Is This Considered A Death Threat?

[orleans]

a friend of mine posted something (apparently a bit controversial--it was an excerpt from a film he reviewed) on a website and among the various comments to his excerpt was this:

"You are so gay I want to kill you. lol :D"

should he ignore this?

people are able to link to my friend's website and he is not posting anonymously. i'm concerned about this. while he doesn't want to stir up more dust over this controversial opinion of his by reporting the comment to the website he put the excerpt on (and in which this person replied to him), i think something should be done. i'm just not sure what.

[SeattleGirl]

1. Most likely, it is one of the many empty threats homophobes spew, but

perhaps your friend ought to report it anyway, as not all threats are empty ones.

[MADem]

2. I think it's just a stupid, unkind comment.

Does he know the person who posted it? If he does, it would depend upon the full context or the extent or quality of the relationship. A friend posting that likely means "I disagree with your stance and I wish to chastise you" though the sentiment is poorly expressed.

A stranger, OTOH, could mean the same thing, or something more nefarious. Angry people hell bent on harm don't usually do the "LOL" thing, though, which causes me to suspect that the comment was crude, homophobic and intended to be lighthearted/friendly, not crude, homophobic, and malevolent.

[orleans]

3. this is a stranger commenting on what my friend wrote. n/t

[MADem]

6. It could go either way, then, sure.

I do think, though, that "LOL" is a bit incompatible with genuine anger, particularly homophobic anger. And the old "I could kill you" phrase can be taken more than one way, e.g. "Oh, Betty Sue, did you tell Billy Bob that I liked him? I could KILL you!" or words to that effect.

Heck, I had a jerk say something similar about wishing me dead on this board, this evening--the mods must be asleep.

Those homophobes don't seem to have much in the way of a sense of humor, so that 'LOL' is a bit of a clue to me--I never saw the Phelps crowd smiling and chuckling while they're spitting out their nasty comments.

I think it may have been an unfortunate, homophobic choice of words. Your friend, however, should follow his gut and take whatever actions he believes are appropriate to keep himself safe.

[RandomThoughts]

4. Fear is one of the first tactics used by evil.

That is probably the intent. Also by him saying 'want' I don't think it is a threat.

Either way the guy who posted it has issues, serious issues, if you can pity him, and ignore him you would be doing better. But it is up to you, statements of violence go against the social good, since they do create fear and anger.

[ForrestGump]

5. The 'lol' (man, I hate that stupid acronym) and happy face kinda neautralize it, perhaps.

Unless, of course, we're dealing with The Joker or similar.

I tend to agree with you that something is worth trying and understand the reluctance. Really, though, there're a few too many people in this country who seem to think they can do or say anything with impunity, a feeling that's undoubtedly tied to an epidemic exponential increase in apparent sense of entitlement hereabouts. IF the relevant authorities took it seriously -- a big 'if' -- I'd think it'd warrant reporting as some variant on assault, with a hate-crime twist. And, yes, if it went to its natural conclusion I would be concerned about the possibility of some lawyer or other cog in the system arguing that the 'lol' and smiley rendered the threat harmless parody or irony.

I have no idea who you'd report it to, though (probably not a bad idea for all of us to have some clue on this point, actually). Maybe the person's ISP, for a start, if you want to steer clear of legalities.

[vrooden]

7. maybe I'M gay

if THATS a death threat then I'M gay

LOL :P

[orleans]

9. well, obviously you're tombstoned--that's a for-sure. n/t

[TWiley]

8. yes, it is a threat. adding "lol" is merely defensive

People who are serious about their threats often try to hide behind "oh I am only joking" "there is something wrong with you if you cannot take a joke? Bullies learn to hide behind "humor" to keep from prosecution in grade school. Most (not all) are deadly serious about things they "joke" about.

This dynamic is the hallmark of most racist, and sexist attacks. I would take it seriously.

[orleans]

10. that is how i took it also. n/t