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Kathy Sierra
Update: Read about Kathy Sierra, Chris Locke, and Due Process.
Kathy Sierra, who’s blog I’ve come to enjoy very much, canceled her tutorial yesterday and session this morning because of death threats (warning—this link goes to graphic material) she’s received on her blog and on other blogs. This saddens me deeply and makes me angry. I’m sad and angry that someone—anyone—has to endure this kind of fear in their life. What’s more, I’m sad that these actions have silenced someone who has so much to offer to the world. It’s unacceptable. It’s hateful. It’s simply wrong.
Posted by windley on March 27, 2007 10:26 AM
Comment from Eric at March 27, 2007 10:55 AM
She shouldn't back down; the people are known. Prosecute them. They are out of line and allowing them to stop her sends a message that might lead others to do the same.
Comment from Geiger at March 29, 2007 7:55 AM
Fear only works if you let it. Kathy Sierra definitely has let it. I feel little for her when there are inner city kids getting real death threats just for being nerdy and sticking up for them. Does she compare to soldiers dying in countries fighting for causes that they may not believe in? No.
Instead of crying about it and locking herself in her house, she needs to get out there and be vocal about it. Press the authorities to get involved. When somebody threatens you, you do not attack them, you do not flee them, you simply prepare yourself for a possible defense. Most likely these are just stupid kids looking for anonymous attention (oxymoron there).
Fear is a part of life. You can have a successful life if you deal with it or a miserable one if you let it deal with you.
Comment from wilbur smith at March 29, 2007 4:31 PM
It was Kathy Sierra herself who picked a fight with these people by posting a Youtube video encouraging vigilantism against them. Moral: dont start a fight you have no hope of winning.
Comment from Giles Bowkett at March 29, 2007 6:54 PM
She absolutely should keep posting, and show up at the next conference with bodyguards, and put those fuckers in jail. Blaming her for this insanity is absurd. It isn't even really about sex; it's about putting women in their place. That kind of thing can't be tolerated. It's destructive to the entire tech industry.
Comment from Elaine of Kalilily at March 31, 2007 10:37 AM
I had an virtual run-in with RageBoy about five years ago. I posted about it here:
http://www.kalilily.net/weblog/07/03/30/233658.html
I think Kathy deserves all the support we can all give her.
Comment from Allen at March 31, 2007 5:02 PM
Whenever someone posts "death threats" along with the intended victim's home address on a blog -- it's no longer an issue of free speech -- it's an issue of terrorism. Legally and morally. And make no mistake -- it's NOT just the warped, twisted mind of the perpetrator -- who is to blame -- it's all those who condone and enable --- people like Geiger -- and all those who invariably blame the Victim instead of the culprit.
And that's also why Gitmo and other outrages keep happening -- they're are a lot of "enablers" out there.
-Allen
Comment from eden at April 2, 2007 7:13 PM
peoples hearts close up when they are not treated with love and respect. sometimes people close up so much that they turn to fear and hatred too. we all come from the same place...mamas womb. and we will all end up there. six billion of us are walking around with fear in our belly, whether aware of it or not. nobody likes to be abused. instead of judging kathy for her reaction, or the people who made the threats, why not cultivate awareness within ourselves, and nourish our children in hopes that they will embrace compassion?
Comment from Ed Kunin at April 15, 2007 1:44 PM
Unfortunately some people are always ready to kill those who disagree with them. Their obvious insecurity does not make them less threatening or persuade them intelligent argument does not involve death threats. Kathy should watch the DVD of "Shut Up and Sing", the saga of the Dixie Chicks whose lead singer dissed George Bush and brought forth a torrent of rage. The pictures of them doing a concert in Dallas, as defenseless as one gets, is a huge testament to the human spirit.
Kathy will live her life as she chooses. I think in a few years looking back she will decide she could have been courageous rather than fearful. Some guys are assholes. The only thing worse then they are is letting them have their way.
Comment from Ed Kunin at April 15, 2007 1:44 PM
Unfortunately some people are always ready to kill those who disagree with them. Their obvious insecurity does not make them less threatening or persuade them intelligent argument does not involve death threats. Kathy should watch the DVD of "Shut Up and Sing", the saga of the Dixie Chicks whose lead singer dissed George Bush and brought forth a torrent of rage. The pictures of them doing a concert in Dallas, as defenseless as one gets, is a huge testament to the human spirit.
