, violent "hate" menace stalking the country.

I believe these reports from citizens and field sources to be considerably embellished, and in part actually fabricated.

We'll see if  "Samantha's" report shows up in "Hate Watch" on the SPLC website (which would be more truthfully named "Fabricating Hate to 'Watch'") -- and whether I'm in it. If it does, and if I am, we'll also see whether I can parlay that into book sales....

Samantha, here is a link to my books.  Connie's Novels. They have white and/or off-white Southerners in them. Be sure to include them in your SPLC report: