One of the things that really prevented dialog and addressing of
   targeting when it began for me, was the concept of "but why would this
   ever happen to some random individual?"
   Assuming one isn't targeted then leads to years of pursuing various
   things that don't necessarily help.
   [Targeting involves being personally studied for disruption activities
   such as planting of spy devices and system trojans, contacting people
   and services in one's life to reduce the power of one's community.].
   This involves investment of resources by bodies with limited resources,
   so people can be skeptical it would ever happen.
   One thing not often discussed is that targetting can involve being
   framed as a suspect for high-stakes crimes such as drug dealing or
   terrorism.  Simply calling authorities can open an investigation and
   allocate extensive resources.  There are also organizations that work
   to disrupt people or groups of various pursuasions, that individuals
   may be listed with.  Books have been published by workers and
   volunteers at such organizations or groups.
   This stuff usually happens when somebody notices you for some reason.
   It may be easy if you have a well-known family name, or are a political
   figure, but other roles aren't ones everyone expects:
   - providing resources for activists or people otherwise without them
   - making a stink that could harm somebody's reputation
   - organizing discussions counter to mainstream messaging, especially in
   an area where they are not already present
   Simple being the person footing the bill, or owning the resources, or
   who has the crucial skillset, or is willing to go the distance, when
   nobody else isn't, can suddenly change one's life forever when noticed.
   Change it in ways that nobody would believe, because the resources
   involved are reserved for hunting the most dangerous criminals and
   fighting the most vicious mercenaries.  Things that suddenly people are
   considering you, because their bosses or computer systems are saying
   you are likely to be.