Cyber Terrorist Or Lonely Geek-Teen

Well, surprise surprise.
Ryan Cleary, the guy arrested in England who is thought to be one of the masterminds behind LulzSec, isn't a popular, outgoing social demon. He isn't an athlete with a cell phone full of girl's numbers. He isn't even a member of the “freak” squad (every school or town has one) – hanging out at Hot Topic stores and Big Boy restaurants, discussing their hatred for organized religion and old Joy Division records.

Rather, Cleary is a reclusive 19-year-old who, before his arrest by Britain's Scotland Yard, hadn't been out of his house since before Christmas. According to his own mother (who must be very proud), her son doesn't leave his room except to use the bathroom, and she leaves his meals outside of his bedroom door. His long-suffering mom, Rita Cleary, revealed that Ryan suffers from Emotional Behavioral Disorder, and that he tried to hang himself with a dressing gown belt when he was 10. He would, Rita believes, have another go were he to be extradited to the U.S. to face charges.

It isn't known yet how far those charges could stretch, but it is believed Cleary might have had a hand in attacks on the CIA, the Senate, Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), Facebook and Sony. One has to wonder the rationale behind attacks on the CIA and SOCA, two agencies who do such important work on two sides of the Atlantic. Could there be a political motivation that, while misguided, would at least provide an explanation? Probably not. This is a guy who most likely spent the early part of his life being ignored by girls and the popular boys. The EBD wouldn't have helped. But now he's full of hate and wants to take it out on the world in front of as many people as possible, just so long as he doesn't have to leave his bedroom. He didn't bring down a porn site (God forbid – what else would he do before dinner?), or something else that he found morally dubious. This was mindless vandalism.

Is Ryan Cleary a threat to civilization? Not without a computer, although his mom says that he threatened to kill himself (again?) when she told him she was taking it away. Regardless, if ever there was a case of a dude needing a girlfriend, it's Ryan Cleary.