TO THE CREEPY IMPOSTER
Dear Facebook and Flickr user Makena Becker. you are not me. those photos are not yours. and those children certainly aren't yours either. your creepiness has me reeling. you have five hours to remove all my photos, all my words, and all your really skeevy claims to be someone you are not before i take legal action. you have infringed on my copyright. and i am pretty freakin' ticked off and grossed out by it.
thank you to reader paola for letting me know about this.
i would have loved to keep this a lot more vague and focused more on the idea of creating your own life, how figuring out who you are, little by little, and being true to that potential and the people you love is what makes life really great. and i think the higher road is to maybe leave names off.. but i can't. this is just too weird and violating and there is no possible explanation i can think of where someone would do this "innocently." if you have an idea, i'd love to hear it. i'd love to have something to wet the fury burning in my chest.
until then, i've got a birthday party to prepare for.
also: i have operated this blog the same way i try to live my life- based in faith and happiness and expecting the good rather than fearing and expecting the worst. this is not the worst, but it is really really weird. and i may need to adjust things around here for awhile until i figure this out..
ADDED: dear people (the non creepy ones), i love you. i sincerely do. i wish you were all here in person. i would hug you and thank you, wipe away my angry tears and take you to the park for a big picnic. we'd eat fruit, watch kids run around, soak up the sun and celebrate life (and the fact that the pictures were all taken down! hooray!!). after getting in our fill of spring at the park, you'd help me try to foster a little bit of sympathy and a little understanding for those who do things that aren't right, but then we'd let it go and move on... and after all that i'd try to sucker you into helping me make cupcakes and clean and decorate for tomorrow's party.. i've got a lot to do and am suddenly sooo very tired.
thank you again. truly.
xoxoxo
Friday, March 19, 2010 at 11:02AM
Reader Comments (537)
I often visit your blog and this is actually the first time I have left a comment- I have 4 daughters and your blog has been such an inspiration to me! you have so much talent!!
I just can't get over this -I am so sorry for you - it is truly creepy. I hope it works out for you. the internet can be such a great thing and then you see something like this happen and it is just down right scary.
good luck,
Melissa
Wow, I'm so sorry this has happened to you and so glad to see lots of comments (way more than usual) from readers that have your back! I hope things don't change too much around here because I love your blog, but ya gotta do what's best for you. Thank you for sharing so much of your family life over the years with me and all of your readers. We do appreciate and respect you:)
Like all of the other people who have posted here, I love reading your blog and am so terribly sad that this has happened to you. The world can sometimes be a strange, strange place. You're in my thoughts. x
Well, I echo the sentiments of many who have commented. I read this post yesterday, and I couldn't get out of my head something that you had written about living true to your potential and to those you love. It's sad to think that some people have no earthly idea what this really means (i.e. "MB"). That they have intrinsic worth and are full of possibility and love is lost on them, and we all suffer, in a way, because of this reality. (And, I might say, sometimes we are in their shoes. Not doing such injustices, obviously, but still not appreciating the real value of our humanity.) We live in a broken world full of broken people that still contains so, so much beauty. I am not trying to provide excuses because such violation is inexcusable, but wondering where this kind of impostoring comes from and wishing that all these wounds could be healed.
I am really encouraged by your talent, sincerity and love for your family. I suppose the creepy people will not go away, and hopefully we'll learn to be more wary without losing our trust in others. I hope that you continue to move forward without fear. Your work and words are, clearly, inspirational to many, including me.
Oh my that is really freaky! What an absolute nutter. I have heard about this once before on someone elses blog. Someone was pretending to be her on facebook too. I just don't understand why someone would do that. Are they not happy in their own life and need to pretend they have someone elses?? I am so sorry for the frusturation this must be causing you and your family. I hope you continue with the blog because I love reading it and seeing your great creations.
I am horrified to hear this has happened to you and your family. At the same, I'm so impressed that you are expressing such positivity to your readers right now. I definitely lurk more than I comment, but certainly love your blog. And I continue to be inspired by your attitude even through this awful situation. So, thank you. May it all be resolved quickly.
A few years ago, this same thing happened to me. Someone stole pictures of my goddaughter and sad it was their daughter. It was SO bizarre and gross and it's hard to explain to people who violated you feel when it happens. Good luck!
I am so sorry this happened. I absolutely LOOOOVE your blog!!!! I am newly married, LDS and soon to start a family. Your a sewing inspiration to me! However, I can say that I feel your pain. Someone did this to me on facebook...took my name, my pictures, only a few of them though, added different information, they even left weird status messages. Needless to say I took action, and they were kicked off facebook in two days. So, keep doing what you are doing and don't let anyone have control over your life, even though it seems to be out of your hands at times. Hope everything works out!
CREEPY with a capital C. sorry you have to deal with this...really puts a damper on the joy of blogging. as you can see from the 100+ comments listed above mine, we - your awe inspired fans - got your back!