Kathy will live her life as she chooses. I think in a few years looking back she will decide she could have been courageous rather than fearful. Some guys are assholes. The only thing worse then they are is letting them have their way.
Comment from Ed Kunin at April 15, 2007 1:46 PM
Unfortunately some people are always ready to kill those who disagree with them. Their obvious insecurity does not make them less threatening or persuade them intelligent argument does not involve death threats. Kathy should watch the DVD of "Shut Up and Sing", the saga of the Dixie Chicks whose lead singer dissed George Bush and brought forth a torrent of rage. The pictures of them doing a concert in Dallas, as defenseless as one gets, is a huge testament to the human spirit.
Kathy will live her life as she chooses. I think in a few years looking back she will decide she could have been courageous rather than fearful. Some guys are assholes. The only thing worse then they are is letting them have their way.
Comment from HHfm at May 1, 2007 5:41 PM
I'm glad to know that you feel for her,but honestly, I want to say this...
Every man who has a daughter should be thinking about whether or not he wants his little girl to go through what you are going through. ... and then he should think about this --it is not enough to not be part of the problem, men must be part of the solution.
I hope every woman who is being intimidated, threatened, beaten, raped, or otherwise hurt by violence from men FIGHTS BACK. Every time a woman doesn't fight back, men continue to think they can get away with their misogyny and they do. Every time a woman fights back, a man gets a new thought in his head that maybe he is not going to get away with it and he'll think twice about trying again on someone else.
Whether those guys were going to try to get her or not -I have a few words about that. If they were, they out to be put behind bars and really have their stories plastered all over the media. You notice men all shout and moan or groan when they see a guy getting kicked in the groin in a video? Ever wonder that women don't have the same universal response when they see in a theater a woman getting beaten or raped? The media and images in our world have taught us to accept social violence in our midst. It isn't okay though. You deserve to feel safe as a human being. So does Kathy. So do I. So does every single one of you readers.
If I had the money to do it, I'd make advertisements all across the country for the IMPACT/Prepare, Inc/model muggers series of self-defense classes. I wish every woman in the US had the access and ability to take these classes. They're limited by money of course and haven't got the funds to bring those programs everywhere, though I'm told that the organization has flown the course to various places, campuses, etc. to teach the course in an intensive program over a couple of days. There are classes for men and women (separately, of course) and teens. For a woman or teenager to know he or she can set boundaries, can defend herself, and can escape a potentially life threatening situation is a powerful feeling. It is really quite possible (I've seen the demonstrations and known a couple of women who took the programs). I encourage every woman to find one of these classes and take all of the classes like this that she can afford to take. It is worth the piece of mind. I'm sad that Kathy Sierra is terrified and I would be in her shoes as well. To find out that anyone wants to hurt you is an awful thing and disrupts the trust our society is built upon.
I don't know whether or not Madison Avenue can sell much with images of men being hurt or treated like the weaker sex object, but I doubt it. Another guy I know told me once that America made images of women in underwear okay for a 100ft tall billboard and it's one of the most disgusting things he's ever seen a civilized society do. I honestly, can't say I'm wise enough to know whether he's right, but one thing I know... this isn't freedom of speech when people use threats or violence.
One danger of the cyber world... the imagination gets going and sometimes it goes someplace bad. Bad and good.. this stuff is difficult. There's a reason philosophers have been debating it for centuries. To Kathy, I'd say: You can choose how you respond. You don't have to hide. You don't have to shrink away. You have every right to fight back. I'll respect your choice if you choose not to, but I really hope that you do fight.
Comment from Joanna Atherton at October 15, 2007 3:43 PM
I have been victim to a defamatory blogger for months now. He has been making lewd, sexual and libellious comments about me ever since I benned him from a forum I run for starting flame wars and generally being rude. I am now subject of a foul hate campaign, which to begin with was pretty funny, because the remarks he was making were so outlandish -- but now as he has been prolific for many months, linking from blog to blog and posting un tens of message boards, his postings reside at the top of google when someonbe searches my name. This is a very real worry for me when I think of future employers.
I've done lots of reading into online psychology, in particular the online disinhibition effect and sadly, I think this is something we are going to see more and more often.
We could police blogs, but at what cost? The very beauty of the internet is the freedom it allows, but this is also it's greatest downfall. I believe we need to get smart to these individuals who enjoy inducing fear and upset in their fellow human beings. I'd be interested to hear from anyone going through the same situation as me - http://defamatoryblogs.blogspot.com
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