I just received my first personal death threat

[coalition_unwilling]

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.

[villager]

1. call the police, report him, describe him, etc...

n/t

[Poll_Blind]

49. Villager is 100% right- death threats are ILLEGAL and the police will....

...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

[cantstandbush]

63. Are you sure the police will follow up and not lock you up instead? n/t

[coalition_unwilling]

65. No room in the LA County jails. But I think there might

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).

[Poll_Blind]

67. If the nation had degraded that far, we would not be allowed to post....

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

PB

[Jane Austin]

2. You should report this death threat to the police or the FBI.

They might even follow it up.

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

Thank you for doing this vigil.

[Frank Cannon]

3. Call the cops

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.

[Duer 157099]

4. Hopefully he meant with a camera

Bullitproof vest, just in case?

[MadMaddie]

5. Take it very seriously...you should report this to the police..

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..

[Rainscents]

6. I would report it!

[tatertop]

7. There is a horrible divide in this country

I have never seen anger like this.

[coalition_unwilling]

14. My sign is pretty non-offensive (I think). One side simply says:

"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.)

[wordpix2]

31. it doesn't matter how non-offensive it is to a wacko, he'll still be offen

ded

[tatertop]

38. It takes very little to set them off

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

[SammyWinstonJack]

58. We have bu$hco, and the corporate owned media too thank for the

division and anger. Mission Accomplished!

[tatertop]

59. True. The divide is actually rather shocking.

[SammyWinstonJack]

66. Sickening as well and the Smirking chimp loves it all. nt

[jrw14125]

8. that was a criminal threat. call police asap!

[Quakerfriend]

9. Firstly, It's really great that you are out there.

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.

[Breeze54]

10. CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE and...

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????

[wordpix2]

11. pls. don't stand on tht corner alone anymore and report this RW whackjob

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.

[Catherine Vincent]

12. Definitely report it!

There are some screwed up people out there.

[coalition_unwilling]

13. Thanks for all the advice. I'm worried that if I call the LAPD,

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.

[Breeze54]

17. You remind me of...

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!

[coalition_unwilling]

20. I'm not scared to call them exactly. More that I don't believe they

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.)

[KurtNYC]

42. You're obviously NOT from Los Angeles

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.

[nadinbrzezinski]

46. Depends on what area of town

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.

[KurtNYC]

64. My experience is based on Westwood, West LA, Palms

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.

[Breeze54]

72. I was there during the riots...but I'm not from LA, but still...

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!!!

[guinivere]

19. Take a couple of people with you

and change corners.

[wordpix2]

30. she will need more than a couple---call the media!!! That ought to bring

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

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Their responsive is to take it seriously

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.

[ThomWV]

15. Do You Have A CCW License?

Does your state even allow for one?

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Yes but 24 hours is not enough

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

[coalition_unwilling]

32. I don't even know how to shoot a gun

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.

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. I'm a medic by training

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.

[movie_girl99]

16. they're all nuts...dont put anything past the wackjobs

report it as a threat asap.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Call the police

that is a terroristic threat

[havocmom]

22. Report it. Take a friend with cameras tomorrow

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.

[coalition_unwilling]

25. Once again, thank you all so much for all the advice.

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.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. WRITE DOWN

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

[havocmom]

39. damn good advice!

DO IT NOW

[Oilwellian]

52. One would think you're describing Bush

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

[KingFlorez]

24. That's dangerous, you should call the police immediately

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

[zappaman]

26. Good for you!

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

[coalition_unwilling]

33. Thanks for the agreement honk! They mean a lot. (n/t)

[Rocknrule]

28. Calling the police won't accomplish anything

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.

[KurtNYC]

29. I'm not sure the LAPD will be any help at all

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.

[coalition_unwilling]

36. Yes, that's my gut feeling about LAPD -- they'll take a

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

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. Get the report in writing

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

[brainshrub]

34. I wouldn't worry about it too much, but take precautions.

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.

[mmonk]

35. Hhhhhm

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.

[coalition_unwilling]

41. It really triggered my "fight or flight" response -- my stomach

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.

[maveric]

37. Your first death threat in LA? I was visiting there last year and got four

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.

[coalition_unwilling]

51. Did your really get four death threats in LA?

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.

[maveric]

61. One. From a panhandler who was pissed because I have no $$$ for him.

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

[Beaverhausen]

40. Are you vigiling alone everyday? I suggest trying to find at least one...

...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!

[coalition_unwilling]

47. I had always followed the "one other person" rule until

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.)

[Beaverhausen]

55. The thing about the police I think...

...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!

[TheBaldyMan]

68. I'd advise caution anyway and protest with someone else as company

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.

[helderheid]

43. Call the police!

[WilliamPitt]

45. Welcome to the club

[nadinbrzezinski]

62. Indeed

[Tyler Durden]

50. CALL THE GOD DAMNED POLICE. NOW. RIGHT NOW.

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.

[nadinbrzezinski]

53. Though a note, use the non emergency line

[coalition_unwilling]

54. Yes, I am safely away from there now. It's

definitely not an emergency now.

[nadinbrzezinski]

56. Stll report it

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

[Options Remain]

57. file a police report

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.

[coalition_unwilling]

60. I don't want to hog General Discussion space, so let me

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

[TheBaldyMan]

69. Could you get a pic of your protest anyway, please

it would be a morale booster.

[coalition_unwilling]

70. Don't have a digital camera (yet), but will ask around. (eom)

[Jara sang]

71. Too bad it's not Florida, you could shoot him and claimself-defense

Black is white in Bushworld