Letters to the Editor
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<i>Calling defense of antisemitism defense of "free speech" is just plain silly.</i> - this has been Salon's policy on table talk
strikes go to the people who dare to suggest a post is "antisemitic" -- not to the "jews rule the world", "AIPAC controls US foreign policy", "Israel was aided and abetted 09/11" conspiracy bullshit, which was considered protected "discussion" ...
I stopped admitting I participated in TableTalk a couple years before I let my subscription lapse... trivial though it it, the arrival Broadsheet was my "last straw" ... it's roll-out just preceeded with my renewal date ...
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male hysteria
males are the true hysterics of our era. they rant and they fume. it is evident in so many societies now - just turn on the news. the writer here though goes on too long to justify her concerns. they are legitimate. this kind of behavior would not be tolerated in any setting, business or political, so why does the idea of free speech suddenly trump everything. the emails are threats and can get comeone arrested. there is no other explanation. are salon commentators so crazy that they cannot see this? the males are bad, there is no other explanation. the emails are repugnant. to say have a sense of humor? yeah. thats always the ticket for the other. you see these kinds of males everywhere. in fact, yesterday i had a cringe moment when i looked at this parking lot full of mesomorphs with their jerseys and crew cuts. a sotmach turning time. i do live in a bubble with decent males, educated males. but there is a world out there with these jerks and sometime you laugh them off and sometime you call the cops. in this case, call the cops with no apologies from the left. those comments were threats not free speech.
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idiots who need to get a life...and a vocabulary
As someone who was oft the victim of foul, hate spewing garbage in response to my letters to the editor of our local paper, I can identify with the myriad of feelings that accompany these attacks. On the surface, they initially seem just stupid. But then the concern creeps in because they almost always include threats of some sort. Obviously, this local bozo had my address, which made me concerned for the safety of my wife and I. Was he really "telling true patriots who like to act on such information" my address? Could he or someone he talked to be waiting with a gun in the bushes across the street?
The letters almost always had violently obscene sexual content, threats, and just plain foul language. I notified the police, and sent them copies of the letters. The police were aware of this particular "gentleman" and had gone out to his house to interview him. It turned out he was in his 80's, had respiratory problems, and could barely hobble over to answer the door. So if you need a pathetic image to deflate some of the fear, there you go.
This, by the way, is the same jerk who threatened Stephanie Miller after she appeared on Hannity and Colmes. He considers himself the ultimate patriot and his aim is to silence voices of reason and tolerance, which he feels are ruining America. He simply wants us to shut up, and thinks that being vile and threatening he will cause us to think twice before voicing our opinions again. One can assume that this breed gets its talking points and "debate" techniques from the likes of Hannity and O'Reilly.
But, all the more reason to not let them silence what you have to say. Or where you go. And even as a past ACLU local board member, I support moderated postings. These idiots don't add anything to the discourse, and if their letters keep getting bounced, they'll lose interest. Or learn how to actually frame their ideas in complete sentences that don't have the term "butt-fuck" in them.
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psychoanalyzing the perp
Perhaps it's a bit like controlling for variables... and could be interpreted as "proof" that the attacks against Sierra really were motivated by some combination of sexism and/or misogyny. After all, it's not as if she was "asking for it" by writing about politics or some other gender-polarizing topic.
Whether the hate-mailer dislikes your gender construct or just did it because the dog told him to, the result is the same. You can report him to the cops in either case.
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Thank you
I just wanted to say thank you for speaking out on this issue and the experiences you've had. And thank you for continuing to fight and write despite all the sexism that's out there.
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Men who hate women
I must confess to being shocked and appalled at your article. I would probably go so far as to say that your descriptions horrified me. This sort of behavior has a name and it's not sexual harassment. It's assault. I remember a conversation I had with my former brother in law who told me: "Jeff, in order to prove assault, all you have to prove is that you placed someone in fear. Battery is when you actually beat them up."
I believe that Ms. Sierra had every reason to be afraid. I firmly believe in free speech, very free speech especially and including criticizing any member of the government at any time of the day or night. But this is not free speech, this is assaulting someone. And I think that's illegal.
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Locke a man?
Locke is a joke. His complaint that Sierra hurt him and that yet she should get a thicker skin is absolutely hysterical.
Got to love the poor, insecure rage boys in the world. They are such petty dictators that I'm grateful so few get to run a country. ROFL
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this isn't really the issue but it keeps coming up, so..in order to prove a crime you have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
there's a big difference between knowing WHERE something came from and proving WHO SPECIFICALLY it came from. Not always impossible, but not always possible either. Sometimes you can prove civil liability, for instance for a web site or computer owner, without proving criminal guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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L'il Mac i asked my kid about Halo 2
(he's 20 and my informant on these issues). he said he's never heard anything like it but he plays with people he knows. if you play with random people "you get these assholes". to me, "asshole" is very derogatory, but to younger kids it seems as inocuous as "jerk" was to my generation.