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The back-story is this: On Sept 5, disturbing comments were posted on BlogTO expressing pleasure in killing women with guns and knives, massacre-style. They recall similar comments on the same blog in June mentioning the use of guns, bullets and machetes to inflict violence and death on women (which the U of T sat on for some reason until now).

A police investigation was rightly launched immediately, and the University of Toronto increased its security presence on all three campuses; Ryerson University followed suit. Gender Studies classes were cancelled. Then, last Friday, the police said they had not identified any credible threat to students. That’s a relief, although it should go without saying that the disgusting misogynist fantasies of disordered minds are distressing to all of us. All, meaning both women and men.

And here’s the rub. The hate remarks were made by one or more individuals, and no more reflect the feelings of most men than, say, this 1990 remark by celebrated feminist theorist Andrea Dworkin, “I’ve always wanted to see a man beaten to a sh*t bloody pulp with a high-heeled shoe stuffed up his mouth, sort of the pig with the apple,” reflects the feelings of most women, or even most feminists.

Our culture is extremely woman-friendly, indeed is demonstrably more concerned with women’s rights and entitlements than men’s

Yet, when the latest posts were made public, they immediately became fodder for collective accusations of misogyny by many feminist spokeswomen. Typically, at a rally organized by members of CUPE3902’ Women’s Caucus, feminist Ashleigh Ingle inveighed against men’s groups: “These threats that we’re here to stand up against today, they didn’t come out of nowhere. They are supported by an environment that is hostile and backwards and encouraged by these men’s right misogynists on our campus…Their goal is to blame all the issues of people in society on feminism and a component of that is to threaten and harass feminists into silence.” And Rabble.ca tweeted, “Downplaying threats to women at U of T normalizes culture of misogyny.”