A newspaper opinion writer received a series of death threats for a commentary on church involvement in her local school district and was told to make her peace with god and write a retraction or she would be abducted outside of the newspaper where her truck was parked and taken to a field and set on fire.
A male journalist received a phone call from an irate conservative who informed him that unless he stopped criticizing the tea party, the true patriots of America would invade his home at night, tie him up and make him witness his wife and two daughters being raped and then dismembered before his eyes.
In California, a reporter awoke to the sound of breaking glass and shouts of, “USA, USA” and “fucking traitor” for writing a column criticizing the city for spending tax dollars on firework displays instead of assistance for homeless veterans. The same young man wrote an opinion piece criticizing local churches for campaigning against same-sex marriage, and within a week of the commentary returned home from work to find signs on his yard ordering him to “obey your god” and “pray or die.” The writer has since moved to a different neighborhood where last month a letter arrived telling him there was nowhere he could hide that “god’s soldiers won’t find you.”
The FBI says most threats journalists receive are from cowards emboldened by the anonymity the Internet provides and disposable cell phones, but at the same time, they give a warning that all journalists should heed. They said a person who takes the time to call, email, or write a letter is just one small outrage away from acting on a threat of violence.
I have certainly had my share of threats and crazed e-mails as well.
I just send them to the FBI and let them put them in the file.
Somehow I have to believe that many of us who are bloggers, journalists, or television reporters, get FAR more death threats than Sarah Palin has ever seen. Just to keep things in perspective.
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