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Anita Sarkeesian Cancels Talk at Utah State After Receiving Threat of Another "Montreal Massacre." [UPDATED with more info from Sarkeesian]

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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:

 

Screenshot posted by the Standard Examiner
Screenshot posted by the Standard Examiner

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

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MaudeLL
10 years ago

The Polytechnique killer isn’t a hero to men everywhere. In fact, some of the men who were freed from the classroom committed suicide shortly after the massacre. I remember men in Montreal were generally quite wounded by the event. Of course, women were too, but these guys who claim that men secretly admire him are full of shit.
Fuck that guy.

katz
10 years ago

If someone actually got killed, would it still be a false flag?

Kim
Kim
10 years ago

Yes Katz. Except they wouldn’t really be killed. They’d really be mannequins of some sort (with ragdoll physics?). Of course hundreds of people would have to be in on it, but the gynocracy is just that powerful.

weirwoodtreehugger
10 years ago

Katz,
I’m sure they would claim she either faked her death or had herself martyred for attention. I really don’t think there’s a bottom to their dishonesty, hate, and stupidity.

Kitty Andretti
Kitty Andretti
10 years ago

I wondered what it would take to make me stop lurking. I am so disgusted. I don’t have much of a social media presence, but I would like to stand up and declare myself anyway, as someone who thinks that Anita Sarkeesian, Zoe Quinn, Kathy Sierra, and just so many others have been completely undeserving of the harassment (that word hardly seems to cover it) that has been dished out. I will challenge anyone in my life who identifies as pro “gamer gate”, and I will forward feminist frequency, serious pony and WHTM to anyone who shows the slightest inkling of interest. And, I will come down like a ton of bricks on anyone who tries to tell me that this “movement” is in anyway sane, or ethical. It’s hardly enough, but it’s a promise I make to those suffering this abuse.

Hyatt
Hyatt
10 years ago

@Dennis augh they’re seriously claiming it’s a false flag. If you deign to reply, think you could ask them for evidence that it’s a false flag?

A Wolverine
A Wolverine
10 years ago

Feminism didn’t ruin the bastard’s life.
Getting arrested for terrorism might though

Dennis Jernberg (@dennis_jernberg)

@katz @kim: Remember that the Newtown massacre “never happened”. Denialism is a powerful thing.

Re last post: My tweet attracted a troll, as expected. Said troll said “false flag” and was offended at my connection of #GamerGate with #mrafail. Called him/herself @Cpt_manboobs, so anti-WHTM at minimum despite claiming to not actually be an MRA. Oh well.

Aunt Edna
Aunt Edna
10 years ago

This aggrieved lunatic’s threat / manifesto reads like daily fare on every manospheric blog — every single one of them. There is an extremely strong possibility that he is one of the manosphere’s regulars.

I am certain that, if not apprehended, he is not going to stop at just threats, but emboldened by his power now, he will try to exact revenge on women for “ruining” his life one violent way or another. When that happens, will MRA insist again, as they did with Elliot Rodger, that he had nothing to do with them or their views?

Dennis Jernberg (@dennis_jernberg)

@Hyatt: The troll told me to “fuck off”, so I let him/her go. But you have a great idea. I’ll use it as a countertactic next time.

Dennis Jernberg (@dennis_jernberg)

@Aunt Edna:

This aggrieved lunatic’s threat / manifesto reads like daily fare on every manospheric blog — every single one of them. There is an extremely strong possibility that he is one of the manosphere’s regulars.

I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. That’s the connection I explicitly made which offended that troll.

I am certain that, if not apprehended, he is not going to stop at just threats, but emboldened by his power now, he will try to exact revenge on women for “ruining” his life one violent way or another. When that happens, will MRA insist again, as they did with Elliot Rodger, that he had nothing to do with them or their views?

I’m sure they are already. If they denied Rodger, they’ll deny this guy too.

weirwoodtreehugger
10 years ago

Hyatt,

I asked one of the Kotaku commenters if he had any evidence that the threat wasn’t legitimate. He asked me if I had any evidence that it was legit. Sigh.

I told him that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and that if you’re going to make an outlandish claim, the burden is on you to prove it. He hasn’t replied yet.

As we all knew, there is zero evidence Sarkeesian faked these threats.

cloudiah
10 years ago

So far the only notable thing: the line “feminists have ruined my life” is a direct quote from Marc Lepine — it’s what he allegedly said before he started shooting.

Of fucking course. I’m just … Daring to exist as a human being is actually threatening to these asshats. Wat.

Qwery'sgirl
Qwery'sgirl
10 years ago

This is awful. Some people at my college discussed inviting Sarkeesian over for a talk about gender in games, but we decided it would be too impractical to prove that we really are interested in what she has to say and not trying to draw her out to kill her. Now I see that our intentions wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

Leisha Young
Leisha Young
10 years ago

Oh this poor woman. She is amazingly strong and deserves to go down in history in the gamer community and feminist archives.

What the hell is going on?

Bogdan Cvetkovic
10 years ago

Oh this poor woman. She is amazingly strong and deserves to go down in history in the gamer community and feminist archives.

She is. After all of the horrific offenses made against her she still keeps going with her project. That takes a lot of courage.

Bogdan Cvetkovic
10 years ago

You can disagree with her (with civility of course) about points in her videos (as intelligent and, yes, feminist people have), but you cannot discount her courage.

Bogdan Cvetkovic
10 years ago

And Hannibal made a new video!

Elektra Kenway
10 years ago

“We are blamed for the abuse we receive and regularly told that we are either asking for it or inventing it entirely” – Sarkeesian at XOXO Festival 2014

I’ve been noticing some gaming communities are a lot different. On IGN comments you’ll read people (99% men) saying it’s all a lie, that it’s for publicity, that she deserves it, etc.

If you switch to The Verge or Polygon, most readers are furious because this is happening to her (again) and actually mock the trolls and victim-blamers for what they are.

I’m also beginning to see “brand new” social media accounts with roughly 5 contacts that pose as women and defend this… “hatergate” with the argument “I’m a woman and I support it! There’s no hate in “true gamergate”! Long live ethics!”

The threat was not only to her, but also to all other feminists there and even a women’s centre. Furthermore, the threat is far from over if that person (who made the threats) is an actual student and interacts with everyone and goes there every day.

This is truly scary. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

Is there no way for authorities to locate those people that keep “doxxing” and threatening their targets online? Someone has to stop this before something terrible happens and we can’t turn back time.

friday jones
friday jones
10 years ago

My shit gets searched going into the Renfaire because they don’t want to allow outside booze, how is it again that a University can’t define their own set of contraband items?

Dennis Jernberg (@dennis_jernberg)

@friday: Specifically guns. Utah is an “open carry” state, meaning in that state you legally have the absolute right to openly carry guns anywhere and the police can do nothing to stop you. This is just one reason why I hate the US right wing so much, and why I’m no longer a libertarian or even a pro-gun liberal.

friday jones
friday jones
10 years ago

The terrorist is a University student, so just how exactly has feminism “ruined his life?” I had to work full time and go to community college. Does that mean that my life is ruineder than his?