I've just received this disturbing report regarding a number of webcomic sites with lesbian-themed content being targeted for harassment.
Megan Rose Gedris, creator of the Yu+Me and I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space webcomic, reports in her LiveJournal about a particular poster with a scary message of hate. The poster wrote:
"I'm glad all of those girls are dykes, them some ugly bitches!
Anways while those two clam-smackers were fingering each other, I busted in their room with a shotgun. No death-ray guns for me, I prefer the old fashion way since more blood splatters that way. I first shot Susan at her head because that's the only way to cure those people than I shot Janet in the head as well.
Two dead dykes and one big smile on the face.
Now it's time for me to wipe out the rest of the Sapphire Sisters."
Was this another "dumb troll" who was probably just some kid in his mom's basement, nothing to worry about?
No, actually:
"Well, turns out he actually WAS a threat. One of my readers is a police guy, who has been watching this guy's internet activities. He was a 45-year old guy living in Toronto, not too far from me and my family. And he was escalating. His "stories" (he posted such things as this all the time) were getting more and more violent and sadistic, all of them featuring violence towards gay people. Scary, right?"
and what sort of stuff did he have on his computer?
"Thousands of images of illegal, sadistic pornography..."
But the story has a happy resolution, as he was taken into custody:
"He can't actually be convicted for threats against fictional people, but he CAN be for illegal porn! Yay justice!"
So you have a grown man writing stuff like:
"...I prefer the old fashion way since more blood splatters that way. I first shot Susan at her head because that's the only way to cure those people than I shot Janet in the head as well."
Does his writing constitute a hate crime? One person on the LiveJournal thread thinks "yes" --
"First off, he just violated his TOS. Get his account shut down.
Second, you can contact the Hate Crime National Hotline at 206-350-HATE (4283). (http://www.lambda.org/hatecr2.htm)
They might be able to give you guidance on any additional rights that you have."
I firmly believe that the person who wrote those hateful things WAS dangerous, IS dangerous, obviously has a lot of hatred against women and lesbian women in particular.
Don't take these things lightly, don't just assume "it's a troll" and that's it. This wasn't some ordinary trolling, this was a guy who calls himself "Da Solution" who writes about shooting lesbians in the head so their blood spatters. Murder: that was HIS solution.
I think the thing to do here is spread the word that this sort of thing happens, share stories, and, most importantly, point out resources to take legal action.
This story makes me sick.
On a lighter note, I read a big chunk of Yu+Me a while ago, and thought it was great. :-)
By all means don't take shit from someone who crosses the line, but we have to be very careful we don't turn into fearmongers because of the actions of isolated people with mental health issues. That they're so far off the norm is what horrifies and offends us, not that they represent us as a community.
ReplyDeleteStill, if you're gonna troll, you gotta stand by what you say and take the consequences - that's the thing about free speech. Homosexuality offended that guy and now he's going to prison as a sex offender - there's got to be karma or something going on there.
No ghettos!!
ReplyDeleteAll are diferents, all are greats.
It is definately hate, nobody can argue that.
ReplyDeleteThat's freaking horrible. I'm glad the cops were on the lookout for this guy. Normally you kind of ignore the psychotic comments you get. How do you tell who's a real threat and who's some punk kid just wasting time?
ReplyDeleteI guess you have to treat every case of hate speech the same. If you ignore it, the person could actually be an insane stalker.
Last week here in Brazil there was a case that kinda overrun the media that I think has a BIG DEAL to do with this post.
ReplyDeleteThree years ago, a 19 year-old guy started going out with a TWELVE(!!!) year old girl.
They became boyfriend and girlfriend and, due to him being an extremely possessive guy, their relationship was on-and-off-again for three years.
Reports state that HE ended the relationship TEN TIMES in that period, but she always went after him and begged for them to get back together again.
And they did.
Until recently he ended it again and she (now a FIFTEEN year old) decided she did NOT want the asshole back, especially because she couldn't stand his possessiveness anymore.
Dude flipped.
Last Monday he went into her family's apartment with a gun during a study session with her fiends and held her hostage FOR FIVE FUCKING DAYS, releasing most of her friends on the second day. While the police tried desperately to convince him to end this without anyone (including him) getting hurt. The only thing he could talk about was how much he loved her.
Yeah, RIGHT!
Last Friday he killed her with a shot to the head an another one to the groin (in a clear "you won't fuck anyone else bitch" moment), and also shot her best friend, who he was also holding hostage, in the face.
The last girl survived and is okay.
He tried to kill himself but the gun jammed.
I hope he gets raped with a chainsaw in jail.
So, when it come to death threats I don't think anyone should EVER ignore it, in ANY circumstance. Guys like that should get reported and be FORCED by the authorities to get counseling.
And if counseling doesn't cut it they should be locked up for a good long time BEFORE they get the chance to hurt anyone.
Jack West is right, but at the same time we can't ignore cry's of rage from the dude "next door". I mean, that is pretty sick. I can have a pretty morbid humor sometimes, but he's getting specific and with a sexist angle. I'll admit, I would probably be the person who would just ignore the comment and go on, but good for whoever did. Man O'Buddha was he off-kilter.
ReplyDeleteSadistic porn is a crime in Canada? I'm not a fan of this dude in any way, but I'm recalling Voltaire more than Matthew Shepherd at the moment. You don't arrest people just because they're unpleasant. Slippery slope, people. Also, "Lesbian Pirates" is a pretty crappy comic. Just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteI'd say that "Uttering Threats" is definitely still valid as something to charge a person with, no matter where you are, whether you're speaking them, writing them up in pen and ink or keyboarding them onto the Net.
ReplyDelete