If you study the behavior of any group long enough, you begin to detect patterns and routines. As a victim of government sponsored harassment for over ten years I begin to see the same schemes and traps used over and over again. One such scheme is chronicled in an earlier installment I entitled He Came…He Saw…He Scowled. This past evening, I experienced a repeat of that scheme. Different players. Same sad scheme.

As is my practice on most weekday evenings, I visited the Pure Fitness Health Club on 35th & Northern Blvd (Phoenix, Arizona) for a workout. From the onset of my membership here it has been quite clear that covert agents and their support teams populate both the staff and membership of this gym during my workouts. That’s not a problem. I am here only for a workout, not to socialize. They occasionally play petty psychological games which I usually ignore. However, this particular evening became rather interesting because two new faces appeared.

I was on a cross-trainer machine and pulled my mp3 player out of my pocket to change the song. In a few seconds two white males, perhaps in their mid 30’s came and stood very close to me. These were new faces, and were wearing typical Pure Fitness staff shirts. I immediately sensed that they were probably agents assigned to keep me under surveillance, getting a closer look at my actions. I continued my workout, while keeping an eye on them in my peripheral vision.

Because they were standing so close, I made a gesture indicating that I wanted them to move away a bit. They clearly did not like that, but did move. One of them shouted “Hey man, how’s it going!” in a condescending “pseudo-Black” tone of voice (see footnote A). “I do not respond to “hey man,” Mister or sir is preferred,” I replied. My tone was businesslike and terse. I wanted them to know that I saw them for what they really were in spite of their “official” Pure Fitness staff t-shirts. They were older than the typical trainers at the gym and stood out like sore thumbs. These were not gym jocks. I was not interested in playing a game and wanted to cut the conversation short. “Enjoy your work out sir,” one of them replied. “Thank you, sir,” I stated ending the conversation. They stood there a bit longer. The problem was that the treadmill behind me was being used by another member of the club. They did not want to leave until that treadmill was occupied by one of their agents to maintain surveillance (see footnote B). About two minutes later one of their covert female agents was able to occupy the treadmill. Then, the two men left for another part of the building.

I knew that my response did not sit well with them. In truth, I was not genuinely angry. There was a motive behind my response. What I knew was this: If they thought I was angered by their presence they would try to exploit my emotions before I left that evening. They will setup a scheme to lure me into a confrontation because of my “annoyance”. By doing so, they would confirm that they were in fact a part of the team of harassers working against me. I simply had to wait and see what they would do. Well, I finished my workout in the next 45 minutes and headed for the entrance. What took place next was a carbon copy of the scheme used by The Scowler years ago.

The same two agents were waiting outside, directly in front of the entrance as I left. Their pose had that “you want to make something of it, tough guy” look. And, like The Scowler, they said nothing. It was a stance designed to provoke an angry response. I knew why. Like The Scowler, they hoped to lure me into a confrontation that would be witnessed by other agents, staff, bystanders, police, and no doubt recorded on surveillance cameras. By setting this trap, they confirmed that they were in fact plainclothes agents. I simply walked past them with nary a glance, got into my car and drove off. I saw two other agents standing by their vehicles as I drove away. One was grinning, and for good reason. He knew I had avoided yet another of the myriad of traps they have set for me over the years.

Footnote A: If you have read all of my posts so far, you will see that although I am Black, and the bulk of my harassers are White, I do not blame everything I have experienced on racism. The fact is that these attacks are totally opportunistic. If they think racism is your weakness, they will make every attack (and attacker) appear to be racist in nature; If you have a problem with the police, they will make it appear as if the police are behind the harassment. Do you see how it works? The targeted individual is carefully watched for reactions to a wide variety of abuses and humiliating tactics. They are probing for weaknesses and emotional “hot-buttons”–actions and perceptions that anger the victim.” Whatever path they can take to manipulate a victims emotions will be exploited. The appearance and approach taken by your attacker is simply another weapon in the battle for your mind. Knowing this keeps me from viewing their attacks as personal affronts–they are simply tools in the overall psychological war against me.

Footnote B: The target of psychological warfare is under 24 hour surveillance (I have endured this for over ten years). The surveillance is not in the larger sense a search for evidence of wrongdoing. Rather, it is done in a way intended to humiliate, anger, and terrorize the target. You are provided constant visual reminders of that fact that you are being watched. In doing this, the surveillance is intended as a form of constant, dehumanizing, psychological torment.