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A little over three years ago, a Canadian feminist with bright red hair confronted some Men’s Rights Activists outside of an event at the University of Toronto.
The woman, known as Chanty Binx, was trying to argue a point; they kept interrupting her; she raised her voice, told them to shut up, dropped the f-bomb. She was, as she admits, a bit rude to them — more than a bit, really. But being rude is not illegal, nor even uncommon, when people who disagree fundamentally encounter one another in person at a demonstration. Much worse things have happened at demonstrations.
The one thing different about this confrontation? It was caught on video, and uploaded to YouTube, at which point a vast army of the world’s worst people decided to do their best to make her life a living hell. Footage of her at the event was posted and reposted and spliced into countless antifeminist videos on YouTube; it’s been watched literally millions of views.
Binx was besieged with insults, misogynistic slurs, and grotesquely violent threats; her image was appropriated for who knows how many creepy memes. She was doxxed. “Artists” drew pictures of her engaging in sex acts. Think of any way a woman can be harassed and bullied online, and chances are it was done to her.
Binx has laid low for three years, hoping that this onslaught would pass. And, she says, the direct harassment had died down somewhat in recent months.
Now one of her haters has put her back in the spotlight again, and in a supremely creepy manner. Not long ago, you see, Binx stopped by a government-run liquor store in the Toronto area to pick up a bottle of wine. A seemingly friendly employee offered her help.
In fact, he claimed later, he had recognized her from the internet, and was hoping to hear her speak to make sure she really was who he thought she was.
After she left, he somehow accessed the store’s surveillance footage, took a screenshot of her visit to the store, and put it up on Facebook (without the blurs you see below):
No, liquor store creep, it hasn’t been two years. It’s been three. THREE YEARS of hateful, disgusting, privacy-invading harassment. Because THREE YEARS AGO a woman yelled at a couple of MRAs, and they filmed her doing it.
This time Binx has decided not to lay low. She spoke with CityNews about the latest twist in the internet war on her. The report is chilling, and well worth watching.
Feminist says LCBO privacy breach fuelled flood of online hate https://t.co/rrh0hvgfPx pic.twitter.com/W5I7nibXre
— CityNews Toronto (@CityNewsTO) June 30, 2016
“[I feel like] I’m being watched constantly,” she told CityNews. “No matter what I do, I’m under a monitor.”
Now that the CityNews segment has run, the hate campaign against her has predictably ramped up again. On YouTube, a video about the CityNews segment from “Rekt Feminist Videos” has racked up 47,000 views, and generated 1900 comments, since it was posted earlier today. Here are a few of those comments:
Several commenters “jokingly” discussed staking out the store she was filmed in.
I spent only a few minutes reading the comments; I’m sure there are many more along these lines in the 1900 posted so far.
The discussion took a similar turn on LiveLeak:
A Voice for Men, meanwhile, complained that CityNews had quoted threatening posts on its website in order to construct “yet another threat narrative” aimed at … MRAs. The comments to the AVFM post did not exactly reinforce the site’s claim that MRAs are the real victims here:
Naturally, Binx’s haters are mocking her for allegedly bringing this latest wave of harassment on herself by, well, speaking up about the vile harassment she was still getting, three years on, before she spoke up for herself.
This, from the CityNews segment, is some of what she was getting BEFORE she spoke up for herself. CONTENT WARNING: Rape, violent threats.
.
Apparently, as the haters see it, she has only two choices:
She can remain silent about the ongoing harassment, and pretty much everything else in the world, for the rest of her life.
Or she can risk getting “deservedly” beaten or raped or killed. For the “crime” of yelling at some MRAs once, three years ago.
But they’ve been threatening to do that anyway, without her saying a word to them for three years. Being silent hasn’t protected her from harassment or threats or someone literally posting surveillance footage of her that lets the world know where she lives.
I’m glad she’s speaking up and reclaiming her voice. She deserves all the support in the world for it.
If anyone here has good ideas on how to show this support, post them below. If anyone wants to explain how Binx really does deserve harassment, go to hell.
NOTE: I’ve been in contact with Binx and she is ok with me identifying her by that name; it’s all over the internet already.
Jesus Christ. The comments on those videos are deplorable, and they’re all victim blaming nonsense.
Apparently raising your voice at MRAs once three years ago is enough to deserve harassment until you’re in the ground to these people. It’s fucking terrifying, and they see this as some sort of depraved justice.