Hi Katie,
I'm so sorry and absolutely horrified that this has happened to you! What an unbelievable abuse of the trust you put in us, as readers of your wonderful blog. It is not a small thing to share your life with us the way you do, so unselfishly, so beautifully. I hope you find some sort of satisfactory resolution to this -- I noticed that the FB and Flickr accounts are now gone, which is a start. As one of your non-creepy readers, I thank you for writing and sharing with us and inspiring us as you have always done.
I'm so sorry this happened! I'm not sure if someone already said in the 800 previous comments, but lame makena must just be jealous of your beautiful family and life. I love reading your blog and learning from you. I'm sad that someone would violate all that you've shared.
What a nightmare.
I am so glad that the pictures are down. I hope you continue to post and remain open with your blog. I adore your pictures, your work and your writing and every time you post I am truly inspired.
Best of luck! Your readers love you :)
This is my prayer:
Dear Lord,
give us peace and strength, for the turmoil and to trust again.
Give us joy and love, for those who warm our hearts.
Be in it all Oh Lord, in the unknown. For if you are there, we can have no fear.
Katie, I am saying this prayer for you today far away in the land of oz. I hope you can put this out of your broken heart for Eve's birthday. And then when it's all done you can take up the fight again cause this is YUCK! Good on you for having the courage to name and shame! Much love. Bec
Dear Katie,
I read about this nightmare on a german blog; i am so sorry that this happened to you. i absolutely adore your blog, your work, your posts - i hope you do not stop sharing your adorable ideas and projects because of that woman.
i am happy that so so many people commented your last post and i hope that we can a little show you that we are with you.
Oh, how bizarre and creepy! I hope it all works out in a drama-free fashion. I also hope that birthday party was a blast. <3
I love your blog and your lovely thoughts~I hope that this resolves itself quickly and gets out of the way of delicious cupcakes and happy birthday parties!
I'm glad the pictures are taken off. I hope you can continue as before. Please don't let an idiot ruin the wonderfull felling you have in your blog. I wish I could help you make cup cakes!
Your blog is the best.
what is happening?! good gosh this is crazy. so glad it all came down (although before i could see it...i would've flipped!) there are a lot of lonely people with strange tendencies out there- sorry one of them focused in on you. sending good energy your way. love, patria
Oh this makes me so mad. Your blog is so beautiful and inspiring. Why would someone do something so creepy? I hope you realise that this is one rogue person! Best wishes, Al xx
i'm so sorry to read this! i fiil the same revolting as others. keep believing in good and good people. you have so many that love what you do and get inspired from!
beste regards from the netherlands!
OMG What is wrong with people? I agree with you, there is no way this could have been done innocently. Some people are just so messed up and have no life and nothing better to do than sit around and pretend to be someone else. This person probably lives in a mental intitute and is vicariously living through you since they arent allowed to go outside or have contact with the normal world. I mean seriously...why would someone do this?
I think you are fabulous and your girls are beautiful. I would often check your blog to see your new girl creations. I have 2 boys and always felt a little sad not to be able to make some of the fun stuff you make for your girls. But now I have even more of a reason to check up on you! I am having a girl. Yah!
Best of luck ridding yourself of this horrible imposing monster. You dont deserve this drama.
Take care!
Your blog is delightful and your approach to life refreshing. I am impressed that so quickly you found perspective on a rather disturbing and upsetting situation. Please know that there are many of us out there who enjoy your blog, respect your privacy, and have your back on this one.
Gross. This is a person who is not actually sane. It is really hard to deal with people, because they dont have a proper grasp on reality. Your children and life are so beautifully documented on this blog, I would hate to see it go.
Plus one day I hope to see pictures of the kids wearing the fabric I sent in some form of clothing.
I have a couple of your pictures on www.pintrest.com in the form of inspiration if you would like me take them down, I would do so in a super fast second.
http://pinterest.com/sarabeejensen/kids-in-the-halls/#
I am so sorry you had to deal with such an awful intrusion and feelings of violation! I've never met you in person (obviously...), but after reading your blog and being so inspired by the wonderful projects you do with your girls, I feel like I know you. Like you are an old friend in another state and I want to defend you against this yucky person! I would totally come over and help you prepare for the birthday party (though, I think I'm a bit late by now...). I would even help clean the bathrooms, because those are my least favorite and you could use a break right now.
Creepy is not creepy enough of a word for this. What is WRONG with people.
Sadly you are not alone in having your work and your images stolen. This is the second time in less than a week that one of my favorite bloggers has been violated like this. Katie, check out http://sixandahalfstitches.typepad.com/ Alison had a similar situation. She might be someone good to talk to about the next steps to take or at the very least an understanding ear.
I LOVE reading about your family, your projects...it's all beautiful. I'm sorry that someone did this and more importantly I wish there was a way to wash off that creepy feeling. Take care.