I just received my first personal death threat

Folks:

The pro-war party must be getting desperate. This morning, I was vigiling by myself at Venice Blvd. & Wade (in Los Angeles) at about 9 a.m. This guy with long, grey hair comes pedaling up on his bicycle; I had seen him a couple times before and both times he made disparaging comments as he pedalled by. This morning, however, when he saw me, he pulled up on his bike and said, "I guess tomorrow I'm going to have to shoot you."

Believe it or not, I pretty much kept my cool, telling him that if I weren't willing to die for my beliefs I wouldn't be standing out on a corner by myself.

However, after he pedalled off, I found myself wondering how seriously I should take the threat and what, if anything, I should do in response. Any suggestions?

BTW: I've started vigiling every day for at least 2-4 hours per day, ever since I heard a report on Pacifica about NoMoreVictims.org and horribly wounded Iraqi children.

n/t

...have to follow up, especially if you have seen this gentleman before. I would highly recommend bringing a camera (digital) and taking his picture. Turn it into the police either at the time of filing the complaint or later. Get a restraining order against this asshole.

PB

be a cell reserved for me at Gitmo, Bagram or one of its ilk. Perhaps a cell in the new KBR detention facilities under construction:)

What's weird is that the guy who made the threat must be living in a cocoon, because opinion on the west side of L.A. is overwhelmingly against the war now. (Based on my personal experiences, I'd say maybe 75% against, 5% for and 20% indifferent).

....these messages. Besides, even if it were the case, who should let death threats stand unchallenged?

PB

They might even follow it up.

At the very least, you do want it on record.

Thank you for doing this vigil.

It's what I'd do. It's L.A. for crying out loud. I was almost shot twice in the 6 years I lived there.

Bullitproof vest, just in case?

so it is on record

If he attacks you....you have the history backing you up to defend your self...

Never underestimate anyone who makes this kind of threat because in their minds they feel justified in their actions...

Stay safe..

I have never seen anger like this.

"Out of Iraq Now." The other side (in homage to the 51% majority Latino population in LA) says simply "Pinche Bush." Most of the Latinos who see it smile and flash a peace sign. (This guy making the threat was an Anglo.)

ded

I have never seen such seething anger
in right wing fools. They can hardly contain
the violence that possesses them.

division and anger. Mission Accomplished!

But, you should take this guy very seriously. You should file a police report and if you've got a digital camera or phone camera take a picture next time as he rides off.

your LOCATION and call the cops and report it!!!
Tell people who know you about this also!!
There are all kinds of fruitloops in the world and his
long gray hair has nothing to do with that fact!!
Protest somewhere else!! But keep on protesting!!
Kudo's to you!!
:thumbsup:

I mean to look at bush, he appears innocent enough, right??
Until he opens his fat mouth!
And how many has HE killed????

to police.

When our little small town peace group was vigiling every Sunday, we had some threats, too. The police started to hang out with us to protect us.

There are some screwed up people out there.

their response will be to tell me to stop vigilling. (They're not particularly pro-peace, at least not yet.)

I'm also keeping Mao's dictum in mind, that the first duty of a revolutionary, aka, progressive, is to "stay alive" (a vulgar paraphrase) and wondering whether I should make discretion the better part of valor and only vigil with one or more other people.

me when I was 14!!
I was afraid to ask permission to go somewhere because my parents might say NO!!

I learned eventually NOT TO ASK!!
I just told them where I was going and when I'd be home!!

They'll probably tell you to VARY your location to protest!
But to be scared to call them and report this?
That's bizarre!! imho!

will take me seriously. (At most of the major anti-war demos in LA, the police have been highly contempuous of the protests, although I've started to see some cracks, especially among black and Latino officers.)

watch "Boys in the Hood" sometime or the Rodney King beating or footage of the 3 days of rioting when the police went on strike after the verdicts. The LAPD don't view themselves as answerable to the taxpayers or any kind of public servant. They really aren't there to help. They answer to no one and the police chief is police chief for life.

Think Mexico, think corruption, thuggishness, etc. because Los Angeles just doesn't have the kind of police force you are familiar with.

but in some areas it is truly an us versus them when it comes to the police force....

And by the way your example of mexico woudl have been on cue about 20 years ago. They no longer sell beats no more... but that problem was common in all MAJOR PDs across the country.

and Culver City (not the LAPD but perhaps even worse). I can only imagine what it is like for non-whites on the east end of the city.

The only decent cops I dealt with were in Santa Monica (not part of the LAPD).

Another story: a co-worker wins a trip to Hawaii at an office party, has two more drinks, decides he should not drive. He walks back toward the office but passes out in the park behind the federal building (Wilshire/405). He wakes up with a police dog chewing on his arm, they cuff him, beat him, let the dog chew on him again, mostly his head and arms. He was charged with resisting arrest and assault on a police dog. They joked in the squad car about playing baseball with him. They didn't even clean him up before they put him in front of a judge. He was covered in bite marks and dried blood. When he went to file a complaint, they tried to intimidate him out of it. And while he filled it out anyway, another guy came in to complain about an incident that was nearly the same. Both of these guys were white and on the high-income part of the city.

it can't hurt to get a police report entered!
I didn't tell him to ask for an escort, I just said report it!
Get it on record and CHANGE HIS ROUTINE!!!

and change corners.

some anti-Bush people out to help defend your right of free speech.

