Dox Box
I don’t mind people staring at me in my glass prison in the middle of 6th Avenue. I don’t even mind the jeering or obscene gestures. What sickens me are the people writing down my personal information written on the outside.
I’ll need a new phone number, of course, will need to move too. My credit’s ruined. After my 9-hour sentence in the dox box—one for each guilty charge—my life is devastated.
Do I feel guilty? Yeah.
Have I learned my lesson? Too well. I take out a paperback of Robinson Crusoe and fantasize about a new start.
In case you don’t know, here’s what doxing is.
The Green-Walled Treehouse 
The future stockade. The implications are endless. Well done.
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Thanks, Dawn. Yes, a whole new possibility for public shaming.
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A completely new form of shame, I was not aware; is this real? A life like Robinson Cruise on an isolated island surrounded by warm seas is more and more appealing to me these days.
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No, it’s just speculative. I imagined it as a punishment for people who released others’ personal information online but I guess it could be used for any crime.
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At least the glass stops them throwing vegetables
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That is true. It’s an improvement over the stocks in that sense at least.
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Dear David,
Chilling little vignette. I had a pretty good idea of what doxing was by the content of your well written story. Bravo!
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, Rochelle. I guess I should have more confidence in my writing, haha.
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This one will stay with me. I had to follow the link – it is sooo topical this. Well done, David. And I loved the voice.
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I agree with Sandra. This too will stay with me. Love the whole introspective angle, how outraged he is and how he turns to a classic to find a new world to inhabit. Love the graphic and how well it teams with Rochelle’s photograph. 🙂
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Thanks, Susannah. I appreciate it. Sometimes living on a desert island sounds very peaceful and comforting. 🙂
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I’ll say. No news, no social media. Yes, pretty inviting indeed.
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Me too. I’m echoing all you said.
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Thank you, Sandra. That means a lot. And yes, this is one of those new problems we didn’t have to deal with in the past. A big problem these days.
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Chilling tale 🙂
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Very true. Thanks for reading.
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Blimey, that’s grim. Elegantly told
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Indeed. A pretty brutal punishment, even if it’s fitting. Thanks for reading.
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Good graphic to go with your story. I learning a new term today. I wonder what his crimes were! I hope you write a part 2 on this one.
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Thanks Lisa! Your mention of Midjourney a few months back sent me down a rabbit-hole of AI generated art and I made this one on Midjourney, then tweaked it in GIMP. It would be interesting to explore this idea a bit more.
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You’re welcome and how cool that you used Midjourney to create your graphic. My son has been having some good outcomes with it as well. I’ve used GIMP before but only for general photo editing. Yes I’d like to see what crimes of the future look like. Speaking of Crimes of the Future, there is a Cronenberg movie out by that name with Viggo Mortenson as a main character. Not for the faint of heart, but really good.
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I just watched the trailer, yeah looks pretty freaky. Although I’m sure the words “by David Cronenberg” are enough to say it’s not for the faint of heart. 🙂
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Ah, glad to know you’re familiar with his work. “not for the faint of heart” is a good way to look at his stuff.
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learning = learned
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What an appropriate sentence for a doxer! Making the punishment fit the crime 🙂
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Thanks for reading, Linda. That’s where I started with this one, just having the punishment fit the crime.
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Internet doxing of people who just happen to have different views is vile enough but you moved it up a notch. What a frightening and not all together impossible view of a future. Well done!
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Thanks! yes, it’s pretty scary to think of what would be possible these days or in the near future.
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It is one thing to realize the illicit possibilities of this. It’s quite another to view it as public policy, but I can imagine, even though I’d rather not.
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It would be a return to more brutal forms of punishment to be sure. Pretty sure this would be both cruel and unusual.
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