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
I’m so ashamed of my state right now.
I hate to be a downer, but unless federal law intervenes, nothing is going to be done about these gun laws. Too many people here are ultra-conservative, pro-gun, anti-feminist nut jobs. Believe me, I know a lot of them. >.<
What? Seriously? They can’t trace the dude who posted the threats? What the fuck?
I’m never allowing my kids to attend college in a concealed carry state, that’s for damn sure.
Thanks for telling us Joanna Roberts. I don’t tweet all that often but I will be off to make a few under that tag.
“I’m also seeing more and more commentary from the GG assbags that they will burn gaming to the ground rather than “lose”.”
Hey, do you happen to have any screenshots of that? I need it for something I’m writing about this.
Of course the commenters at Kotaku are claiming she’s making it up. Of course. http://kotaku.com/terror-threat-targets-anita-sarkeesian-for-speaking-at-1646371245/all
This is absolutely despicable. I hope this becomes the ‘have you no sense of decency, sir?” moment that ends GamerGate.
I’m sure someone will quickly accuse Anita of lying or exaggerating about the “multiple” threats, and they wouldn’t believe me, either, but as long as I’m preaching to the choir here, my friend at USU told me a couple of hours ago that they’d received three separate threats. He didn’t take it seriously, though. I mean, just because he canceled his class because it was too near the auditorium and time she’d be speaking doesn’t mean he took it seriously. After all, it’s just trolling. No one takes it seriously. /sarcasm
I just can’t with these people anymore. Why are we always on the defensive against this low-level scum? When can we finally go on the offensive against them?
@weirwoodtreehugger …of course they are. That’s just sick. Then again, what can we really expect from these people?
HOLY SHIT. The noise you just heard was my brain breaking. No gun free dorms? What the everloving fuck. Young adults and firearms, what could possibly go wrong?
The aggrieved manbaby who wrote the manifesto should stop blaming feminism for ruining his life. He’s doing tha all on his own, especially if he gets caught.
Hey, if y’all are going to make Twitter accounts, remember that if you give them your name, they will make it the public name on your account. They say “Use your real name so your friends can find you,” but its not required. I wouldn’t recommend it, either.
“Of course the commenters at Kotaku are claiming she’s making it up. Of course.”
Don’t forget the ones pearl-clutching with “If she didn’t cancel, the blood of those poor innocent students would be on her hands!” Not, y’know, on the hands of the murderer.
Fucking hell, were these people raised by old Nazi prison guards and retired serial killers? Even literal sociopaths would do a double-take at some of this.
And they CONTINUE to doxx Zoe Quinn:
https://twitter.com/alexlifschitz/status/522235852161048578
Err, that last bit was directed at the haemorrhoidal asshole who sent in the threat, #Gits and MRAs in general as well as the Kotaku morons. Kind of lost my train of thought there.
@cloudiah they’re also talking about camping out on her lawn and stalking the fuck out of her MORE. But it’s TOTALLY not about her.
Dear Utah and all other “open carry” states: Your gun laws are fucked up for allowing massacres to happen. And I don’t care if you still have the death penalty for murder; that’s not going to deter a truly determined killer, is it now? Never has, never will. You are fuck-ups.
Dear antifeminists: YOU are why we need feminism. Everything you say, do, or say you will do is just one more reason why we fight. You are not going to deter us. You are on the losing side of history, and there you shall forever remain.
Dear Gamergaters: YOU are why we need feminism in gaming, and fuck your “journalistic integrity” excuse making. When shoot-em-up gameboys become threaten-to-shoot-‘er-up trolls, you have no moral ground to stand on. You are losers, and your “movement” is of the bowel kind.
And dear whoever wrote this:
You, too, are why we need feminism. Men have never HAD a “crushing setback”, except in your over-vivid imagination. And really, if this tarnishes your collective image, you fucking deserve it. You are a LOSER.
Brrrr, Kotaku. There should be a little pop up window every time one clicks on the comments section that reads, ABANDON HOPE ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE.
Do you know what I love the most? If you go to the Utah State University press release, they have the stuff from 4 pm before the event was canceled. And it contains this sentence:
Yes, we wouldn’t want any of those dangerous backpacks!
@cendare:
What if someone walks in with a big backpack full of pistols and ammo? Eh? Ehhh? Maybe security will have to carefully search them to make sure only one type of deadly weapon is inside.
I kind of hate twitter, but it seems to be where the good stuff is breaking:
https://storify.com/ShadowTodd/gamergate-rejects-harassment
Seriously though. Imagine if the talk hadn’t been cancelled, and security measures had been put in place so security will know if someone was bringing guns in. What the fuck happens when someone tries to carry in a gun? How the hell do you think, as an officer at the checkpoint, “welp, I know someone threatened to shoot people, and here’s a dude with a gun, but it’s his right so I’ll let him through.”
I’m seriously baffled as to how this could have worked out.
Whatever happened, it would’ve been Anita’s fault. Somehow.
Whatever happened, it would’ve been Anita’s fault. Somehow.
—
Well, duh. it was HER lecture. a nd she was attacking GAMES!!!! and MENZZ!!!! and if she would just stick to attacking repulicans and I don’t know, knitting, it would be fine and she would not need to be “educated” or “corrected” in her behaviors.
(icky, just typing that sarcasm…)
I want to give a disclaimer: I’m a 4chan user. In fact, 4chan is the social website I use the most.
I’ve already noticed a lot of people claiming that Sarkeesian somehow forged this threat or is manufacturing the hate speech she’s receiving. I’m certain that’s ridiculous, but in the wake of GamerGate I’ve caught on that a lot of my peers have some sort of obsession with “false flag attacks.” Anyone else notice this? Is this something recent, or has this particular strain of paranoia been going on for longer than I’ve realized?