One bright side of 9.11 terrorism now is a serious item in the agenda for both the feds and local law enforcement.

LAPD has its problems but they have to at least investigate. By the way, they are your employees, you pay their salaries, use their services.

Does your state even allow for one?

part of the process is for him to report this to LAPD, and if there is a real threat to his life the permit will be issued.

My thought though is that he will not even consider one... me, on the other hand, would in a haert beat

or even where to go to get one. I pretty much believe in non-violence anyway, so I'm not sure I'd want to carry a weapon, much less use it.

the last five years have tayught me that we NEED to know how to use a firearms and maintain it... and trust me I have seen first hand what bullets do...

That said, if anybody threatens me... well I will exercise the right to defend myself.

report it as a threat asap.

that is a terroristic threat

And vary the rest of your daily routine/routes and schedules. Do not assume he wasn't serious.

Delusional people can become dangerous when their faced with the inaccuracy of their delusions. A lot of people are facing that prospect. Look for a lot of crazy and dangerous behavior as they fight to force their delusions on you rather than accept they are wrong.

The uniform opinion here seems to be that I should report it to the LAPD. So I will do that this afternoon. I go to a group vigil at the Westwood Federal Building this afternoon, so I'm going to take it up with the members of my vigil there; I may be able to get 1-2 of them to come stand with me tomorrow morning.

your recollection of the events, NOW... memory is fickle...

DO IT NOW

"Delusional people can become dangerous when their faced with the inaccuracy of their delusions."

Some of these pro-war, pro-Bush people are really losing it and want to harm people who don't agree with them.

I saw you this morning and honked.
Just so you know, it was an agreement honk!

Liberals are now 2nd class citizens in this country. The person who threatened you will get away with it scott-free because his beliefs are in line with the government. That's how things work in Nazi America.

My friends called them after a push-in robbery and double rape. They laughed at the victims and told them they would do nothing.

In my experience, people who are going to commit violence just do it. People who call with bomb threats and other bullshit are just trying to play with your head but you don't want to guess wrong. What was your gut feeling on this guy?

I might go to a different corner for a while. It will help your exposure also.

"blame the victim" posture and not take it seriously. Or they'll simply tell me to stop protesting.

by the way... want to up the ante, talk to an FBI Special Agent if you can, and the Media

Conservatives attack in packs, and then only when you are alone.

Just make sure you are with at least one other person tomorrow.

Tell the police what happened, but don't make a big deal about it.

If war-supporters had enough guts to kill for their beliefs, they would be Iraq right now. The threats against you are merely a reflection of their own cowardice.

Take it seriously just in case. People listen to hate radio and such everyday. It's a dangerous desease in this country right now. Probably nothing will come of it but you can't gamble.

is still churning a little (now about 2 hours later). The way I feel is that, if I'm going to get attacked, I probably won't get any warning\threat. The person attacking will probably just do it.

That said, I really appreciate everyone's advice. I knew I was going out on a limb when I started vigilling by myself, but I guess I hadn't fully prepared myself psychologically for the consequences.

One was by LAPD!
Just kidding! Keep an eye out for him, take a camera/camera phone and take his pic. Call the cops if he continues to bother you.

I had been called a "traitor," told to "go back to Iraq," called a "moron," etc. But this was the first time anyone ever threatened to shoot me.

I received death threats in San Diego, at vigils and such.

...other person to come with you just in case. He was probably just trying to scare you though. But can't hurt to take precautions.

Good for you for doing this by the way. :yourock:

I vigil some friday nights in Studio City. The nasty comments we get always seem to come from enlistment-aged men. Go figure!

two weeks ago, when I heard a report on Pacifica radio about NoMoreVictims.org and this little Iraqi girl who had been brought here to have eye surgery to remove 19 pieces of "microshrapnel." The rest of her entire family had been killed in a U.S. tank strike.

For some reason, when I heard that report, something inside me just welled up and I decided I needed to escalate my protests to every day. (I'm unemployed right now, so have plenty of time on my hands.)

...is that they won't come or do anything unless you are in immediate danger.

Try to get someone else at the vigil you are attending today to join you. Please be careful!

if there is more than one person there and you get officials harassing you at least there will be another eyewitness to events. Rather than death threats being carried out I'd say officials hassling you is more likely.

Good luck with the protest.

Call this instant. Do not think about it, do not wait another minute.

A public death threat is just that; and should be taken as seriously as if he pointed a loaded gun at you.

definitely not an emergency now.

they will give you some sdvise, I am sure, but terroristic threats are now treated seriously by law enforcement

when you go in just be plain about it. "A person threatened to shoot me tomorrow" a police report with a description is all you need. That way if the wackjob is god forbid successful the police have a description and a lead. Your not asking for protection you just want it documented.

say a final "Thank You" once more to all DU'ers who contributed advice.

Here's what I plan to do:

a) contact Pacific Division of L.A.P.D. and file report with them

b) try to get at least 1-2 other people to join me tomorrow; if I can't, I'll change locations

c) try to get a picture of this guy if he comes riding by again

it would be a morale booster.

Black is white in Bushworld