Locked Out

I have experienced something horrible and scary.

Loss of identity.

No, I have not been victim to identity theft or anything quite as serious as that, but I have had a part of me taken away by force. Yesterday morning, I tried to log in to Facebook and was greeted by a page informing me that my account was deactivated. Because, "Impersonating anyone or anything is prohibited." And I must authenticate my account in order to reactivate it.

Hold the fucking phone.

I have done absolutely nothing to ever indicate that my account is fake. Obviously, because it's not. I have dozens of blog posts, hundreds of photos of myself, countless twitter and status updates, NOT TO MENTION all of my real life friends with whom I communicate on a daily basis. This is absolutley RIDICULOUS. I can't possibly describe how upset I am and how violated I feel.

Maybe it seems like I'm being overdramatic. But don't try to tell me I'm making mountains out of mole hills. My Facebook account is an integral part of my online identity. It is the core of my virtual persona. Above and beyone any username on any other site, my Facebook profile is the internet me. Having that ripped out from under me is mentally excruciating.

It's like coming home after a long day at work and finding that some stranger changed the locks on all of the doors. I've lived here for years and suddenly I need to validate my ownership? I'm supposed to fish out government-issued IDs, bend over backwards, and then wait while you let min into my own goddamn house in your own sweet time? Bullshit.

My fiance, paragon of logic that he is, tells me that if I'm that upset over this, I should just stop using Facebook. If I don't agree with how they run the site I am free to take my "business" elsewhere. Protest by action, not words. Yes, that is a valid point, but honestly, I can't. Like I said before, my Facebook profile is the essence of my virtual identity. Perhaps if I were a more casual user, I would just shut it down and walk away non the worse. But for me, my online life is as important (if not more so) than my physical existance.

This whole ordeal leaves me with a nasty taste in my mouth and a deep-seated feeling of disgust. The worst of it is that I'm powerless to do anything about it because I won't leave the site. All I can do is play by the rules of the system, no matter how unfair that might be.

I suppose life isn't fair, online or off.