Brad Wardell's views about technology, politics, religion, world affairs, and all sorts of politically incorrect topics.
Beware who you threaten...
Published on December 30, 2004 By Draginol In Home & Family

I get threats of various kinds pretty frequently. Sometimes it's because they really dislike my political points of view. Others because they are mad because I moderated one of their posts.   And other times they just plain hate me for reasons that I cannot even begin to fathom.

But I get enough of these that I have to take them seriously. When I was younger and had more free time (and a lot dumber) I'd call their bluff. I'd tell them "Go ahead, make my day, coward."  I've met enough on-line people that I've found a very distinct corolation between how nasty and aggressive someone is on-line and how cowardly they are physically.

Now that I'm older, have a family, and know that indeed, while most of these people are just cowards, some of them may be truly violent sociopaths, I use more discretion.  So I tend not to try to "egg them on".  But make no mistake, someone comes to my house after making such a threat I can't reasonably make the distinction of whether they are coming to "confront me" in person, merely to try to "beat the shit out of me" or to "kill me and my whole fucking family" (as various threats go). 

And so if anyone reading this is ever tempted to "confront me", make no mistake, I cannot afford to wait and see which type of assault you're planning to make. I'll do whatever I have to do to defend my home, family and myself and ask questions later. Anyone who threatens me or my family and follows it up with an unwelcome visit can be assured it would be the last action they'll ever take.

And anyone who knows me personally knows I mean that. I am not easily intimidated, certainly not physically. So to anyone thinking of sending me some threatening email or private message or on IRC or via instantt messener realize this - I get threats regularly and you may think making such threats is a form of intimidation that you don't mean very seriously. But you can be assured that they won't instill fear but that I will still take it very seriously. I get some threats that sound pretty serious (and specific).

And so  I have to assume that every threat is a serious one and be prepared for. I'm not going to shut down my website or quit going on-line because some sociopath doesn't like me.

So my advice to the rash - don't threaten me. And certainly don't threaten me and try to come over to my house to try "give me a scare".  I can't afford to wait and see if you're just bluffing or serious.


Comments (Page 1)
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on Dec 30, 2004
How can someone be so obsessed about politics, or a moderated post that they would threaten, AND go to your house...

I think it's time for some to get a life, seriously.
on Dec 30, 2004
yikes!!!!!1 now thats scarey. truely. threats of any kind towards me or my family would be met with "deadly" force, I totally understand what your saying.
on Dec 30, 2004

There are loonies out there. It's all in the percentages. If you're exposed to a million people per month, it only takes a tiny percentage of them to be nutcases to end up with a few threats.

Example of a threat from today:
"If you ever get the balls, Livonia is just a drive from Ann Arbor, I would gladly take the time to drive on over and explain to you why I hate your company, then I'd beat the living fuck outta you and make you spit enamel you piece of shit."

This was, in response to me sending him a moderator warning that foul language, personal attacks, and trolling were against the posted rules.  What got him mad, I surmise, is that his hatred and such was directed at me and therefore (apparently) I should have had someone else judge whether he should have gotten a moderator warning. Which is, admittedly a bit amusing since my posts on the site in question explicitly have the Moderator badge by my name - i.e. don't attack the moderators is a pretty basic thing on net forums.

But while that was the most recent one, I get ones from my posts here on JU pretty occasionally. I get them from my posts or moderation on WinCustomize and have gotten them because of having to ban someone on IRC. 

Since I get a lot of threats, I am a bit numb to the intimdiation affect that they are trying to achieve. I can honestly say that such threats don't install fear. But I do have to take them seriously.  The one thing I do fear is that one of these days one of these nut jobs is going to come to my home thinking to try to "scare me" by accosting me not realizing that I have gotten enough credible threats over the years that I won't know that he's just there to try (and would fail) to "scare me" and I'd put him down before he stepped foot into my home. 

on Dec 30, 2004
This was, in response to me sending him a moderator warning that foul language, personal attacks, and trolling were against the posted rules.


He honestly was angry because you basically told him to be more polite? That kind of person...well...they shouldn't have the right to exist...
on Dec 30, 2004

Well he was mad that I had the ability to moderate him because his attack was directed at me.

Same thing happens here. I've beened people for creating posts with my name in them savaging me.

But to be clear, I get such threats over a wide variety of reasons all equally insane IMO. There's no excuse to have such hatred over anything in the virtual world. It's a sign of mental instability which is precisely why such threats have to be taken with some seriousness.

on Dec 30, 2004
sad to hear that. craziness. you may have ideas i don't like but hey, they're just ideas.

that's why i don't use usernames that only have my first name. someone could probably figure out my last through research but why make it easy to find you.
on Dec 30, 2004
It amazes me that people are incapable of separating political views and online essays from the people themselves. Or that an email warning or removal from a forum or blog site is grounds to threaten someone's life/family/home... I'm honestly getting tired of all the people who can't separate real life from online life. Those are the ones who scare me, they're the ones I can see killing themselves/others because their online persona was deleted/banned (ala the rare cases of the D&D players who killed themselves when their characters died... you know, the really crazy ones)

Yet more proof that we need to issue Internet Usage Licenses... the test would be part intelligence test, party psychology exam. Weed out the morons and the crackpots.
on Dec 30, 2004
the test would be part intelligence test, party psychology exam


hmmm...would that include pc intelligence? if so...imagine all the ones over...say...40 that for the most part, cant use a pc, much less the internet.
on Dec 30, 2004
Well whenever I get back from Iraq I would be happy to offer my protective services If it moves in ana agressive manner it can also be shot center-of-mass... but maybe thats just my opinion....
on Dec 30, 2004
hmmm...would that include pc intelligence? if so...imagine all the ones over...say...40 that for the most part, cant use a pc, much less the internet.


Whew...I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. At 41, I've already torn apart and reassembled pcs for fun, been getting in trouble online since the mid-90's, and getting calls from friends and family at various hours for help with this or that.....waitaminnit, is it really a good thing?

...dang it, mother-in-law having trouble checking her e-mail again. When does it end....?

on Dec 30, 2004

whoa....

Things are getting crazy, it's driving me a bit crazy.  What is it about your site that makes it impossible for me to leave it for good?

Trinitie

on Dec 30, 2004

"If you ever get the balls, Livonia is just a drive from Ann Arbor, I would gladly take the time to drive on over and explain to you why I hate your company, then I'd beat the living fuck outta you and make you spit enamel you piece of shit."


Wow.  Wow.  That's crazy.  All because you gave him a moderator warning? 


Talk about having a scew loose......


 

on Dec 30, 2004
When does it end....?


IT doesn't....my grandpa calls me every day...why doesn't the pc go on...why is the screen black...all that stuff...turns out he had the moniter turned off...blah.
on Dec 30, 2004

I can't afford to wait and see if you're just bluffing or serious.


thank g-d for carry and conceal laws:)

on Dec 30, 2004
I wonder if people would be less prone to lash out at others online if everybody's picture was next to their words. That might remind them that they're talking to an actual human being and not in some video game talking to some AI enemy they must destroy.

Yet more proof that we need to issue Internet Usage Licenses... the test would be part intelligence test, party psychology exam. Weed out the morons and the crackpots.


The Internet wouldn't be as wacky though.

Things are getting crazy, it's driving me a bit crazy.  What is it about your site that makes it impossible for me to leave it for good?


Me! I'm still sane.
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