Universities in the Philadelphia area were on high alert today after a threat directed at them was posted on 4chan’s /r9k/ board. The anonymous threat (everything is anonymous on 4chan) deliberately called to mind the threat/warning posted on the same message board last week, the day before a gunman shot and killed eight students and one professor at Umpqua Community College in Oregon.
“The first of our kind has struck fear into the hearts of America,” the writer of the new threat declared.
His cries have been heard, even by the president. This is only the beginning. On October 5, 2015 at 1:00 PM CT, a fellow robot will take up arms against a university near Philadelphia. His cries will be heard, his victims will cower in fear, and the strength of the Union will decay a little more. …
Martyr yourself for the cause or support those who have the courage to do so. We have the chance to make the world a better place for betas everywhere.
The deadline passed without incident — as did the deadline for a similar threat directed at schools in Edinburgh. Scotland, posted shortly after the Oregon shootings — but not without shaking a lot of people up.
Now the most malevolent trolls on the /r9k/ board, knowing that they have the attention of the world, are rhapsodizing about the coming “beta rebellion,” gleefully mocking the victims of the Oregon shootings, and posting threats aimed at an assortment of schools around the world, from Texas to the Netherlands.
And so, alongside more traditional /r9k/ topics as “Post your waifu” and “DAILY REMINDER THAT ALL FEMALES ARE DECEIVING SUBHUMAN WHORES,” the board today is filled with simultaneously ridiculous and chilling messages like these:
4chan being what it is, other anons are posting ironic “threats” aimed at, among other places, the moon, Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, and Whoville — the latter a reference to a news reporter who mistook the board’s meme mascot, a frog called Pepe, for the Grinch.
In the wake of a mass shooting that left ten people dead, this is all a good deal less than hilarious. Yes, yes, 4chan apologists, I know that the anons writing the “real threats” are most likely shitposters, like the anons joking about shooting up the moon, in that they most likely have no intention of carrying out their threats.
But at the same time it’s clear they do intend to terrorize real people with their probably fake threats. As they know well, we have to take them seriously, given that a similar threat on the same message board only a few days ago was followed by an actual, real-world massacre.
This isn’t shitposting so much as it is terrorism, a form of terrorism enabled and in some ways encouraged by 4chan’s anonymous nature.
It’s also clear that the “beta uprising” the /r9k/ regulars are joking about — and designing flags for — isn’t altogether a joke to them either.
Aside from the picture of Hitler, there’s not much deliberate irony in this discussion. These are two people discussing the future of a would-be political movement, in the wake of an act of terrorism that may be tied to the message board they are posting on. One thinks the terror caused by the shootings in Oregon will lead people to take their “issues” seriously; the second sees to think that continued violence is the only answer.
I’m not seeing a joke here.
“The first of our kind…”? Hardly. Check the website of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence: “Insurrectionism Timeline” and you’ll note that the latest mass shooting is more of the same NRA/Tea Party-inspired violence against women, minorities, gays, and liberals in general, spanning from 2008 to present:
http://csgv.org/issues/guns-democracy-freedo/insurrectionism-timeline/
If that doesn’t do it for you, check the website of The Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights (IREHR): http://www.irehr.org/
Or the Southern Poverty Law Center, or simply just research right-wing white supremacist [Tea Party associated] groups and their views on women:
ABCNews: QUOTE: “That is, at least in part, because many white supremacist groups claim to be followers of a Christian tradition that includes clear division of roles for the sexes. Men are active in the world, while women are homemakers.
Women were recruited to join these groups for the purpose of carrying on the white race, and for many, that is apparently still sufficient.
Web sites for women’s organizations in the racist right show women have found a lot to do without getting involved in leadership.
“Children, they are what drives us to better ourselves and our people. It takes a very strong and deeply committed woman to be a part of the cause. She has to be a mother, partner, and warrior all in one,” one young woman, Tina Edwards, is quoted as saying on the Stormfront Web site. “She must understand that this is not a game nor is it for the faint of heart … It is about securing the existence of our race and a future for white children.” END QUOTE.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90982&page=1
Any of this sound familiar? As in MRA familiar?
We refer to this as “Intellectual” racism/historical revisionism: Judgybitch: “Hate speech, the Confederate flag and feminism”
http://judgybitch.com/2015/06/25/hate-speech-the-confederate-flag-and-feminism/
Like this: “Ron Paul’s Neo-Confederate “South Was Right” Civil War Speech With Confederate Flag”
Do you understand how/why the “men’s rights movement” is motivated by Tea Party white supremacy, which includes vicious attacks against women, minorities, gays, immigrants, liberals, multiculturalism, diversity, and social/economic egalitarianism?
Political Research Associates: “Behind the recent surge of nullification bills in state legislatures there is an ongoing battle for the soul of the GOP—and the future of the union itself. The nullification movement’s ideology is rooted in reverence for states’ rights and a theocratic and neo-Confederate interpretation of U.S. history. And Ron Paul, who is often portrayed as a libertarian, is the engine behind the movement”
http://www.politicalresearch.org/2013/11/22/nullification-neo-confederates-and-the-revenge-of-the-old-right/#sthash.QW4RoNOp.dpuf
This is right-wing Libertarianism. It has never been and is not now separate from the Religious Right. One can draw a straight line from the racist, far right fringe John Birch Society to the Tea Party: http://thepoliticalspectator.com/tag/ron-paul/
P.S. There are responsible organizations fighting this extremism. May I suggest that people of good conscience look into them, rather than waste more time arguing dishonest talking points with white supremacists?
An example: People for the American Way (actual progressives): “The War on Women
How the War on Women Became Mainstream: Turning Back the Clock in Tea Party America
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
The Battle Against Birth Control
The Contraception Coverage Debate
Intensifying Attacks on Choice
Stopping the Violence Against Women Act
Scapegoating Single Mothers and Working Women
Fighting Equal Pay Laws
Conclusion”
http://www.pfaw.org/media-center/publications/war-women
The “Men’s Rights Movement” is simply an extension of the above, battling to gain public support with thinly veiled liberal-sounding concerns, until one scratches just a centimeter below the surface. Right-wing propaganda at it’s finest… aimed at rolling back civil and political rights for us all.
Take the fight to the voting booth.
To be fair I do think a conversation about “Beta” males and “alpha” makes are important not because women are inherently evil but rather because there is clearly something wrong with some aspects of our society and feminism (no I’m not saying feminism is evil) The “Betas” have a small point about how we view men that happen to be virgin basement dwellers as scum because they live in the basement/virgins/no job/etc. problem is do we judge women for the same traits as well? Maybe we should judge Men and Women on how decent they are as humans beings instead on whatever superficial traits they have. Maybe we should be telling the “Betas” they don’t need girlfriends/wives to be happy and instead focus on making positive steps for themselves. You know the old “I’m a strong independent women who needs no man” how about “I’m a strong independent geeky dude who needs no women?” I don’t mean this in a women suck way. What I mean is why make a huge deal about whenether or not he happens to have a girlfriend or not? Instead of shaming them for being virgins who live with their parents, rightly call out their misigynistic actions out like any other guy.
To me it’s backwards thinking to think that Slut Shaming = Bad, but somehow Virgin Shaming = good. Shouldn’t it be Slut Shaming = bad and Virgin Shaming = bad?
Maybe I’m just a shitty ally but I dunno…