Utah State University has just announced that Anita Sarkeesian has canceled a talk she was scheduled to give at the school tomorrow after receiving a threat of a “Montreal Massacre-style attack” by someone promising ““the deadliest school shooting in American history” if the cultural critic was allowed to speak.
Here’s the official announcement:
Anita Sarkeesian has canceled her scheduled speech for tomorrow following a discussion with Utah State University police regarding an email threat that was sent to Utah State University. During the discussion, Sarkeesian asked if weapons will be permitted at the speaking venue. Sarkeesian was informed that, in accordance with the State of Utah law regarding the carrying of firearms, if a person has a valid concealed firearm permit and is carrying a weapon, they are permitted to have it at the venue.
Emphasis added. That’s right: the school received threats from someone promising to shoot people at a public event, but because of Utah’s gun laws, authorities would not be able to prohibit audience members from BRINGING GUNS to the talk.
Before learning that this was the case, Sarkeesian — after consulting with authorities — had planned to go ahead with the talk. As a spokesman for the school told the Standard Examiner, a northern Utah newspaper:
“They determined the threat seems to be consistent with ones (Sarkeesian) has received at other places around the nation. … The threat we received is not out of the norm for (this woman).”
The email threat came from someone who claimed that “feminists have ruined my life and I will have my revenge, for my sake and the sake of all the others they’ve wronged.”
The email, sent to several campus officials and posted online by the Standard Examiner, warned:
If you do not cancel [Sarkeesian’s] talk, a Montreal Massacre style attack will be carried out against the attendees, as well as students and staff at the nearby women’s center. I have at my disposal a semi-automatic rifle, multiple pistols, and a collection of pipe bombs. This will be the deadliest school shooting in American history and I’m giving you a chance to stop it.
The email writer claimed that even if authorities manage to stop him from an attack at the event,
There are plenty of feminists on campus who won;t be able to defend themselves. One way or another, I’m going to make sure they die. …
Anita Sarkeesian is everything wrong with the feminist woman, and she is going to die screaming like the craven little whore that she is if you let her come to USU. I will write my manifesto in her spilled blood, and you will all bear witness to what feminist lies and poison have done to the men of America.
All this because she made some videos discussing sexism in fucking video games.
Here’s a screenshot of the full email, from the Standard Examiner site:
I’m speechless. What the fuck is wrong with these people?
NOTE: This is a NO TROLLS, NO MRAS, NO GAMERGATERS, NO VICTIM BLAMER thread. I will delete comments and ban people who do not respect the rules.
UPDATE: Sarkeesian has provied more details on Twitter; there were multiple threats, including one that specifically referred to GamerGate
Forced to cancel my talk at USU after receiving death threats because police wouldn't take steps to prevent concealed firearms at the event.
— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) October 15, 2014
Requested pat downs or metal detectors after mass shooting threat but because of Utah's open carry laws police wouldn’t do firearm searches.
— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) October 15, 2014
Multiple specific threats made stating intent to kill me & feminists at USU. For the record one threat did claim affiliation with #gamergate
— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) October 15, 2014
At this point supporting #gamergate is implicitly supporting the harassment of women in the gaming industry.
— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) October 15, 2014
I’m safe. I will continue my work. I will continue speaking out. The whole game industry must stand up against the harassment of women.
— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) October 15, 2014
Wow, it’s like being an atheist is a hallpass to being an arsehole. In the minds of some atheists.
I’m not sure that atheism is the cause of arseholeness though.
Ah, but you see, you’re being the right kind of asshole, so that’s OK.
That’s pretty much Dawkins’ unofficial motto, isn’t it?
I’m not sure why the atheist dudebros think they are superior to religious people. To me, it looks like most of them simply replaced one source of faith with another. But it’s still all faith-based and not science-based.
He’s the cleverest asshole of all, yes he is! It must be nice to be that impressed with yourself.
Comment above not meant to denigrate religious people – just realised it could be read that way.
What I meant is, if one argues that one is smart because one has rejected a faith-based belief system, then having a different faith-based belief system* means that one is not smart, by definition.
*worshipping at the feet of Dawkins, Dunderf00t, etc.
Yeah, the whole “bright” thing, with everybody else being of course the “dims”. IIRC there may still be some people who call themselves “brights”. But I bring up this failed attempt at rebranding because the sense of superiority behind it remains. And of course if we’re against, say, Dawkins, we must therefore be “dims” even if we’re metaphorically “bright”. There is no god, therefore let us deify our heroes and make sacrifice unto them…
That other source of faith they ditched their old faith for? Hero worship. Not coincidentally, Ayn Rand extolled it so much I suspect she was a breathless fan of Thomas Carlyle at some time in her life, perhaps in Russian translation when she was young. His On Heroes, Heroism, and the Heroic in History is practically the bible of hero cultism.
@Pallygirl
Here! Here! There is the knowable and the unknowable. Claiming to know the unknowable because reasons and your reasons are so much smarter than the reasons of the people who claim to know the other unknowable doesn’t actually make you smarter.
Sorry, a few commas might have made my last comment just slightly more parsable.
@ Belladonna
It does make you a smug asshole, though, and nobody likes them. Well, except for the Dawkins fanboys.
@cassandrakitty
That it definitely does! As for the rest, I guess it should be no surprise that the smug assholes admire the even more smug assholes. If there’s one powerful thing about faith, it’s that it gives people a way to decide what they aspire to be and then work toward it. That can be comforting or scary, depending on what the person takes from the “story” chosen.
Daily Mash lobs a stinkbomb at GamerGaters:
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-entertainment/gamers-pushing-societys-buttons-for-cheat-code-2014101791825
I do find it encouraging that mainstream news are calling GGer’s out on their behavious.