Twitter makes it easy for people to spread their bile. For example, here are some recent tweets I received from @whprax222:

First:

Second:

Is it bad that I’m so used to the rape part of the threat that my first reaction is “Why Mexicans?”

But this individual wasn’t just targeting me. He aimed the majority of his tweets at female atheists, tweeting terrible things at Greta Christina, Jamila Bey, Maryam Namazie, Melody Hensley, Jafsica, Cristina Rad, Catherine Deveney, and Angie Jackson. He also targeted a couple other female writers, including Christie Wilcox. I have screen shots of all of the threats here, which are really worth a look to get the full extent of how gruesome they are.

Why am I writing about this? Because this isn’t a rare occurence. Outspoken women are frequently threatened with rape as a way of silencing them. But the way this individual responded once called out was also pretty telling of the mindset behind these attacks (screen cap):

“not a THREAT just a HOPE. i live nowhere near any of these people and they live all over the world. i dont have time or money to take an airplane to kill somebody! nor would i want to! just expressing my opinion, absolutely no threat intended”

Oh, well then. You just hope we’re raped and murdered, you’re too lazy to actually do it yourself. Definitely not a threat then!

“i am a gentle soul really :)” “yep that is just my opinion. i would never rape a woman, that’s illegal!”

So you’d do it if it was legal? That certainly reassures me about your moral compass.

“i have no intention of harming ANYBODY! for all of u that are taking this seriously… grow up! its the internet!”

Ah yes, the “it’s the internet” excuse. Leave it to the person threatening women with rape and murder to tell us we need to grow up.

Before you tell anyone “it’s the internet,” remember what kind of individuals hide behind that excuse.