MRAs, everyone. Such activism. Many human rights. Wow.
Fuck them and everyone who defends them, either directly or by claiming that they’re not really what MRAs stand for. They very clearly are what MRAs stand for and there’s at least half a decade’s worth of evidence on the internet that proves it.
All of this happened to her because she yelled at some ignorant Right.
Yeah, and we’re the group that overreacts.
You know before coming to this site I literally had no idea these kind of ugly targeted campaigns of hatred against women were going on. I don’t use twitter, facebook, tumblr or reddit etc so finding this out has been an awful and upsetting process. But neccesary too, I must have come off so complacent in my feminism before, now I know what’s really lurking out there in the hearts of many men and some women.
I hope Chanty Binx gets all the support she needs and I agree, that bloke needs his ass fired like yesterday.
These obsessed twits can get on a hot air balloon, power it with their own hot air, and float the fuck away to the sun. The world will be much happier.
Fuck the assholes giving this woman a hellish three years and fuck the asshole who made that meme generator image. That bear is too innocent and cute to be used in their fragile, ego driven bullshit.
I hope, with all my heart, that she finds massive success. I hope nothing but good things come her way. As for all these obsessed little manchildren, there’s the hot air balloon to your left.
That meme isn’t even used correctly. Confession Bear is for anonymously confessing terrible secrets or unpopular opinions, not bragging about bullshit that everyone in your hateful little bubble agrees with for back-pats and brofists.
(Petty, sure, but nitpicking a shitty meme is easier than typing out ten screens’ worth of swear words.)
This should be a vivid reminder of the dangers of surveillance technology. When it is pervasive and normalized, those with access casually abuse it. Surveillance creates a power disparity. Like we see with poor Chanty Binks, there is a real danger to the victims of this abuse.
Privacy protects marginalized people. We need to see it as a basic human right, not a privilege for the wealthy or a quaint, outdated idea. Real people suffer very real consequences when their privacy is violated.
Technology to search through surveillance camera footage using facial recognition algorithms is not far off, and many of these cameras are being replaced by cheap, insecure webcams. In a world with stalkers like this asshole, this seems like a dangerous combination.
I’m so sorry this happened to her, and hope there is something I can do to help. I really don’t have anything more useful to say than that, but I do hope if she is looking for support she can see it here.
I find this filth deplorable and that’s as somebody who was actually cyber bullied myself, and even now, three years later, I refuse to go back on Facebook, or any social media. Despite the disgusting things which were said about me, and the ongoing verbal abuse, not once did anyone threaten my life or threaten to rape me. These vile basturds are on a completely new level of shit. When I was harassed, I went to the police, and all they told me to do was to ‘block them’, not understanding that most of them already blocked me so they could talk about me behind my back without me seeing it. A good friend of mine from uni actually copy pasted me the disgusting comments, which I showed to the police, thinking I could take them to court for slander or defamation, but apparently that is ‘civil’ not criminal, so no legal aid. I fell into depression and suffered anxiety attacks after one of my harassers actually hired a nightclub bouncer and brought him to my front door – again, police ‘not interested’ in a ‘domestic’. My harasser actually accused me of trying to make trouble for him by going to the police!
It’s terrible how bullies are allowed to get away with their actions with impunity, because the law is on their side, and whatever Facebook or Twitter says, ‘report’ users etc, it actually is not against any law to cyber bully and harass people online, know that from experience. 🙁
Chanty Binx, I’m so sorry that you’re being harassed.
It’s bad luck for this liquor store worker that he’s employed by the government, not a like-minded buddy.
Too bad about that pension.
Stay safe!
PS: On the plus side, are any Toronto Mammotheers job hunting? I know an organization that, if it has any sense, has just fired someone for being a raging woman-hater while at work. This organization would probably be happy to hire someone who can get along with others. There’s a pension involved!
Wait a moment – the guy has neo-Nazi tattoos (Littleknown’s right, that’s the Iron Eagle)? Isn’t that illegal in Canada?
*Googles*
Yep, his arms are breaking all the laws.
@SFHC
Whoa!
I guess that’s why he has neo-Nazi tats on his upper, upper arms.
Let me see. Unauthorized use of work equipment for private purposes. Most places I’ve worked at that constituted gross misconduct and was grounds for summary dismissal. In Ms Binx’ place I’d make a formal complaint and demand the little s**t be fired.
Naturally, when this guy gets fired because of his own criminality, irresponsibility, and malice it will be one more thing to blame on straw feminism – because reasons.
I tried reporting this on youtube but it wouldn’t let me.
Apparently this 2 minute hate video doesn’t break their tos even though it’s attracting all of those evil comments.
What would we do without all of these wonderful egalitarians to tell us how feminism is evil and the people who threaten to rape feminists are standing up for justice.
MRAs are accusing her of pulling a fire alarm at an mra event.
Could I have a link to counter this? I’m not asking to sealion you guys, I just want to post it to shut those disgusting monsters down and prove that they have no ground to stand on.
@Anon
Ask them for THEIR source that Fire-Alarm-Puller-Woman was a Feminist. “She pulled a fire alarm at a MRA event, therefore she must be an eeeeevil feminist” is not enough. Then ask them why do they think that pulling a fire alarm warrants years of harassment, death threats and doxxing.
@Tizio
This is really the heart of it, isn’t it? Even if she was obnoxious three years ago (emphasising if, as it can be so subjective), even if she set off an alarm … how do you even begin to justify what’s been done to her?
@anon
Just ask them for evidence of their claim. They have none. I think if you search the archive you can find stories about the fire alarm incident. They have no idea who pulled a fire alarm at a speech by an MRA. No evidence that it even a feminist. They decided it was her after they decided she was the new woman to hate.
Incidentally, they continue to use the “feminists pull fire alarms” cry as an excuse to literally never do anything to help men.
I don’t understand how youtube wouldn’t let you report this video, I did so last night myself. I encourage anyone who can stomach opening it reporting it for harassment.
I remember watching the original Chanty Binx video on YouTube. She didn’t exactly cover herself in glory. She already admitted that herself.
But… it’s been 3 years. The fact that she’s still being ‘hunted’ is scary.
The thing is, all of us will at some point fuck up. Men or women, feminist or MRA, doesn’t matter.
What she’s being accused of doing, being aggressive or pulling fire alarm to stop MRA meeting, don’t warrant this kind of punishment 3 years on. whatever your opinion is on feminism or men’s rights, you KNOW this isn’t right.
I didn’t even know about Ms. Binx until now, but damn…three years of harassment for yelling at someone (who arguably deserved it) once?
It’s almost like MRAs got everything they know about human behavior from Saturday morning cartoons, but chose to emulate the villains. Exploding into rage over inconsequential stuff is a classic villain move.
The rage these men (and some women?) feel towards this woman that dared to speak up against MRAs in public isn’t even normal, it irrational and manic.
And what is with A. Sarkeesian, and all other women that dared to speak out about benign topics in public and had to deal with years and years of continious harassment?
What on earth causes you (as an adult, with a job) to breach your working contract to post someone’s personal information because they DARED to disagree with you several years ago?
And tens of thousands of such right-wing smegmoids (I can’t even see them as human anymore) jump in on this harassment train like it is a contest. With no empathy, no reflection, just pure evil. And this is the scary part about it, how many of these smegmoids are simply just pure evil.
They are evil because they can be. They can bully, in a pack, anonymous. Their personal data is not made public, the law can’t do anything about them, shit, even youtube won’t remove them and their videos because their vile, evil billying is not breaching the community guidelines.
They can threaten with death and rape, nobody will know their names.
But victims can’t remove none of the leaked data about themselves from the Internet. The law is simply perfectly made for such scumbags. No consequences online and in real life.
And all of this because a woman dared to be rude to a bunch of rude men? Men that are MRAs whos whole existence is about being rude and hateful?
This whole story is beyond belief and beyond sickening.
Also, I would really like to get pointed to a man that has dared to disagree with women over something that has then proceeded to be the victim of stalking, rape and death threats that continued/continues for years?
On youtube, amongst the alt-right and in the menosphaere, there are the worst kinds of human beings that you can find out there. Humans that are publicly racist, that publicly deny the Holocaust, that openly defend rapists. Humans that openly out and proud with their name and surname attached promote end defend the worst kinds of opinions to exist, and yet how many of them are the victims of ongoing harassment?
There is something very special about the irrational vitriol directed at women that dare to contradict men over something, because men are the “default humans”, women must not contradict them anything.
Society is passive-agressive towards women that stand up for their rights. The Internet is simply just agressive.
But silencing won’t work in the long run. It never worked with any group.